III.—Stefan von Haschenperg, an Engineer to King Henry VIII, and his Work

For some years before 1538 the politics of western Europe had been dominated by the mutual jealousy of the Emperor Charles V and Francis I, king of France. Henry VIII's diplomacy had often tended to increase the tension between them, since it was clearly in England's interest to divide her potential enemies. The Pope on the other hand sought to reconcile them, and in June 1538 he succeeded so far as to negotiate a truce for ten years between the rivals.