When this giant spider crawled across the floor in front of me, I looked online and found it took its name, the Cardinal Spider, after Henry VIII’s chief minister Cardinal Wolsey. Legend says Wolsey was terrified of these giant spiders that used to crawl out of the fireplaces at Hampton Court. I was inspired to weave this little story into my writing.
unknown artist; Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1471-1530); Royal College of Physicians, London.
‘So, what is Hampton Court like?’
‘Impressive,’ Thomas Boleyn replied. ‘The Great Kitchen has six fires, all with spits. It’s larger than some great halls, and the bathing chamber has hot water. It’s a palace for a King, not a Cardinal.’ His eyes were bright in the flickering candlelight as he looked at the stone mantle framing the fireplace. ‘The Cardinal Spider,’ he said, giving Anne a soft nudge and pointing to a giant brown spider. ‘Shall I tell them, or shall you?’ Then, continuing as though he had not asked, he said, ‘I rescued one from Wolsey. He’d climbed on a chair and was shouting to his page to stamp on it.’ Thomas threw his head back and laughed. ‘Before I put it out the window, I showed it to him. One of God’s creatures, I told him. I thought he was going to die right there and then. It gave Anne and me a chuckle. We named it the Cardinal Spider after Wolsey.’