# Stephen Gardiner — The Fifth Queen character guide

> Stephen Gardiner in The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Bishop Gardiner, Gardiner, Winchester, Gardiner of Winchester

**First appearance:** 0000-part-i-the-coming

## Snapshot

The Bishop of Winchester, a conservative prelate whose cautious voice and cold-shaken beard mark him as Cromwell's wary rival in a court where every barge ride hides a treason.

## Who they are

Gardiner shares the Privy Seal's night barge toward Greenwich, bleating his fear of being called Lutheran while Cromwell notes down eel-fishers as threats to the realm. He is a man of the old faith and the old caution, valuable to his cause yet never quite bold enough to seize the moment, and he watches Cromwell's arrogance with the calculation of a survivor. Katharine's desperate letter to him, warning that her cousin means to murder a Prince of the Church, makes him the pivot of her early scheme and the measure of how dangerous her meddling has become.

## Relationships

### [Katharine Howard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/katharine_howard)

_rivalry_

Gardiner is a manipulative and ambitious bishop who sees Katharine as a pawn and later a threat, leading to a tense adversarial dynamic.

### [Thomas Cromwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/thomas_cromwell)

_rivalry_

Gardiner and Cromwell are bitter political rivals, each scheming to control the king and the direction of the English Reformation.

### [Katharine Howard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/katharine_howard)

_rivalry_

Gardiner is a manipulative and ambitious bishop who sees Katharine as a pawn and later a threat, leading to a tense adversarial dynamic.

### [Katharine Howard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/katharine_howard)

_rivalry_

Gardiner is a manipulative and ambitious bishop who sees Katharine as a pawn and later a threat, leading to a tense adversarial dynamic.

### [Thomas Cromwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/thomas_cromwell)

_rivalry_

Gardiner and Cromwell are bitter political rivals, each scheming to control the king and the direction of the English Reformation.

### [Thomas Cromwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/thomas_cromwell)

_rivalry_

Gardiner and Cromwell are bitter political rivals, each scheming to control the king and the direction of the English Reformation.

## In the story

### [Part I: The Coming](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/part-i-the-coming)

Mentioned as a rival to Cromwell, representing conservative religious interests.

### [Part II: The House of Eyes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/part-ii-the-house-of-eyes)

Bishop Gardiner, a rival of Cromwell and a threat to Katharine, representing the conservative Catholic faction at court.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/i)

Visits Katharine secretly, warns her against Cromwell, and interrogates her about the King.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as having been sent as Ambassador to Paris; Katharine had written a letter to him.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/vii)

Mentioned as holding the treasonable letter; host of the revels; smiles with black pleasure at his feast's success.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/viii)

Bishop of Winchester, involved in the masque and regarded by Katharine with disdain.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned indirectly as part of the political landscape; Katharine is advised to communicate with her uncle (Norfolk) against Cromwell.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/ii)

Bishop of Winchester, preaches in favor of the Old Faith as part of political strategy.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/iii)

Threatens Katharine with knowledge of her cousin at Calais, demands she write a letter, and reveals his enmity toward Cromwell.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/stephen_gardiner
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters