Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend
A Selection of Outstanding Items in the Exhibition
Workes (First Folio): Newberry Library (NL Case YS 01)
1623, William Shakespeare. Opened to the passage in Henry VIII about Elizabeth’s christening. This item shows a seminal example of the shaping of her legend from a very early point. The final scene in the play opens with a confident prophesy by the Archbishop of Canterbury foretelling the splendors of Elizabeth’s reign and remarking on the joy her parents felt at having such a fine princess.
Sieve Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I: Private Collection
Circa 1580-1583, circle of Quentin Massys the Younger. This fine portrait shows Elizabeth in her signature colors of black and white, and surrounded by traditional symbols of chastity, fortitude, and worldly power. The portrait makes evident the queen’s stature in the European political world.
Italian Motets and Madrigals: Newberry Library (NL Case VM1578 .M91)
1527. Four hand-illuminated manuscript part books in a beautiful suite of bindings, given to Henry VIII by the city of Florence. Opened to a song praising Henry. These music books appear in the section of the exhibition that focuses on Elizabeth’s parentage. Both Henry and Anne (Boleyn) were patrons of music, and Henry even wrote music that was played and sung at court.
Malmesbury/Caird Cup: Private Collection
London, 1529. This goblet is an exceptional example of the kind of plate that would have been used at Henry’s court. Previously exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Maritime Museum, it is believed to be a unique surviving piece made in England using German models.
Elizabeth’s Letter to Edward Seymour: British Library
21 February 1549. In this autograph letter, the fifteen-year-old Elizabeth protests her sexual innocence in the face of rumors of indecency with the Lord Admiral, Thomas Seymour, while living in her stepmother Katharine Parr’s household. She was accused of plotting to marry him without the express permission of her brother, Edward VI. Her bold signature, modeled on her father’s, foreshadows the famous “Elizabeth R” of later years.
Declaration of Jane Grey: British Library
10 July 1553. A dramatic episode in Elizabeth’s tumultuous early years is represented here by a manuscript proclamation written by the tragic figure Jane Grey. She defends her reign against the “feigned and untrue claim of the Lady Mary, Bastard daughter of our great uncle Henry VIII of famous memory.” Shortly after this was written, Jane would be in the Tower of London, the victim of her father-in-law’s (the Duke of Northumberland’s) attempt to seize power through her. She would eventually be beheaded once Mary had taken the throne, along with her husband, Guilford Dudley. He was the brother of Elizabeth’s longtime favorite, Robert Dudley.
Exhibit items—Newberry 2
Armorial Bearings of the Kings of Great Britain: Newberry Library (NL Case MS F0745 .1915)
1572, Robert Cooke. This beautifully hand-painted manuscript shows the coats of arms of all the Kings and Queens of England, and the major nobles, since William the Conqueror. The page with Elizabeth’s arms is especially spectacular and detailed, with several different arms illustrating the claims the Crown of England maintained to various lands in France, Ireland, and Wales.
Dutiful Defense of the Lawful Regiment of Women: Newberry Library (NL Case MS fJ5452 634)
1590. Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton. This manuscript represents an answer to the controversies about women rulers during the 16th century. After John Knox published his highly vituperative work against the “Monstrous Regiment of Women” at the opening of Elizabeth’s reign, the debate swelled for decades. Howard’s own brother had been executed for plotting with Mary Queen of Scots to dethrone Elizabeth. He was clearly a man who knew he had to show some timely support of his Queen. His Defense manages to offer an argument in favor of female rulership without ever endorsing full equality for women.
Sphaera Civitatis: Newberry Library (NL Case J0.148)
1588, John Case. This commentary on Aristotle’s Politics recommends the monarchy of a perfect ruler as the highest form of government. The famous frontispiece depicts Queen Elizabeth standing, God-like, above a diagram of a Ptolemaic universe, within which the planets correspond to the esteemed qualities of a well-ordered state. Though Aristotle argued that women could not rule, Case positioned Elizabeth as the capable guide of a harmonious state.
Elizabeth’s second answer to Parliament that she marry: British Library
April 10, 1563, manuscript revised in her own hand. Elizabeth’s proclaimed virginity is as famous as her many courtships. In the first decade of her reign, Parliament repeatedly urged her to marry and produce an heir. Here she assures them that she does intend to marry or will provide for the succession when the time is ripe.
The holie Bible. conteynyng the olde Testament and the newe: Newberry Library (NL Case+C221 .568)
1568, [The “Bishops’ Bible”]. This early copy of the official English Bible of Elizabeth’s reign has a beautiful frontispiece depicting the queen as an unmarried woman with her hair flowing to her shoulders. At the same time, she wields the orb and scepter symbolizing her rule, suggesting her place as both religious and secular leader of her people.
Letter to Robert Beale (Elizabeth’s secretary): Newberry Library (NL Case MS 5091)
1582. From Lord Nau (Mary Queen of Scots’ secretary). After Mary fled Scotland to escape her incensed nobility, she lived under Elizabeth’s protection in various places in England. While in England, Mary continually schemed to become Queen of England. Eventually Mary’s son James became Elizabeth’s successor, but only after Mary had spent years maneuvering and plotting to win a place for herself in the succession, either by diplomacy or violence. This letter is but one in a long correspondence where Mary is trying to improve her situation.
Exhibit items—Newberry 3
Drawing of the Execution of Mary: British Library
1587, Robert Beale. Elizabeth’s conflicted and volatile relationship with her cousin Mary ended in Mary’s finally being caught plotting the overthrow and death of Elizabeth. She was eventually beheaded, after long debates between Elizabeth and her Parliament and council. Elizabeth always contended that she was tricked into signing Mary’s death warrant. This drawing of the event was done by an actual witness, the secretary to the Privy Council.
Atlas of England and Wales: Newberry Library (NL Case +G1045 .78)
1579, Christopher Saxton. Printed with hand-painted details, along with a beautiful frontispiece of Elizabeth enthroned. Part of this exhibition’s representation of Elizabeth focuses on England at the time of her reign. This beautiful book was commissioned by leaders of Elizabeth’s government and is one of the earliest attempts to create a cartographic portrait of an entire nation. It was not only a work of art and learning, but a useful reference book for government officials.
Genealogical Map of England, Wales, and Ireland, with Elizabeth’s portrait: Private Collection
1594, Anonymous, after Jodocus Hondius. This unique, hand-colored map combines a map of England and Ireland based on Hondius, with a genealogical tree of Elizabeth and an engraved portrait based on Isaac Oliver. The identification of Elizabeth with England and its people was a vital aspect of the Queen’s self representation throughout her reign.
Rule of Reason Containing the Art of Logic: Newberry Library (NL Case B49 .976)
1551, Thomas Wilson. Elizabeth’s own copy, with her coat of arms emblazoned on the front. Wilson’s work was the definitive manual of logic for lawyers in this period, when the rebirth of classical learning was taking hold in England. The section in the exhibit on English Humanism shows the variety of humanist activity throughout Elizabeth’s reign, including political and social theory, music, poetry and drama.
Calligraphic Alphabet book: Newberry Library (NL Wing MS ZW545 .S431)
1592, John Scottowe. Also part of the humanist grouping in the exhibit, this item is opened to the letter “Q,” where Scottowe celebrates Elizabeth as Queen of England, Ireland, and France. This is a stunning, fancifully drawn book of letters by a master of his art, intended to instruct his patron in both in proper handwriting and in proper morals.
New Yeere’s Guift: Newberry Library (NL Wing -MS ZW645 .K29)
1606, Esther Inglis. This hand-painted writing book was a gift to a genteel patroness of Esther Inglis (a French name, later anglicized to “English”). Among her other notable patrons were Elizabeth I and James I of England. This manuscript is among the earliest of English calligraphy books by women, and contains specimens of 19 different scripts, masterfully and beautifully executed.
Queen Mary Atlas: British Library
1558, Diego Homem. This atlas, produced for Elizabeth’s sister Mary and her husband King Philip II of Spain, contains a beautiful map of the British Isles and Spain, with the arms of England and Spain quartered at the top. Meant to emphasize the link between these two
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Exhibit items—Newberry 4
Queen Mary Atlas: British Library (continued)
countries owing to the marriage of their monarchs, today it conveys the opposite meaning, as the arms of Spain have been scratched out, supposedly by Elizabeth herself. The atlas has therefore become a fascinating emblem of the relations between these two countries during the 16th century.
Packe of Spanish Lyes . . . worthy to be damned and burned: Newberry Library (NL Ayer *150.3 .E7 P11 1588)
1588. Perhaps the seminal conflict of Elizabeth’s reign was the triumphant defeat of the Spanish Armada by the “Protestant winds,” which aided the English fleet. In the aftermath of that defeat, the Spanish were still claiming victory and circulating their early, encouraging reports across Europe. This vivid answer to those claims blasts the Spanish propaganda point by point and served to quell the fears of the English populace.
Discoverie of Guiana: Newberry Library (NL Case G985 .732)
1598, Sir Walter Raleigh. The publishers of this German translation of Raleigh’s travel narrative have borrowed many grotesque and fantastic woodcuts from an earlier publication to help sell the book. Images of Amazons roasting men over fires, bizarre animals, and “men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders,” were all included to appeal to an audience eagerly awaiting stories of the New World’s riches and wonders.
Map of The famouse West Indian voyadge: Newberry Library (NL Ayer *133 .D7 .B66 1589)
1589, Baptista Boazio. This beautifully illustrated manuscript map plots the voyages of two famous exploits of Elizabeth’s most famous explorer and privateer. To the Spanish, Drake was a pirate who burned their cities and raided their ships, but to the English and Elizabeth, he was a hero who was constantly winning Spanish gold for the English and irritating the Spanish King Philip II.
Tilbury Speech: British Library
1588. This is the speech that roused Elizabeth’s troops against the coming Spanish invasion fleet. It contains one of her most famous epigrams: “I may have the weak and feeble body of a woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too!” This version was written by an observer in the crowd.
Funeral Procession of Elizabeth: British Library
1603, attributed to William Camden. This spectacular scroll provides a depiction of the entire funeral procession for Elizabeth. It is a very detailed pen and ink drawing, over 40 feet long, of Elizabeth’s entire funeral procession. Each figure is about eight inches high, with costumes, names and titles carefully indicated for each of the notable people present.
Miniature of James I: Private Collection
Ca. 1610, Nicholas Hilliard. In impeccable condition, this beautifully rendered image of James I will be exhibited with a letter to James from Elizabeth offering advice on wise kingship. The miniature illustrates James’ transition to the throne and his adoption of the characteristic styles and leading practitioners of Elizabethan visual culture.
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