Elizabethan Power Couple: The 2nd Earl and Countess of Pembroke

Two of the most fascinating and accomplished people of the Elizabethan age also happened to be married to one another; Henry Herbert, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his wife, Mary Sidney-Herbert, Countess of Pembroke. Both husband and wife were born into distinguished pedigree's, yet they contributed to, rather than relied on their names, leaving their unique mark on history.

Henry Herbert was the eldest son of the 1st Earl of Pembroke, William, and his wife Anne Parr, the younger sister of Henry VIII's last wife, Katherine Parr. Henry was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge under the instruction of John Whitgift; Whitgift would later become Queen Elizabeth I's Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583-1603, vigorously upholding Elizabeth's Church Settlement and drawing up articles against ministers who did not uphold religious uniformity (Palmer, 32). 

A portrait of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, circa 1565. In the Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

A sketch by Hans Holbein thought to be of Anne Parr; Henry Herbert was her only surviving child. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Before he inherited his earldom, Henry Herbert was married to Lady Katherine Grey in 1553. Katherine's family were the cousins of the royal Tudor's through Frances Brandon; Frances was one of the daughter's of Henry VIII's sister, Mary Tudor and her second husband, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Katherine was in line for the throne of England, and thus Henry Herbert's marriage to her was an incredibly prestigious match. It was orchestrated by John Dudley, the Earl of Northumberland in an attempt to strengthen his position in his plot to put his son Guildford and his daughter-in-law Jane Grey (Katherine's sister) on the throne. Nothumberland's plot succeeded, if only briefly. The coup resulted in the execution of Queen Jane, Guildford, and Northumberland himself. The disgrace was significant for anyone even peripherally associated with the plot, and Henry Herbert's father Earl William was now outraged that his son was joined in marriage to the sister of a convicted traitor. Earl William petitioned the new Queen Mary I to assist in the dissolution of the marriage, since it had allegedly never been consummated. Queen Mary granted the request, and the marriage was annulled in 1554. We do not know how Henry or Katherine felt about the dissolution of their marriage.

A miniature portrait of Katherine Grey, circa 1555-1560 by Leevina Teerlinc. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Herbert next married Lady Katherine Talbot, who was the daughter of George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and his first wife, Gertrude Manners. Shrewsbury was a prominent statesman, and later became the husband of the wealthiest woman in England, next to the queen herself, 16th century real-estate mogul Bess of Hardwick.

A portrait of Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury by Rowland Lockley, 1592. Hardwick Hall. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

  Upon the death of his father in 1570, Henry Herbert succeeded to the title of Earl of Pembroke, making him one of the most powerful members of the peerage. That same year, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. Through his mother he became Lord Parr, along with a variety of other distinguished titles.

While the Earl's star rose at court, his wife's health was failing. Katherine Talbot-Herbert was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, and when she took to her sickbed, the Queen visited her twice at the Herbert family's Baynards Castle (DNB, 189-90). Katherine Talbot-Herbert died in 1575, having had no children by her husband.

Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke had now been married twice, and both of his marriages and ended in sadness. Luckily, his third wife would be his equal in every way, and they would enjoy a long partnership, only ending with his death in 1601.

On April 21st, 1577 Herbert married his third wife, the fifteen-year old, highly educated Mary Sidney. Mary was the third daughter of Sir Henry Sidney and his wife, Mary Dudley. Mary Dudley was the daughter of the executed John Dudley, the Earl of Northumberland. Thus, Mary Sidney was the niece of Queen Elizabeth I's favorite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, and Henry Hastings and his wife Katherine Dudley Hastings, Earl and Countess of Huntingdon. Ironically, Henry would once again be marrying into the same circle that his father had wanted the family distanced from. Henry Herbert must have first encountered his future wife around the time of his second wife's death in 1575, when Mary Sidney had come to court to take her sister Ambrosia's place in the Queen's service.

Queen Elizabeth I required the women around her to be highly educated and able to have intelligent conversation on diverse subjects. Mary Sidney fulfilled these requirements, being considered the most educated woman in England, next to the Queen herself and the Cooke sisters, daughter's of Anthony Cooke (Hannay). Mary studied the scriptures, ancient classics, poetry and verse. Mary became fluent in Latin, French and Italian, and probably had some understanding of Greek and Hebrew (Hannay). In addition to studying academia, Mary, like all aristocratic girls, was expected to learn how to manage a household. She learned how to balance the household accounts, manage servants, and trained in making and administering medicine. Mary also excelled at singing and playing the lute.

A portrait of the Earl of Leicester by an unknown artist, circa 1575-80. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke had long been allied with Mary Sidney's uncle, the Earl of Leicester. Leicester had arranged the marriage between his niece and his close friend. Both earls enjoyed special favor from the Queen. This was to be especially apparent for Pembroke when Queen Elizabeth entrusted him, along with a few others, to represent her interests at the treason trials of Thomas Howard, the 4th Duke of Norfolk, (1571-72, executed in June of '72) Mary Queen of Scots in 1586, and the son of the Duke of Norfolk, Philip Arundel in 1589.

Grafitti in the Tower of London done by Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel in 1587. Picture acquired through Flickr courtesy of Lisby1.

Like the Herbert's, the Sidney's had long enjoyed royal favor. William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke had served Mary I and her husband Philip II of Spain; Sir Henry Sidney had been Prince Edward's chamberlain, and his sons and daughters grew up alongside the Tudor Prince. When Edward became King, the Sidney's were rewarded for their service, yet they were punished along with the Dudley family following Northumberland's coup (Hannay). Given the intertwined fates of the families, it should be of no surprise that the earls of Leicester and Pembroke got along famously, and that Henry and Mary eventually became husband and wife.

Both the Herbert's and the Sidney's had been welcomed at court upon Elizabeth Tudor's accession to the throne in 1558. The Countess of Pembroke's mother, Mary Dudley, had become especially close to the Queen. When Elizabeth I fell gravely ill with smallpox, it was Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney who nursed her back to health. As a result of her exposure to the disease, Lady Sidney fell ill herself, and was disfigured. Queen Elizabeth I never forgot her friend's sacrifice, granting her a pension for her service.

A detail from a portrait of Sir Henry Sidney, circa 1573. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

A portrait of Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney, by Hans Eworth. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

  At 15, Mary had become Countess of Pembroke, making her in charge of Wilton House, the primary Herbert family estate, which had been built on the grounds of the former Wilton Abbey by her husband's parents in the 1540's. Wilton would also become the center of the Countess's literary salon, the "Wilton Circle". The Countess of Pembroke would also eventually entertain Queen Elizabeth I there. Mary also managed several other Herbert properties, among them Baynards Castle in London (Hannay). 

The East front view of Wilton House. After a devastating fire in 1647, Wilton had to be largely rebuilt. Sadly, much of Wilton as the 2nd Earl and Countess of Pembroke knew it is gone. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Mike Searle.

  Mary would give birth to four children rather quickly. In 1580, three years after Henry and Mary's wedding, a son was born, William, later the controversial 3rd Earl of Pembroke. Katherine was born in 1581, Anne in 1583, and Philip in 1584. Philip, likely named after Mary's beloved brother Philip Sidney, the acclaimed soldier-poet, would become 4rth Earl of Pembroke after his brother's death and the Earl of Montgomery. Sadly, neither daughter would live into adulthood. The Countess of Pembroke's biographer, Margaret P. Hannay observes that these early years of the Pembroke's marriage were equally happy and tragic. While Henry and Mary grew to love one another, many of their immediate relatives died during this period, including their eldest daughter:

"Little Katherine died the same day that Philip was born in October 1584. In 1586 Mary Sidney's father died in May and her mother in August. And then, in that same year, her brother Philip died on 17 October from wounds received in Zutphen, where he was fighting with the English forces that hoped to rescue the Netherlands from the rule of Catholic Spain. As a woman she was barred from participating in his elaborate funeral and from publishing in any of the volumes of elegies put out by the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Leiden. Overcome by illness and grief, and then fearing invasion by the Spanish Armada, Mary Sidney remained at the Pembroke country estates in Wiltshire for two years."(Hannay)

1586 had brought so much tragedy, yet that same year Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke succeeded his father-in-law as Lord President of Wales. He made Ludlow Castle, the traditional seat of the President of Wales, the new primary residence of his family. Cardiff still has a strong association with the Pembroke family,  and both the 1st and 2nd Earl of Pembroke's portraits reside in the National Museum in Wales. In 1588, Pembroke was responsible for the defense of Wales as the Spanish Armada approached England (Wagner, 152).

After England's great victory over the Spanish, the Countess of Herbert had rejoined public life. The coming years would be a period of immense productivity for her; Mary Herbert was to become a literary powerhouse. Mary was the first English women to have a successful literary career, publishing the first play written by a woman in English (a closet drama), original poetry with complex structures, literary translations, and the edited works of her brother, Sir Philip Sidney. The Countess of Pembroke also notably never apologized for her 'feminine condition' in her writing, as was typical for other female writers of the time (Hannay).

A portrait of Sir Philip Sidney. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Hannay asserts that the Countess began her public literary career to honor her departed brother, by becoming a patron specifically to writers who praised his memory through their art, such as Edmund Spenser and Thomas Moffet. Meanwhile, the Earl was keeping up appearances with the Queen, and like many of his station, he was experiencing money troubles. In a letter to William Cecil, Lord Burghley dated June 20th, 1590, Pembroke complained that he had spent his entire fortune in the Queen's service, and petitioned for some recompense. Yet Pembroke was mindful not to bite the hand that fed him and his family, and in 1592 he went with the Queen on one of her many visits to Oxford University (DNB, 189-190).

A portrait by an unknown artist by of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1590. Jesus College, Oxford. Note the unique cherry cluster-shaped earring that Elizabeth is wearing! Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

The Countess's first contribution to English literature was supervising the publication of her brother Philip Sidney's masterpiece, Arcadia, which he had written for her at her literary salon at Wilton House, the aforementioned "Wilton Circle". The Countess, in collaboration with Fulke Greville, published The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia. If it were not for the Countess's dedication to her brother, the literary world might never have known the gift of Philip Sidney. 

A portrait miniature of Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke by Hilliard, circa 1590. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

In addition to her brother, the Wilton Circle included Edmund Spenser, author of The Faerie Queen, and the poets Michael Drayton and Sir John Davies, among others. The members of the Wilton Circle not only discussed literature and writing methods, but discussed theology, specifically Calvinism, and philosophy. The sole woman in the group, the Countess was respected by her associates, and praised by many of them in their own works, either outwardly, or in the guise of a character, as was the custom in the 16th century. Among the literary figures that praised her and/or borrowed from her were William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, John Donne, Samuel Daniel, John Davies, Michael Drayton, and Gabriel Harvey (Hannay). 

Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke also inspired other female English writers; "Her importance as a role model for younger women writers is seen in Aemilia Lanyer's dedicatory poem in 'Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum' (1611), and in her niece Mary Wroth's affectionate portrayals of her in 'Urania' (1621) as the Queen of Naples." (Hannay)

A portrait miniature of Amelia Bassano Lanyer/Lanier. Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

The Countess's sons were referenced in literature, as well; William may be the young man alluded to in Shakespeare's Sonnets, and Ben Jonson also dedicated a collection of epigrams to him. William, together with his younger brother Philip made up the "incomparable pair of bretheren" to whom Shakespeare's First Folio (1623) is dedicated, because, according to the Folio editors, the Herbert brothers had "prosecuted both them and their author living with so much favor". Other parts of the dedication imply Shakespeare was close to the Pembroke family. Shakespeare's sonnets are dedicated to "the onlie begetter of these insuing sonnets, "Mr. W.H."-William Herbert (DNB, 227-228). But 'W.H' could just as well be an scripted reference to Henry Wriothesly, the Earl of Southampton.

A portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke by Daniel Mytens, 1625. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

In 1590, the Countess  finished translating and adapting Seneca's tragedy, Antonius; in 1592 Antonius and A Discourse of Life and Death were ready for publication. In 1593 the Countess revised her brother's Arcadia again, adding additional works to it for its second publication (Hannay,71). The following year, the Countess had completed the metrical translation of Biblical psalms begun by her brother (Rathmell). By 1595, the Countess's husband, Henry, had started to suffer a rapid decline in his health. With the combination of undertaking the translation of biblical psalms and her husband's health problems, it is understandable that that the Countess did not debut any new material until 1599; that year, she presented a copy of of the biblical psalms translated by both herself and her brother to the Queen, complete with a personalized dedication (Hannay, 95). 

Queen Elizabeth I by an unknown artist, circa 1595. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

The year before the Countess gifted Queen Elizabeth, her husband had asked the Queen to be relieved of his strenuous duties in Wales (Wagner, 152). But despite his ill-health, in 1599, with the threat of another potential Spanish invasion, (which never came to fruition) Herbert offered to raise two hundred horsemen for the crown (190). 

3 quarter-length Italian armor, most likely that of Henry Herbert, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, MA. Picture taken by Ashlie R. Jensen.

A detail of the gauntlet from the 3 quarter-length Pembroke armor. The Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, MA. Picture taken by Ashlie R. Jensen.

A detail of the gilded etching on the 3 quarter-length Pembroke armor. The Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, MA. Picture taken by Ashlie R. Jensen.

As any writer can attest, Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke's immense body of work, produced in such a short amount of time, is rather remarkable. For those who study English literature, the quality and complexity of Mary's work is astounding. Because of the Countess's remarkable gift, she has become a candidate for the 'true' authorship of the Shakespeare canon; this is a far-fetched theory at best, but the fact that her name has been involved in the authorship controversy at all demonstrates the caliber of her work and the literary circle that she traveled in.

Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke was supportive of his wife's literary career. After all, even the least supportive husband would have been, since, "Her own literary works fit approved categories for women, elegy, encomium, and translation, thereby allowing her to stretch the boundaries for women even while she appeared to remain within them." (Hannay) Pembroke and his wife both shared a passionate love for the arts, and where his wife was the author, the Earl Henry was a patron. Hannay believes the Countess's role as a patron has been exaggerated, in comparison with her husband, though she did support the Wilton Circle and encourage her own relations to write, among them her niece, the English author Mary Wroth.

A portrait of Lady Mary Wroth, the niece of the Earl and Countess of Pembroke, and also the eventual mistress of their eldest son, William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

When Henry Herbert was not playing an integral part in Elizabethan politics, he owned and operated his own theatre company, which may have for a time include William Shakespeare (Wagner,152). From 1592-1601 Pembroke's Men was the first company to perform Shakespeare's Henry VI, part I and the The Isle of Dogs by Ben Jonson and Thomas Nashe (190). The play was considered seditious by the government because of various thinly-veiled critical references within the script to foreign states with which England conducted business. Understandably, the decision to run The Isle of Dogs caused the company great financial difficulty and earned them the disapproval of the Queen and her government. Jonson was even imprisoned for a time for co-authoring the work (Wagner 152).

A portrait of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, circa 1590. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On January 19th 1601, after years of ill-health, Henry Herbert, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke died at his family's beloved Wilton House. He left his wife with a significant amount of debt to settle. He was laid to rest in Salisbury Cathedral.

A view of Salisbury Cathedral. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Tony Hisgett and Magnus Manske.

After the death of her husband, Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke became the head of her family, arranging marriages for her children and managing the Pembroke estates. The Countess attempted to put down insurrections in Cardiff, Wales, and built herself the impressive and "innovative" Houghton House in Bedfordshire, and continued to write and translate (Hannay). 

The ruins of Houghton House, built by Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke. Houghton House was the inspiration for 'House Beautiful' in Paul Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Widowed for twenty-years, Mary Herbert never remarried, but she did carry on a prolonged flirtation with her much-younger doctor, Sir Matthew Lister (Hannay).

Ironically, the Countess died from the same disease that had scarred her mother's body, smallpox, on September 45th 1621 at her home in London on Aldersgate Street (Hannay, 205). After her funeral service at St. Paul's Cathedral, her body was taken to Wiltshire for burial in Salisbury Cathedral, alongside her husband.

A portrait of Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke in her old age, circa 1614. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

The Countess was replaced by her sons at court; both William and Philip found favor under James I. Both continued the work of their parents, becoming patrons of the arts. The 2nd Earl and Countess of Pembroke leave a shared legacy as patrons of the arts in England's Golden Age. Separately, Henry Herbert was one of the leading figures in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and Mary Herbert was a pioneer, being the first English woman to create a successful literary career for herself.

Authors Note:
Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Mary Sidney-Herbert, Countess of Pembroke are two of my favorite Elizabethans, so it seemed fitting that I make them my 'pilot' Elizabethan Power Couple. I first discovered the Countess of Pembroke and her works when I studied English literature as an undergrad. I became more familiar with the Earl through independent research for James C. Donnelly, Jr., the President of the Board of Trustee's at the Higgins Armory Museum and a member of the Shakespeare Club of Worcester. I am blessed that the Earl of Pembroke's armor is in the Higgins collection, and I visit it every day that I am at work!

UPDATE: The Worcester Art Museum bought the Higgins collection and the Higgins Armory Museum closed.

Ashlie R. Jensen as Queen Elizabeth I, with 3-quarter length Italian armor, probably that of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester MA.

Sources

Hannay, Margaret P. Philip's Phoenix: Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Print.

Hannay, Margaret P. Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (1561-1621). Cambridge U,
     2000. Web. 27 September 2012.


Rathmell, John C. A. ed. "Introduction." Sir Philip Sidney transl., and Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke transl. The Psalms of Sir Philip Sidney and the Countess of Pembroke. Alternate Title: The Psalmes of David. New York: New York University Press, 1963.  

Palmer, Michael. Reputations: Elizabeth I. Bath Press, 1988. Print.

Wagner, John A. The Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World. Print.

"Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (c.1538-1601)." Dictionary of National Biography. 
     Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee, eds. Vol 26, Smith, Elder, & co., 1891. pg 189-90. 
     Electronic.

"William, third Earl of Pembroke (1580-1630)." Dictionary of National Biography. 
     Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee, eds.Vol 26, Smith, Elder, & co., 1891. pp 227-228. 
     Electronic.

Theatre Thurs: John of Gaunt's Description of England in Richard II

A portrait of 14th century Prince John of Gaunt, painted circa 1593 for Sir Edward Hoby of Queensborough Castle, Kent. This portrait currently resides in the collection of a descendant of John of Gaunt and his third wife, Katherine Swynford,  the Duke of Beaufort. In addition to being the Duke of the vast and agriculturally rich duchy of Lancaster,  John of Gaunt was the titular King of Castile and Leon, (through his second wife) and Duke of Aquitaine, Earl of Derby, Leicester and Lincoln, and Seneschal of England. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

One of my favorite historical personages, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (14th century), was immortalized in Shakespeare's tragedy Richard II. In the play, Gaunt delivers one of the most famous descriptions of England in literature, in Act 2, Scene 1.

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,...
...This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death! 

The ruins of Kenilworth Castle. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Dave. Image public domain.

Interestingly, Kenilworth Castle, which Queen Elizabeth I gave to her life-long favorite Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester in 1563, was previously in the possession of John of Gaunt.

Theatre Thursday: Shakespeare and Ovid

A modern interpretation, after the Roman style, of the poet Ovid. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons courtesy the artist, Aureola. Image public domain.

Shakespeare admired Ovid, (43 B.C.-17 A.D.) and he drew a great deal of inspiration from his body of work. Ovid's Metamorphoses was the work that Shakespeare appears to have studied the most; Metamorphoses was a collection of stories from the ancient Greek and Roman myths. The Elizabethan people regarded the knowledge and aesthetic of the classical world as a muse for art, theatre, literature, and even decorative etching on armor. 

The frontispiece of a 1567 edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated from Latin into English by "Arthur Golding, gentleman." This page also prominently displays the heraldic bear and ragged staff of Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. I have been unable to confirm with certainty that this work was commissioned by him, but all evidence would suggest that it probably was. If anyone has more information on this, please comment or email me! Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Francis Meres was an Elizabethan author who received his M.A. at Oxford and wrote the Wits Treasury, which was a valuable compendium of information on Elizabethan poets. Wits Treasury is acknowledged in the Shakespeare circle as being the first account with  merit on on the early works of Shakespeare, even establishing some basic chronology of the publications of the works. Meres, who was well acquainted with Shakespeare's gift, compared the Bard's work to Ovid's, saying:

"The sweet witty soul of Ovid lives in mellifluous and honey-tongued Shakespeare."

Sources:  

Francis Meares, Alumni Cantabrigienses, (online edition) Cambridge University Press.

Elizabethan Fact of the Day: William Camden's Priceless "Annals of Queen Elizabeth"

The frontispiece and title page from the 1675 edition of The Annals (History) of Queen Elizabeth. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

William Camden (1551-1623) was an Elizabethan/Stuart antiquarian and author. His Annals of Queen Elizabeth is widely considered to be the most accurate contemporary source account of Elizabeth I and her reign (Wagner, 12). The Annals full and proper title, it should be mentioned, is The Annals or the History of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princess Elizabeth, Late Queen of England. Containing All the Most Important and Remarkable Passages of State, Both at Home and Abroad (So Far as They Were Linked with English Affairs) during Her Long and Prosperous Reign. Phew!

The account was begun only five years after Queen Elizabeth I's death, in 1608, and Camden had experienced her reign personally. Unlike other "Annals" of the time, which had a distinct tabloid flavor, (example: Holinshed's Chronicles) Camden's work is based entirely on oral interviews and written sources, rather than hearsay and gossip (Wagner, 12).

Camden had personal access to the state papers of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and other members of the Elizabethan administration. Many of these members were still living, and they shared information with him personally (Wagner, 12).



My favorite portrait of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, riding a mule. Although Burghley was dead at the time of Camden's research and writing, Camden had access to the extensive records that Burghley kept. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


Camden had a great regard for Elizabeth I, and he believed her memory, "...among Englishmen ought ever to be...sacred." Still, he sought to write the facts, rather than his opinion of her and the events that transpired during her reign. Though an Anglican, Camden's work was written in Latin, (ANNALES RERUM ANGLICARUM et HIBENNICARUM REGNANTE ELIZABETH). His Annals is also surprisingly void of the anti-Catholic sentiment which filled the writing of the early 17th century, under the reign of James I.



William Camden was depicted in the famous Funeral Procession of Queen Elizabeth illustration. He is the man wearing the hood in the middle, and the inscription above him describes his role, saying "The coat borne by William Cambden, Clarenceux King of Arms". The 'coat' is the tabbard he holds, bearing the royal heraldry of the House of Tudor. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


The first volume was started in 1608, and published in 1615 (Wagner, 12). Needless to say, it was a huge success.Volume 1 covered the years 1558 (the years when Elizabeth took the throne) to 1588 (the year of the defeat of the Spanish Armada). The second volume was completed in 1617, but was unfortunately not published in London until 1627, four years after Camden's death.



A 1609 engraving of William Camden. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


I encourage all admirer's and scholars of Queen Elizabeth I and her achievements to purchase, or at least read a translated copy of William Camden's Annals of Queen Elizabeth.

Sources:

The History of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princes Elizabeth, Late Queen of England edited by Wallace T. MacCaffrey, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.

Wagner, John A. The Historic Dictionary of the Elizabethan World. Print.

(Page 12) 

Theatre Thursday: Literary Rivalries of Elizabethan London

It is no secret that the theatrical type thrives on drama. Broadway and the West End are no more competitive and sensational than the 16th century theatre community along the Thames.

Robert Greene (c.1558-1592) wrote an attack on a playwright in Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit bought with a million of Repentance, whom he refers to as "Shake-scene". Most literary scholars agree that through a copious amount of allusions, puns and references it can be determined that the object of Greene's disdain was Shakespeare, although most anti-Stratfordian's disagree (and whoever you think Shakespeare was or certainly wasn't, I thinkwe can all agree that, by any other name, there was still a genius who wrote the plays). In any case, Greene's dislike of Shakespeare was so strong and so bitter that he was willing to devote the last moments of his own life to speak ill of his competition. Greene's rant was found in his personal papers after his death, and published posthumously.

A woodcut of Robert Greene writing in his burial shroud, symbolizing that his words come from beyond the grave. This woodcut is from the title page of English author and Greene- follower John Dickenson's Greene in conceipt: New raised from his grave to write the Tragic History of Valeria of London (1598) . Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Greene was an eccentric character-flamboyant in both his mannerisms and clothing. Greene mastered the art of self-promotion, publishing pamphlets about the exploits of himself and his fellow rogues and rakes to boost his own popularity. Green's most successful works were The Honarable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (1591) which was first performed in 1594, two years after his death, and The Comical History of Alphonsus, King of Aragon (c.1590). Some have suggested that the faerie characters present in his work The Scottish History of James the Fourth, Slain at Flodden (1590) inspired Shakespeare's use of faeries in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Wagner, 129). An earlier play, Pandosto (1588) has a plot similar to Shakespeare's later work  A Winter's Tale, though the plot of the latter likely drew inspiration from a variety of other materials.


The title-page of the first edition of Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit, which most scholars agree is an attack on the great English dramatist Shakespeare. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 We know that Greene had masters from Cambridge in 1583, and that he earned another at Oxford in 1588. But Greene preferred the life of a bohemian to the life of an academic, and according to Greene's own pamphlets (much of which we can assume was sensationalized) he abandoned his well-born wife and child in Norwich for a life in the theatre (Wagner, 129). If born in modern times, this man with the red beard, formed to a devilish point with sculpting wax, would have been ready-made for reality television.

Playwright and poet Ben Jonson (c.1572-1637) felt that Shakespeare's seemingly never-ending production of material was a sign of carelessness. Of course, it is also quite possible that Jonson was just jealous of Shakespeare's talent, (not that Jonson was lacking any himself) or perhaps that he was just a little irritated at Shakespeare's fame. Jonson took pride in revising his work until he deemed it to perfect, and he frowned on others who did not do the same. In Timber, published after his death, Jonson wrote that he had heard much of Shakespeare's lack of revision, saying, "Whatsoever he penned, he never blotted out a line." Jonson mused slyly, "Would he had blotted a thousand."

One of Jonson's earliest plays, The Case is Altered is startlingly similar in its story arch and themes to Shakespeare's Italian comedies. But Jonson's craft developed over time, and he soon received a lot of praise for his comedic plays, earning a reputation as one of the best humorists of the Elizabethan theatre scene. He is best remembered for plays like The Devil is an Ass, (and one has to love it for the title alone!) Eastward Ho, and The Magnetic Lady. Jonson also enjoyed the prestige of writing masques for the court of King James I, Queen Elizabeth's successor, as part of the newly formed company The Kings Men (Wagner, 170).



The title page of the 1616 edition of Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. As the title page explains, the play was first performed in 1598 by The Lord Chamberlain's Men. The Lord Chamberlain at this time was Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, who depending on who you asked, was either a maternal cousin or a half-brother of Queen Elizabeth I. Stratfordian's will recognize that Shakespeare was a member of the company The Lord Chamberlain's Men (Wagner, 61). Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 All good artists, whatever their craft, draw inspiration from one another. They use their rivalries, real or manufactured, as motivation to do better, (or outdo their peers) and as a way to generate attention. (And I am sure that we all can think of many celebrity "feuds" that gain artists attention today.) In the end, Jonson expressed some repressed admiration for Shakespeare, writing "there was ever more in him to be praised than pardoned." He also declared of Shakespeare, "He was not of an age, but for all time."

I do not think that Shakespeare could have written his own epitaph better than that.



A detail of The Chandos Portrait of William Shakespeare, long thought to be the only portrait of the "Bard of Avon" painted from life until the discovery of The Cobbe Portrait in 2009. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.



Source:

Wagner, John A. Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World. Print.

(Pages 61, 129-130, 170-171.)

On this Day in Elizabethan History: Dec 30th & 31st

On December 30th, 1568, Roger Ascham, renowned Cambridge scholar, lecturer and author, and most notably the tutor of Princess Elizabeth Tudor, died. Ascham maintained a lengthy correspondence with the young princess before he was appointed as her tutor in the household of Queen Dowager Katherine Parr. Ascham's copious praise of Elizabeth's academic abilities to his peers and superiors is genuine and showed what faith Ascham had in his pupil's potential. (

To read more about Ascham and Elizabeth's relationship, and her rigorous studies under his advisement, please see my article An Education: The Shaping of Elizabeth I Through Childhood Events and Academic Pursuits, published exclusively at On the Tudor Trail.

Portrait of Elizabeth Tudor c. 1546,  attributed to William Scrots. In the Royal Collection, residing in Windsor Castle. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

To give you an idea of the caliber of man Ascham was, even outside of his relationship with Elizabeth I, I would like to share with you a brief episode from his life, five years before he died, that I came across in D.M. Palliser's "The Age of Elizabeth: England under the later Tudor's".I have paraphrased it, below:

Roger Ascham was in attendance at a dinner hosted by William Cecil in 1563. The conversation turned to the distressing news that some boys from Eton College had run away from school because they feared the brutal beatings of their teachers.

Some of the dinner guests favored the longstanding practice of corporal punishment for pupils, but Cecil, among others agreed with the progressive Ascham that England should transition to a gentler form of education; an education that would be no less academically challenging, but more governed by positive reinforcement than negative. One of Ascham's greatest works, The Schoolmaster, first published posthumously in 1570, concerned the matter of Elizabethan education.

~BONUS~

On this Day in Elizabethan History...December 31st

Portrait of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester c. 1564. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.



And, in recognition of New Years, I will also share with you a very special gift that Elizabeth received from her beloved Earl of Leicester for the New Years celebrations of 1585:

 "First, a sable skynne, the hedd and four feete of gold, fully garnished with dyamonds and rubyes of sundry sorts."-from Progresses of Queen Elizabeth by John Nichols

A Happy New Year to all my BeingBess readers! Your support of this site galvanizes me to keep doing what I am doing; I am so happy to share Elizabeth and her remarkable story with many people worldwide who love her as I do.

You truly are my "Pastyme with goode companye"

I wish for health, happiness, and safety for you and yours in 2012...and of course, much more Queen Elizabeth I in the coming year!

Sources:

Palliser, D.M. The Age of Elizabeth: England under the later Tudor's. Print.

Nichols, John. Progresses of Queen Elizabeth. Electronic.

Elizabethan Quote of the Day: An Excerpt From "The Faerie Queen"

Today I would like to share with you an excerpt from one of the most famous literary works composed to honor Queen Elizabeth I, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. (Note: some of the contemporary spelling had been retained to preserve the authenticity of the verse)

A picture of Queen Elizabeth receiving foreign ambassadors, by Elizabeth's female court painter Leevina Teerlinc. In my opinion, Teerlinc has an Edward Gorey like style! The practice of painting the walls in the court rooms is sumptuously brought to life in the Helen Mirren HBO miniseries Elizabeth I.

"High above all a cloth of State was spred,

And a rich throne, as bright as sunny day,

On whiche sate most brave embellished

With  royall robes and gorgeous array,

A mayden queene, that shone as Titans ray,

In glistring gold, and peerelesse pretious stones

Yet her bright blazing beautie did assay

To dim the brightnesse of her glorius throne,

As envying her selfe, that too exceeding shone."