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CAROLE LEVIN
THEREIGN AND
LIFE OF QUEEN
ELIZABETH I
Politics, Culture, and Society
Queenship and Power
Series Editors
Charles E. Beem, University of North Carolina, Pembroke, NC, USA
Carole Levin, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
This series focuses on works specializing in gender analysis, women’s studies,
literary interpretation, and cultural, political, constitutional, and diplomatic
history. It aims to broaden our understanding of the strategies that queens—
both consorts and regnants, as well as female regents—pursued in order to
wield political power within the structures of male-dominant societies. The
works describe queenship in Europe as well as many other parts of the world,
including East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Islamic civilization.
More information about this series at

https://link.springer.com/bookseries/14523
Carole Levin
The Reign and Life

of Queen Elizabeth I
Politics, Culture, and Society
Carole Levin
Willa Cather Professor of History
Emeritus
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE, USA
ISSN 2730-938X ISSN 2730-9398 (electronic)

Queenship and Power
ISBN 978-3-030-93008-0 ISBN 978-3-030-93009-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93009-7
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2022
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher,
whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation,
reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any
other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation,
computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in
this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher
nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material
contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains
neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: incamerastock/Alamy Stock Photo
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
My wonderful family and friends made all the difference during my
misadventures during my three months in Washington DC to do research for
this project in 2019. On the first day, I tripped on a loose brick and fractured
my elbow, and a few weeks before I was leaving, I was as a pedestrian hit by a
car. The help and love I received made all the difference.
This book is for
Rohana, David, Erika, Nancy, and Renee
with so much love
Acknowledgments
I loved working on this book, and I have so many people to thank. I am deeply
grateful to Sam Stocker, my editor at Palgrave, for all his help and support.
I spent three months in Washington DC at the Folger Shakespeare Library
in 2019. The Folger is such a wonderful place to do research, and the kindness
of the staff, especially with my misadventures, meant everything.
As I was working on this book, my life and the lives of everyone changed
drastically in March 2020. Working on this book in the midst of a pandemic
meant a number of added difficulties. I am so grateful for the help from Lia
Markey at the Newberry Library. I appreciate all the support from the Univer-
sity of Nebraska, especially the staff at Love Library. I also am grateful to Jess
and Jason during this trying time for helping me keep my body strong so my
mind could keep focused.
Many thanks to Courtney Herber, who was so helpful in the research
and preparation of this book, Jack Ellis, who gave me such useful technical
help, and especially Jaime Rea Moore, who provided such valuable research
assistance and meticulous help in preparing the manuscript.
I am deeply grateful to Jo Eldridge Carney for her help on this book
project and for so much else over many years of friendship and shared scholarly
interests.
Good friends and generous scholars Pamela Starr and Linda Austern were
so helpful on music at Elizabeth’s court. Estelle Paranque provided her
expertise on the French monarchy and dear friendship.
So many friends were pillars over the years that I worked on this book.
When I wrote about Elizabeth’s friends I thought about my own friends
and my gratitude for them: Elaine, Pamela, Mary Ann, Anya, Ilona, Mary
Ellen, Pat, Jane, Marcia, Michele, Musa, Marguerite, Harriet, Dean, Nicki,
Lisa, Donald, Tim, Nate, Alicia, Kaley, Alyson, Cassie, Chelsea, Catherine,
Alan, Katy, Patty, John, Gerald and Stas, Joye, Todd and Colleen, Sue, Helen,
Tess, Bob, Gina, Charles, Cinzia, Nan, Rick and Casey, Judith, Jillian, Karolyn,
ix
x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Linda, Jess, Valerie, Ellie, Emily, Christina, Richie, Tony, Rick and Payiotis,
Joye, Mark, Christine and Brock. I have also been thinking about my oldest
friends, especially Banisa, and one of my newest friends, Sal. Thank you to
everyone for so much love, help, and support.
“I count myself in nothing else so happy as in a soul remembering my good
friends ”
William Shakespeare
Praise for
The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I
“There is no such thing as too many books on Elizabeth I and Carole Levin
once more proves it. This textbook is the pinnacle of Elizabethan studies.
Thoroughly researched with new primary evidence, scholars and students alike
will find it indispensable for the study of Elizabeth I’s reign. This is undoubt-
edly a significant contribution to our understanding not only of the queen
herself but of the politics and culture of her reign and as usual Carole Levin
shows what a groundbreaking scholar she truly is.”
— Estelle Paranque, New College of the Humanities, London, UK
“This lively and comprehensive book provides a wealth of information about

the queenship of Elizabeth I, but it is also accessible, engaging, entertaining,
and often surprising. Researched with a detective’s painstaking attention to
archival detail that characterizes all of Levin’s work, The Reign and Life of
Queen Elizabeth I demonstrates that there are still new revelations to be
uncovered about this fascinating monarch. Information about Elizabeth and
the wide net she cast that has been neglected or overlooked is highlighted here,
alongside attention to events and issues that were relevant in the sixteenth
century and still resonate today. Students and scholars at every level and early
modern enthusiasts in general will find this book an invaluable resource for
opening up fresh doorways to Elizabeth and her world.”
—Jo Carney, The College of New Jersey, USA
“A result of Levin’s nonpareil archival research and decades of her seminal

scholarship on Queen Elizabeth I, this book situates meticulously researched
facts about Elizabeth’s queenship within broader political, religious, social,
and cultural issues, developments, and events. The Reign and Life of Queen
Elizabeth I is both an encyclopedia and textbook, and it will serve as an invalu-
able asset for teachers, students, and scholars alike. This book is a treasury of
xi
xii PRAISE FOR THE REIGN AND LIFE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH I
new information that clarifies and illuminates the historical record and brings
Elizabeth’s world to life like never before.”
—Anna Riehl Bertolet, Auburn University, USA
“An elegant journey through Elizabeth I’s reign, queenship, and life, this
volume is divided into sections that explore privy councilors, ranking statesmen
and churchmen, and personal friends. Fresh substance and original insights
encountered here prove there is still more to learn about this Tudor queen.
Its format makes it useful in the classroom with a variety of independent essays.
A crowning achievement of scholarship and archival sleuthing.”
—Renee Bricker, University of North Georgia, USA
Contents
1 Introduction: Elizabeth I 1
Part I Politics and Religion

2 The Coronation 13
3 The Privy Council 19
4 Elizabeth’s Parliaments 49
5 The Archbishops of Canterbury 59
6 Courtships and Favorites 69
7 Potential Heirs to Elizabeth’s Throne 91
8 Ambassadors at Elizabeth’s Court 111
9 Assassination Attempts, Plots, and Rebellions 139
10 The Spanish Armada 167
Part II Society and Culture

11 Elizabeth’s England and Others 177
12 Mirrors 209
13 Dreaming Elizabeth 215
14 Women Friends of Queen Elizabeth 229
15 Slander Gossip Rumors 241
16 Elizabeth’s Pleasures 259
xiii
xiv CONTENTS
Bibliography 289
Index 295
Chronology
1533 Birth of Queen Elizabeth.

1536 Execution of her mother Anne Boleyn.
2nd Act of Succession. Elizabeth, with older sister Mary, declared
illegitimate by Parliament and excluded from rights to the throne.
1537 Birth of Edward VI.
1543 3rd Act of Succession, restoring Mary and Elizabeth’s claims to the
throne, but not restoring their legitimacy.
1547 Death of Henry VIII of England. Accession of Edward VI.
1553 Death of Edward VI, his will excluded his two sisters
Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen.
Ten days later, Mary Tudor proclaimed Queen.
1554 Elizabeth was sent to the Tower of London, Later under house arrest.
1558 Mary I died. Elizabeth ascended the throne.
1559 Coronation of Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth’s Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity passed.
1561 Widowed Mary Stuart returned to Scotland from France.
1562 Elizabeth was seriously ill with smallpox.
1563 Thirty-Nine Articles issued.
1565 Mary Stuart married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, murdered in 1567.
1566 Birth of James VI of Scotland (and later I of England).
1567 Mary married James, Earl of Bothwell, presumed murderer of Darnley;
forced to abdicate. Infant son James was proclaimed King of Scotland.
1568 Mary fled to England.
1569 The Northern Rebellion.
1570 Elizabeth was excommunicated by Pope Pius V.
1571 The Ridolfi Plot to assassinate Elizabeth.
1572 Duke of Norfolk executed for treason for his involvement in the Ridolfi
Plot.
1581 Francis Drake brought back great wealth from his world voyage;
knighted; Spain enraged.
1579, 1581 Francis, Duke of Anjou visited England, hoping to marry Elizabeth.
1583 Throckmorton plot to assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on
the throne. Following year Throckmorton executed.
xv
xvi CHRONOLOGY
1584 Assassination of William of Orange.

The Bond of Association formed: loyal subjects pledged Elizabeth
assassinated the person for whom the assassination was performed
would be executed.
1585 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester left England for the Netherlands to
lead forces there against the Spanish; returned to England in 1586.
1586 Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the
English throne.
1586 Trial of Mary Stuart.
1587 Mary Stuart was executed for treason.
1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth delivered Tilbury speech.
Death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
1590 Death of Sir Francis Walsingham.
1591 Death of Sir Christopher Hatton.
1598 Death of William Cecil, Lord Burghley.
1598 Death of Philip II of Spain.
1599 Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex sent to Ireland to suppress the
rebellion; failed, returned to court without permission.
1601 Essex rebellion.
Essex executed.
Elizabeth delivered Golden Speech.
1603 Queen Elizabeth died. James VI of Scotland proclaimed James I King
of England.
List of Figures
Fig. 2.1 Queen Elizabeth wearing crown private collection 14

Fig. 3.1 Burghley, Elizabeth, Walsingham private collection 20
Fig. 5.1 Elizabeth with Bishops private collection 60
Fig. 6.1 Duke of Alençon, later Anjou private collection 81
Fig. 6.2 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester private collection 83
Fig. 7.1 Mary Stuart private collection 103
Fig. 8.1 Elizabeth receiving the French ambassadors private collection 112
Fig. 8.2 St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre 128
Fig. 8.3 Spanish ambassador expelled from England private collection 134
Fig. 9.1 Somerville attempted assassination private collection 150
Fig. 9.2 Babington plot private collection 153
Fig. 10.1 Spanish Armada Private Collection 168
Fig. 10.2 Elizabeth in procession to St. Paul’s private collection 172
Fig. 10.3 Elizabeth surrounded by her people private collection 173
Fig. 11.1 Lopez private collection 201
Fig. 13.1 Anne Boleyn private collection 217
Fig. 13.2 Elizabeth signing death warrant private collection 220
Fig. 14.1 Elizabethan women private collection 230
Fig. 16.1 Elizabeth watching play private collection 284
xvii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction: Elizabeth I
This book provides a thorough discussion of various aspects of the life of

Queen Elizabeth and her reign. The book is divided thematically into several
sections. Part I focuses on aspects of the complex political trajectory of Eliz-
abeth’s long rule, including the many assassination plots and attempts, her
various courtships and court favorites, the many members of her Privy Council,
her relationship with Parliament, and the ever-present pressures of religious
conflict. Some of the units, such as the one of Elizabeth’s coronation, are
stand-alone essays, but most of the more extensive units are subdivided. Part
II is concerned with the cultural and social landscape of the Elizabethan era,
including units on foreigners in England, especially those with connections to
the court; the queen’s friends; slander, rumor, and gossip about the queen;
her own dreams and others about her; and the activities that amused and
interested the queen. While these units are organized around discrete themes,
cross-references have been included to show the considerable connections
among the various subjects. I have modernized the spelling so that the book is
more accessible. Scholarship on Queen Elizabeth I is extensive, but this book
demonstrates that a study of her reign can continue to reveal new and fasci-
nating information about her queenship and her surrounding world. The rest
of the introduction provides the reader with a biography of Elizabeth.
There was great excitement in September 1533 as Henry VIII’s second
queen, for whom he had broken with the Catholic Church, was about to give
birth to a child that Henry was sure would be his son. Convinced that he
must have a legitimate male heir, the Tudor king had declared his marriage
to Catherine of Aragon invalid and their daughter Mary, the sole child of the
union to survive infancy, a bastard. But on September 7 Anne Boleyn gave
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2022
C. Levin, The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I,
Queenship and Power, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93009-7_1
2 C. LEVIN
birth to another daughter, this one named Elizabeth. In less than three years
Anne Boleyn was dead, executed by her husband with five other men, one of
whom was her own brother, who were named, most improbably, as her lovers.
Elizabeth too was declared a bastard. Only ten days later Henry married Jane
Seymour. By the Second Act of Succession of June 1536, it became treason to
declare Elizabeth an heir to the throne. In October 1537 Henry finally had
the son he craved, though Jane died soon after the birth. While Henry married
three more times, Edward was his last child.
Before she was three years old Elizabeth went from the title of Princess and
heir to the throne, to being declared a bastard. As a child she focused on her
studies and the affection of her governess, Kat Ashley. If she did not know
her mother’s fate before, she surely learned about it when Henry also had
his fifth wife Katherine Howard, a cousin of Elizabeth’s mother Anne Boleyn,
executed for having taken lovers. No doubt the gossip about Katherine also
included Anne Boleyn’s fate as well. Elizabeth, eight years at the time of her
stepmother’s execution, declared that she would never marry. It was not until
the third act of succession in July 1543 toward the end of Henry’s reign that,
while still considered illegitimate, Elizabeth and Mary were restored to the
succession after Edward. This was also ratified by Henry VIII’s last will.
Elizabeth, whatever her status, received an excellent education that she
took very seriously. Her tutor Roger Ascham stated that the young Elizabeth
worked as hard on her studies as any man, and that she also had an excel-
lent memory for anything she learned. In her sister Mary’s reign, the Venetian
ambassador wrote of Elizabeth’s skill in languages, calling her a good scholar
of Greek and Latin, adding that she could speak Latin, French, Spanish, and
Italian.
Elizabeth’s life was difficult during the reign of her father and became
more so in the reigns of her half-brother Edward VI (1547–1553) and
half-sister Mary I (1553–1558). After her father’s death she lived with her
last stepmother, Katherine Parr. But scandalously soon after her husband’s
death, Katherine married Thomas Seymour, younger uncle to the new king.
The older Seymour brother, Edward, became Duke of Somerset and Lord
Protector to the nine-year-old king. While in the dowager queen’s household,
Elizabeth had to deal with Seymour’s sexual advances. The situation eventually
became fraught enough that Katherine, pregnant with her first child, suggested
it would be better for Elizabeth to live elsewhere. While the two maintained a
friendly correspondence, Elizabeth never saw Katherine Parr again, as she died
soon after giving birth to a daughter. Rumors spread that the new widower
would marry Elizabeth, and some even claimed that Elizabeth was pregnant
with Seymour’s child.
While Elizabeth in fact was very cautious about any connection with
Seymour, his behavior became increasingly dangerous, with counterfeiting
money and plans to kidnap the young king. In, January 1549 he was arrested
and sent to the Tower, as were members of Elizabeth’s household. Both her
governess Katherine Ashley and her treasurer Thomas Parry were lodged in the
1 INTRODUCTION: ELIZABETH I 3
Tower and in terror gave information about the goings on between Thomas
Seymour and Elizabeth when she lived in the Dowager Queen’s household.
The Lord Protector dispatched Sir Robert Tyrwhit and his wife to Hatfield
to take charge of Elizabeth’s household and wring a confession from her. Eliz-
abeth refused; she wanted her innocence publicly proclaimed and her servants
freed and returned to her. While Seymour was executed on March 20, 1549,
Elizabeth at the age of fifteen survived through her intelligence and prudence.
Elizabeth was intensely loyal and committed herself to protecting Ashley and
Parry and having them return to her household.
The Duke of Somerset soon after lost his power and then his head. He
was executed January 22, 1552, and John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland,
became the most influential man in the reign of the young king. Elizabeth did
well for the rest of her brother’s reign, and William Cecil, Principal Secre-
tary of State under the Duke of Northumberland, also was employed by
Elizabeth as he supervised her accounts. This was the beginning of a very
important working relationship that would continue for almost half a century.
But in the spring of 1553 the fifteen-year-old Edward VI was very ill. The
young king, either of his own initiative, or at Northumberland’s suggestion,
removed both of his sisters from the succession in favor of his cousin, Lady
Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary, and recently
married to Northumberland’s youngest son Guildford. The reason given was
that Mary was a Catholic and while Elizabeth was not, she might marry a
foreign Catholic.
Since Edward was not yet of age and Henry’s Act of Succession had the
force of Parliament, this was illegal. Northumberland had hoped to have the
king’s two sisters under his control at the death of the king, but he failed,
and many were deeply unhappy after Edward’s death on July 6 to have Jane
pronounced the next monarch. Mary proclaimed herself queen, Northumber-
land’s troops deserted him, and she became queen without a battle. Mary
was the old king’s daughter and rightful heir and even those who were anti-
Catholic supported her rightful succession. This meant unless Mary had a child
of her own Elizabeth was the next heir.
Mary was the first queen regnant in England and Elizabeth learned a great
deal about what to do, and what not to do, from watching Mary rule. Mary
soon restored the realm to its obedience to Rome and, at the age of thirty-
seven, was eager to marry so that she might produce an heir. The queen
pressured Elizabeth to convert to Catholicism and attend Mass. While Eliza-
beth attended Catholic religious ceremonies on occasion she did so with clear
reluctance.
While at first Mary welcomed Elizabeth warmly, the relationship between
the two sisters worsened, and finally in December of 1553 Mary allowed Eliz-
abeth to leave court. Mary announced that she would marry her cousin Philip
of Spain, son of Charles V, a decision highly unpopular with many of the
English people. A February 1554 rebellion against the marriage led by Sir
Thomas Wyatt failed, and Elizabeth was in even more danger than she had
4 C. LEVIN
been in her brother’s reign, as any evidence of her collusion would lead to
her death. Some of Mary’s advisors, especially the Spanish ambassador Simon
Renard, argued that such evidence was unnecessary. For the safety of Mary
and her future husband Philip, Elizabeth should die, just as Lady Jane had
already been executed after the Wyatt rebellion. Though Elizabeth was for a
time in the Tower she managed to survive this crisis as well, and Philip came
to believe it preferable to have Elizabeth as a potential ally.
In July 1554 Mary married Prince Philip. Within a few months many were
convinced that she was pregnant. What proved to be a phantom pregnancy
was disheartening for the queen. In February 1555 she began heresy trials, and
over the course of three years more than three hundred people were burned
to death. This policy was extremely unpopular. About 800 Protestants also
fled the country. Philip convinced Mary to join in his war against France, and
Calais, the last English holding at the end of the Hundred Years War, was lost
in January 1558, which also greatly troubled the English. Elizabeth last saw
Mary in February. On November 17 Mary died and Elizabeth was now queen
of England.
In 1558 the country had a surprisingly smooth transition to Elizabeth,
given the crises that had happened only five years earlier when Edward VI had
died and Mary’s hostility to Elizabeth as her heir. There was a rush of relief
over the death of Mary and the endings of the burning of heretics. Many of
the English, distressed by Mary’s religious persecution and losing the war with
France, were delighted with their new young queen, though some worried
that her reign would be short and chaos would follow. There was deep anxiety
over whether the reign of a twenty-five-year-old woman would be any more
successful than the previous woman’s rule.
Sir Thomas Smith, scholar, diplomatic, and for some years one of the Prin-
cipal Secretaries, later wrote that when Elizabeth acceded the throne England
was the weakest he had ever known, and he felt ashamed of both his country
and his countrymen. Elizabeth began her rule working hard to put England on
stronger footing. Her first step was to appoint Sir William Cecil, a man of great
experience and commitment, as her Principal Secretary of State. He would be
the most important man in her government largely due to Elizabeth’s trust in
him.
Elizabeth had a long and fruitful partnership with Cecil. He greatly influ-
enced foreign policy from 1558 to 1572 while he was Principal Secretary.
When he became Lord Treasurer and Baron Burghley, and Sir Francis Wals-
ingham succeeded him as Secretary from 1573 to 1590, Elizabeth still
consulted Cecil on foreign as well as domestic policy, and most ambassadors
and agents continued to correspond with him as well as with Walsingham. Her
other early appointments included Robert Dudley, son of the executed Duke
of Northumberland, as Master of the Horse. He was eventually created Earl of
Leicester. Her relationship with Dudley was based on personal affection, and
for years he tried, though unsuccessfully, to convince her to marry him.
Sir Francis Knollys became the Vice-Chamberlain, and Nicholas Bacon her
Lord Keeper. Elizabeth kept less than a third of Mary’s councilors for her
Privy Council and decided on a smaller one. She also excluded virtually all
clergymen. The only one of note in her Council in her whole reign was John
Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, whom she appointed in the 1580s. She
also had a completely new list of women of the Privy Chamber and ladies-in-
waiting, as it was important to have women, especially at the beginning of the
reign, she could trust. She kept many women who had been so loyal to her
before she became queen, particularly Kat Ashley who became Chief Gentle-
woman of the Privy Chamber. As her reign progressed, Thomas Radcliffe, the
Earl of Sussex, Sir Christopher Hatton, and Sir Francis Walsingham became
members of the Privy Council; Walsingham especially was a critical advisor to
her.
Elizabeth’s coronation was symbolically most important. The coronation
procession included many pageants and Elizabeth publicly expressed her
enjoyment of them all. It was difficult to find a bishop willing to perform the
coronation ceremony. Finally, Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, agreed.
Elizabeth insisted that her coronation oath be administered from an English
Bible, which William Cecil held up.
Elizabeth had many palaces. While Whitehall was her main base, she also
was frequently at Hampton Court or Richmond. Many summers Elizabeth
went on progress through some of the counties either visiting her rural
properties or her wealthy subjects, who paid dearly for the honor.
As a new queen what was most important to Elizabeth was that she was
queen of all of the English, not just the Protestants, and that she worked hard
to bring about national unity. While Elizabeth may have hated her half-sister
and all for which she stood, Elizabeth did not seek revenge on those who
had supported her, nor did she allow those who had returned to power to
take retribution. She wanted a united aristocracy behind her and managed to
rally most of them to her cause. She wanted to be queen of an independent
England, to encourage old industries to grow and to develop new industries,
so the country would no longer be so dependent on imports from abroad.
She wanted to encourage trade, and as the reign progressed that trade spread
to Russia and the Middle East. She wanted to be queen of a strong England
that remained peaceful and not feel threatened by the great Catholic powers
on the continent, France and Spain.
Elizabeth cared about her subjects and was proud of how they cared about
her. As her earlier biographer William Camden stated, “So far was she from
giving way to any suspicion against her people, that she was many times wont
to say, that she could believe nothing of her people which parents would not
believe of their children” (Camden, 233).
There were two vital issues at the beginning of the reign. One was the
succession, which her advisors and the English people hoped would be easily
solved by getting the queen married—the question was to whom—and giving
birth to a child, preferably male. Elizabeth had a variety of suitors: her
6 C. LEVIN
former brother-in-law, Philip II; Philip’s cousin, the Archduke Charles; James
Hamilton, the Scottish Earl of Arran; Eric XIV of Sweden; and the sons of
Catherine de Medici, both Henri Duke of Anjou, later Henri III; and François,
Duke of Alençon, later Duke of Anjou. While at the beginning of her reign
there was a strong popular interest in Erik of Sweden, Elizabeth expressed no
enthusiasm; she also quickly declared it was impossible to consider marrying
Philip. Robert Dudley was also a forceful suitor for her hand, but the shocking
death of his wife Amy Robsart in 1560 made the possibility of this match
quite problematic. Each suitor, however, also had many critics. Courtship and
marriage negotiations continued for more than twenty years into the reign.
But if no one could agree on the right husband for Elizabeth, and she had
no child of her own, the succession was unsettled. According to the third act
of succession and Henry VII’s will, the descendants of Henry’s older sister
Margaret were excluded, and after Elizabeth the next heirs would be the
descendants of his younger sister Mary, which included the younger sisters
of the executed Jane Grey. Though Elizabeth claimed God would take care
of England, her Parliaments, Council, and her subjects thought she should
provide some care as well.
The other major issue at the beginning of the reign was religion. While
Catholic Mary had ruled, Elizabeth had been the hope of the reformers, a
hope only partially justified from their perspective once she became queen.
After the constant changes the English people had seen in regard to religion,
Elizabeth attempted a broadly based compromise. In 1559 Parliament defined
the official religion of England and its relationship to the state in a series
of statutes that began with Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity. Elizabeth’s
title was Supreme Governor of the Church, rather than Supreme Head of the
Church, which had been held by her father and brother. For many members
of Parliament, it would be blasphemy to have a woman Head of the Church.
But Elizabeth agreed to the title, she said, because Christ was the Supreme
Head of the Church, not a human being. And as Supreme Governor of the
Church she did what she thought best.
Mass was yet again abolished. The Act of Uniformity returned England to
the Edwardian Protestant form of worship. The form of the new service deter-
mined by the Act of Uniformity was the 1552 Book of Common Prayer with
some alterations that allowed the sacrament of the Eucharist interpreted in
many ways; people could understand Christ’s words at the Last Supper any way
they wished. The service was again in English, instead of the Latin of Mary’s
reign. In 1563, Convocations, the assembly of clergy, produced the Thirty-
Nine Articles, which provided the Elizabethan Church with a doctrinal basis,
with Parliamentary ratification in 1571. For Elizabeth this was now settled,
and she wanted no further changes. But some Protestants felt that she had
not taken the Church Settlement far enough.
As queen, Elizabeth regularly attended morning services in the royal chapel,
and she wrote her own private prayers for her daily worship. While she defined
herself publicly as a Protestant, Elizabeth also wanted some Catholic cere-

monial and traditions within her Church both for personal and for political
reasons. She loved elaborate Church music. She refused to believe that all
images were idolatrous. She also wanted the Catholic powers to tolerate her
and not launch a Holy Crusade against England, and she wanted the Lutheran
Princes in Germany to support her so wanted to maintain a moderate position.
Some elements of Church of England—such as vestments, crosses, and candle-
sticks—were similar to Catholic ritual. Elizabeth needed to reassure both
Lutherans and Catholics that England was not a Calvinist country, and Eliz-
abeth herself did not want an English Calvinist Church. At the beginning of
her reign she argued successfully with the Archbishop of Canterbury and other
church leaders over her use of a silver crucifix and candles in her royal chapel.
Elizabeth insisted that the clergy wear vestments similar to those of Catholic
priests, and she required them to continue many traditional ceremonies, such
as the making of the sign of the cross in baptism and requiring parishioners to
kneel for communion. Marriage for clergy was legal, but Elizabeth opposed
the idea, especially for bishops. Having arrived at that Settlement, Elizabeth
was satisfied, even if she did not find it ideal, and wanted it left alone. She
did not desire the thorough reform in the Church that many of her divines
and returned Marian exiles wanted. This was probably wise not only because
of Elizabeth’s own inclinations but because on her accession the majority of
the population were still Catholic in belief in terms of their theology, though
not in terms of obedience to the pope. Elizabeth’s Protestant regime had to
convince the people to leave their traditional beliefs and through preaching
and education convert the country to Protestantism. Elizabeth’s government
was outstandingly successful at this task. As her reign progressed, however,
she found she had to resist pressure from two different sides: Catholics and
Puritans, who were Calvinist in their leanings.
She was able to work well with some of the church hierarchy and had a
particularly fruitful relationship with her last Archbishop of Canterbury, John
Whitgift; she had, however, problems with many of her bishops, some of
whom felt Elizabeth did not support them adequately and she mistrusted
the more zealous Protestants among them. She was in especial conflict with
Edmund Grindal, who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1575 with the
support of both Burghley and Walsingham. The conflicts became so intense
that in 1577 Elizabeth ordered him suspended from exercising his office.
While he was not dismissed as archbishop, the suspension was never lifted;
effectively the Church had no active leader until his death in 1583 when he
was replaced with Whitgift.
The problems of religion and the succession were interconnected, especially
since Elizabeth remained unmarried and refused to name an heir. By primo-
geniture, Elizabeth’s Catholic cousin, Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland and the
granddaughter of Henry’s older sister Margaret, was the next heir. Some who
refused to recognize the legality of Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn argued
that Mary Stuart was the rightful queen. Mary had been raised at the French
8 C. LEVIN
court and eventually became the consort of Francis II. But after Francis’ death
in December 1560, Mary returned to Scotland. After the murder of her second
husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the suspected complicity of her
third husband James Hepburn, Lord Bothwell, Mary was imprisoned and
forced to abdicate; she managed to escape and fled to England in 1568.
Elizabeth’s problems with Catholic resurgence intensified when Mary
Stuart arrived in England, presenting Elizabeth’s government with what
seemed an insoluble problem. Elizabeth did not want to return Mary to Scot-
land as queen with full power, nor did she want to see the Scots execute Mary.
Allowing her to go on to France or Spain could enable Mary to return to
Scotland with an army, which could be turned against England. Elizabeth felt
she had no choice but to keep Mary in confinement. It turned out to be for
nineteen years.
Mary’s presence in England undermined the delicate religious balance,
leading to the Northern Rebellion in 1569 headed by the Earls of Northum-
berland and Westmoreland. During Mary’s captivity there were numerous
plots to assassinate Elizabeth, free the Scottish queen, and place Mary on
the English throne with the aid of foreign invasion. In the 1571 Ridolfi Plot
conspirators hoped to have Mary marry Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk,
and crown them king and queen of England after Elizabeth and Cecil were
assassinated. The following year Norfolk was executed. By 1584 Protestants
were so upset over the Scottish queen, they formed the Bond of Association,
where signatories threatened Mary with death if Elizabeth was assassinated.
Other events greatly worried the English and demonstrated the connec-
tions between religion and politics. In 1570 Pope Pius V excommunicated
Elizabeth, released all her subjects from any allegiance to her, and even threat-
ened excommunication to any who obeyed her. This was frightening, though
most English Catholics continued to be loyal to the queen. Another incident
that greatly troubled the English was the massacre of thousands of Protestants
in Paris on St. Bartholomew’s Day August 24, 1572. Elizabeth put her whole
court in mourning. In July 1584 the Protestant leader in the Netherlands,
William the Silent, Prince of Orange was assassinated by Balthasar Gerard, a
Catholic zealot, after Philip II of Spain put a price on William’s head. The
problems with Mary Stuart demonstrated the impact of religious division on
international politics.
The 1586 conspiracy led by the young highly born Anthony Babington
was yet another attempt to assassinate Elizabeth. Mary was put on trial for her
involvement. After some months Elizabeth finally signed Mary’s death warrant
and the Scottish queen was executed on February 8, 1587. Mary Stuart’s
execution helped to convince Philip of Spain that he could conquer England
and restore it to Catholicism without having a French queen as a result. Philip
finally committed himself to the invasion in 1587, but the Spanish Armada
was delayed for over year when Sir Francis Drake destroyed much of the
Spanish fleet at Cadiz. In the summer of 1588, after many delays, Philip II
launched the Armada under the command of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán y
de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, Duke of Medina Sidonia. Against the advice of some

of her councilors that she should stay safe in London, Elizabeth went to
Tilbury Camp to encourage the assembled troops. There was great fear that
the Armada might not be stopped at sea and there would be an invasion on
land. The speech Elizabeth gave, stating that she had the heart and stomach
of a king, was one of the most famous of her reign, though there are debates
over what exactly she said. The English naval force was under the command of
Charles Howard, Baron Howard of Effingham and later Earl of Nottingham,
and Sir Francis Drake. There were eight hours of intense fighting, and then the
Spanish decided to break off from the battle and retreat after a change in wind
direction. Thus, a combination of English naval skill and bad weather foiled
the invasion. There was great celebration and relief, and the English and their
queen celebrated elaborately at St. Paul’s on August 20, 1588 to give thanks
to God for this great Protestant victory.
Though this was a high point for Elizabeth, in a number of ways, the final
fifteen years of Elizabeth’s reign after the defeat of the Armada were difficult.
Her most trusted advisors died. To her great personal grief, she lost Robert
Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1588 soon after the Armada victory. Walsingham
died in 1590. Burghley’s death in 1598 was also especially difficult for Eliz-
abeth. The economy suffered from the drain of the long, expensive struggle
in Ireland that had been going on since the 1560s but finally reached crisis
proportions in the later 1590s as Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone led a rebellion.
Continued support to the Netherlands was also costly.
These foreign policy expenses were especially problematic as the 1590s
suffered from bad harvests and inflation. Ongoing struggles with Puritans over
the religious settlement were also divisive, as were the factions in Elizabeth’s
court. With the deaths of the Earl of Leicester and Sir Francis Walsingham, and
William Cecil’s declining health, there were serious power struggles among
some of the younger men at court for Elizabeth’s favor, especially Robert
Devereux, Earl of Essex and Sir Robert Cecil, Burghley’s second son. These
factions, with clear ideological components, hardened and became detrimental
to Elizabeth’s ability to rule.
In 1594 the Earl of Essex accused Elizabeth’s physician, Roderigo Lopez,
of Portugese Jewish background though outwardly an Anglican, of planning
to poison the queen. Though the evidence may have been problematic, he was
found guilty and executed. At his trial the Attorney-General Sir Edward Coke
spoke extensively about his secret Judaism. That spring the late Christopher
Marlowe’s play, The Jew of Malta, first performed in 1592, was performed to
sell-out crowds, and William Shakespeare composed The Merchant of Venice.
Anti-Jewish sentiment was paralleled by a belief that the relatively few Africans
in England were one cause of the economic problems because they were
allegedly taking jobs away from the English. In 1601 Elizabeth ordered blacks
in England to return to Africa, though this did not happen. In 1563 Parlia-
ment had passed the second witchcraft statute, more severe than the earlier
10 C. LEVIN
one of 1542, though less than the 1604 one passed by her successor James I.
Prosecutions occurred throughout the reign, most intensely in the 1590s.
Her relationship with her last favorite, the Earl of Essex, was especially
difficult, and he perceived himself as Robert Cecil’s enemy. While Cecil saw
England’s position as one of defense, Essex believed his country’s natural role
was the champion of Europe against Spain at whatever cost. Alternately Essex
cajoled and threatened Elizabeth to adopt his policies, award him more power,
and reward his followers. Essex’s aggression came to a head over who would
go to Ireland in 1599 to fight the increasingly successful Hugh O’Neill, Earl
of Tyrone. Essex’s campaign there to subdue the rebels was disastrous. The
disgrace he faced when he returned to England without leave eventually led
him to stage a rebellion against the queen in 1601. It failed, and Essex was
executed.
But a flowering in literary cultural development also marked the latter part
of Elizabeth’s reign. The work of such men as Edmund Spenser and William
Shakespeare must have drawn inspiration from the extraordinary woman who
ruled England both as a Virgin Queen and mother of her people. And while
literature, and especially drama, was most remarkable, architecture, music,
and portrait painting also flourished. Overseas trade expanded along with
burgeoning interest in expansion and colonization, especially by Sir Walter
Raleigh and his older half-brother Sir Humphrey Gilbert, though this also
signified the beginning of involvement in the slave trade.
Elizabeth aged visibly after the Essex rebellion and his subsequent execu-
tion. She held the final Parliament of her reign that same year. On November
30, 1601, Elizabeth addressed members of the House of Commons in what
became known as her “Golden Speech,” where she stated that the glory of
her crown was the love of her subjects. She also assured them that while there
might have been rulers mightier and wiser than she, they had never had, or
would have, any that loved them more.
Though her physicians could not name a specific complaint, by the begin-
ning of 1603 her health began to fail; she died on March 24, 1603. Elizabeth
had always refused to name an heir stating God would protect England.
Though had she died earlier there might well have been strife and bloodshed,
her cousin James VI of Scotland, Mary Stuart’s son, peacefully ascended the
throne of England.
PART I
Politics and Religion

CHAPTER 2
The Coronation
Elizabeth became queen on November 17, 1558. Messengers went to Hatfield

to inform her, while Nicholas Heath, Mary I’s Chancellor and the Archbishop
of York, informed Parliament. Five days later Elizabeth left Hatfield for the
Charterhouse just outside the city of London’s walls. The Lord Mayor, with
other dignitaries, met her to congratulate her. But when Edmund Bonner, the
Bishop of London, who had encouraged the burning of the heretics in Mary’s
reign, came to kiss her hand, she showed her disgust by snatching it away and
turning from him. Soon the Council asked him to resign his bishopric, but
he refused and was imprisoned for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy.
While there were many calls for his execution Elizabeth refused; he stayed
under constraint, however, until his death in 1569.
After six days at the Charterhouse Elizabeth entered London to great
cheers. As the new queen she arranged for a formal funeral worthy of a
monarch for Mary. She asked John White, Bishop of Winchester, to preach
the funeral sermon, but was not pleased when he stated that a living dog was
preferable to a dead lion. Clearly, he was referring to the new queen Elizabeth
as a dog but the dead queen Mary as the noble lion. He was placed under
house arrest for one month. Elizabeth spent Christmas at Whitehall and at the
church service insisted that the Host not be elevated, to the great dismay of
many of Mary’s Catholic bishops. Two days later she issued a proclamation
that church services should be conducted in English (Fig. 2.1).
One of the most immediate issues facing Elizabeth and her advisors was
planning her coronation. It would be only the second coronation of a queen
regnant, the first being Mary five years earlier. Elizabeth already knew the
astrologer John Dee and asked him to cast her horoscope to determine the

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Fig. 2.1 Queen Elizabeth wearing crown private collection
most auspicious day for her coronation; he named Sunday January 15. At
least in this instance Dee was successful at his craft, as Elizabeth had a long
and often successful reign. Robert Dudley, whom Elizabeth had immediately
appointed her Master of the Horse, may well have been involved in coronation
planning, and he had long known Dee.
One difficulty for the coronation was which bishop would agree to perform
the ceremony given the great anger with the religious changes she had
wrought. There was at that time no Archbishop of Canterbury, as Regi-
nald Pole had died within twelve hours of his cousin Queen Mary. Nicholas
Heath, Archbishop of York, refused as did others of Mary’s bishops. Owen
Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, finally agreed as Oglethorpe argued that Eliz-
abeth would be pushed further into the arms of the heretics if no bishop
2 THE CORONATION 15
assented. Elizabeth insisted that her coronation oath be administered from an

English Bible.
On January 12 Elizabeth left Whitehall and took a royal barge down the
Thames River to the Tower of London, beautiful music being played for her
while she traveled. The Tower was where the monarch traditionally stayed
prior to the coronation, symbolizing the new ruler’s control of the nation. A
few years earlier she had been lodged in the Tower as a prisoner fearing she
would die; now she was waiting for what was surely the most important day of
her life. That night was the first in a series of coronation feasts. They feasted
in the Tower the following night, with dancing as well.
Twenty-five years earlier her mother Anne Boleyn had been brought
through the London streets on the way to her coronation. Henry’s queen
had been pregnant so even though for her first time she was in her mother’s
womb, in a sense Elizabeth had already experienced being carried through the
streets. The next part of the coronation celebration was a procession through
London and the entertainments as on January 14 Elizabeth moved through
the city.
As she got into her gold adorned chariot, Elizabeth, dressed in cloth of
gold with her hair hanging loose and with a gold circlet, looked to the sky
and gave God her enthusiastic thanks for being so merciful in saving her
for this joyful time. On horseback Robert Dudley accompanied Elizabeth’s
chariot as it moved through the London streets. She stopped frequently to
talk with people, especially at every pageant and exhibit, where she would
give thanks. Much of the rest of court rode behind them. At Fenchurch a
gorgeously dressed little boy presented the official welcome of the city to the
queen. Elizabeth listened with rapt attention. People swarmed the queen’s
procession as she went through the streets of London; many people gave
the new queen gifts. For example, a poor woman handed the young queen
a branch of rosemary, for remembrance, which not only symbolized memory
but also faithfulness. As she traveled there were many entertainments, often
with life-sized figurines against diorama-like backgrounds.
At Gracechurch Street’s main gate were three stages. On the lowest were
actors portraying Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York; on the next was
Henry VIII and Elizabeth’s mother Anne Boleyn. At the top was a represen-
tation of Elizabeth standing on her own. There was music and more speeches,
and many garlands of red and white roses with a pageant celebrating the
uniting of Lancaster and York.
The next pageant was at Cornhill, where a child representing Elizabeth had
a sign saying “the Seat of Worthy Governance” (Seccombe, 375). With the
actual queen and the model queen watching, four people representing Virtues
stamped on their opposite Vices under their feet: Pure Religion stamped on
Superstition and Ignorance; the one representing Love of Subjects got to tread
on Rebellion and Insolency; Wisdom stood upon Folly and Vain-Glory, while
Justice got to stamp on Adulation and Bribery.
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When Elizabeth came to the upper end of Cheapside the Lord Mayor
presented her with the city’s gift: a purse made of crimson satin embroidered
in gold. A thousand marks of gold was inside. Elizabeth eloquently thanked
everyone; the crowd was jubilant. Elizabeth smiled when someone recalled
the old king, Henry VIII. When Elizabeth heard that the next pageant repre-
sented Time, she told the crowd that she praised God that Time had brought
her to where she was that day. Father Time, an old man with artificial wings
and carrying a scythe, presented the queen with his daughter Truth, who wore
white silk; she handed Elizabeth an English Bible. The new queen kissed the
book and brought it to her breasts.
At Ludgate Elizabeth was presented with a figurine in a seat dressed
in Parliamentary robes, a crown, and scepter. A sign stated that this was
the Biblical Deborah, judge and restorer of Israel. On either side were six
other figurines representing the nobility, the clergy, and the common people.
Another sign explained that Deborah was with her estates, consulting about
good government. A child explained that this pageant was to remind people
that God had before sent women to nobly rule.
Elizabeth then went on to Temple Bar, and passed the Children of Christ’s
Hospital, where children stood with the hospital’s governors and one child
gave an oration for Elizabeth, who paid great attention. She told the children
that she was very thankful for the presentation, telling them that “we are all
orphans”—the children and her—a fascinating way to bring solidarity with
them and an insight into how she understood herself. Elizabeth ended up at
Whitehall where she spent the night, agreeing there to free some prisoners.
During the procession she assured the people “that I will be as good unto you
as ever queen was to her people,” adding “And persuade yourselves that for
the safety and quietness of you all I will not spare, if need be, to spend my
blood” (Elizabeth I, Collected Works, 54).
The next morning the procession went from Whitehall to Westminster for
the ceremony itself. When Elizabeth entered, her cousin Margaret, Countess
of Lennox, the daughter of Henry VIII’s older sister Margaret, carried her
train. Elizabeth sat across from the high altar where she listened to a sermon.
Elizabeth then took oaths offered by Bishop Oglethorpe to keep the laws and
customs of England. When the bishop administered the coronation oath, it
was with an English Bible as she had insisted, which William Cecil held up.
Elizabeth was anointed with holy oil. She then received the symbols of power:
gloves, sword, scepter, and the orb. The bishop crowned her and put the
scepter in her hand. When Elizabeth left the Abbey, she was smiling widely
and greeting the people who cheered her. This had been a wonderful moment
for her.
Elizabeth then dined at a beautifully decorated Westminster Hall with two
hundred guests. The banquet was organized by her cousin Thomas Howard,
Duke of Norfolk, dressed in silver tissue, and Henry FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel,
in cloth of gold. Everything Elizabeth ate Norfolk or Arundel carved for her.
The seating for the guests was done with strict precedence to rank. There
2 THE CORONATION 17
were four enormous tables. Elizabeth changed for the banquet into a dress
of purple velvet. She sat down at the high table at about 3 p.m. after publicly
washing her hands. The servants were all dressed in red and as food was served
beautiful music was played.
During the feast Sir Edward Dymoke rode in wearing a full suit of armor
and three times proclaimed that if there were any who denied that his
sovereign Queen Elizabeth was not the legitimate Queen of England, he
would maintain it to the death. Each time he threw down his gauntlet as he
spoke. When no one challenged him, Sir Edward told the queen he was taking
his leave, and Elizabeth drank to his health and rewarded him with a silver-
gilt cup worth 200 crowns. Being the monarch’s champion had been in the
Dymoke family for centuries. Dymoke had earlier participated at the corona-
tions of Edward VI and Mary. After the banquet there was dancing. Elizabeth
did not leave to return to Whitehall until 9 p.m. There was supposed to be a
joust the next day, but it was postponed as all the celebrations had exhausted
Elizabeth.
CHAPTER 3
The Privy Council
When Elizabeth became queen in 1558, the Privy Council, whose main func-
tion was to support the monarch’s decisions on a range of domestic and
international issues, had about fifty members. But Elizabeth believed that too
many different opinions would not be useful, and reduced the number of
members to nineteen, and later to eleven. It was solely up to the Queen to
appoint members. She continued to have some nobles on the Privy Council
but also appointed talented men of gentry background. Many of the men
who were Privy Councilors also served in Parliament, either in the House of
Commons or the House of Lords. Some members were greatly honored by
being named a knight of the Order of the Garter. There were twenty-four
members at any time. Beyond that, the king and his oldest son were auto-
matically members, but this was not an issue in the reign of Elizabeth. Early
in Elizabeth’s reign the Council met at least weekly, sometimes three times a
week; by the end of the reign it was meeting almost every day (Fig. 3.1).
The Privy Council also sat judicially as the Court of Star Chamber on
Wednesdays and Fridays; on these days Councilors commuted by horse or
barge to Westminster. This was a special court set up in the late fifteenth
century that had no jury, just the council members and sometimes the ruler as
judges. It was originally established to provide fair enforcement of the law for
people who were so socially or politically powerful that other courts might
be hesitant to convict them of their crimes. By the time of Charles I, its
proceedings were viewed as arbitrary and used to oppress those in opposition.
Parliament ended it at the beginning of the Civil war.
Privy Council meetings were run by the Principal Secretary. By the end of
Elizabeth’s reign the position was known as the Secretary of State, though the

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Fig. 3.1 Burghley, Elizabeth, Walsingham private collection
term Principal Secretary was also used into the late seventeenth century. There
were times during Elizabeth’s reign when there were two principal secretaries.
The Principal Secretary would begin the meetings with a list of issues that
needed to be discussed, though this was not like a modern agenda that would
be circulated to members.
There were also Clerks of the Privy Council, essential in making sure that
the Privy Council was run efficiently. When Elizabeth became queen there
were three clerks; a fourth was added in 1576. They were not all on duty at
the Council at the same time but relieved each other; the four of them helped
everything to run smoothly. Clerks were paid a salary of £50 a year. The clerks
3 THE PRIVY COUNCIL 21
took notes so they could later aid the Principal Secretary with the letters or
instructions he had to send out. This position was considered important, and
most of the clerks were very talented, possessing both linguistic and diplomatic
skills. Several of them also served as ambassadors and many were knighted as
a reward for service. When delicate issues of foreign policy were discussed
sometimes the clerks would be excused from the meetings. All notes from the
meetings were kept in a large chest.
There was also the Keeper of the Council Chamber. He prepared the room
where the meetings would take place. He could bring in freshly cut flowers and
replace the cushions when necessary. He made sure there were supplies, such
as blank pre-bound volumes and pens and ink. He was also responsible for
keeping the chest safely guarded and properly moved when the court traveled.
The most significant members of the Council—William Cecil, Lord
Burghley, Sir Francis Walsingham, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Thomas
Radcliffe, Earl of Sussex, and Sir Christopher Hatton—attended meetings
most often, served on committees, made reports to other members, and had
the ear of the queen. Writing soon after her death, John Clapham stated that
“and as she was beloved of the common people, so was she no less honored
by her nobility and especially by her privy councilors.... A rare thing that a
woman sitting in council amongst the gravest and best experienced men of
her time should be able to examine and individually to control their consul-
tations” (Clapham, 69–70). While Elizabeth listened to her Councilors, she
believed she should make the final decisions.
Principal Secretaries
Sir William Cecil, Later Lord Burghley (1520–1598)—Served
from 1558–1572; 1590–1596, Member 1558–1598
The very first day of her reign, Elizabeth made Cecil her Principal Secretary.
He was a devoted Protestant and completely loyal to his queen. Forty-two
years old when Elizabeth became queen, Cecil had been active at Court in
the reign of her younger brother Edward, first working for Edward Seymour,
Duke of Somerset and then for John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Cecil
was able to make peace with Mary but was much less involved in public affairs
during the Catholic queen’s reign. During this time, however, he also got to
know Elizabeth. In 1550 he became her surveyor.
Clearly by the time Elizabeth became queen she had great trust in him.
She told Cecil at her first Council meeting: “I give you this charge that you
shall be of my Privy Council and content to take pains for me and my realm.
This judgment I have of you that you will not be corrupted by any manner
of gift and that you will be faithful to the state; and that without respect
of my private will, you will give me that counsel which you think best and
if you shall know anything necessary to me of secrecy, you shall show it to
22 C. LEVIN
myself only” (Elizabeth I, Collected Works, 51). Mary’s final Principal Secre-
tary, John Boxall, co-operated with Cecil to aid the transition, though Boxall
was later imprisoned in 1560 for some years after his refusal to take the Oath of
Supremacy. Cecil remained as Principal Secretary until July 1572. He handled
all the routine matters of the Council and managed the Council’s relation-
ship with the queen. He was responsible for the administration of the queen’s
foreign policy and concerned with national defense issues and finances. In
1571 Elizabeth made Cecil Lord Burghley, the only one of Elizabeth’s minis-
ters to receive a peerage. In 1572, he also became a Knight of the Garter.
That year he left the position of Principal Secretary to become Lord Trea-
surer, administering all royal finances. He continued as a member of the Privy
Council and continued much of his other work as well. His own two main
secretaries were Michael Hicks and Vincent Skynner. In 1590, after the death
of Sir Francis Walsingham, he was the Acting Secretary until July 1596 when
his son Robert took over. Given Burghley’s health at the time, it is quite likely
that he had substantial help from Robert.
Cecil was educated at Cambridge University where he became good friends
with the classical scholar John Cheke. Cecil’s first wife was Cheke’s sister Mary,
whom he married in 1541 and they had one child Thomas, but Mary died
only two years later. He then married Mildred Cooke, the eldest daughter of
Anthony Cooke, in 1546. It was a very happy marriage until her death in
1589, and Cecil greatly appreciated his wife’s wisdom and advice. At the end
of his life, in 1598, the queen was extremely worried about Burghley’s health,
and sent him a cordial with wishes for his recovery, saying she prayed every
day for his longer life, or else, she would need a cordial too. Elizabeth came to
visit him and served him broth at his bedside. As he was dying, he told his son,
“Serve God by serving the Queen” (Doran, Elizabeth I & Her Circle, 243).
Soon after the death of the queen John Clapham wrote of Burghley, “His
credit with the Queen was such as his wisdom and integrity well deserved”
(Clapham, 79).
Sir Thomas Smith (1513–1577)—Served as Secretary 1572–1576, Member

1571–1576
Smith was an early Protestant and in Edward VI’s reign served as a Clerk
of the Privy Council. While he went into retirement in Mary’s reign, he was
welcomed back to court by Elizabeth at the encouragement of William Cecil, a
close friend. Smith served as ambassador to France, from 1562–1566, though
it was difficult as he came into conflict with the previous ambassador, Sir
Nicholas Throckmorton, who stayed in France for a time past his recall. In
1571 Smith became a member of the Privy Council and then was briefly sent
back to France. In 1572 when the new Lord Burghley became Lord Trea-
surer, Smith became Principal Secretary. But Smith never achieved the power
that Burghley had, and though now Lord Treasurer, Burghley continued in his
work of formulating policy. Smith was often irritated that the queen refused
to sign papers until she had discussed the issues with Burghley. Smith was the
author of De Republica Anglorum: the Maner of Governement or Policie of the
Realme of England, published after his death in 1577.
Sir Francis Walsingham (1532–1590) Served as Secretary and Member End

of 1573–1590
For the last years of Smith’s term as Secretary Walsingham also held the office,
and he became one of the most powerful men at Court, holding the office
until his death. As a dedicated Protestant, Walsingham fled England in the
reign of Mary I, returning in the early reign of Elizabeth. In 1570 he became
the ambassador to France, and was there during the St. Bartholomew’s Day
Massacre, when thousands of French Protestants were slaughtered in Paris.
The massacre began with orders from Charles IX and the queen mother
Catherine de Medici for the murders of many leading Protestants and then
escalated. Walsingham did all he could to shelter people in his embassy. After
the massacre he repeatedly requested that he return to England, which he was
allowed to do in 1573. By the end of the year he was appointed a member of
the Privy Council and Principal Secretary. As Secretary he developed a highly
effective spy system to keep Elizabeth safe, especially with Mary Stuart living
in England under house arrest and involved in plotting against Elizabeth.
Walsingham supported Mary’s execution as early as 1572 in response to the
Ridolfi Plot (see Chapter 9). He was one of the commissioners at Mary’s
trial in 1586 after the Babington Plot. During the trial, Mary accused him of
faking evidence against her, but he was able to amply demonstrate her guilt.
Walsingham and Ursula St. Barbe had one surviving child Frances who
married Sir Philip Sidney in 1583 when she was fifteen. After his death, she
subsequently married first Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex and then Richard
Burke, fourth Earl of Clanricarde. They were married until her death in 1632.
Her father, who despite his ill health in his last years, continued working until
his death in April 1590.
Thomas Wilson (1524–1581) Member and Second Secretary 1577–1581

Thomas Wilson, a committed Protestant, left England when Mary became
queen, but she summoned him back in 1558. When he refused to return
Cardinal Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury, proclaimed him a heretic
to the Roman Inquisition. Wilson was arrested and tortured but escaped when
a mob destroyed the building where he was kept. He returned to England at
the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign and served at various times as ambassador
to Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and France. He was appointed to the
Privy Council in 1577 and became second Secretary under Walsingham with
the replacement of Smith. Wilson was also the author of a number of works,
including The Rule of Reason, and The Arte of Rhetorique.
24 C. LEVIN
William Davison (d. 1608) Served as Secretary 1586–1587

By the mid-1570s William Davison was working with Walsingham, who
thought highly of him. In the 1570s and ‘80’s Davison was sent on missions
to Scotland, Brussels, and the Netherlands. Davison became a member of the
Privy Council in the fall of 1586. Once he had become a Privy Councilor, he
also became one of the commissioners for Mary Stuart’s trial. Davison married
Catherine Spelman about 1570 and they had two daughters and four sons who
lived to adulthood.
Davison was secretary for only six months from September 1586–February
1587, which might suggest that he was appointed to protect Burghley and
Walsingham during the period of the trial of Mary Stuart and the pressures
on Queen Elizabeth to sign Mary’s death warrant. From mid-December to
mid-February Walsingham was ill and away from court and Burghley had an
accident as he was riding in January that kept him in bed for more than
a month. Though Davison was very junior to both of these men, it was
Davison who had the job of convincing the queen to sign Mary Stuart’s death
warrant. Though Elizabeth eventually signed it she told him not to send it on
without her express consent, but once Burghley learned about it, he convinced
members of the Council to sign off on it and send it themselves to spare Eliz-
abeth. The queen was furious when she heard of Mary Stuart’s execution,
and she sent Davison to the Tower. At the end of March, he was tried in
Star Chamber. The verdict was that he had abused Elizabeth’s trust. He was
suspended—never formally dismissed—from the office of Secretary, sent back
to the Tower, and a large fine was levied. He was released from the Tower in
October 1588 and never paid his fine. Moreover, he continued to be paid his
salary as Secretary until the end of his life, dying in 1608.
Robert Cecil (1563–1612) Served as Secretary 1596–1612, Member

1593–1612
The son of William Cecil and his second wife Mildred, Robert Cecil was born
with some deformities, being very short and hunchbacked. But Cecil had a
great intellect and was deeply loved by both his parents. Cecil was named to
the Privy Council in 1593 but after the death of Walsingham, Cecil worked
very hard to help his father who had once again been tasked with being Secre-
tary. Some scholars argue that the younger Cecil was effectively the Secretary
some years before his formal appointment in 1596. In her last decade the
queen depended on Robert Cecil a great deal, and he headed a faction strongly
opposed to that of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. In 1598 Cecil went to
France to negotiate with Henry IV of France. Cecil was deeply involved in
matters of national security and in keeping his queen safe, a role for which he
had been trained by his father and Walsingham. In August 1589 he married
Elizabeth Brooke, a goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth. Cecil was very much in
love with Elizabeth, and it appears to have been a happy match, cut short by
her death only eight years later. Cecil’s fortunes continued to rise in the next
reign when James gave him the title of Earl of Salisbury. Cecil continued as
Secretary until his death in 1612.
Sir John Herbert (c.1540–1617) Served as Secretary 1600–1606, Member

1600–1619
John Herbert was educated at Oxford and became known for his proficiency
in several languages, so he was sent on several diplomatic missions to such
places as Denmark, Poland, and the Netherlands. At court he was very much
in the Cecil circle. In 1590 he was appointed a Clerk to the Privy Council.
He accompanied Robert Cecil to France in 1598 and the two became very
close. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 1600 and became
the second Secretary, working closely with Cecil. After Cecil’s death, Herbert
withdrew from public life.
Some of the Clerks of the Privy Council

Bernard Hampton (d. 1572) Clerk, 1551–1572
Bernard Hampton was a Clerk of the Privy Council for the last two years of
the reign of Edward VI and during Mary’s reign. He was fluent in Spanish and
was named Spanish secretary to the Council during Mary’s reign. This skill was
useful in Elizabeth’s reign as well, as Elizabeth appointed Hampton to work
with the Spanish ambassador Guerau de Spes on some issues dealing with a
ship convoy. De Spes was pleased that he was working with Hampton rather
than Cecil because, as he wrote to Philip II, he considered Hampton a friend.
Because of their friendly relationship several months later the Privy Council
asked him to deal with de Spes again over some letters. That Hampton got
along pleasantly with de Spes never put his clear loyalty into question, and he
did a lot of work for William Cecil beyond his position as a clerk, including
helping with Parliamentary committees. Of the three clerks at the beginning
of Elizabeth’s reign, he was the one who lasted the longest, dying in 1572.
The following year his widow Catherine was given a lease of land for 21 years
in consideration of his long service as a Clerk of the Privy Council for the same
number of years.
Francis Allen (c.1518–1570), Clerk 1553–1570

Francis Allen may have attended Cambridge University. In 1540 he became a
licensed public notary and was described as a scholar. By 1543 he was a secre-
tary to Bishop Stephen Gardiner, the Chancellor of the University. Gardiner
was in the Tower from 1548 through the rest of Edward VI’s reign, and, at
some point during this time, Allen became part of the household of Princess
Mary. He accompanied her to London when she became queen. Soon after
26 C. LEVIN
her accession he was awarded a grant for life because of his service to the
queen and was also appointed a Clerk of the Privy Council. He stayed in this
position after the accession of Elizabeth, dying in 1570.
William Smith, Clerk 1553–1566

William Smith had been in Mary’s service before she became queen and he
was also named a Clerk of the Privy Council, a position he kept in the reign
of Elizabeth. Nothing else appears to be known about him.
Edmund Tremayne (c.1525–1582), Clerk 1571–1582

In Mary I’s reign, Tremayne was in the service of Edward Courtenay, Earl of
Devon. He was sent to the Tower in March 1554 as a suspect in the Wyatt
rebellion. Tremayne was tortured but refused to provide any evidence against
either Courtenay or Princess Elizabeth. He was released in January 1555 and
spent some time on the continent. Once Elizabeth became queen, Tremayne’s
fortunes shifted. He was a Member of the 1559 Parliament and some later
ones, and he was given a number of appointments, including being tasked to
write a report on Ireland in 1569. In May 1571 he became Clerk of the Privy
Council.
Tremayne’s cousin was Sir Francis Drake, and the queen asked Tremayne to
inventory the treasure unloaded from the Golden Hind in October 1580. So
that the Spanish would not know the complete inventory Tremayne and Drake
were very careful about what they listed and Elizabeth told Tremayne to let
Drake take some of the treasure for himself before there was any accounting.
In the end, only the queen and Drake knew just how much treasure Drake
had brought back, much of it taken from the Spanish. When Bernadino de
Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador, charged Drake with cruelty toward the
Spanish, Elizabeth tasked Tremayne with investigating the allegations, and he
then declared his cousin innocent.
Robert Beale (1541–1601), Appointed Clerk 1572

Robert Beale seriously studied law from about the age of twenty. Though he
never received a degree he had excellent training and was a very able worker.
As a committed Protestant, he had been among those who fled England when
Mary I was queen. In Elizabeth’s reign he was in Paris in the early 1560s
when Sir Henry Norris was ambassador. When the post was taken over by
Sir Francis Walsingham, Beale stayed on as his formal secretary. Beale married
Edith St. Barbe, the sister of Walsingham’s wife Ursula. Sir Thomas Smith had
high praise for Beale, and Walsingham also was impressed by his work. When
Walsingham returned from France, the queen appointed Beale to be a Clerk of
the Privy Council, and for most of his tenure working for the Privy Council,
Beale was the leading clerk. He wrote a book about his duties: A treatise of the
office of a councellor and principall secretarie to her majestie. As well as his work
as clerk, he had several diplomatic appointments, such as serving as special
ambassador to the Low Countries in 1576. Beale was so highly regarded that
at times when Walsingham was absent from court, he served as acting principal
secretary.
Henry Cheke (c.1548–1586) Appointed Clerk 1576–1581

Henry Cheke was the eldest son of Sir John Cheke and Mary Hill, who had
long been in service to Elizabeth. William Cecil’s first wife Mary was John
Cheke’s sister and having Lord Burghley as his uncle proved important, espe-
cially with Cheke’s father’s early death in 1557. He often asked his uncle to
help him find work at court, especially as his finances were in great difficulty.
In 1576 he was appointed Clerk to the Privy Council, which provided good
experience as well as income. He left that post in 1581 when he was appointed
secretary to the Council of the North.
Sir Thomas Wilkes (c.1545–1598) Appointed Clerk 1576

Thomas Wilkes received a B.A. from Oxford in 1573, and soon after was
appointed as secretary to the new ambassador to France, Valentine Dale. In
1576 he was appointed as a Clerk of the Privy Council. In 1586–1587 Eliz-
abeth sent him to the Netherlands to report on Robert Dudley, the Earl of
Leicester’s term as Governor-General. Wilkes was not impressed, and Leicester
was furious with him. When both were back at court, Leicester managed to
have Wilkes suspended from his role as Clerk, and he was not able to resume
his clerkship until after Leicester’s death in September 1588. In 1590 he was
again sent to the Netherlands, and Elizabeth knighted him for his service in
1591. He made further diplomatic trips to the Netherlands and France in
the 1590s. He died while traveling with Robert Cecil to France for another
diplomatic mission.
Sir William Waad (1546–1623) Appointed Clerk in 1583

William Waad was the son of Armagil Waad, who had served as a Clerk of the
Privy Council in the reign of Edward VI. William Cecil had been a friend of his
father and sponsored Waad’s continental travel in the 1570s. Waad was deeply
loyal to Lord Burghley and sent him many helpful letters during his travels,
eventually becoming part of the French embassy and gathering intelligence
for Burghley. Waad’s excellent language skills, including French, Italian, and
Latin, as well as his negotiation skills, meant he was frequently sent abroad for
the government. Burghley and Walsingham worked to have him appointed a
Clerk of the Privy Council in 1583. He continued to go on difficult diplomatic
missions, including to Spain in 1584 to explain the reasons for ambassador
Bernardino de Mendoza’s expulsion, and in 1585 to demand, unsuccessfully,
28 C. LEVIN
the return of conspirator Thomas Morgan. In 1587 he was sent to France

after the execution of Mary Stuart to discuss the situation with Henri III.
After 1587 he stayed in England where his work as clerk had him investi-
gating dissidents and subversives. Waad also served in Parliament. By the end
of Elizabeth’s reign, he was strongly allied with Robert Cecil and continued
his service in James’s reign.
Anthony Ashley (1552–1628) Appointed Clerk 1587

Anthony Ashley traveled when he was young and learned several foreign
languages. He then trained at the Middle Temple. His father was in service
to Christopher Hatton, who secured for him the post of Clerk of the Privy
Council. He also served in Parliament. At the request of the Privy Council he
translated and supplemented Lucas Waghnaer’s collection of maritime charts,
published in 1588 as The Mariners Mirrour. A few years after Hatton died in
1591, Burghley accused Ashley of fraud and embezzlement, and late in the
reign he was suspended from his position but was reappointed with James’
accession.
Sir Daniel Rogers (c.1538–1591) Appointed Clerk 1587

Daniel’s father, John Rogers, was burnt as a heretic in Mary’s reign. Early
in Elizabeth’s reign Rogers received a B.A. and M.A. from Oxford. He then
went on to Paris for most of the 1560s studying and serving as a steward in Sir
Henry Norris’s ambassadorial household, and then working for Walsingham
when he replaced Norris. He was part of Walsingham’s circle for the next two
decades. During the 1570s Rogers went on numerous diplomatic missions to
the Netherlands. In 1587 he became a Clerk of the Privy Council, a position
he held for the rest of his life, though he was also often sent on diplomatic
missions.
Sir Thomas Smith (c.1556–1609) Appointed Clerk 1595–1605

Thomas Smith was no relation to the Thomas Smith who served as Secretary
of the Council from 1572–1576. Through the Earl of Leicester’s patronage,
he was appointed secretary to Leicester’s stepson, Robert Devereux, Earl of
Essex, possibly as early as 1585–1586. He traveled regularly with Essex; while
Essex was leading an army in Normandy in 1591, he often sent Smith back
to England to calm Elizabeth’s anger over his actions. Smith assumed many
delicate tasks for Essex who greatly trusted him. In September 1595 Essex
managed to have Smith appointed a Clerk of the Privy Council. But as a Clerk
Smith also had to develop a good working relationship with Robert Cecil,
and by 1599 he was clearly looking to Cecil for patronage. Cecil’s support of
Smith was important in James’ reign, where Smith was appointed to a variety
of offices.
Sir Thomas Edmondes (d. 1639) Appointed Clerk 1601

Thomas Edmonds came from Plymouth and apparently was at court from the
1580s. Walsingham appointed Edmonds to be secretary to Sir Henry Unton
during his embassy to France 1591–1592. While Unton returned home in
June 1592, Edmonds remained in France as the English chargé d’affaires until
1596. When Unton returned as ambassador in late 1595 Edmondes was again
his secretary for a few months but, in the summer of 1596, he was recalled
to England. Edmondes was again dispatched to Paris in September 1597, and
he was again chargé d’affaires from May 1598 until Henry Neville arrived as
resident ambassador in May 1599. Edmondes was Elizabeth’s representative
at the conference at Boulogne, which attempted to negotiate peace between
Spain and England. Henri IV of France also participated. Though the attempt
to end the long, languishing Anglo-Spanish war failed, the French king wrote
to Elizabeth of his admiration for Edmondes. Elizabeth agreed with Henri’s
assessment, and appointed Edmondes Clerk of the Privy Council in 1601.
Edmondes was knighted by James I in May 1603 and continued his impressive
diplomatic career. In 1617 he became a member of the Privy Council.
Members---Listed Chronologically
Members Who Had Been Appointed Prior to the Reign of Elizabeth
and Were Reappointed in November 1558
William Paulet, Marquess of Winchester (c.1475–1572), Member
1536–1572
The Marquess of Winchester served on Henry VIII’s Privy Council as well
as those of all three of his children. He also served as Lord Treasurer for
Edward VI and Mary, as well as for Elizabeth. In Elizabeth’s reign he worked
diligently to have the office of the Lord Treasurer be the central office for
royal finances and the advisor to the Privy Council on all financial matters.
Winchester helped to make the office of Lord Treasurer a central post instead
of the unimportant position it was earlier in the century. He initiated a number
of financial reforms. Elizabeth thought highly enough of him that early in her
reign she joked that if only he were a young man—by this time he was in his
early 80s so she could joke safely—she would consider him the best match for
her in England. Winchester retired to Basing House in the summer of 1570,
dying there in 1572 at the great age of ninety-seven.
Sir William Petre (1506–1572) Member of Council 1544–1572

William Petre served on the Privy Council in the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward
VI, and Mary, and stayed on as member for Elizabeth; the queen trusted him
enough that Katherine Grey, after her marriage to Edward Seymour, Earl of
Hertford, was kept under house arrest at Petre’s home, Ingatestone.
30 C. LEVIN
Sir Ralph Sadler (1507–1587) 1537–1533, 1558–1587

Ralph Sadler was a member of the Privy Council for Henry VIII and Edward
VI, but, as a committed Protestant, was removed from the Council by Mary.
When Elizabeth became queen, he was one of the first she named for the
Privy Council, doing it only three days after her accession. Sadler was part of
the delegation in York to discuss what should be done with Mary Stuart when
she fled to England in 1568. At first sympathetic, he was less so after the
introduction of the Casket Letters used to demonstrate Mary’s involvement in
the murder of her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Sadler sent a
précis of the letters to William Cecil, believing they proved Mary’s guilt. The
veracity of the Casket letters has been debated for centuries. With Thomas
Radcliffe, Earl of Sussex, he led the queen’s army to suppress the Northern
Rebellion of 1569. Sadler was one of those tasked with investigating Mary and
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk’s role in the Ridolfi Plot of 1572. Several
times he guarded Mary, particularly when George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury,
had to be at Court, and though he treated her kindly, he forcefully argued for
her execution in Parliament because of the danger she posed to Elizabeth.
Around 1530 Sadler met Helen Barre while in Cromwell’s service; they fell
in love and soon married, having seven surviving children. Barre, already the
mother of two small children, was a laundress in the Cromwell household.
Some years earlier, Barre’s husband Matthew, a London tradesman known
most for his drinking, had deserted her. She had done everything she could
to find out what had happened to him to no avail, and eventually learned that
he was dead. But in November of 1545, they learned that he had gone to
Ireland and had now returned; he was very much alive. One of Wriothesley’s
servants heard Barre bragging in a pub that he was the real husband of Lady
Sadler. Barre was interrogated and he was able to prove that he was Helen’s
husband. Sadler loved his wife deeply and was greatly disturbed. The next
month through a private bill in Parliament their children were legitimized, and
Helen stayed with Sadler even though she was legally Barre’s wife. Barre disap-
peared again. We do not know when she died, but Sadler was almost eighty
when he died in 1587, known as one of the wealthiest subjects in England.
Henry FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel (1512–1580) 1546–1580

Henry FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, served on the Privy Council for Henry VIII
and his three children. At the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, he pursued a
marriage with her, but this went nowhere (see Chapter 6).
During his time on the Privy Council in Elizabeth’s reign he consistently
argued against military engagements. Arundel was criticized for being on the
edge of the Northern Rebellion, as the rebel leaders claimed that Arundel had
thought it a good idea. Arundel was confined briefly, but he returned to the
Privy Council in March 1570 where he advocated for leniency in the treat-
ment of Mary Stuart. He was again under house arrest after September 1571
because of concern that he had been part of the Ridolfi Plot (see Chapter 9)
but he was released late in 1572 and the following year returned to the
Council once again. By 1579 his health was problematic as he was greatly
troubled with gout. He only attended the Council twice that year and died in
1580.
Nicholas Wotton (c.1497–1567) Member 1546–1567

Nicholas Wotton was another member of the Privy Council who served under
Henry VIII and all of his children. In Elizabeth’s reign Wotton worked on the
negotiations with Scotland that resulted in the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560.
As a member he worked on commercial and legal matters, as well as dealing
with some foreign ambassadors. By the summer of 1566 he was in ill health
and died the following year.
Francis Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (1500–1560) 1549–1560

Francis Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, was a member of the Privy Council in the
reigns of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth. Though a Catholic, he was very
loyal and supported his monarchs’ religious choices. Elizabeth reappointed
him to her Council, but he died in 1560.
Edward Feinnes de Clinton, Earl of Lincoln (1512–1585) 1550–1585

Edward Feinnes de Clinton was a member of the Privy Council in the reigns
of Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. When Elizabeth became queen, she imme-
diately confirmed him as a member. He also served as her Lord Admiral. His
third wife Elizabeth Fitzgerald, widow of Sir Anthony Browne, was close to
Elizabeth, and was a member of her Privy Chamber from 1559–1585. Clinton
was one of the lieutenant-generals who led the forces to suppress the rising of
the northern earls. In 1572 he was created to Earl of Lincoln as recognition
for his long service. He stayed at Court as Lord Admiral and a member of the
Privy Council until his death in 1585.
Sir John Mason (1503–1566) Member 1550–1566

Henry VIII appointed John Mason a Clerk of the Privy Council in 1541 and
he became a member in the reigns of his three children. In the last year of her
reign Mary appointed him treasurer of the chamber, and Elizabeth maintained
him in this post as well as having him continue as a member of the Privy
Council. In Elizabeth’s Council Mason strongly warned against the perils of
foreign military adventures and urged Elizabeth to pursue peace with other
countries instead. He attended Council meetings through 1565, dying the
following year.
Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York (c.1501–1578), Member 1553–1559,

When He Was Removed
Nicholas Heath supported Henry VIII’s break with Rome, and preached
against Elizabeth Barton, the Holy Maid of Kent. He became Bishop of
Rochester in 1540. In Edward VI’s reign, however, he was imprisoned because
he refused to remove altars and images in his churches. When Mary became
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En arrivant à l’étalage d’un marchand d’estampes, cet homme
presque mort rencontra une jeune femme qui descendait d’un brillant
équipage. Il contempla délicieusement cette charmante personne
dont la blanche figure était harmonieusement encadrée dans le satin
d’un élégant chapeau; il fut séduit par une taille svelte, par de jolis
mouvements; la robe, légèrement relevée par le marchepied, lui
laissa voir une jambe dont les fins contours étaient dessinés par un
bas blanc et bien tiré. La jeune femme entra dans le magasin, y
marchanda des albums, des collections de lithographies; elle en
acheta pour plusieurs pièces d’or qui étincelèrent et sonnèrent sur le
comptoir. Le jeune homme, en apparence occupé sur le seuil de la
porte à regarder les gravures exposées dans la montre, échangea
vivement avec la belle inconnue l’œillade la plus perçante que
puisse lancer un homme, contre un de ces coups d’œil insouciants
jetés au hasard sur les passants. C’était, de sa part, un adieu à
l’amour, à la femme! mais cette dernière et puissante interrogation
ne fut pas comprise, ne remua pas ce cœur de femme frivole, ne la
fit pas rougir, ne lui fit pas baisser les yeux. Qu’était-ce pour elle?
une admiration de plus, un désir inspiré qui le soir lui suggérait cette
douce parole: J’étais bien aujourd’hui. Le jeune homme passa
promptement à un autre cadre, et ne se retourna point quand
l’inconnue remonta dans sa voiture. Les chevaux partirent, cette
dernière image du luxe et de l’élégance s’éclipsa comme allait
s’éclipser sa vie. Il se mit à marcher d’un pas mélancolique le long
des magasins, en examinant sans beaucoup d’intérêt les
échantillons de marchandises. Quand les boutiques lui manquèrent,
il étudia le Louvre, l’Institut, les tours de Notre-Dame, celles du
Palais, le Pont-des-Arts. Ces monuments paraissaient prendre une
physionomie triste en reflétant les teintes grises du ciel, dont les
rares clartés prêtaient un air menaçant à Paris, qui, pareil à une jolie
femme, est soumis à d’inexplicables caprices de laideur et de
beauté. Ainsi, la nature elle-même conspirait à le plonger dans une
extase douloureuse. En proie à cette puissance malfaisante dont
l’action dissolvante trouve un véhicule dans le fluide qui circule en
nos nerfs, il sentait son organisme arriver insensiblement aux
phénomènes de la fluidité. Les tourments de cette agonie lui
imprimaient un mouvement semblable à celui des vagues, et lui
faisaient voir les bâtiments, les hommes, à travers un brouillard où
tout ondoyait. Il voulut se soustraire aux titillations que produisaient
sur son âme les réactions de la nature physique, et se dirigea vers
un magasin d’antiquités dans l’intention de donner une pâture à ses
sens, ou d’y attendre la nuit en marchandant des objets d’art. C’était,
pour ainsi dire, quêter du courage et demander un cordial, comme
les criminels qui se défient de leurs forces en allant à l’échafaud;
mais la conscience de sa prochaine mort rendit pour un moment au
jeune homme l’assurance d’une duchesse qui a deux amants, et il
entra chez le marchand de curiosités d’un air dégagé, laissant voir
sur ses lèvres un sourire fixe comme celui d’un ivrogne. N’était-il pas
ivre de la vie, ou peut-être de la mort. Il retomba bientôt dans ses
vertiges, et continua d’apercevoir les choses sous d’étranges
couleurs, ou animées d’un léger mouvement dont le principe était
sans doute dans une irrégulière circulation de son sang, tantôt
bouillonnant comme une cascade, tantôt tranquille et fade comme
l’eau tiède. Il demanda simplement à visiter les magasins pour
chercher s’ils ne renfermaient pas quelques singularités à sa
convenance. Un jeune garçon à figure fraîche et joufflue, à
chevelure rousse, et coiffé d’une casquette de loutre, commit la
garde de la boutique à une vieille paysanne, espèce de Caliban
femelle occupée à nettoyer un poêle dont les merveilles étaient dues
au génie de Bernard de Palissy; puis il dit à l’étranger d’un air
insouciant:—Voyez, monsieur, voyez! Nous n’avons en bas que des
choses assez ordinaires; mais si vous voulez prendre la peine de
monter au premier étage, je pourrai vous montrer de fort belles
momies du Caire, plusieurs poteries incrustées, quelques ébènes
sculptés, vraie renaissance, récemment arrivés, et qui sont de toute
beauté.
Dans l’horrible situation où se trouvait l’inconnu, ce babil de
cicérone, ces phrases sottement mercantiles furent pour lui comme
les taquineries mesquines par lesquelles des esprits étroits
assassinent un homme de génie. Portant sa croix jusqu’au bout, il
parut écouter son conducteur et lui répondit par gestes ou par
monosyllabes; mais insensiblement il sut conquérir le droit d’être
silencieux, et put se livrer sans crainte à ses dernières méditations,
qui furent terribles. Il était poète, et son âme rencontra fortuitement
une immense pâture: il devait voir par avance les ossements de
vingt mondes. Au premier coup d’œil, les magasins lui offrirent un
tableau confus, dans lequel toutes les œuvres humaines et divines
se heurtaient. Des crocodiles, des singes, des boas empaillés
souriaient à des vitraux d’église, semblaient vouloir mordre des
bustes, courir après des laques, ou grimper sur des lustres. Un vase
de Sèvres, où madame Jacotot avait peint Napoléon, se trouvait
auprès d’un sphinx dédié à Sésostris. Le commencement du monde
et les événements d’hier se mariaient avec une grotesque
bonhomie. Un tournebroche était posé sur un ostensoir, un sabre
républicain sur une hacquebute du Moyen-âge. Madame Dubarry
peinte au pastel par Latour, une étoile sur la tête, nue et dans un
nuage, paraissait contempler avec concupiscence une chibouque
indienne, en cherchant à deviner l’utilité des spirales qui
serpentaient vers elle. Les instruments de mort, poignards, pistolets
curieux, armes à secret, étaient jetés pêle-mêle avec des
instruments de vie: soupières en porcelaine, assiettes de Saxe,
tasses orientales venues de Chine, salières antiques, drageoirs
féodaux. Un vaisseau d’ivoire voguait à pleines voiles sur le dos
d’une immobile tortue. Une machine pneumatique éborgnait
l’empereur Auguste, majestueusement impassible. Plusieurs
portraits d’échevins français, de bourgmestres hollandais,
insensibles alors comme pendant leur vie, s’élevaient au-dessus de
ce chaos d’antiquités, en y lançant un regard pâle et froid. Tous les
pays de la terre semblaient avoir apporté là un débris de leurs
sciences, un échantillon de leurs arts. C’était une espèce de fumier
philosophique auquel rien ne manquait, ni le calumet du sauvage, ni
la pantoufle vert et or du sérail, ni le yatagan du Maure, ni l’idole des
Tartares; il y avait jusqu’à la blague à tabac du soldat, jusqu’au
ciboire du prêtre, jusqu’aux plumes d’un trône. Ces monstrueux
tableaux étaient encore assujettis à mille accidents de lumière, par la
bizarrerie d’une multitude de reflets dus à la confusion des nuances,
à la brusque opposition des jours et des noirs. L’oreille croyait
entendre des cris interrompus, l’esprit saisir des drames inachevés,
l’œil apercevoir des lueurs mal étouffées. Enfin une poussière
obstinée avait jeté son léger voile sur tous ces objets, dont les
angles multipliés et les sinuosités nombreuses produisaient les
effets les plus pittoresques. L’inconnu compara d’abord ces trois
salles gorgées de civilisation, de cultes, de divinités, de chefs-
d’œuvre, de royautés, de débauches, de raison et de folie, à un
miroir plein de facettes dont chacune représentait un monde. Après
cette impression brumeuse, il voulut choisir ses jouissances; mais à
force de regarder, de penser, de rêver, il tomba sous la puissance
d’une fièvre due peut-être à la faim qui rugissait dans ses entrailles.
La vue de tant d’existences nationales ou individuelles, attestées par
ces gages humains qui leur survivaient, acheva d’engourdir les sens
du jeune homme; le désir qui l’avait poussé dans le magasin fut
exaucé: il sortit de la vie réelle, monta par degrés vers un monde
idéal, arriva dans les palais enchantés de l’extase où l’univers lui
apparut par bribes et en traits de feu, comme l’avenir passa jadis
flamboyant aux yeux de saint Jean dans Pathmos.
Une multitude de figures endolories, gracieuses et terribles,
obscures et lucides, lointaines et rapprochées, se leva par masses,
par myriades, par générations. L’Égypte, roide, mystérieuse, se
dressa de ses sables, représentée par une momie qu’enveloppaient
des bandelettes noires: les Pharaons ensevelissant des peuples
pour se construire une tombe; Moïse, les Hébreux, le désert: il
entrevit tout un monde antique et solennel. Fraîche et suave, une
statue de marbre assise sur une colonne torse et rayonnant de
blancheur lui parla des mythes voluptueux de la Grèce et de l’Ionie.
Ah! qui n’aurait souri comme lui, de voir sur un fond rouge, la jeune
fille brune dansant dans la fine argile d’un vase étrusque devant le
dieu Priape qu’elle saluait d’un air joyeux? en regard, une reine
latine caressait sa chimère avec amour! Les caprices de la Rome
impériale respiraient là tout entiers et révélaient le bain, la couche, la
toilette d’une Julie indolente, songeuse, attendant son Tibulle. Armée
du pouvoir des talismans arabes, la tête de Cicéron évoquait les
souvenirs de la Rome libre et lui déroulait les pages de Tite-Live: le
jeune homme contempla Senatus Populusque romanus: le consul,
les licteurs, les toges bordées de pourpre, les luttes du Forum, le
peuple courroucé défilaient lentement devant lui comme les
vaporeuses figures d’un rêve. Enfin la Rome chrétienne dominait ces
images. Une peinture ouvrait les cieux: il y voyait la Vierge Marie
plongée dans un nuage d’or, au sein des anges, éclipsant la gloire
du soleil, écoutant les plaintes des malheureux auxquels cette Ève
régénérée souriait d’un air doux. En touchant une mosaïque faite
avec les différentes laves du Vésuve et de l’Etna, son âme s’élançait
dans la chaude et fauve Italie: il assistait aux orgies des Borgia,
courait dans les Abruzzes, aspirait aux amours italiennes, se
passionnait pour les blancs visages aux longs yeux noirs. Il
frémissait des dénoûments nocturnes interrompus par la froide épée
d’un mari, en apercevant une dague du Moyen-âge dont la poignée
était travaillée comme l’est une dentelle, et dont la rouille ressemblait
à des taches de sang. L’Inde et ses religions revivaient dans un
magot chinois coiffé de son chapeau pointu, à losanges relevés,
paré de clochettes, vêtu d’or et de soie. Près du magot, une natte,
jolie comme la bayadère qui s’y était roulée, exhalait encore les
odeurs du sandal. Un monstre du Japon dont les yeux restaient
tordus, la bouche contournée, les membres torturés, réveillait l’âme
par les inventions d’un peuple qui, fatigué du beau toujours unitaire,
trouve d’ineffables plaisirs dans la fécondité des laideurs. Une
salière sortie des ateliers de Benvenuto Cellini le reportait au sein de
la renaissance, au temps où les arts et la licence fleurissaient, où les
souverains se divertissaient à des supplices, où les conciles
couchés dans les bras des courtisanes décrétaient la chasteté pour
les simples prêtres. Il vit les conquêtes d’Alexandre sur un camée,
les massacres de Pizarre dans une arquebuse à mèche, les guerres
de religion échevelées, bouillantes, cruelles, au fond d’un casque.
Puis, les riantes images de la chevalerie sourdirent d’une armure de
Milan supérieurement damasquinée, bien fourbie, et sous la visière
de laquelle brillaient encore les yeux d’un paladin.
Cet océan de meubles, d’inventions, de modes, d’œuvres, de
ruines, lui composait un poème sans fin. Formes, couleurs, pensées,
tout revivait là; mais rien de complet ne s’offrait à l’âme. Le poète
devait achever les croquis du grand peintre qui avait fait cette
immense palette où les innombrables accidents de la vie humaine
étaient jetés à profusion, avec dédain. Après s’être emparé du
monde, après avoir contemplé des pays, des âges, des règnes, le
jeune homme revint à des existences individuelles. Il se
repersonnifia, s’empara des détails en repoussant la vie des nations
comme trop accablante pour un seul homme.
Là dormait un enfant en cire, sauvé du cabinet de Ruysch, et
cette ravissante créature lui rappelait les joies de son jeune âge. Au
prestigieux aspect du pagne virginal de quelque jeune fille d’Otaïti,
sa brûlante imagination lui peignait la vie simple de la nature, la
chaste nudité de la vraie pudeur, les délices de la paresse si
naturelle à l’homme, toute une destinée calme au bord d’un ruisseau
frais et rêveur, sous un bananier, qui dispensait une manne
savoureuse, sans culture. Mais tout à coup il devenait corsaire, et
revêtait la terrible poésie empreinte dans le rôle de Lara, vivement
inspiré par les couleurs nacrées de mille coquillages, exalté par la
vue de quelques madrépores qui sentaient le varech, les algues et
les ouragans atlantiques. Admirant plus loin les délicates miniatures,
les arabesques d’azur et d’or qui enrichissaient quelque précieux
missel manuscrit, il oubliait les tumultes de la mer. Mollement
balancé dans une pensée de paix, il épousait de nouveau l’étude et
la science, souhaitait la grasse vie des moines exempte de chagrins,
exempte de plaisirs, et se couchait au fond d’une cellule, en
contemplant par sa fenêtre en ogive les prairies, les bois, les
vignobles de son monastère. Devant quelques Teniers, il endossait
la casaque d’un soldat ou la misère d’un ouvrier; il désirait porter le
bonnet sale et enfumé des Flamands, s’enivrait de bière, jouait aux
cartes avec eux, et souriait à une grosse paysanne d’un attrayant
embonpoint. Il grelottait en voyant une tombée de neige de Miéris,
ou se battait en regardant un combat de Salvator Rosa. Il caressait
un tomhawk d’Illinois, et sentait le scalpel d’un Chérokée qui lui
enlevait la peau du crâne. Émerveillé à l’aspect d’un rebec, il le
confiait à la main d’une châtelaine dont il écoutait la romance
mélodieuse en lui déclarant son amour, le soir, auprès d’une
cheminée gothique, dans la pénombre où se perdait un regard de
consentement. Il s’accrochait à toutes les joies, saisissait toutes les
douleurs, s’emparait de toutes les formules d’existence en
éparpillant si généreusement sa vie et ses sentiments sur les
simulacres de cette nature plastique et vide, que le bruit de ses pas
retentissait dans son âme comme le son lointain d’un autre monde,
comme la rumeur de Paris arrive sur les tours de Notre-Dame.
En montant l’escalier intérieur qui conduisait aux salles situées
au premier étage, il vit des boucliers votifs, des panoplies, des
tabernacles sculptés, des figures en bois pendues aux murs, posées
sur chaque marche. Poursuivi par les formes les plus étranges, par
des créations merveilleuses assises sur les confins de la mort et de
la vie, il marchait dans les enchantements d’un songe; enfin, doutant
de son existence, il était comme ces objets curieux, ni tout à fait
mort, ni tout à fait vivant. Quand il entra dans les nouveaux
magasins, le jour commençait à pâlir; mais la lumière semblait inutile
aux richesses resplendissantes d’or et d’argent qui s’y trouvaient
entassées. Les plus coûteux caprices de dissipateurs morts sous
des mansardes après avoir possédé plusieurs millions, étaient dans
ce vaste bazar des folies humaines. Une écritoire payée cent mille
francs et rachetée pour cent sous, gisait auprès d’une serrure à
secret dont le prix aurait suffi jadis à la rançon d’un roi. Là, le génie
humain apparaissait dans toutes les pompes de sa misère, dans
toute la gloire de ses petitesses gigantesques. Une table d’ébène,
véritable idole d’artiste, sculptée d’après les dessins de Jean Goujon
et qui coûta jadis plusieurs années de travail, avait été peut-être
acquise au prix du bois à brûler. Des coffrets précieux, des meubles
faits par la main des fées, y étaient dédaigneusement amoncelés.
—Vous avez des millions ici, s’écria le jeune homme en arrivant à
la pièce qui terminait une immense enfilade d’appartements dorés et
sculptés par des artistes du siècle dernier.
—Dites des milliards, répondit le gros garçon joufflu. Mais ce
n’est rien encore; montez au troisième étage, et vous verrez!
L’inconnu suivit son conducteur et parvint à une quatrième
galerie où successivement passèrent devant ses yeux fatigués
plusieurs tableaux du Poussin, une sublime statue de Michel-Ange,
quelques ravissants paysages de Claude Lorrain, un Gérard Dow
qui ressemblait à une page de Sterne, des Rembrandt, des Murillo,
des Velasquez sombres et colorés comme un poème de lord Byron;
puis des bas-reliefs antiques, des coupes d’agate, des onyx
merveilleux; enfin c’était des travaux à dégoûter du travail, des
chefs-d’œuvre accumulés à faire prendre en haine les arts et à tuer
l’enthousiasme. Il arriva devant une vierge de Raphaël, mais il était
las de Raphaël; une figure de Corrège qui voulait un regard ne
l’obtint même pas; un vase inestimable en porphyre antique et dont
les sculptures circulaires représentaient, de toutes les priapées
romaines, la plus grotesquement licencieuse, délice de quelque
Corinne, eut à peine un sourire. Il étouffait sous les débris de
cinquante siècles évanouis, il était malade de toutes ces pensées
humaines, assassiné par le luxe et les arts, oppressé sous ces
formes renaissantes qui, pareilles à des monstres enfantés sous ses
pieds par quelque malin génie, lui livraient un combat sans fin.
Semblable en ses caprices à la chimie moderne qui résume la
création par un gaz, l’âme ne compose-t-elle pas de terribles
poisons par la rapide concentration de ses jouissances, de ses
forces ou de ses idées? Beaucoup d’hommes ne périssent-ils pas
sous le foudroiement de quelque acide moral soudainement épandu
dans leur être intérieur?
—Que contient cette boîte? demanda-t-il en arrivant à un grand
cabinet, dernier monceau de gloire, d’efforts humains, d’originalités,
de richesses, parmi lesquelles il montra du doigt une grande caisse
carrée, construite en acajou, suspendue à un clou par une chaîne
d’argent.
—Ah! monsieur en a la clef, dit le gros garçon avec un air de
mystère. Si vous désirez voir ce portrait, je me hasarderai volontiers
à le prévenir.
—Vous hasarder? reprit le jeune homme. Votre maître est-il un
prince?
—Mais, je ne sais pas, répondit le garçon.
Ils se regardèrent pendant un moment aussi étonnés l’un que
l’autre. L’apprenti interpréta le silence de l’inconnu comme un
souhait, et le laissa seul dans le cabinet.
Vous êtes-vous jamais lancé dans l’immensité de l’espace et du
temps, en lisant les œuvres géologiques de Cuvier? Emporté par
son génie, avez-vous plané sur l’abîme sans bornes du passé,
comme soutenu par la main d’un enchanteur? En découvrant de
tranche en tranche, de couche en couche, sous les carrières de
Montmartre ou dans les schistes de l’Oural, ces animaux dont les
dépouilles fossilisées appartiennent à des civilisations
antédiluviennes, l’âme est effrayée d’entrevoir des milliards
d’années, des millions de peuples que la faible mémoire humaine,
que l’indestructible tradition divine ont oubliés et dont la cendre,
poussée à la surface de notre globe, y forme les deux pieds de terre
qui nous donnent du pain et des fleurs. Cuvier n’est-il pas le plus
grand poète de notre siècle? Lord Byron a bien reproduit par des
mots quelques agitations morales; mais notre immortel naturaliste a
reconstruit des mondes avec des os blanchis, a rebâti comme
Cadmus des cités avec des dents, a repeuplé mille forêts de tous les
mystères de la zoologie avec quelques fragments de houille, a
retrouvé des populations de géants dans le pied d’un mammouth.
Ces figures se dressent, grandissent et meublent des régions en
harmonie avec leurs statures colossales. Il est poète avec des
chiffres, il est sublime en posant un zéro près d’un sept. Il réveille le
néant sans prononcer des paroles grandement magiques; il fouille
une parcelle de gypse, y aperçoit une empreinte, et vous crie:
Voyez! Soudain les marbres s’animalisent, la mort se vivifie, le
monde se déroule! Après d’innombrables dynasties de créatures
gigantesques, après des races de poissons et des clans de
mollusques, arrive enfin le genre humain, produit dégénéré d’un type
grandiose, brisé peut-être par le Créateur. Échauffés par son regard
rétrospectif, ces hommes chétifs, nés d’hier, peuvent franchir le
chaos, entonner un hymne sans fin et se configurer le passé de
l’univers dans une sorte d’Apocalypse rétrograde. En présence de
cette épouvantable résurrection due à la voix d’un seul homme, la
miette dont l’usufruit nous est concédé dans cet infini sans nom,
commun à toutes les sphères et que nous avons nommé LE TEMPS,
cette minute de vie nous fait pitié. Nous nous demandons, écrasés
que nous sommes sous tant d’univers en ruines, à quoi bon nos
gloires, nos haines, nos amours; et si, pour devenir un point
intangible dans l’avenir, la peine de vivre doit s’accepter? Déracinés
du présent, nous sommes morts jusqu’à ce que notre valet de
chambre entre et vienne nous dire: Madame la comtesse a répondu
qu’elle attendait monsieur.
Les merveilles dont l’aspect venait de présenter au jeune homme
toute la création connue mirent dans son âme l’abattement que
produit chez le philosophe la vue scientifique des créations
inconnues: il souhaita plus vivement que jamais de mourir, et tomba
sur une chaise curule en laissant errer ses regards à travers les
fantasmagories de ce panorama du passé. Les tableaux
s’illuminèrent, les têtes de vierge lui sourirent, et les statues se
colorèrent d’une vie trompeuse. A la faveur de l’ombre, et mises en
danse par la fiévreuse tourmente qui fermentait dans son cerveau
brisé, ces œuvres s’agitèrent et tourbillonnèrent devant lui: chaque
magot lui jeta sa grimace, les yeux des personnages représentés
dans les tableaux remuèrent en pétillant; chacune de ces formes
frémit, sautilla, se détacha de sa place, gravement, légèrement, avec
grâce ou brusquerie, selon ses mœurs, son caractère et sa
contexture. Ce fut un mystérieux sabbat digne des fantaisies
entrevues par le docteur Faust sur le Brocken. Mais ces
phénomènes d’optique enfantés par la fatigue, par la tension des
forces oculaires ou par les caprices du crépuscule, ne pouvaient
effrayer l’inconnu. Les terreurs de la vie étaient impuissantes sur une
âme familiarisée avec les terreurs de la mort. Il favorisa même par
une sorte de complicité railleuse les bizarreries de ce galvanisme
moral dont les prodiges s’accouplaient aux dernières pensées qui lui
donnaient encore le sentiment de l’existence. Le silence régnait si
profondément autour de lui, que bientôt il s’aventura dans une douce
rêverie dont les impressions graduellement noires suivirent, de
nuance en nuance et comme par magie, les lentes dégradations de
la lumière. Une lueur prête à quitter le ciel ayant fait reluire un
dernier reflet rouge en luttant contre la nuit, il leva la tête, vit un
squelette à peine éclairé qui le montra du doigt, et pencha
dubitativement le crâne de droite à gauche, comme pour lui dire: Les
morts ne veulent pas encore de toi! En passant la main sur son front
pour en chasser le sommeil, le jeune homme sentit distinctement un
vent frais produit par je ne sais quoi de velu qui lui effleura les joues,
et frissonna. Les vitres ayant retenti d’un claquement sourd, il pensa
que cette froide caresse digne des mystères de la tombe lui avait été
faite par quelque chauve-souris. Pendant un moment encore, les
vagues reflets du couchant lui permirent d’apercevoir indistinctement
les fantômes par lesquels il était entouré; puis toute cette nature
morte s’abolit dans une même teinte noire. La nuit, l’heure de mourir
était subitement venue. Il s’écoula, dès ce moment, un certain laps
de temps pendant lequel il n’eut aucune perception claire des
choses terrestres, soit qu’il se fût enseveli dans une rêverie
profonde, soit qu’il eût cédé à la somnolence provoquée par ses
fatigues et par la multitude des pensées qui lui déchiraient le cœur.
Tout à coup il crut avoir été appelé pas une voix terrible, et tressaillit
comme lorsqu’au milieu d’un brûlant cauchemar nous sommes
précipités d’un seul bond dans les profondeurs d’un abîme. Il ferma
les yeux; les rayons d’une vive lumière l’éblouissaient; il voyait briller
au sein des ténèbres une sphère rougeâtre dont le centre était
occupé par un petit vieillard qui se tenait debout et dirigeait sur lui la
clarté d’une lampe. Il ne l’avait entendu ni venir, ni parler, ni se
mouvoir. Cette apparition eut quelque chose de magique. L’homme
le plus intrépide, surpris ainsi dans son sommeil, aurait sans doute
tremblé devant ce personnage extraordinaire qui semblait être sorti
d’un sarcophage voisin. La singulière jeunesse qui animait les yeux
immobiles de cette espèce de fantôme empêchait l’inconnu de croire
à des effets surnaturels; néanmoins, pendant le rapide intervalle qui
sépara sa vie somnambulique de sa vie réelle, il demeura dans le
doute philosophique recommandé par Descartes, et fut alors, malgré
lui, sous la puissance de ces inexplicables hallucinations dont les
mystères sont condamnés par notre fierté ou que notre science
impuissante tâche en vain d’analyser.
Figurez-vous un petit vieillard sec et maigre, vêtu d’une robe en
velours noir, serrée autour de ses reins par un gros cordon de soie.
Sur sa tête, une calotte en velours également noir laissait passer, de
chaque côté de la figure, les longues mèches de ses cheveux blancs
et s’appliquait sur le crâne de manière à rigidement encadrer le front.
La robe ensevelissait le corps comme dans un vaste linceul, et ne
permettait de voir d’autre forme humaine qu’un visage étroit et pâle.
Sans le bras décharné, qui ressemblait à un bâton sur lequel on
aurait posé une étoffe et que le vieillard tenait en l’air pour faire
porter sur le jeune homme toute la clarté de la lampe, ce visage
aurait paru suspendu dans les airs. Une barbe grise et taillée en
pointe cachait le menton de cet être bizarre, et lui donnait
l’apparence de ces têtes judaïques qui servent de types aux artistes
quand ils veulent représenter Moïse. Les lèvres de cet homme
étaient si décolorées, si minces, qu’il fallait une attention particulière
pour deviner la ligne tracée par la bouche dans son blanc visage.
Son large front ridé, ses joues blêmes et creuses, la rigueur
implacable de ses petits yeux verts, dénués de cils et de sourcils,
pouvaient faire croire à l’inconnu que le Peseur d’or de Gérard Dow
était sorti de son cadre. Une finesse d’inquisiteur, trahie par les
sinuosités de ses rides et par les plis circulaires dessinés sur ses
tempes, accusait une science profonde des choses de la vie. Il était
impossible de tromper cet homme qui semblait avoir le don de
surprendre les pensées au fond des cœurs les plus discrets. Les
mœurs de toutes les nations du globe et leurs sagesses se
résumaient sur sa face froide, comme les productions du monde
entier se trouvaient accumulées dans ses magasins poudreux; vous
y auriez lu la tranquillité lucide d’un Dieu qui voit tout, ou la force
orgueilleuse d’un homme qui a tout vu. Un peintre aurait, avec deux
expressions différentes et en deux coups de pinceau, fait de cette
figure une belle image du Père Éternel ou le masque ricaneur du
Méphistophélès, car il se trouvait tout ensemble une suprême
puissance dans le front et de sinistres railleries sur la bouche. En
broyant toutes les peines humaines sous un pouvoir immense, cet
homme devait avoir tué les joies terrestres. Le moribond frémit en
pressentant que ce vieux génie habitait une sphère étrangère au
monde où il vivait seul, sans jouissances, parce qu’il n’avait plus
d’illusion; sans douleur, parce qu’il ne connaissait plus de plaisirs. Le
vieillard se tenait debout, immobile, inébranlable comme une étoile
au milieu d’un nuage de lumière; ses yeux verts, pleins de ne je sais
quelle malice calme, semblaient éclairer le monde moral comme sa
lampe illuminait ce cabinet mystérieux. Tel fut le spectacle étrange
qui surprit le jeune homme au moment où il ouvrit les yeux, après
avoir été bercé par des pensées de mort et de fantasques images.
S’il demeura comme étourdi, s’il se laissa momentanément dominer
par une croyance digne d’enfants qui écoutent les contes de leurs
nourrices, il faut attribuer cette erreur au voile étendu sur sa vie et
sur son entendement par ses méditations, à l’agacement de ses
nerfs irrités, au drame violent dont les scènes venaient de lui
prodiguer les atroces délices contenues dans un morceau d’opium.
Cette vision avait lieu dans Paris, sur le quai Voltaire, au dix-
neuvième siècle, temps et lieux où la magie devait être impossible.
Voisin de la maison où le dieu de l’incrédulité française avait expiré,
disciple de Gay-Lussac et d’Arago, contempteur des tours de
gobelets que font les hommes du pouvoir, l’inconnu n’obéissait sans
doute qu’aux fascinations poétiques dont il avait accepté les
prestiges et auxquelles nous nous prêtons souvent comme pour fuir
de désespérantes vérités, comme pour tenter la puissance de Dieu.
Il trembla donc devant cette lumière et ce vieillard, agité par
l’inexplicable pressentiment de quelque pouvoir étrange; mais cette
émotion était semblable à celle que nous avons tous éprouvée
devant Napoléon, ou en présence de quelque grand homme brillant
de génie et revêtu de gloire.
—Monsieur désire voir le portrait de Jésus-Christ peint par
Raphaël? lui dit courtoisement le vieillard d’une voix dont la sonorité
claire et brève avait quelque chose de métallique. Et il posa la lampe
sur le fût d’une colonne brisée, de manière à ce que la boîte brune
reçût toute la clarté.
Aux noms religieux de Jésus-Christ et de Raphaël, il échappa au
jeune homme un geste de curiosité, sans doute attendu par le
marchand qui fit jouer un ressort. Soudain le panneau d’acajou
glissa dans une rainure, tomba sans bruit et livra la toile à
l’admiration de l’inconnu. A l’aspect de cette immortelle création, il
oublia les fantaisies du magasin, les caprices de son sommeil,
redevint homme, reconnut dans le vieillard une créature de chair,
bien vivante, nullement fantasmagorique, et revécut dans le monde
réel. La tendre sollicitude, la douce sérénité du divin visage
influèrent aussitôt sur lui. Quelque parfum épanché des cieux dissipa
les tortures infernales qui lui brûlaient la moelle des os. La tête du
Sauveur des hommes paraissait sortir des ténèbres figurées par un
fond noir; une auréole de rayons étincelait vivement autour de sa
chevelure d’où cette lumière voulait sortir; sous le front, sous les
chairs, il y avait une éloquente conviction qui s’échappait de chaque
trait par de pénétrantes effluves; les lèvres vermeilles venaient de
faire entendre la parole de vie, et le spectateur en cherchait le
retentissement sacré dans les airs, il en demandait les ravissantes
paraboles au silence, il l’écoutait dans l’avenir, la retrouvait dans les
enseignements du passé. L’Évangile était traduit par la simplicité
calme de ces adorables yeux où se réfugiaient les âmes troublées;
enfin sa religion se lisait tout entière en un suave et magnifique
sourire qui semblait exprimer ce précepte où elle se résume: Aimez-
vous les uns les autres! Cette peinture inspirait une prière,
recommandait le pardon, étouffait l’égoïsme, réveillait toutes les
vertus endormies. Partageant le privilége des enchantements de la
musique, l’œuvre de Raphaël vous jetait sous le charme impérieux
des souvenirs, et son triomphe était complet, on oubliait le peintre.
Le prestige de la lumière agissait encore sur cette merveille; par
moments il semblait que la tête s’élevât dans le lointain, au sein de
quelque nuage.
—J’ai couvert cette toile de pièces d’or, dit froidement le
marchand.
—Eh! bien, il va falloir mourir, s’écria le jeune homme qui sortait
d’une rêverie dont la dernière pensée l’avait ramené vers sa fatale
destinée, en le faisant descendre, par d’insensibles déductions,
d’une dernière espérance à laquelle il s’était attaché.
—Ah! ah! j’avais donc raison de me méfier de toi, répondit le
vieillard en saisissant les deux mains du jeune homme qu’il serra par
les poignets dans l’une des siennes, comme dans un étau.
L’inconnu sourit tristement de cette méprise et dit d’une voix
douce:—Hé! monsieur, ne craignez rien, il s’agit de ma vie et non de
la vôtre. Pourquoi n’avouerais-je pas une innocente supercherie,
reprit-il après avoir regardé le vieillard inquiet. En attendant la nuit,
afin de pouvoir me noyer sans esclandre, je suis venu voir vos
richesses. Qui ne pardonnerait ce dernier plaisir à un homme de
science et de poésie?
Le soupçonneux marchand examina d’un œil sagace le morne
visage de son faux chaland tout en l’écoutant parler. Rassuré bientôt
par l’accent de cette voix douloureuse, ou lisant peut-être dans ces
traits décolorés les sinistres destinées qui naguère avaient fait frémir
les joueurs, il lâcha les mains; mais par un reste de suspicion qui
révéla une expérience au moins centenaire, il étendit
nonchalamment le bras vers un buffet comme pour s’appuyer, et dit
en y prenant un stylet:—Êtes-vous depuis trois ans surnuméraire au
trésor, sans y avoir touché de gratification?
L’inconnu ne put s’empêcher de sourire en faisant un geste
négatif.
—Votre père vous a-t-il trop vivement reproché d’être venu au
monde, ou bien êtes-vous déshonoré?
—Si je voulais me déshonorer, je vivrais.
—Avez-vous été sifflé aux Funambules, ou vous trouvez-vous
obligé de composer des flons-flons pour payer le convoi de votre
maîtresse? N’auriez-vous pas plutôt la maladie de l’or? voulez-vous
détrôner l’ennui? Enfin, quelle erreur vous engage à mourir?
—Ne cherchez pas le principe de ma mort dans les raisons
vulgaires qui commandent la plupart des suicides. Pour me
dispenser de vous dévoiler des souffrances inouïes et qu’il est
difficile l’exprimer en langage humain, je vous dirai que je suis dans
la plus profonde, la plus ignoble, la plus perçante de toutes les
misères. Et, ajouta-t-il d’un ton de voix dont la fierté sauvage
démentait ses paroles précédentes, je ne veux mendier ni secours ni
consolations.
—Eh! eh! Ces deux syllabes que d’abord le vieillard fit entendre
pour toute réponse ressemblèrent au cri d’une crécelle. Puis il reprit
ainsi:—Sans vous forcer à m’implorer, sans vous faire rougir, et sans
vous donner un centime de France, un parat du Levant, un tarain de
Sicile, un heller d’Allemagne, une seule des sesterces ou des oboles
de l’ancien monde, ni une piastre du nouveau, sans vous offrir quoi
que ce soit en or, argent, billon, papier, billet, je veux vous faire plus
riche, plus puissant et plus considéré que ne peut l’être un roi
constitutionnel.
Le jeune homme crut le vieillard en enfance, et resta comme
engourdi, sans oser répondre.
—Retournez-vous, dit le marchand en saisissant tout à coup la
lampe pour en diriger la lumière sur le mur qui faisait face au portrait,
et regardez cette Peau de Chagrin, ajouta-t-il.
Le jeune homme se leva brusquement et témoigna quelque
surprise en apercevant au-dessus du siége où il s’était assis un
morceau de chagrin accroché sur le mur, et dont la dimension
n’excédait pas celle d’une peau de renard; mais, par un phénomène
inexplicable au premier abord, cette peau projetait au sein de la
profonde obscurité qui régnait dans le magasin des rayons si
lumineux que vous eussiez dit d’une petite comète. Le jeune
incrédule s’approcha de ce prétendu talisman qui devait le préserver
du malheur, et s’en moqua par une phrase mentale. Cependant,
animé d’une curiosité bien légitime, il se pencha pour la regarder
alternativement sous toutes les faces, et découvrit bientôt une cause
naturelle à cette singulière lucidité: les grains noirs du chagrin
étaient si soigneusement polis et si bien brunis, les rayures
capricieuses en étaient si propres et si nettes que, pareilles à des
facettes de grenat, les aspérités de ce cuir oriental formaient autant
de petits foyers qui réfléchissaient vivement la lumière. Il démontra
mathématiquement la raison de ce phénomène au vieillard, qui, pour
toute réponse, sourit avec malice. Ce sourire de supériorité fit croire
au jeune savant qu’il était dupe en ce moment de quelque
charlatanisme. Il ne voulut pas emporter une énigme de plus dans la
tombe, et retourna promptement la peau comme un enfant pressé
de connaître les secrets de son jouet nouveau.
—Ah! ah! s’écria-t-il, voici l’empreinte du sceau que les Orientaux
nomment le cachet de Salomon.
—Vous le connaissez donc? demanda le marchand, dont les
narines laissèrent passer deux ou trois bouffées d’air qui peignirent
plus d’idées que n’en pouvaient exprimer les plus énergiques
paroles.
—Existe-t-il au monde un homme assez simple pour croire à
cette chimère? s’écria le jeune homme, piqué d’entendre ce rire
muet et plein d’amères dérisions. Ne savez-vous pas, ajouta-t-il, que
les superstitions de l’Orient ont consacré la forme mystique et les
caractères mensongers de cet emblême qui représente une
puissance fabuleuse? Je ne crois pas devoir être plus taxé de
niaiserie dans cette circonstance que si je parlais des Sphinx ou des
Griffons, dont l’existence est en quelque sorte scientifiquement
admise.
—Puisque vous êtes un orientaliste, reprit le vieillard, peut-être
lirez-vous cette sentence.
Il apporta la lampe près du talisman que le jeune homme tenait à
l’envers, et lui fit apercevoir des caractères incrustés dans le tissu
cellulaire de cette peau merveilleuse, comme s’ils eussent été
produits par l’animal auquel elle avait jadis appartenu.
—J’avoue, s’écria l’inconnu, que je ne devine guère le procédé
dont on se sera servi pour graver si profondément ces lettres sur la
peau d’un onagre.
Et, se retournant avec vivacité vers les tables chargées de
curiosités, ses yeux parurent y chercher quelque chose.
—Que voulez-vous? demanda le vieillard.
—Un instrument pour trancher le chagrin, afin de voir si les
lettres y sont empreintes ou incrustées.
Le vieillard présenta son stylet à l’inconnu, qui le prit et tenta
d’entamer la peau à l’endroit où les paroles se trouvaient écrites;
mais, quand il eut enlevé une légère couche de cuir, les lettres y
reparurent si nettes et tellement conformes à celles qui étaient
imprimées sur la surface, que, pendant un moment, il crut n’en avoir
rien ôté.
—L’industrie du Levant a des secrets qui lui sont réellement
particuliers, dit-il en regardant la sentence orientale avec une sorte
d’inquiétude.
—Oui, répondit le vieillard, il vaut mieux s’en prendre aux
hommes qu’à Dieu!
Les paroles mystérieuses étaient disposées de la manière
suivante:
Ce qui voulait dire en français:
SI TU ME POSSÈDES, TU POSSÉDERAS TOUT.

MAIS TA VIE M’APPARTIENDRA. DIEU L’A
VOULU AINSI. DÉSIRE, ET TES DÉSIRS
SERONT ACCOMPLIS. MAIS RÈGLE
TES SOUHAITS SUR TA VIE.
ELLE EST LA. A CHAQUE
VOULOIR JE DÉCROITRAI
COMME TES JOURS.
ME VEUX-TU?
PRENDS. DIEU
T’EXAUCERA.
SOIT!
—Ah! vous lisez couramment le sanscrit, dit le vieillard. Peut-être

avez-vous voyagé en Perse ou dans le Bengale?
—Non, monsieur, répondit le jeune homme en tâtant avec
curiosité cette peau symbolique, assez semblable à une feuille de
métal par son peu de flexibilité.
Le vieux marchand remit la lampe sur la colonne où il l’avait
prise, en lançant au jeune homme un regard empreint d’une froide
ironie qui semblait dire: Il ne pense déjà plus à mourir.
—Est-ce une plaisanterie, est-ce un mystère? demanda le jeune
inconnu.
Le vieillard hocha de la tête et dit gravement:—Je ne saurais
vous répondre. J’ai offert le terrible pouvoir que donne ce talisman à
des hommes doués de plus d’énergie que vous ne paraissiez en
avoir; mais, tout en se moquant de la problématique influence qu’il
devait exercer sur leurs destinées futures, aucun n’a voulu se risquer
à conclure ce contrat si fatalement proposé par je ne sais quelle
puissance. Je pense comme eux, j’ai douté, je me suis abstenu, et...
—Et vous n’avez pas même essayé? dit le jeune homme en
l’interrompant.
—Essayer! dit le vieillard. Si vous étiez sur la colonne de la place
Vendôme, essaieriez-vous de vous jeter dans les airs? Peut-on
arrêter le cours de la vie? L’homme a-t-il jamais pu scinder la mort?
Avant d’entrer dans ce cabinet, vous aviez résolu de vous suicider;
mais tout à coup un secret vous occupe et vous distrait de mourir.
Enfant! Chacun de vos jours ne vous offrira-t-il pas une énigme plus
intéressante que ne l’est celle-ci? Écoutez-moi. J’ai vu la cour
licencieuse du régent. Comme vous, j’étais alors dans la misère, j’ai
mendié mon pain; néanmoins j’ai atteint l’âge de cent deux ans, et je
suis devenu millionnaire: le malheur m’a donné la fortune,
l’ignorance m’a instruit. Je vais vous révéler en peu de mots un
grand mystère de la vie humaine. L’homme s’épuise par deux actes
instinctivement accomplis qui tarissent les sources de son existence.
Deux verbes expriment toutes les formes que prennent ces deux
causes de mort: VOULOIR et POUVOIR. Entre ces deux termes de
l’action humaine il est une autre formule dont s’emparent les sages,
et je lui dois le bonheur et ma longévité. Vouloir nous brûle et
Pouvoir nous détruit; mais SAVOIR laisse notre faible organisation
dans un perpétuel état de calme. Ainsi le désir ou le vouloir est mort
en moi, tué par la pensée; le mouvement ou le pouvoir s’est résolu
par le jeu naturel de mes organes. En deux mots, j’ai placé ma vie,
non dans le cœur qui se brise, non dans les sens qui s’émoussent;
mais dans le cerveau qui ne s’use pas et qui survit à tout. Rien
d’excessif n’a froissé ni mon âme ni mon corps. Cependant j’ai vu le
monde entier: mes pieds ont foulé les plus hautes montagnes de
l’Asie et de l’Amérique, j’ai appris tous les langages humains, et j’ai
vécu sous tous les régimes: j’ai prêté mon argent à un Chinois en
prenant pour gage le corps de son père, j’ai dormi sous la tente de
l’Arabe sur la foi de sa parole, j’ai signé des contrats dans toutes les
capitales européennes, et j’ai laissé sans crainte mon or dans le
wigham des sauvages, enfin j’ai tout obtenu parce que j’ai tout su
dédaigner. Ma seule ambition a été de voir. Voir n’est-ce pas savoir?
Oh! savoir, jeune homme, n’est-ce pas jouir intuitivement? n’est-ce
pas découvrir la substance même du fait et s’en emparer
essentiellement? Que reste-t-il d’une possession matérielle? une
idée. Jugez alors combien doit être belle la vie d’un homme qui,
pouvant empreindre toutes les réalités dans sa pensée, transporte
en son âme les sources du bonheur, en extrait mille voluptés idéales
dépouillées des souillures terrestres. La pensée est la clef de tous
les trésors, elle procure les joies de l’avare sans donner ses soucis.
Aussi ai-je plané sur le monde, où mes plaisirs ont toujours été des
jouissances intellectuelles. Mes débauches étaient la contemplation
des mers, des peuples, des forêts, des montagnes! J’ai tout vu, mais
tranquillement, sans fatigue; je n’ai jamais rien désiré, j’ai tout
attendu; je me suis promené dans l’univers comme dans le jardin
d’une habitation qui m’appartenait. Ce que les hommes appellent
chagrins, amours, ambitions, revers, tristesse, sont pour moi des
idées que je change en rêveries; au lieu de les sentir, je les exprime,
je les traduis; au lieu de leur laisser dévorer ma vie, je les dramatise,
je les développe, je m’en amuse comme de romans que je lirais par
une vision intérieure. N’ayant jamais lassé mes organes, je jouis
encore d’une santé robuste; mon âme ayant hérité de toute la force
dont je n’abusais pas, cette tête est encore mieux meublée que ne le
sont mes magasins. Là, dit-il en se frappant le front, là sont les vrais
millions. Je passe des journées délicieuses en jetant un regard

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The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth

I: Politics, Culture, and Society Carole

If I Let You Go Charlotte Levin

If I Let You Go Charlotte Levin

War and his Queen: A Dark Secret Society Romance Amo

Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span 10th Edition

Blood & Heartache (Caprioni Queen Book 2) Elizabeth

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals Steve Brusatte

Levin and O’Neal’s The Diabetic Foot (Diabetic Foot

The Reign of Speech

More information about this series at

The Reign and Life

ISSN 2730-938X ISSN 2730-9398 (electronic)

Cover illustration: incamerastock/Alamy Stock Photo

“This lively and comprehensive book provides a wealth of information about

“A result of Levin’s nonpareil archival research and decades of her seminal

Part I Politics and Religion

Part II Society and Culture

1533 Birth of Queen Elizabeth.

1584 Assassination of William of Orange.

Fig. 2.1 Queen Elizabeth wearing crown private collection 14

This book provides a thorough discussion of various aspects of the life of

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

herself publicly as a Protestant, Elizabeth also wanted some Catholic cere-

de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, Duke of Medina Sidonia. Against the advice of some

Politics and Religion

Elizabeth became queen on November 17, 1558. Messengers went to Hatfield

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 13

Fig. 2.1 Queen Elizabeth wearing crown private collection

assented. Elizabeth insisted that her coronation oath be administered from an

The Privy Council

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 19

Fig. 3.1 Burghley, Elizabeth, Walsingham private collection

Sir Thomas Smith (1513–1577)—Served as Secretary 1572–1576, Member

Sir Francis Walsingham (1532–1590) Served as Secretary and Member End

Thomas Wilson (1524–1581) Member and Second Secretary 1577–1581

William Davison (d. 1608) Served as Secretary 1586–1587

Robert Cecil (1563–1612) Served as Secretary 1596–1612, Member

Sir John Herbert (c.1540–1617) Served as Secretary 1600–1606, Member

Some of the Clerks of the Privy Council

Francis Allen (c.1518–1570), Clerk 1553–1570

William Smith, Clerk 1553–1566

Edmund Tremayne (c.1525–1582), Clerk 1571–1582

Robert Beale (1541–1601), Appointed Clerk 1572

Henry Cheke (c.1548–1586) Appointed Clerk 1576–1581

Sir Thomas Wilkes (c.1545–1598) Appointed Clerk 1576

Sir William Waad (1546–1623) Appointed Clerk in 1583

the return of conspirator Thomas Morgan. In 1587 he was sent to France

Anthony Ashley (1552–1628) Appointed Clerk 1587

Sir Daniel Rogers (c.1538–1591) Appointed Clerk 1587

Sir Thomas Smith (c.1556–1609) Appointed Clerk 1595–1605

Sir Thomas Edmondes (d. 1639) Appointed Clerk 1601

Sir William Petre (1506–1572) Member of Council 1544–1572

Sir Ralph Sadler (1507–1587) 1537–1533, 1558–1587

Henry FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel (1512–1580) 1546–1580

Nicholas Wotton (c.1497–1567) Member 1546–1567

Francis Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (1500–1560) 1549–1560

Edward Feinnes de Clinton, Earl of Lincoln (1512–1585) 1550–1585