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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Letters: Earl of Oxford to Baron Burghley, July 13, 1576.


Cecil Papers 9/15 (bifolium, 300mm x 210mm), Oxford to Burghley; 13 July 1576 (W125;F266).

My verie good lord, yesterday, at yowre Lordships ernest request I had sume conference with yow abought yowre doughter, wherin for that her Magestie had so often moued me, and for that yow delt so ernestly withe me, to content as muche as I could, I dyd agre that yow myght bringe her to the court withe condition that she showld not come when I was present nor at any time to haue speche withe mee, and further that yowre Lordship showld not vrge farther in her cause. But now I vnderstand that yowr Lordship means this day to bringe her to the court and that yow mean afterward to prosecut the cause withe further hop. Now if yowre Lordship shall doo so, then shall yow take more in hand then I haue or can promes yow. 




for alwayes I haue and will still prefer myne owne content before others. and obseruinge that wherin I may temper or moderat, for yowre sake I will doo most willingely. Wherfore I shall desire yowre Lordship not to take aduantage of my promes till yow haue giuen me sum honorable assurance by letter or word, of yowre performance of the condition which beinge obserued, I caud yeld, as it is my dutie to her Magesties request, and beare withe yowre fatherly desire, towards her. otherwise, all that is done can stand to non effect. from my loginge at Charinge crosse. this morninge. Yowre Lordships to employ

(signed) Edward Oxenford

Addressed by Oxford: To the right honorable and his verye good Lord the lord Thresorer of England giue thes. [seal]

Endorsed by Burghley: 13 Iulij 1576; The Erle of oxford. Received at St Ionnes


Also at Virtual Grub Street:

  • A Model for Lady Macbeth.  July 12, 2020.  “In Macbeth, the Lady of the castle would also seem to be her Lord’s indomitable will.  She will see the deeds done that need be done in order for him to pass the daunting tests and wear the crown.”
  • Gutenberg, proto-Hack Writers and Shakespeare. May 26, 2020. “A less well known effect of the Reformation was that many young Catholic men who had taken religious orders in order to receive an education began to lead lives at large from monastic discipline.  Like Erasmus and Rabelais they took up the pen.”
  • The Battle Over Shakespeare's Early and Late Plays. September 24, 2018. “The answers to the post-Oxford dilemma, of course, are three.”
  • Shakespeare's Apricocks.  February 21, 2017.  "While he may never have been a gardener, he does seem more than superficially knowledgeable about the gardens of his day.  One detail of such matters that he got wrong, however, is as much to the point as any."
  • Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
  • Check out the English Renaissance Letter Index for many letters from this fascinating time, some related to the Shakespeare Authorship Question. 




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