Letters: Earl of Oxford to Baron Burghley, 1583.

BL Lansdowne 38/62, ff. 158-9 (bifolium, 300mm x 190mm, 225mm x 190mm), Oxford to Burghley; 1583 (W245-6;F303).

I have bene an ernest suter vnto yowre Lordship, for my Lord Lumley, that it wowld pleas yow for my sake to stand his good lord and friend whiche as I perceyve yowre Lordship hathe alreadie very honorablye  the which I am in a number of thinges more then I can reken bound vnto yowre lordship so am I in this lekwise especially. for he hathe mached withe a near kinswoman of myne, to whose father I allwayes was behouldinge vnto, for his assured and kind disposition vnto me. further amonge all the rest of my blud, this only remaynes in account ether of me or els of them, as yowre lordship dothe knowe very well, the rest havinge imbraced further alliances, to leaue thear nearer consanguinite. and as I hope yowre lordship dothe account me now on whome yow have so muche bound as I am to be yowrs before any els in the world, bothe through mache, whearby I count my greatest stay, and by yowre lordshipes friendly vsage and stiken by me in this time whearin I am heged in withe so many enemyes, so lekwise I hope yowre lordship will take all them for yowre followers 

and most at Command whiche are inclyned and affected to me. Whearfore I sh once agayne be thus bould withe lordship to be importunat in this matter yowre lordships fauour in eas my lord Lumleys payment to her magestie whearin we all giue yowre lordship thankes, and yow shall do me as great an honor hearin, as a profit yf it had ben to my self. in th throught yowre lordships fauour I shalbe able to plesure my friend, and stand nedles of others, that have forsaken me. thus for that yowre lordship is trobled withe many matters whear yow ar I crave pardon for troblinge yow. 

yowre lordships to Command

(signed) Edward Oxenford

Addressed by Oxford: To the ryght honorable and his very good lord my lord Thresorer of England giue thes. [seal]

Endorsed by Burgley: Erl of oxford for ye Lord Lumly

Second endorsement: 1583

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• Portia’s Quality of Mercy.  June 2, 2020. “Likely a line from Sonnenschein’s 1905 follow-up essay “Shakspere and Stoicism” is to the point: ‘I hope, by the way, that no "Baconian" will find in this article grist for his mill.’”
• Edward de Vere's Memorial For His Son, Who Died at Birth May 1583.  July 5, 2017.  "The brief Viscount Bulbeck being the son of the renowned poet and playwright Edward de Vere, we might have hoped to have the text of the father’s own memorial poem.  As far as traditional literary history is concerned, no such poem has yet been discovered."
• Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
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