My very good Lord. yt ys now twoo or thre yeres since, that her Magestye was sowght vnto, for the farme of her Tyne by twoo sortes, of suters. the one sort weare manye, the other was only my selfe. They havinge giuine a very slyght estimatione therofe, and deuised many reasones to move her Magesty to passe yt, hadd wrowght yt so fare, that seminge to her Magestye that they hadd made a very hard bargen, gave her with muche adoo a thowsand Markes by yeare, and so her Magesty had yelded vnto yt. At which Instant I ignorant of there procedinges, chaunced to lyght vpon the same sute, and ernestly solicited her Magesty therfore; desiringe to be her farmor for threthowsand pounds a yeare. thes offers were so vnequall, as then her Magesty made a stey of her former deliberatione, further towld them she was offred by me so muche,
and showed for more confirmatione my letter vnto them.
They semed to answer that sure I mistoke yt in wrightinge, and for hast hadd
mist the number of my syphers for I hadd wrytten yt 3000, and they thowghte I
ment but 300. Whervpon her Magesty caused the Lord Thresorer to send vnto me,
and wryght whyther I ment. I affirmed the 3000. Whervpon the matter then was
steyed, and put to further consideratione. Thervpon I was fayne to loke more
exactly into the nature of the sute, which I found, of Twoo natures. the one
was a sute to her Magesty which ran vnder the name of Mr George Gyfford in the
behalfe of the compagnie of Peuterers, and thys sute was called the lesser
sute, which was in effect that there showldbe no Tyne caried owt of the Relame,
but yat yt showld be cast into Bares or lyngates, by ye Pewterers, or els the
Marchand showld pay one halfpennie to them for the pounde. Thys sute was so
blemished and paynted owt so smale as yt was to be passed for Mr Gyfford at a
very loo rate, of lyttell value, and fytt for suche a gentelman as he, yat had
rune his fortune in her Magestyes court. But yowre lordshipe knowes better then
I, how the Tyne ys her Magestyes Commodite, and how she ys to take custome
therof. Thys yeare wherin thes occurrencies of sute hapned, was transported,
Fyftene hundred thowsand pounde weyght of Tyne so far I affirme to yowre
lordship, but by to morow at nyght (by that tyme I have had recorse to my notes
and memories, I thinke I must affirme to yowre Lordship, not pounds but blokes.
Blokes oᵹt to be 250l a peace. But now they cast few vnder 400l a
peace & most 5, 6, and 700l. Now my lord then yow can well iuge, yf
her Magesty grauntes this sute, that semed so smale what yt comes vnto, yf so
many pounds ^weyght^ so many halpens, so many hapens pounds worthe. I am sure
yt cannot be lesse then 6000l a yeare, but when yowre lordship shall
consider of yt yow will fynde yt more, for this her Magestye showld have had
nothinge. great Persones great shares a number of meaner persones, a hundred,
two hundred thre hundred, fyftie pounds and suche sumes, all past sygned sealed
and assured by the masters and wardens of the Pewterers, sene by my self and
able to be proued, and was soo. Of great persones, a thowsand, and twoo,
thowsand to one and as muche to an other. Now my lord how lyttell this sute ys,
may appeare.
The other Nature of the sute
which had bene passed as I sayd before for a thowsand Markes, to wright shortly
to yowre Lordship at thys tyme, was browght to twenty thowsand pound a yeare
rent to be giuene, but for yat I cowld not follow yt, and they that thowght to
gett yt amonge themselues beinge more in number, in place, and authorite, when
all there obiectiones were refelled and ther was nothinge to make but for her
Magestyes profit then they, quenched the heat therof, sayd yt was no tyme for
her Magesty to lay new impositiones one her subiects, and that yt was her
Magestyes plesure to here no more therof. Whervpon I have surceased ever since,
tyll lattly thes persones themselues have revyved the matter to her Magestye
and thinkinge me to be so discoraged, yat I thowght nomore therofe, and yat her
Magestysonee hade now forgotten all former contradictiones, they have vsed all
myne answers to there obiectiones, for reasone to her Magesty to graunt thys
sute vnto the compagnies of Pewterers. thes reasones whylst they were myne,
cowld be by no meanes in her Magestyes behalfe, accepted. But now to serue
there turne they have vsed them for very resonable, & forcible. Inso muche
as I beinge informed that her Magesty had passed thys sute, I thowght yt good
to know the truthe, & to put her Magesty in remembrance of what was past,
hervpon I vnderstand frome her Magestye that yt ys true she hathe signed the
same, but now vpon thys remembrance from me she hathe steyed the wrightinge.
Now I thowght my good lord the
case standinge thus, that there was nothinge so fytt to be done, as to aquaynt
yowre Lordship with the whoole cause, That yow beinge fully posessed therwythe,
by the knowlege of her Magestyes ryght in lawe, the examminatione of whatt
number of Tyne ys transported, may easly and perfetly discerne, what the weyght
or lyghtnes of the matter importes. And for so muche as They have wrowght so
coninglye that before ever I could hav knowlege therof they had gotten her
Magestyes hand, the sudden cannot giue me oportunite to gather vp so many
remembrances, as ys necessarie to vnfould a matter so full of obiections,
deceytes, and fals apparences. But I hope sythe yt hathe pleased her Magesty to
stay the wrightinge, by to morow at nyght, or next day, to giue yow so good
heds, and general informationes of thes matters, that yf yow shall have cause
to speake with her Magesty therin, that yow will thinke reasone, yat yt ys not
fytt yat her Magesty showld so sodenly and without further aduisment, passe yt.
Thus desyringe yowre Lordship to pardone my longe discours vrged by this
matter, I leaue to troble yowre Lords[hip] any farther. this afternone. Yowre
Lordships to Command.
(signed) Edward Oxenford
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
- A 1572 Oxford Letter and the Player’s Speech in Hamlet. August 11, 2020. “The player’s speech has been a source of consternation among Shakespeare scholars for above 200 years. Why was Aeneas’ tale chosen as the subject?”
- 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.”
- Shakespeare’s Funeral Meats. May 13, 2020. “Famous as this has been since its discovery, it has been willfully misread more often than not. No mainstream scholar had any use for a reference to Hamlet years before it was supposed to have been written.”
- Shakespeare Scholarship in the Internet Age. August 12, 2018. “I love to be presented with a legitimate challenge to any of my work. This does not change the fact that such challenges are followed by an unpleasant sinking feeling. Had I missed something?”
- 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 Letters Index: Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford for many letters from this fascinating time, some related to the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
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