Add MS 8587

Marcantonio Da Mula: Diplomatic letters to the Doge of Venice (1560-1561); late 16th-early 17th cent. Italian. Copies. Collection of letters sent by Da Mula (see f. 5v) as the Venetian Ambassador to the Holy See in Rome to Doge Girolamo Priuli. Most of the letters (ff. 1-195v) cover 24 Sept. 1560 to 25 Feb. 1561, a period of difficult relations between the Republic and its Ambassador, who was suspected of pressing Pope Pius IV for ecclesiastical benefits incompatible with the status of a Venetian officer. On 24 Sept. 1560 Da Mula turned down the bishopric of Verona, but on 26 Feb. 1561 accepted his election as Cardinal. He was immediately dismissed as Venetian Ambassador and on 3 March 1561 he was formally banned from Venetian territory. At the end of the volume (ff. 196-206) are letters sent to the Doge by Da Mula's former secretary between 26 Feb. and 8 March 1561. The letters provide an almost daily account of the diplomatic activities of Da Mula and of the Pope, both in religious and political matters, describing in detail the relations between Pius IV and other European states. The collection is divided into six books, inc. (f. 1) 'Serenissimo Prencipe. Hieri il Pontefice mi mando' a' domandare', expl. (f. 195v) 'per la promotione de Cardinali, e si dice, che potria esser domani. Di 25 febraro 1561'. The section dedicated to the letters by his secretary is marked by the title (f. 196) 'Lettere scritte dal Secretario dell'Ambasciatore doppo fatto Cardinale esso Ambasciatore', inc. 'Serenissimo Principe. essendo io hoggi all'audienza del Pontefice', expl. (f. 206) 'e che esso Reverendissimo Patriarca sia fuori di questi travagli. Gratie. Di Roma Li 8 Marzo 1561'. Old shelfmark '365' in ink in the fifth spine compartment; identifiable with Mattei MS. no. 365 in Guilford's catalogue Add. 8220, f. 20v. Owned by Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, but lacking his armorial bookplate. '648' in pencil in upper right corner of f. i. Purchased, together with Add. 8503, 8505, 8562, 8577, 8584, 8585, and 8602, from R. H. Evans, 8 Dec. 1830, lot 648 (part).

Paper; ff. 206+ix, plus one unfoliated blank after f. 196. 290 x 213mm. Horizontal catchwords on each leaf. Late 16th- or early 17th-century binding of vellum on pasteboards.