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Add MS 89480
- Record Id:
- 032-004251786
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-004251786
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100145210478.0x000001
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100158430652.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Add MS 89480
- Title:
- Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Jacques Bochetel de la Forest, French ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I
- Scope & Content:
-
An original letter from Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542, d. 1587; r. 1542-1567), to Jacques Bochetel de la Forest (d. 1595), French ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603), sent from Carlisle and dated 26 June 1568.
The letter asks the ambassador to send George Douglas as an emissary to France with 300 escuz [écus] and to solicit his safe passage with Charles IX (r. 1560-1574), King of France, or, failing this, to ensure that Henry Crier is granted passage to France, and to lend him 60 escuz. It was sent less than two months following Mary's escape from Lochleven Castle on 2 May 1568, where she had been imprisoned following her forced abdication in favour of the infant James VI. The document is composed of 12 lines written in a secretarial hand, with a further six lines added in Mary's own hand and signed by her, 'Votre bien bonne amye, Marie'.
The letter is accompanied by an engraved portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots (f. i recto), originally designed by the French printmaker Thomas de Leu (b. c. 1555, d. c. 1612) between 1570 and 1612. The portrait is captioned 'Marie Stuard / Reine d'Ecosse, / Née le 5 Décembre 1542, Décapitée le 8 Fev 1587', and inscribed, 'AP Pinx' to the left of the frame and 'T. de Leu Sculp' to the right. This engraving is the sixth state of the portrait and dates to the second half of the 18th century.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Additional Manuscripts
Medieval and Renaissance Women - Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "032-004251786", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Add MS 89480: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Jacques Bochetel de la Forest, French ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-004251786
- Is part of:
- not applicable
- Hierarchy:
- 032-004251786
- Container:
- not applicable
- Record Type (Level):
- Fonds
- Extent:
- 1 leaf
- Digitised Content:
- https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100158430652.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- French
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1568
- End Date:
- 1568
- Date Range:
- 26 Jun 1568
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Paper.
Dimensions: 235 x 205 mm.
Foliation: f. i + 1; f. i is an engraving mounted on paper.
Script: 16th-century secretary hand.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin:
Carlisle, England.
Provenance:
Jacques Bochetel de la Forest (d. 1595), French ambassador to Elizabeth I: the letter addressed to him (dorse).
Purchased by an anonymous owner at the sale of the library of the Château de Dame, Saint Eloy de Gy, Delon-Hoebanx, 23 June 2021, 'Importante Bibliothèque d’un Château du Berry’, lot 56.
Purchased by the British Library with the support of Jeri Bapasola, Lyon & Turnbull, 2 February 2022, 'Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs', lot 308.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)