Hard-coded id of currently selected item: . JSON version of its record is available from Blacklight on e.g. ??
Metadata associated with selected item should appear here...
Cotton MS Julius C III
- Record Id:
- 040-001101685
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-001101582
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000001246.0x000001
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100132822481.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Cotton MS Julius C III
- Title:
-
A collection of original letters addressed to Sir Robert Bruce Cotton
- Scope & Content:
-
This manuscript contains the correspondence of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631), first Baronet, of Conington Hall in Huntingdonshire, antiquarian and founder of the Cottonian Library. Whereas the British Museum’s catalogue describes this manuscript as a ‘collection of 328 original Letters to Sir Robert Cotton’ [see Planta, Catalogue (1802), p. 9], it actually contains 364 items of which more than 360 are original letters addressed to Robert Cotton. Many of the letters concern loans from and acquisitions of manuscripts for the Cottonian Library. Among the authors are famous poets and playwrights, such as John Donne (b. 1572, d. 1631) – who thanks Cotton for lending him books during his imprisonment for his secret marriage – John Florio (b. 1553, d. 1625), Ben Jonson (b. 1572, d. 1637), and John Lyly (b. 1554, d. 1606). Other letters are written by historians such as William Camden (b. 1551, d. 1623), John Selden (b. 1584, d. 1654), and John Speed (b. 1551/1552, d. 1629); and manuscript collectors such as the astrologer and mathematician John Dee (b. 1527, d. 1609), Thomas Howard (b. 1585, d. 1646), 2nd Earl of Arundel, founder of the Arundel collection, Henry Savile of Banke (b. 1568, d. 1617), and James Ussher (b. 1581, d. 1656), Archbishop of Armagh.
Among the few items not addressed to Robert Cotton are a letter by the playwright and poet Thomas Nashe (bap. 1567, d. c. 1601) to William Cotton (d. 1621), Bishop of Exeter, and a contract between the antiquarian Simonds D’Ewes (b. 1602, d. 1650) and Sir Thomas Cotton (b. 1594, d. 1662), second Baronet, the only surviving child of Sir Robert Cotton, who maintained the Cottonian Library after his father’s death.
Contents:
f. 1r: Arthur Agarde, undated [? 1609].
f. 2r: George Atlington, London, 11 August 1614.
f. 3r: Sy[mon] Archer, Tamworth, 27 April 1629.
f. 4r: Sy[mon] Archer, Tamwort, 30 October 1630.
f. 5r: Edmond Ashfield, 9 April 1612.
f. 7r: Wa[lter] Ashton, Gofreys Chamber, Henry Savile, Phillip Tirwhitt, William Twisden, 26 March [? 1612].
f. 8r: Aubigny, Oliver St John, London, 4 April 1619.
f. 9r: Edward Ayscough, [? Hampstead], 16 December.
f. 10r: Francis Bacon, Gray’s Inn, 8 September 1604.
f. 11r: Francis Bacon, [? 7] April 1610.
ff. 12r-12v: Augustine Baker, Cambrai, 3 June 1629.
f. 13r: Robert Barber, undated [? 1609].
f. 14r: Robert Barker, undated [? 1609].
f. 15r: John Barkham, Sunday night [? 1629].
f. 16r: John Barkham, Bocking, 5 January [? 1630],
f. 17r: John Barkham, no date visible [Fragmentary letter].
f. 18r: Frater Rudisindus Barlo, Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, April 1623 [written in Latin].
f. 19r: William Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln, Bugden, 18 November 1609.
f. 20r: William Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln; Edward Germin; Robert Cromwell; Francis Browne; 9 June 1612.
f. 21r: Thomas Bearde, 25 March 1614.
ff. 22r-22v: William Bedell, Bishop of Kilmore, Horringer or Horningsheath Magna, 10 December 1627; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 135-137.
f. 23r: John Benet, 24 June 1621.
f. 24r: John Benet, 5 November 1621.
f. 25r: Thomas Bodley, 6 June [? 1601]; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 102-103.
ff. 26r-26v: William Bolde, 29 June [‘stilo novo’] 1615.
ff. 27r-27v: William Bolde, Florence, 24 July [‘stilo novo’] 1621.
f. 28r: Edmund Bolton, Whitefriars Dock, 19 July 1610.
f. 29r: Edmund Bolton, Whitefriars Dock, 22 January 1612.
f. 30r: Edmund Bolton, Whitefriars Dock, 16 October 1612.
f. 31r: Edmund Bolton, 1614.
f. 32r: Edmund Bolton, 16 July 1616.
f. 33: John Borough, Venice, 2/22 July 1622.
ff. 34r-35r: John Borough, Venice, 7 Augustus 1622.
ff. 36r-36v: John Borough, Venice, 16/26 August 1622; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 129-30.
f. 37r: William Boswell, Nonsuch, 23 August 1624.
f. 38r: J[ohannes] Bourdelotius, Paris, 2 June 1630 [written in Latin].
f. 39r: J[ohannes] Bourdelotius, 1 August 1630 [written in Latin].
f. 40r: Henry Bourgehier, 23 September 1625.
f. 41r: Henry Bourgehier, January 1626.
f. 42r: Robert Bowyer, Westminster, 14 August 1611.
f. 43r: John Bradshawe, Westminster, 22 September 1612 [written in Latin].
f. 44r: Bernard Brocas, undated [? 1612].
f. 45r: Basill Brooke, Astwell, 1 July 1613.
f. 46r: Thomas Brudenell, 10 August 1613.
f. 47r: G. Buc, 24 March 1605; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 48v.
f. 49r: G. Buc, 10 March 1620; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 50v.
f. 51r: William Burton, Lindsey, 9 June 1627.
f. 52r: Walter Butler, Earl of Ormonde, 12 January 1619.
f. 53r: Walter Butler, Earl of Ormonde, undated.
f. 54r: Walter Butler, Earl of Ormonde, undated.
f. 55r: Julius Caesar to Roger Aston, Keeper of the Wardrobe, 4 November 1610.
f. 56r: George Calvert, Whitehall, 30 March 1621.
f. 57r: George Calvert, [? Whitehall], undated [? 1619].
f. 58r: William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms, Chislehurst, 22 October 1623; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 125-28.
f. 59r: William Camden, undated [? 1613]; edited in Smith, Epistolae (1691), p. 349.
f. 60r: William Camden, undated; edited in Smith, Epistolae (1691), p. 350.
f. 61r: William Camden, undated; edited in Smith, Epistolae (1691), p. 349; and Ellis, Original Letters (1843), p. 124.
f. 62r: William Camden, undated; edited in Smith, Epistolae (1691), p. 349.
f. 63r: William Camden, undated; edited in Smith, Epistolae (1691), p 350.
f. 64r: William Camden, 15 March; edited in Smith, Epistolae (1691), p. 347; and Wright, Queen Elizabeth (1838), II, p. 494.
f. 65r: William Camden, undated; edited in Smith, Epistolae (1691), p. 348; and Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 123-24.
f. 66r: Arthur Capell, Hadham, 17 August 1613.
f. 67r: Arthur Capell, afterwards Baron Capell, Hadham, 20 September 1613.
f. 68r: George Carew, undated [? 1611].
f. 69r: George Carew, Savoy, undated [? 1611].
f. 70r: George Carew, Savoy, Monday [? 1611].
f. 71r: George Carew, Savoy, Tuesday [? 1611].
f. 72r: George Carew, undated [? 1611].
f. 73r: George Carew, undated.
f. 74r: George Carew, undated.
f. 75r: George Carew, undated.
f. 76r: George Carew, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton and Carew’s red wax seal on f. 77v.
f. 78r: Richard Carew, Antony, 7 April 1605; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 98-100.
f. 79r: Henry Cary, Viscount Falkland, Whitehall, 2 February 1621.
f. 80r: No signature or date visible [Fragmentary letter].
f. 81r: J. Casus, 7 November 1592 [written in Latin].
f. 82r: William Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, undated [? 1614].
f. 83r: Thomas Chaloner, undated [?1608].
f. 84r: Thomas Chaloner, undated [?1608].
f. 85r: Thomas Chaloner, undated [?1608].
f. 86r: Nicholas Charles Lancaster, College of Arms, 2 April 1612.
f. 87r: Nicholas Charles Lancaster, Coleman Street, London, 10 September 1613.
f. 88r: Nicholas Charles Lancaster, London, 1 October 1613.
f. 89r: George, Viscount Chaworth [‘Chaworth’], 25 October 1630.
f. 90r: Mary Chaworth, undated [? 1609].
f. 91r: Lucia Chester, undated [?1609].
f. 92r: Richard Chetwode, Wodhall, 27 September 1613.
f. 93r: Jo. Clapham, Chancery Lane, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 94v [Fragmentary letter].
f. 95r: Henry Clifford, afterwards Earl of Cumberland, Londesborough, 24 February.
f. 96r: Katherine Clifton, Leighton, 4 September [? 1605].
f. 97r: Theophilus Clinton, afterwards Earl of Lincoln, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 98v.
f. 99r: Jo. Cowell, Trinity Hall, Cambridge, 3 October 1603.
f. 101r: Edward Coke, undated [? 1612].
f. 102r: Edward Coke, undated [? 1612].
f. 103r: James Cole, 21 April 1601.
f. 104r: William Colet, February; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 105v.
f. 106r: Richard Connock, 16 December 1609.
f. 107r: Richard Connock, undated [? 1611].
f. 108r: Walter Cope, undated [? July 1605].
f. 109r: Walter Cope, 30 May 1607.
f. 110r John Corbett, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 111v.
f. 112r: Charles Cornwaleys, 9 June 1621.
f. 113r: Fardinando Cotton, Algiers, 15 April 1609.
f. 114r: Fardinando Cotton, Tunis, 6 May 1609.
f. 115r: Henry Cotton, April.
f. 116r: Thomas Cotton, 1621 [Fragmentary letter].
f. 117: Thomas Cotton, 13 [?] 1621 [Fragmentary letter].
f. 119r: Thomas Cotton, 23 [?] 1621.
f. 120r: Thomas Cotton, undated.
f. 121r: William Cotton, Bishop of Exeter, Exeter, 1 December 1608; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 122v.
f. 123r: Thomas Coventry, afterwards Baron Coventyr of Aylesborough, Inner Temple, 15 March 1621.
f. 124r: Lionel Cranfield, afterwards Baron Cranfield, and Earl of Middlesex, and Richard Weston, afterwards Baron Weston of Nayland, Whitehall, 1 January 1621.
f. 125r: William Crashawe, Temple, 7 February 1609.
f. 126r: William Crashawe, Temple, 19 July 1609.
f. 127r: Barbara Crompton, Stafford, 11 March 1613.
f. 128r: Thomas Crompton, undated [? 1609].
f. 129r: Henry Cromwell, undated [? 1613].
f. 130r: Jhon Cutts, undated [? 1612].
f. 131r: John Dackombe, 17 March 1613.
f. 132r: John Dackombe, 22 March 1613.
f. 133r: John Davis, undated [? before 1600].
f. 134r: John Davys, Dublin, 4 March 1605.
f. 135r: John Dee, 17 November 1595.
f. 136r: John Dee, Manchester, 10 May 1596; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 87-88.
f. 137r: Carolus della Faille, Stepney, undated [written in Latin].
ff. 138r-138v: Emanuel Demetrius, London, 24 July/3 August 1601.
ff. 139r-139v: Emanuel Demetrius, 30 September 1601; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 140v.
f. 141r: Emanuel Demetrius, ‘Middelborgh’, 25 July/4 August 1602.
f. 142r: Emanuel Demetrius, London, 19 March.
f. 143r: Edward Dering, sending Robert Cotton a copy of Magna Carta, now Cotton Ch XIII 31A, Dover Castle, 10 May 1630.
f. 144r: William Dethick, Poplar, 13 December 1608.
f. 145r: E. Devon, ‘Chilsey’, 19 June 1629.
f. 146r: Simonds D’Ewes, undated [? 1623].
f. 147r: An indenture, dated to 1649, between Simonds D’Ewes and Thomas Cotton, about the former’s loan of a collection of 323 historical coins, beginning: ‘A note of such peeres as Sir Thomas Cotton of Cunnington in the County of Cambridge Baronett hath lent unto Sir Simonds Déwes of Stowhall in the County of Suffolke Knight and Baronet this present yeere 1649’.
f. 148r: Kenelm Digby, London, 11 July.
f. 149r: John Doddrige, undated [? 1609].
f. 150r: John Doddrige, undated [? 1609].
f. 151r: John Doddrige, undated [? 1609].
f. 152r: John Doddrige, undated [? 1609].
f. 153r: John Donne, 20 February 1601/2; edited in Gosse, Life and Letters (1899), I, p. 109.
f. 154r: John Donne, 24 January [? 1614/1615].
ff. 155r-155v: Elizabeth Dormer, Savoy, 27 November 1624.
f. 156r: Thomas Dove, Bishop of Peterborough, Peterborough, 13 April 1608; with an address to Cotton on f. 157v.
f. 158r: Robert Drury, Amiens, [? 7] February 1612.
f. 159r: Robert Drury, ‘Franchford’, 17 June 1612.
f. 160r: Robert Drury, Newmarket, 14 February 1613.
ff. 161r-161v: Pierre Dupuy, Paris, 2 January 1630 [written in French].
ff. 162r-162v: Oswald Dykes, Wensley, 9 January 1599; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 163v.
ff. 164r-164v: Oswald Dykes, Wensley, 5 March 1603.
f. 165r: John Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater, Barbican, 8 November 1628.
f. 166r: Thomas Egerton, Baron Ellesmere, Chancellor of England, afterwards Viscount Brackley, York House, 6 May 1605.
f. 167r: John Eliot, Tiverton, 15 October 1628.
ff. 168r-168v: John Eliot, undated.
f. 169r: John Eliot, undated.
f. 170r: Henry Elsynge, undated [? 1621].
f. 171r: John Everard, 15 January [? 1623/24].
f. 172r: John Everard, Fulham, 23 December 1626.
f. 173r: John Everard, undated [? after 1626].
f. 174r: John Florio, [11/22] March 1600/1 [written in Italian]; edited in Yates, Florio (1934), pp. 218-19.
f. 175r: Anthony Forest, undated [? 1614].
f. 176r: Gilbert Gerrard, Flambards, Harrow-on-the-Hill, 16 December 1620.
f. 177r: G. A. Gisbourne, undated [? 1611].
f. 178r: Henry Goodere, Orchard of Whitehall [‘The orchurd of white hall’], 29 July.
f. 179r: Henry Goodere, undated.
f. 180r: Fulke Greville, afterwards Lord Brooke, undated [? 1609].
f. 181r: Henry Grey, Earl of Kent, Wrest, 11 November 1614.
ff. 182r-182v: Jaspar Gryffyth, 28 October 1613 [featuring Hebrew characters].
f. 183r: Bartholomew Haggett, Southwark, 11 July 1626.
f. 184r: Humphrey Haggett, Arundel House, [...] December 1625.
f. 185r: Thomas Hall, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 186v.
f. 187r: John Haryngton, undated [? 1609].
f. 188r: Percyvall Harte, 6 December [? 1612].
f. 189r: Eliza Hatton [? 1620].
f. 190r: Walter Hawkesworth, Trinity College, Cambridge, April [? 1602].
f. 191r: John Haywarde, 14 October 1621.
f. 192r: [?] Robert Heath, Inner Temple, 15 March 1626.
f. 193r : [?] Robert Heath, 8 Augustus 1626.
f. 194r: Michael Heneage, Keeper of Records in the Tower, London, 1596; with an addres to Robert Cotton on f. 195v.
f. 196r: Baptiste Hickes, undated [? 1613]; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 196v.
f. 198r: Edward Hoby, undated [? before 1600].
f. 199r: Hugo Hollandius, Denbighshire, 19 June [written in Latin].
f. 200r: Hugo Hollandius, London, 6 August [written in Latin], followed by an English letter on the same page; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 201v.
f. 202r: John Holles, Earl of Clare, undated [? 1609].
f. 203r: William Knollys, afterwards Earl of Banbury, and Edward Wotton, Nothingham, 4 May 1610.
f. 204r: Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, Padua, 29 August [? 1613].
f. 205r: Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, Venice, 13 September [? 1613]; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 113-14.
f. 206r: Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, White hall, Thursday night [? 1614].
f. 207r: Thomas Howard, afterwards Baron Arundell of Wardour, undated [? 1614].
f. 208r: Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, Tower, 19 May 1621.
f. 209: Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel [‘From the earle of Arundle’], undated.
f. 210: William Howard, Naworth Castle, 13 August 1608.
f. 211: William Howard, Naworth Castle, 5 March 1621.
f. 212: Richard James, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 213v.
f. 214: Richard James, 25 October.
f. 215: Richard James, 20 April; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 216v.
f. 217r: Dick James, Moody Hall, undated [after 1603]; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 218v.
f. 219r: Dick James, undated [fragmentary letter].
f. 220r: Thomas James, Oxon, 30 June 1625.
f. 221: Thomas James, [? Oxon], 11 August 1628.
f. 222r: Ben Jonson, undated [? 1609]; edited in Herford, Simpson and Simpson, Ben Jonson (1925), I, p. 215 [where the letter is dated to c. 1635].
ff. 223v-224r: William Kirkham, 22 September 1610.
f. 225r: Richard Knolles, Sandwich, 22 January 1609.
f. 226r: William Knollys, Earl of Banbury, undated [after August 1626].
f. 227r: [? St Lo] Knyveton, 10 December 1620.
f. 228r: [? St Lo] Knyveton, undated [? 1620/1].
f. 229r: John Lambe, Rothwell, 20 July 1629.
f. 230r: Edmund Lassells, 12 June 1622.
f. 231r: Richard Late-Warr, St John’s College, Oxford, 10 July 1593.
f. 232r: William Laud [‘Guillaume Meneve’], Bishop of St Davids, Durham House, 22 November 1623.
f. 233r: Frater Leander de S. Martino, ‘definitor’ of the English Benedictine Congregation, Douai, 18 September 1628 [written in Latin].
f. 234r: John Legate, Trinity College, Cambridge, 5 May 1622.
f. 235r: Stephen Lesieur, Bremen, 3 December 1602.
f. 236r: James Ley, Earl of Marlborough, Marlborough, undated [between 1626 and 1628].
f. 237r: George Leycester, 16 June 1609.
f. 238r: William L’isle, King’s College, Cambridge, undated [? 1615].
f. 239r: William L’isle, Cambridge, 4 June 1622.
f. 240r: William L’isle, 28 [...] 1622; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 241v.
f. 242r: William L’isle, Chesterton, 16 March 1630.
f. 243r: William L’isle, undated.
f. 244r: William L’isle, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 245v.
f. 246r: John Lyly, 30 April 1605; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 247v [Fragmentary letter]; edited in Bond, John Lyly (1902), p. 395; and Feuillerat, John Lyly (1910), p. 564.
f. 248r: Gerard Malynes, London, 20 August 1617.
f. 249r: George Margitt, 13 August 1615.
f. 250r: Francis Mase, Islington, 18 June 1621; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 251v [Fragmentary letter].
f. 252r: Roger Maynwaring, St Giles in the Fields, 14 January 1621.
f. 253r: Francis Michell, 4 July 1621.
f. 254r: Francis Michell, undated [after 1621].
f. 255r: Francis Michell, undated [? after 1626].
f. 256r: Francis Michell, 26 March 1628.
f. 257r: Anthony Mildmay [of Moulsham], undated [? 1609].
f. 258r: Humphrey Mildmay, Danbury Park, Essex, 12 April 1609.
f. 259r: Thomas Milles, 15 July 1604.
f. 260r: Thomas Milles, Barbican, 27 March 1609.
f. 261r: [?] Charles Mountagu, undated [? 1610].
f. 262r: Edward Mountagu, afterwards Baron Mountagu of Boughton, Boughton, 24 March 1611.
f. 263r: Henry Mountague, afterwards arl of Mancester, Temple, 21 October 1605.
f. 264r: Henry Mountagu, undated [? 1610].
f. 265r: Henry Mountagu, undated [? June 1611].
f. 266r: Henry Mountagu, 16 [? June].
f. 267r: Henry Mountagu, Viscount Mandeville, undated [? 1620].
f. 268r: Henry Mountagu, Viscount Mandeville, undated [? 1620].
f. 269r: Henry Montagu, Earl of Manchester, undated [? July 1626].
f. 270r: Henry Montagu, Earl of Manchester, undated.
f. 271r: James Montagu, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, Cambridge, 2 August 1601; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 272v.
f. 273r: James Montagu, Court at Greenwich, 14 July 1606.
f. 274r: Richard Montagu, afterwards Bishop of Norwich, undated [after 1614].
f. 275r: Richard Montagu, Eton, 23 January [after 1614].
f. 276r: Richard Montagu, undated [? 1617].
f. 277r: Fr. Morgan, 16 February 1614.
f. 278r: Jo. Mychell, [? 5] June 1626; with an address to Sir Robert Cotton on f. 279v.
f. 280r: Thomas Nashe to William Cotton, afterwards Bishop of Exeter [after 1600]; with a list of payments on f. 280v, including items such as ‘Arcadia’, ‘Old debt’, ‘Cloves’, and a ‘Booke’; edited in McKerrow, Thomas Nashe (1958), V, pp. 192-96 [where the letter is dated to c. September 1596].
f. 281r: Jane Neville, undated [? 1609].
ff. 282r-282v: Riccardo de Nobili de Cotone, Siena, 8 December1622 [written in Italian].
f. 283r: Edward Noel, undated [? 1613].
f. 284r: William Norwich, mayor of Thetford, John Snelling Corve, [?] Jent Wells, Geoffrey [?] Eden/Erler, Thetford, 25 April 1625.
f. 285r: William Noye, Lincoln's Inn, 18 December 1628.
f. 286r: John Overhall, afterwards Bishop of Norwich, St Paul’s, 20 June 1611/12.
f. 287r: Roger Owen [? 1613].
ff. 288r-288v: Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, Paris, 20 January 1617 [written in French].
ff. 289r-289v: Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, Paris, 2 September 1617 [written in French].
ff. 290r-290v: Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, Paris, 11 December 1617 [written in French].
ff. 291r-291v: Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, Paris, 4 July 1617 [written in French].
ff. 292r-292v: Edward Peyton, Isleham, 9 March.
f. 293r: John Peyton, Doddington, 10 January 1614.
f. 294r: Robert Phelipp[e]s, Sunday.
ff. 295r-295v: Thomas Phelippes, Marshalsea, 22 May 1622.
f. 296r: Thomas Phelippes, undated [? 1622].
f. 297r: A memorandum entitled ‘Philips Memoriall’, concerning a settlement for Thomas Phelippes (‘Philips the deciferer’) [? 1622].
ff. 298r-300r: John Pory, undated [? 1605].
ff. 301r-302r: John Pory, 7 January [1605/1606].
ff. 303r-304r: John Pory, Paris, 2 February 1611/12.
ff. 305r-306r: John Pory, Paris, 30 March 1612.
ff. 307r-309v: John Pory, undated [? 1609] [fragmentary letter].
ff. 310r: Fardinando Pulton, Bourton, 8 March 1611/12.
f. 311r: Walter Raleigh, undated [before 1616].
f. 312r: Adam Reuter, London, 28 September 1615.
f. 313r: Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick, Warwick House, 7 May 1621.
f. 314r: Peter Riddell, Newcastle, 24 October 16[1]5.
f. 315r: Oliver Robinson, Erpingham, 8 November 1621 [written in Latin].
f. 316r: Francis Russell, Westminster, 29 may 1621.
f. 317r: Francis Russell, ‘Chis’, 20 January 1621/2.
f. 318r: Edward Russell, Ealr of Bedford, ‘At the Courte’, 16 May 1607.
f. 319r: [?] Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford, More Lodge, 9 February.
f. 320r: Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset, Dorset House, 11 February 1623.
f. 321r: Oliver St John, Baron Beauchamp of Bletso, Bletsoe, 22 November 1600.
f. 322r: Oliver St John, Ripton, 31 August 1601.
f. 323r: Oliver St John [? Keyshoe], 5 March 1604.
f. 324r: Oliver St John, Dublin, 12 November 1606.
ff. 325r-325v: Oliver St John, Dublin, 14 April 1610.
ff. 326r-326v: Oliver St John, Dublin, 17 August 1610.
f. 327r: Oliver St John, undated.
f. 328r: Oliver St John, undated [? 1612].
f. 329r: Oliver St John, [? Athlone], January 1612; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 330v.
f. 331r: Anthony Sams, Poultry Compter, undated.
f. 332r: Henry Savile, St Peter’s Day [? 22 February; before 1600].
f. 333r: Henry Savile, Eton, 18 December 1611.
f. 334r: Nicholas Saunder, 30 November 1621.
f. 335r: Robert Scott, Windsor, 6 September 1612.
f. 336r: John Scudamore, afterwards Baron Dromore and Viscount Scudamore, Holme Lacy, 16 January 1625.
f. 337r: John Scudamore, Holme Lacy, 26 January 1628.
f. 338r: John Selden, 6 November 1615.
f. 339r: John Selden, undated [? 1617].
f. 340r: [John Selden], Dedication of the History of Tithes, Inner Temple, 6 March 1617/18.
f. 341r: John Selden, Wrest in Bedfordshire, 24 July 1624.
f. 342r: John Selden, Wrest in Bedforshire, 25 September 1626.
f. 343r: John Selden, 4 July 1629; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 142-43.
f. 344r: John Selden, undated.
f. 345r: ‘Fr. Sho[...], dated August 1627 [Fragmentary letter].
f. 346r: J. Skory, 25 May 1615.
f. 347r: J. Skory, 23 July 1615.
f. 348r: W Slingilby, undated.
ff. 349r-350r: Richard Smyth, Chichester, 22 March 1629.
f. 351r: Thomas Sparke, Bletchley, 1 April 1614.
ff. 352r-353r: Thomas Sparreus, undated [? 1609]; with a Latin poem on f. 352v; and a Greek poem on f. 353r.
f. 354r: John Speed, 30 August [? 1609]; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 108-13.
f. 355r: John Speed, 5 September [? 1609]; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 108-13.
f. 356r: John Speed, 12 September [? 1609]; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 108-13.
f. 357r: John Speed, undated [? 1609]; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 108-13.
f. 358r: John Speed, undated [? 1609]; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 108-13.
f. 359r: Richard Spicer, undated [? 1616].
ff. 360r-360v: Ralph Starkey, Westminster, 18 September 1625; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 361v.
f. 362r: Ralph Starkey, undated [? 1625].
f. 363r: Franciscus Sweertius, 12 January 1605 [written in Latin].
f. 364r: Robert Sydney, Earl of Leicester, Little Britain, 9 February 1622.
f. 365r: Jo. Tallakarne, Colchester, 18 March 1616; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 366v.
f. 367r: Francis Tate, undated [? 1612].
f. 368r: Francis Tate, Newton, 23 September 1613.
f. 369r: Charles Thynne, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 370v.
f. 371r: William Tooker, Sarum, 23 December 1609.
f. 372r: Samuel Turner, undated.
f. 373r: Sir Whilliam Twisden, and [?] Finch, London, 26 March [? 1611].
f. 374r: [Delta]. T., undated.
f. 375r: Abraham van Gorle, Delft, 13 April [before 1600], translated from a Dutch original.
f. 376r: Richard Verstegen, Antwerp, 15 June [‘stilo novo’] 1609; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 107-08.
ff. 377r-377v: Richard Verstegen, 6 October 1617.
f. 378r: Charles Villiers, Earl of Anglesey, St Martin’s Lane, 8 February 1627.
f. 379r: Augustine Vincent, Windsor Herald, undated [? 1623].
f. 380r: James Usher [‘James Midensis’], Bishop of Meath [afterwards Archbishop of Armagh], Dublin, 25 January 1622/23.
f. 381r: James Usher [‘James Midensis’], Much Hadham, 20 December 1624; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), p. 131.
f. 382r: James Usher [‘James Midensis’], Much Hadham, 2 May 1625; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), p. 132.
f. 383r: James Usher [‘James Armachanus’], Archbishop of Armagh, 12 July 1625; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 133-34.
f. 384r: James Usher [‘James Armachanus’], 22 March 1628; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 138-42.
f. 385r: Joseph Walter, hexameter poem on fox hunting [? 1611].
f. 386r: James Ware, Dublin, 19 June 1627; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 387v; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 134-35.
f. 388r: James Ware, 24 February 1629; edited in Ellis, Original Letters (1843), pp. 144-45.
f. 389r: John Watts, undated [after 1603]; with an address to Robert Cotton and fragments of a wax seal on f. 390v.
f. 391r: John Watts, 19 February 1617; with an address to Robert Cotton and fragments of a wax seal on f. 392v.
f. 393r: John Watts, 30 August 1619; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 394v.
f. 395r: John Watt, 5 January; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 396v.
f. 397r: William Watts, Hampton Court, 31 October 1625.
f. 398r: Laurence Whitaker, Cheswick, Christmas Eve 1625; with an address to Robert Cotton and a red wax seal on f. 399v.
f. 400r: James Whitelocke, undated [? 1609].
f. 401r: John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, Lord Keeper, Westminster College, 3 November 1625.
ff. 402r-402v: John Williams, Buckden, 12 February 1627.
f. 403r: Thomas Wilson, undated [? 1611].
f. 404r: Thomas Wilson, Whitehall, 1 April 1628; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 405v [fragmentary letter].
f. 406r: Thomas Wilson, undated; with an address to Robert Cotton on f. 407v [fragmentary letter].
f. 408r: Mary Wingfelde, Kymbolton Castle, 11 October 1601.
f. 409r: William Woodwarde, undated [? 1611].
f. 410r: Henry Wotton, undated.
f. 411r: Humfrey Wynch, Everton, 28 September [? 1609].
f. 412r: Humfrey Wynch, undated [? 1609].
f. 413r: William Young, Wimborne St Giles, 6 September 1620 [fragmentary letter].
f. 414r: William Young, dated 15 March 1612 [fragmentary letter].
The manuscript contains a later addition:
f. [4]verso: A 17th-century title inscription on a paper pastedown: ‘of Learned men and other [Letters] to Sir Robert Cotton’.
ff. 415r-418r: An ‘Index’ of letters; written and added at the British Museum after the letters had been reorganized in alphabetical order.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Cotton Collection
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-001101582
040-001101685 - Is part of:
- Cotton MS : Cotton Manuscripts
Cotton MS Julius C III : A collection of original letters addressed to Sir Robert Bruce Cotton - Contains:
- Cotton MS Julius C III, ff 1–414 : Letters addressed to Sir Robert Cotton (d. 1631) by, among others, Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban (d. 1626)…
Cotton MS Julius C III, ff 415–418 : Index to Sir Robert Cotton’s correspondence
Click here to View / search full list of parts of Cotton MS Julius C III - Hierarchy:
- 032-001101582[0026]/040-001101685
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Cotton MS
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
1 volume
- Digitised Content:
- https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100132822481.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- English
French
Greek, Ancient
Hebrew
Italian
Latin - Scripts:
- Greek
Hebrew
Latin - Start Date:
- 1592
- End Date:
- 1649
- Date Range:
- 1592-1649
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
Please request the physical items you need using the online collection item request form.
Digitised items can be viewed online by clicking the thumbnail image or digitised content link.
Readers who have registered or renewed their pass since 21 March 2024 can request physical items prior to visiting the Library by completing
this request form.
Please enter the Reference (shelfmark) above on the request form.If your Reader Pass was issued before this date, you will need to visit the Library in London or Yorkshire to renew it before you can request items online. All manuscripts and archives must be consulted at the Library in London.
This catalogue record may describe a collection of items which cannot all be requested together. Please use the hierarchy viewer to navigate to individual items. Some items may be in use or restricted for other reasons. If you would like to check the availability, contact our Reference Services team, quoting the Reference (shelfmark) above.
- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Condition: leaves damaged by fire in 1731.
Materials: Paper.
Dimensions: approximately 330 × 250 mm [measurement of the volume; the letters have varying sizes].
Foliation: ff. 418 (+ 4 unfoliated paper flyleaves at the beginning + 3 at the end); 1 unfoliated paper pastedown on f. [ii]recto (bibliographical notes); 1 on f. [iii]recto (16th-century title inscription); and 1 on f. [420]recto (notes of repair); and 1 on f. [421]verso (notes on leaves taken out for and returned from exhibitions); ff. 1-414 are letters of various sizes that have been mounted onto paper guards or pasted onto blank paper leaves. Aside from the modern foliation, two older foliations can be found in the manuscript: a (?) 17th-century foliation from the Cottonian Library, and another modern foliation (crossed out) added at the British Museum after the letters were organised in chronological order.
Script: 16th- and 17th-century script.
Binding: British Museum in-house: Brown half leather binding with Robert Cotton’s armorial bookplate blind-stamped on the outsides of the upper and lower covers; and a gold-stamped Cottonian shelf-mark (‘Cotton MS. Julius C. III.’) and title inscription on the spine: ‘Letters to Sir R. Cotton’; re-bound on 22 February 1963 [date-stamped on the inside of the lower cover].
- Custodial History:
-
Origin:
Algiers, Amiens, Antwerp, Bremen, Cambrai, Delft, Douai, Dublin, England, Florence, Paris, Venice, Tunis.
Provenance:
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631), 1st baronet, antiquary and politician: recorded in two 17th-century catalogues of his library: Add MS 36789, f. 157v and Addl MS 36682 (see Tite, The Early Records (2003), p. 96); his bookplates blind-stamped on the upper and lower covers; his shelfmark ink-stamped on f. [i]recto; written in 17th-century script on f.[iii]recto; and gold-stamped on the modern spine (probably replicating an inscription on the original spine).
Cotton’s collection was augmented by his son, Sir Thomas Cotton (b. 1594, d. 1662), 2nd baronet, [who probably added the indenture between him and Sir Simonds D’Ewes on f. 147r] and his grandson, Sir John Cotton.
Sir John Cotton (b. 1621, d. 1702), 3rd baronet: bequeathed the entire Cotton collection of books and manuscripts to trustees ‘for Publick Use and Advantage’, 12 and 13 William III, c. 7. Formed one of the foundation collections of the British Museum in 1753.
- Publications:
-
R. Warwick Bond, The Complete Works of John Lyly, 3 vols (1902; repr. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967), p. 395.
‘Cotton MS Julius C. III’, in Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1400-1700 [CELM] [accessed 29 June 2020].
Henry Ellis, Original Letters of Eminent Literary Men of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries, Camden Society, First Series, 23 (London: Nichols, 1843), pp. 87-88 [f. 136r], 98-100 [f. 78r], 102-03 [f. 25r], 107-08 [f. 376r], 108-13 [ff. 354r-358r], 113-14 [f. 205r], 123-24 [f. 65r], 124 [f. 61r], 125-28 [f. 58r], 129-30 [f. 36r], 131 [f. 381], 132 [f. 382r], 133-34 [f. 383r], 134-35 [f. 386r], 135-37 [ff. 22r-22v], 138-42 [f. 384r], 142-43 [f. 343r], 144-45 [f. 388r].
Albert Feuillerat, John Lyly (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910), p. 564.
Edmund Gosse, Life and Letters of John Donne, Dean of St. Paul’s, 2 vols (London: Heinemann, 1899), I, pp. 109 [edition of f. 153r]; plate facing p. 108 [facsimile of f. 154].
Walter Wilson Greg, English Literary Autographs, 3 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1932), plates XVIII(a) [facsimile of f. 246r]; XX(a-c) [facsimile of f. 280r]; XXIII(c) [facsimile of f. 222r]; LXXVIII(d) [facsimile of f. 174r].
C. H. Herford, Percy Simpson and Evelyn Simpson, Ben Jonson, 11 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1925-1952), I: The Man and His Work, p. 215 [edition of f. 222r].
David Howarth, ‘Sir Robert Cotton and the Commemoration of Famous Men’, The British Library Journal, 18:1 (1992), 1-28 (pp. 21, 22).
Hilton Kelliher and Sally Brown, English Literary Manuscripts (London: British Library, 1986), p. 25 [no. 13, facsimile of f. 153r].
R. B. McKerrow, The Works of Thomas Nashe, 5 vols. (1904–1910, repr. Oxford: Blackwell, 1958), V, pp. 192-196 [edition of f. 280r].
Derek Parker, John Donne and His World (London: Thames and Hudson, 1975), p. 35 [facsimile of f. 153r].
Anthony G. Petti, English Literary Hands from Chaucer to Dryden (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977), no. 33 [facsimile of f. 280r].
[Joseph Planta], A Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Cottonian Library Deposited in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1802), pp. 9-10.
Thomas Smith, Guillelmi Camdeni et illustrium Virorum ad G. CamdenumEpistolae, cum Appendice varii Argumenti (London: Chiswell, 1691), pp. 347-50 [editions of ff. 59r-65r].
Colin G. C. Tite, The Early Records of Sir Robert Cotton’s Library: Formation, Cataloguing, Use (London: The British Library, 2003), p. 96.
Thomas Wright, Queen Elizabeth and Her Times: A Series of Original Letters, Selected from the Inedited Private Correspondence of the Lord Treasurer Burghley, the Earl of Leicester, the Secretaries Walsingham and Smith, Sir Christopher Hatton, and Most of the Distinguished Persons of the Period, 2 vols (London: Colburn, 1838), II, p. 494 [edition of f. 64r].
Frances A. Yates, John Florio: The Life of an Italian in Shakespeare's England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1934), pp. 218-19 [edition of f. 174r].
- Exhibitions:
- Magna Carta, (online), 10 March 2015-
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)
- Notes:
- Letter from Sir Edward Dering sending Magna Carta to Sir Robert Cotton. Exhibited: Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy, The British Library (2015).