Cotton MS Vitellius C XI

This is a collection of royal marriage negotiations and contracts, 1396-1615. It is largely a collection relating to the English royal family, but also reproduces documents tracing the recent marriage negotiations between France and Spain (culminating in the dual marriages of Louis XIII and Philip, heir to the throne of Spain, to each other’s sisters Anne of Austria and Elisabeth of France in 1615).

At some point Item 4 on the contents page, negotiations for the marriage of Henry, Prince of Wales (later King Henry V) and Catherine daughter of the King of France [?1409] disappeared from the volume. The marriage negotiations and rituals around the marriage of Katherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur cover ff. 47r-69r, 86r-107r, 109r-126r.

The volume mingles late sixteenth or early seventeenth century copies, contemporary copies of early sixteenth century records, and originals.

The volume was damaged in the fire in the Cotton library in 1731: largely the corners but some words along the edge of some pages were also lost.

CONTENTS:

• f. 1r: Contents. Seventeenth-century. In Latin and English.
• f. 3r: Instructions for commissioners about the marriage of King Richard II of England and Isabella of France, Leeds Castle, 8 Jul 1396. In Latin. In Chancery hand. [The couple had been betrothed by proxy on Paris on 12 Mar, following which there were negotiations over their dowry; they married at Calais on 28 Oct 1396.]
• f. 4r-v: Commission for marriage negotiations between Marie, daughter of John IV, late Duke of Brittany (and through her mother Joan of Navarre step-daughter of King Henry IV of England) and Alfonso, son of King Henry III of Castile and Leon, Westminster, 5 Oct [1403-1406]. In Latin. In Chancery hand. Commissioners included John Cheyne and Henty Chichele. The text is f. 4v.: f. 4r. has a letter “I” and “1401 4” only, and 1401 has to be an incorrect date.
• f. 5r: Commission for marriage contract between Blanche, daughter of King Henry IV of England, and Louis III, Count Palatine and eldest son of Rupert, King of the Romans, 12 Feb [1401]. In Latin. In Chancery hand. A note in Early Modern secretary hand at the head.
• ff. 6r-29r: Marriage negotiations for the marriage of Blanche, daughter of King Henry IV of England, and Louis III, Count Palatine and eldest son of Rupert, King of the Romans. Various papers, 24 Apr 1401-19 Jun 1402 and n.d. In Latin. In Chancery hand.
• ff. 30r-33r: Marriage negotiations between King Henry IV of England and Gian Maria, Duke of Milan, for the marriage of Edmund Holland, 7^th Earl of Kent and the Duke’s kinswoman Lucia, daughter of Bernabò Visconti, sometime lord of Milan, March 1406.
• ff. 34r-46r: Instructions of King Henry VII of England to, and report of, Francis Marsin and others to present themselves to the old and young widowed Queens of Portugal (both Joanna). They were to present letters to the Queens from their kinswoman Katherine of Aragon, Princess of Wales. But the instructions direct the emissaries, in great detail, to inspect the physical appearance of the younger Joanna (as well as finding out about her linguistic skills, relationship with her uncle Ferdinand of Aragon and what jointure she can expect). There are full replies to these instructions, n.d. [1505, when Ferdinand of Aragon proposed the young Joanna as a possible bride for the King. The emissaries arrived in Valencia, where the Queens were, on 5 June]. In English. A copy in late sixteenth- or early seventeenth-century secretary hand.
• ff. 47r-53r: Instructions of Ferdinand II, King of Aragon, Isabella Queen of Castile his first wife and their daughter Joanna, Queen of Castile, to Rodrigo Gonsales de Puebla, Spanish envoy in England, concerning the marriage of Katherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur and its aftermath, 29 May 1501-19 May 1507. In Spanish. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth century hand.
• ff. 54r-55r: Instructions of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile to Rodrigo Gonsales de Puebla, Spanish envoy in England, concerning the marriage of their daughter Katherine to Arthur, Prince of Wales, n.d., but evidently goes with the formal commission which is dated 30 Jan 1497. In Latin. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth century hand.
• f. 56r: Commission of Ferdinand, King of Aragon and Isabella Queen of Castile for negotiations for the marriage between their daughter Katherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales, 30 Jan 1497. Noted on f. 55r as “The Originall Commission”.
• ff. 56*v-61v, 86r-91*r: Marriage negotiations between King Henry VII of England and Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella, Queen of Castile for the marriage of his son Arthur, Prince of Wales to their daughter Katherine, Windsor, 22 Sep 1496 and Granada, 1 Jan 1498. f. 91r* is copies of the seals of Ferdinand and Isabella. In Latin. In a late sixteenth/early seventeenth century hand. Historical marginal notes on the dowry, ff. 87v-88r.
• ff. 62r-69r: Commission of King Henry VII of England for negotiations for the marriage of his son Arthur, Prince of Wales to Katherine, daughter of Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella, Queen of Castile, Westminster 8 March 1493. In Latin. In late sixteenth- /early seventeenth-century secretary hand.
• ff. 70r-85v: Marriage negotiations between James III, King of Scots, and Edward IV, King of England for the marriage of the former’s son and heir, James, and the latter’s youngest daughter Cecily, 15 Aug-26 Oct 1474. In English and Latin. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth century secretary hand.
• ff. 92r-101r: ‘Commissio ad contrahendum matrimonium inter Arthurum principem Walliae, et Catherinam filiam regis et reginae Hispaniarum per verba de praesenti’, 20 Dec 1499. This proxy marriages of Katherine, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, with Arthur Prince of Wales in Spain and England, 12 Mar and 9 May 1499. In Latin. In late sixteenth-/early seventeenth- century secretary hand.
• ff. 102r-107r: Revocations of dowry of Katherine, Princess of Wales under treaty of 3 Jun 1503 by Ferdinand II King of Aragon and Joanna, Queen of Castile (by their proxy) and by Katherine, Princess of Wales, June 1509 (Joanna’s is on 9 June, Katherine’s is on 7 June).
• f. 108r: Approbation of marriage treaty of Maximilian, King of the Romans, dated 21 Dec 1497. In Latin. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth-century secretary hand. The texts in incomplete, but belongs several years later, between 1504 and 1508: the approbation is made by Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and his daughter Joanna, Queen of Castile from 1504 whilst in 1508 Maximilian succeeds as Holy Roman Emperor.
• ff. 109r-112r: Marriage contract of Prince Arthur and Katherine of Aragon, 14 Nov 1501. In Latin. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth-century secretary hand. (14 Nov 1501 was also the date of their marriage in St Paul’s Cathedral).
• ff. 112v-113v: Articles for the conduct of Katherine of Aragon on her arrival in England, n.d. [1501]. In Latin. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth-century secretary hand.
• ff. 114r-116v: Account of Katherine of Aragon’s coming into England, from her departure from her parents to her coming to London, n.d. [1501]. In Latin. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth-century secretary hand.
• ff. 117r-126r: ‘Certaine notes taken out of the entertainement of Katherine Dowager’. An account of her coming to London, her wedding and its festivities, [November 1501]. In late sixteenth/early seventeenth-century secretary hand.
• ff. 127r-141v: Marriage articles between Henry VII, King of England and Philip, King of Castile and Archduke of Austria, for Henry’s marriage to Margaret, daughter Maximilian, King of the Romans and sister to Philip, 3 March 1506. In Latin. In early sixteenth-century hand.
• f. 143r: Attestation of John of Luxembourg to the marriage treaty between King Henry VII and Margaret, daughter of Maximilian, King of the Romans, 20 Mar 1506. On parchment. In Latin. Evidently an original MS.
• f. 144v: Attestation of John, Count of Egmont to the marriage treaty between King Henry VII and Margaret, daughter of Maximilian, King of the Romans, 1506. An early sixteenth-century hand.
• ff. 145r-154r: Papers relating to ‘my Lady Mary Princesse of Castile’ and the solemnization of her marriage [1513-1514?]. In English, in early sixteenth-century hand. The Princess of Castile was Princess Mary (1496-1533), daughter of King Henry VII. By a marriage treaty of 21 Dec 1507, she was formally betrothed by proxy by words per verba de praesenti on 17 Dec 1508 to Charles of Ghent (later the Emperor Charles V, 1500-1558), grandson of the Emperor Maximilian I. In England she was styled Princess of Castile, and she only formally renounced the betrothal on 30 Jul 1514. The date of these documents is uncertain. A seventeenth-century hand glosses the papers as ‘For the transporting of my Lady the Princess of Castile’ gives the date as 1507, but this seems far too early given the youth of the groom. The date is more likely 1513-1514; in Oct 1513 a treaty between Mary’s brother, King Henry VIII, laid down that the marriage should take placed at Calais not later than 14 May 1514, and these documents make sense as preparation for that event which never happened. The papers include:
• ff. 145r-148r: Furniture and hangings for the chambers for the Princess; and the horses, litter, chariots, wagon and appropriate hangings for her transport.
• ff. 148v-150r: Hangings, carpet and furniture for the Emperor, the Prince of Castile, the Archduchess of Austria (Charles’s mother, Joanna) and the King.
• f. 150*r: ‘For the transporting of my lady Mary Princess of Castill”. The categories of household officers and attendants to attend her (names added in the margin of the most senior).
• ff. 151r-152r: The plate she is to carry with her (starting with ‘a Cronell for her hedde of golde and Stone in the day of her Mariage’.
• ff. 153r-154r: The names of the Princess’s household.
• ff. 155r-168v: Documents relating to the marriage of Princess Mary (1496-1533), sister of King Henry VIII, to Louis XII, King of France (1462-1515): after proxy marriages on 18 Aug and 14 Sep 1514, the couple were married at Abbeville on 9 Oct 1514 and she was crowned at St Denis on 5 Nov 1514. Documents include:
• ff. 155r-v: Names of the men and women who are to attend upon the Queen. In French. In early sixteenth-century hand, with the signature of King Louis (or more likely, an attempt to provide an accurate copy of it. A later hand ventures the date of the wedding: this is the list of English attendants (including “Madamoyselle Boleyne”) left after the King dismissed most of her retinue the day after the marriage.
• ff. 155r-v: Letter of Thomas Bohier to Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, Etampes, 28 Aug 1514. Early sixteenth-century hand, possibly original. (Bohier’s signature is either his own or an attempt to capture it in a copy, and addressing Wolsey as Archbishop of York may be formally premature).
• f. 156r: Letter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France to ‘Monsieur’ [Louis XII], n.d. [late summer 1514]. In French. In her own hand, with seal.
• ff. 157r-161r; Inventory of clothes [of Queen Mary], signed by Thomas Bohier and others, 1514]. Parchment.
• ff. 162r-166v: Marriage treaty between Louis XII, King of France and Henry VIII, King of England, for the former’s marriage, 7 Aug 1514. In Latin. Despite a note of ‘original’, this is a copy in a later hand.
• f. 167r: Written contract of marriage per verba de praesenti by Mary Tudor to King Louis XII, 5 Aug 1514. Referred to in the marriage treaty, ff. 162r-166v. In French. An early sixteenth-century hand, but a copy. Precise date from early seventeenth century note.
• f. 167v: Note by Louis d’Orleans, Duke of Longueville to King Louis XII, confirming the written contract per verba de praesenti of Mary Tudor, n.d. [Aug 1514]. In French. An early sixteenth century hand. Possibly a copy with an attempt to copy Longueville’s signature.
• f. 168r: King Louis XII to Thomas Wolsey, Bishop of Lincoln, St Germain-en-Laye, 5 Aug 1514. In French. Early sixteenth century hand, with signatures (or copies of signatures) of the king and another.
• ff. 169r-189v: Marriage contract between Mary Tudor (1516-1558, later Queen Mary I), daughter of King Henry VIII, and Francis, Dauphin of France (1518-1536), 4 Oct 1518. The date comes from a later annotation, but is the day before formal spousals ceremony. In Latin. In an early sixteenth-century hand. The contract is headed and ended by Henry’s signature, and there are a host of other signatories at the end, starting with Cardinal Wolsey (ff. 189r-v).
• ff. 190r-210v: papers relating to the betrothal of Mary Tudor (1516-1558, later Queen Mary I), daughter of King Henry VIII to the Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), 1521-1522. Includes:
• ff. 191r-192r: Report of Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal and Archbishop of York, of his meetings with the Lady Mary, Charles V and his advisers, Bruges, 15 0r 19 Aug 1521. A draft in Wolsey’s own hand. In English. The date of 15 August is in a later hand; a letter of Richard Pace to Wolsey refers to the king having received his letters of 19 Aug (Cotton MS Galba B VII f. 106r)
• ff. 193r-209v: Treaty of peace between King Henry VIII and the Emperor Charles V, and contract of marriage between Princess Mary and the Emperor., Windsor, 6 June 1522. In Latin. In an early sixteenth-century hand, and with comments on the first page in another early sixteenth-century hand. Signature (or copy of signature) of Thomas Wolsey.
• ff. 210r-v: Notes of Emperor Charles V and King Henry VIII, confirming the marriage. In Latin. In an early sixteenth-century hand, with the signatures (or copies of the signatures) of the two monarchs.
• ff. 211r-224r: Documents relating to the marriage of King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves, daughter of Johann III, Duke of Juliers-Cleves and sister of the current Duke, Wilhelm. Manuscripts include:
• ff. 211r-212v: Report back of the negotiators to King Henry VIII, ‘Thinges to be considered & determined by the Kinges Majestie’, including the Duke of Juliers-Cleves recommendations. In English. The hand looks late sixteenth or early seventeenth century.
• ff. 213r-219r: Marriage treaty between King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves, Windsor Castle, 24 Sep 1539. In Latin. In mid-sixteenth century hand.
• ff. 219v-220v: Attestation by Wilhelm, Duke of Juliers-Cleves, of the contract and proxy marriage on 4 Sep 1539 at Dusseldorf of Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII. In Latin, in early sixteenth-century hand.
• ff. 220v-221r: ‘The names of the noblemen and others of the Queenes traine that attended upon her to Callis [Calais]’ [1539]. This is added below the end of Duke Wilhelm’s attestation, in English and in a late sixteenth or early seventeenth century hand.
• ff. 221v-224r; The orders for receiving Anne of Cleves into England for her marriage to Henry VIII, n.d. [1539]. The orders include a list of those who should receive lady Anne and wait on the King (ff. 222r-224r).
• ff. 225r-227v: Marriage treaty between Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Edward (later King Edward VI), 1546. In Latin. In mid-sixteenth-century hand. Signature of Henry VIII at the beginning and end.
• ff. 228r-295v: Papers, instructions and letters relating to the proposed marriage between Queen Elizabeth I and Charles, Archduke of Austria, brother of the Emperor Maximilian II, 1565-1567. MSS include:
• ff. 228r-232r; First draught of the instructions to Thomas Sackville, 15 Feb 1566. In English. From the hand, very possibly original.
• ff. 233r-237v: Letter of Emperor Maximilian II to unknown recipient, Vienna, 4 July 1565. With the Emperor’s signature and seal. [see below, ff. 240r-242v]. The recipient’s name has been lost: he may be an agent of the Emperor’s.
• ff. 238r-239r: ‘The inconveniencies or difficulties mentioned in Themperors lettres, with the answeres to the same’, 30 Apr 1565. From hand, very possibly original.
• ff. 240r-242v: Memorial, the opinion of named Privy Councillors, to be committed to Thomas Radcliffe, 3^rd Earl of Sussex, to answer on Queen Elizabeth’s behalf to the Emperor for his articles delivered by him to Thomas Dannett the previous July, 30 Jan 1567. In English.
• ff. 243r-v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to the Emperor Maxmilian II, sent by her envoy Thomas Dannett, 1 May 1566. In Italian. A copy.
• ff. 244r-246r: Instructions given by Queen Elizabeth I to Thomas Dannett, he being sent by her with her letters to the Emperor Maximilian II, 30 Apr 1566. Probably, from how William Cecil’s signature appears, a copy.
• f. 247r: Letter of Emperor Maximilian II to Queen Elizabeth I, 27 Nov [?1566]. In Italian. His signature and seal, and the whole letter may be in his hand.
• ff. 248r-265r: Instructions to Thomas Radcliffe, 3^rd Earl of Sussex, sent to the Emperor Maximilian II, 20 May 1567. From the hand, plausibly the original.
• f. 266r: Articles for the religious proprieties to be observed by the Archduke Charles should he marry Queen Elizabeth, October 1567. In English. The date may have been added later to an original text.
• ff. 267r-270v: Formal reply on the behalf of the Emperor Maximilian II to the terms in the Queen’s religious articles (see f. 266r.), [?Oct 1567].
• ff. 271r-272v: Letter of Charles, Archduke of Austria, to Queen Elizabeth I, 25 Oct 1567. In Latin. The signature, and probably the whole letter, in the Archduke’s hand. Note in later hand that this was sent by Henry Cobham.
• ff. 273r-276r: Formal response to English marriage terms proposed, 24 Oct. 1567. In Latin, with marginalia (also in Latin).
• f. 276*r: Letter of the Emperor Maximilian II to Queen Elizabeth I, Vienna, 25 Oct 1567. In Italian. In Maximilian’s hand, with his seal. Notes in a later hand record the address and that the letter was delivered by Henry Cobham.
• ff. 277r-278v: Draughts in hand of Sir William Cecil, probably in reply to imperial responses of Oct 1567, n.d. [but a note on otherwise blank f. 278r* suggests Nov 1567].
• ff. 279r-281v: Formal response of the Emperor Maximilian II to Queen Elizabeth I, 27 Jan 1568. The seal was once attached, but only its container, and its mark on the paper, now survive. Marginalia, possibly in the hand of Sir William Cecil.
• ff. 282r-295v; A discourse by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, on what is meetest in allowing for the religious difference of the Archduke Charles, Nov 1567.
• ff. 296r-v: Articles delivered by M. Secare[?] for the marriage of Monsieur. In English. The heading and date are later, but internal evidence confirms that this relates to the marriage negotiations with François Duke of Anjou (‘Monsieur’). In two contemporary hands; the articles, coming from the French, and the responses in the marginalia.
• ff. 297r-340v: Negotiations for the marriage between Louis XIII, King of France, and Anne of Austria, daughter of King Philip III of Spain. In French. Papers dated 12 July 1612-16 Jan 1615.
• ff. 341r-362r: Negotiations for marriage of Elisabeth, sister of King Louis XIII and Prince Philip (later Philip IV), son of King Philip III of Spain. 12 July 1612-7 Jan 1615. In French.
• ff. 363r-367r: ‘Forayn marriages’: note of special provisions made of late years between the Kings of France and other princes. In English. These are:
• ff. 363r-v: Between Claude, daughter of King Henri II, and Charles Duke of Lorraine (1558).
• ff. 363v-365r: Between Elisabeth, daughter of Henri II, and Philip II, King of Spain.
• ff. 365r-366r: Between Isabella, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II, and Charles IX, King of France.
• ff. 366r-367r: The marriage contract ‘lately made’ (1612) between Elisabeth of France and Prince Philip of Spain.
• ff. 368r-371r: Treaty for the marriage of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, and Elizabeth, daughter of King James I, Westminster, 17 Nov 1612. In Latin. Copy.
• ff. 372r-373r: Abstract of the answer of the Queen Regent of France (Marie de Medici) to a memorial of Sir Thomas Edmondes on the treaty of marriage between an English prince and her daughter Christine, n.d. [1612-1614]. The treaty was originally for marriage to Prince Henry, but after his death the negotiations were for marriage to Prince Charles.
• ff. 374r-v: Historical notes concerning the jointure and dowry. The annotations are possibly in the hand of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton.
• f. 375r: Historical notes on royal marriages of different religions.