Harley MS 1582

This volume is entitled on the spine, 'Original Letters and Papers on State Affairs'. It contains a wide range of materials on English relations with, and intelligence on, France, the Low Countries and Germany in the late 16th century.

It has also been termed, not entirely happily but with a good deal of truth, Walsingham papers. There is material from before Sir Francis Walsingham's period of office (letters of English ambassadors in France in 1553 and 1554) and from the 1590s, after his death. But the bulk of the material dates from his period of office as Principal Secretary (1573-1590). Some of the material, such as Daniel Rogers's diplomatic papers in Germany, may well have come to him. One letter to the Queen for Sir Amias Paulet exists in a copy which was made for him (ff. 22r-27v: 26 Sep 1577?). Above all, many of the letters are written to Walsingham, whilst other papers are drafts in his or his clerk's hand, including some of letters formally in the Queen's name (ff. 80r-88v, 91r-93v).

Two groups of papers within this collection are perhaps of particular interest. One is the set of letters written to Walsingham by various ambassadors in Paris: Valentine Dale, Sir Amias Paulet and Sir Edward Stafford. These include, enclosed in a letter from Stafford dated 11 Sep 1586, a letter reporting the news that had reached France of the danger that Mary, Queen of Scots was in: ‘there is no delayes to be used for Mr Secretarye Walsingham had sayed oppenlye at his table not two dayes afore she writte that there weare those thinges provid and avowid against the Scotish Queene that there was no prince in Christendom but would be ashamid to speake for her and that she was undonn' (f. 72r).

The other set are the fruits of a spy, Henri Fagot, and a mole, Laurent Feron, in the French embassy in 1583-1584, which have been discussed in the work of John Bossy. In particular, many of the drafts of letters by the ambassador, Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière (to Mary, Queen of Scots, Catherine de Medici, King Henri III , the Duke of Anjou and the Duke of Guise) and copies of two of the letters from Mary to Castelnau, formed much of the parcel of letters passed to Walsingham in late April 1584. These and the other letters passed by Feron over the period July 1583-Nov 1584 are itemised in John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Princeton University Press, 2001), pp. 179-186, with discussion of dates proferred where (as is often the case) an actual date is missing. These dates (using the new style dating used within the embassy) and Bossy's identification of recipients has been noted below.

Contents:

ff. 1r-4v: Letter of Sir William Pickering to the English Privy Council, 25 Feb 1553. Original. Partly in cipher.

ff. 5r-7v: Letter of Nicholas Wotton (?) to Queen Mary I, 13 June 1554 (?). This is probably a contemporary copy deciphering the letter of ff. 8r-10v.

ff. 8r-10v: Letter of Nicolas Wotton to Queen Mary I, Soissons, 13 Jun 1554. Almost wholly in cipher. Original, with Wotton's signature.

ff. 11r-12v: Letter of Thomas Wilkes to Francis Walsingham, Poissy, 12 Feb 1574. Original in Wilkes's hand.

ff. 13r-14v: Letter of Thomas Wilkes to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Lyons, 10 Sep 1574. Original in Wilkes's hand.

ff. 15r-17v: Letter of Valentine Dale to Francis Walsingham, Paris, 9 Aug 1574. Original, with Dale' signature.

ff. 18r-19v: Letter of Valentine Dale to Queen Elizabeth I, Lyons, 8 Nov 1574. Original, with Dale's signature.

ff. 20r-221v: Letter of Valentine Dale to Queen Elizabeth I, Paris, 28 Feb 1576. Original, in Dale's hand throughout.

ff. 22r-27v: Letter of Sir Amias Paulet to Queen Elizabeth, Poitiers, [26 Sep 1577?].Contemporary copy. Described as copy on the endorsement, and 'For Mr Walsingham'. The letter has a seal, but no signature, and given the similarity in hand between this and ff 28r-33v - which is signed by Paulet - he may be the origin of the copy. At its head is noted: 'I must tell yor honor that I have had no leasure to examine thys copye'. The letter reports an interview with King Henri III on the 25th of the month; given that the letter refers to his recent peace with the Huguenots, which was confirmed by an Edict of Pacification at Poitiers on 17 Sep 1577, the most plausible date for this is the last few days of Sep 1577. A letter to Burghley of 26 Sep is probably referring to this letter ( Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, 1558-1589, ed. by Arthur John Butler. Vol. 12: 1577-1578 (London, England: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1901). p. 200.

ff. 28r-33v: Letter of Sir Amias Paulet to Francis Walsingham, Paris, 7 Nov 1577. Original, with Paulet's signature, and seal.

ff. 34r-35v: Letter of Sir Amias Paulet to Queen Elizabeth I, Paris, 25 Mar 1578. Original, with signature.

ff. 36r-37v: Discourse of the commodities and discommodities of the marriage of A and Q, n.d.

ff. 38r-41v: Discourse of whether it be good for Her Majesty to assist the Duke of Anjou in his enterprise in the Low Countries, Nov 1581. The heading ascribes this to Sir Francis Walsingham.

ff. 42r-v: Commission of Queen Elizabeth I for negotiating with Henri III, King of France and François Duke of Anjou, 22 Jul 1581.

ff. 44r-45v: Copy of an acknowledgment by William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, Lord Treasurer, of two obligations of François Duke of Anjou for loans of £30,000 apiece, 19 Dec 1581. In French.

ff. 46r-50v: The discourse touching the French marriage. A draft in the hand of Sir Francis Walsingham.

ff. 51r-52v: A discourse touching the French marriage. In Walsingham's hand.

ff. 53r-54r. A memorial for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester by Sir Francis Walsingham, including summaries of various letters (including to Sir Edward Stafford and Colonel Morgan. In Walsingham's hand.

ff. 55r-56v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Rouen, 4 Aug 1586. Original.

ff. 57r-58v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Rouen, 4 Aug 1586. Original.

ff. 59r-60v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 6 Aug 1586. Original, with seal.

ff. 61r-62v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 10 Aug 1586. Original, with seal.

ff. 63r-64v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 13 Aug 1586. Original, with seal.

ff. 65r-66v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 20 Aug 1586. Original, with seal. Some use of cypher, or at least Greek acting as a cipher.

ff. 67r-68v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, [day left blank], Aug 1586. Original.

ff. 71r-73v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 11 Sep 1586. Original. Some use of cipher (partially deciphered). f. 72r is a sheet in a different hand bound within this letter, and is evidently the copy of a letter that Stafford refers to sending with this letter (f. 71r). The letter has news of intercepted mail on the urgency of helping Mary, Queen of Scots: ‘there is no delayes to be used for Mr Secretarye Walsingham had sayed oppenlye at his table not two dayes afore she writte that there weare those thinges provid and avowid against the Scotish Queene that there was no prince in Christendom but would be ashamid to speake for her and that she was undonn.'

ff. 74r-75v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 19 Sep 1586. Original, with seal.

ff. 76r-77v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 9 Nov 1586. Original, with seals.

ff. 78r-79v: Letter of Sir Edward Stafford to Sir Francis Walsingham, Paris, 22 Jan 1587. Original, with seals.

ff. 80r-88v: Minutes of a letter from Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Edward Stafford, March 1587. This is the endorsement, and the letter is clearly as from the Queen, but it is a draft in Walsingham's hand.

ff. 89r-90v: Letter of M (Sir Francis Walsingham) to Sir Edward Stafford, 30 Apr 1588. A draft.

ff. 91r-93v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Edward Stafford, 25 Nov 1588. This is endorsed as a copy of the Queen's letter for the motion for the French ambassador to repair into France for a certain time. The letter is evidently in the hand of a clerk's of Walsingham's, but the crossings out (including most of one page) and the emendations make it look more like a draft.

ff. 94r-96v: Letter of Sir Francis Walsingham to Sir Edward Stafford, Richmond, 28 Jan 1589. In the hand of a clerk of Walsingham. the endorsement describes it as a 'minute'; with crossing-out and emendations evidently a draft.

ff. 97r-98v: Letter of Paul Choar, sieur de Buzenval to Sir Francis Walsingham, Angers (?), 1586. In French. Original.

ff. 99r-100v: Letter of Guillaume de L'Aubespine, Baron de Châteauneuf, French ambassador, to Sir Francis Walsingham, London, 22 Feb 1586. Both the letter and the (English) endorsement give the year as 1586: here taking it this is the French (and so modern) 1586. In French. Original, with signature and seal.

ff. 101r-102v: Letter of Jean de Beauvais, seigneur de Briquemault to Sir Francis Walsingham, Geneva, 17 May 1586. In French. Original. With signature.

ff. 103r-v: Letter of Horatio Palavicino to (?) Sir Francis Walsingham, Frankfort, 11 Jul 1586. In French. Contemporary copy. Noted on the endorsement as Palavicino's letter 'to me'.

ff. 104r-105v: Letter of Paul Choar, sieur de Buzenval to Sir Francis Walsingham, London, 1 Aug 1586. In French. Original. With signature and seal.

ff. 106-107v: Letter to Sir Francis Walsingham, Sedan. 3 Aug 1586. In French. Original. With seal. The contemporary endorsement says the letter is from the 'D. of Bouillon', who at this point would be Charlotte de La Marck, Princesse de Sedan (1574-1594), so the place of writing fits. The signature apparently starts 'Bo', but difficult to get the whole signature to read as Bouillon. The author has added a personal valediction to the rest of the letter in a scribal hand.

ff. 108r-v: Letter of Walter Williams to Sir Francis Walsingham, Dieppe, 13 Aug 1586.

ff. 109r-v: Letter of François de Civille to Sir Francis Walsingham, London, 17 Aug 1586. In French. Original. With seals.

ff. 110r-111v: Letter of Paul Choar, sieur de Buzenval to Sir Francis Walsingham, London, 22 Aug 1586. In French.With seal.

ff. 112r-113v: Letter of Guillaume de L'Aubespine, Baron de Châteauneuf, French ambassador, London, 8 Sep 1586. In French. Original.

ff. 114r-v: Letter of Henri, King of Navarre to Sir Francis Walsingham, Aug 1586. Original, with signature of Henri.

ff. 115r-v; Letter of Masino del Bene to Sir Francis Walsingham, n.d. In Italian. Original. with seal.

ff. 116r-119v: Letter of Masino del Bene to (?)Sir Francis Walsingham, 28 Aug 1586. In Italian. Original.

ff. 120r-126v: Discourse of Captain Masino del Bene, Aug 1586. In Italian. Original.

ff. 127r-v: Letter of Masino del Bene to Sir Francis Walsingham, 30 Aug 1586. In Italian. Original. With seal.

ff. 128r-129v: Request of Queen Elizabeth I to John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, for his military aid to the Low Countries, 8 Mar 1578. In French. Copy. The signatories are the secretaries of state, Sir Francis Walsingham and Thomas Wilson.

ff. 130r-131v: Letter of William I, Prince of Orange, to John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, 27 Jul 1577. In French. Copy.

f. 132r: Letter of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, to Sir Francis Walsingham, Neustadt, 24 Aug 1577. In French. Copy.

f. 133r: Letter of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, to Sir Francis Philip Sidney, Neustadt, 24 Aug 1577. In French. Copy.

ff. 134r-v: Remonstrance of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, against certain Protestant divines, to be delivered to the Elector Palatine, Neustadt, 31 Aug 1577. The endorsements refers to these as instructions to be delivered 'by me' (?Daniel Rogers).

ff. 135r-136v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to be sent to Louis [Ludwig] VI, Elector Palatine at Frankfort, 6 Sep 1577. In French. Copy.

ff. 137r-v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, Windsor Caatle, 31 Oct 1577, ff. 137r-v and ff. 138r-v are copies of the same letter.

ff. 138r-139v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, Windsor Caatle, 31 Oct 1577, ff. 137r-v and ff. 138r-v are copies of the same letter.

ff. 140r-141v: Convention between Queen Elizabeth I and John Casimir, Count Palatine. Signed by Sir Francis Walsingham. Endorsed: 'the first articles to be preferred and accorded uppon'. In Latin.

ff. 142r-v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, Greenwich, 8 Apr 1588. In French. Copy.

ff. 143r-144v: Convention between Queen Elizabeth I and John Casimir, Count Palatine. Signed by Sir Francis Walsingham. Endorsed that these are the second articles to be accorded, in case the first will not be received, wherin that order is to be followed, what is prescribed in the Instructions.

ff. 145r-146r: Abstract of the capitulation between Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, and John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern. This is an abstract, and English translation, of the terms for John Casimir's military intervention in France, and dates from late 1574.

ff. 147r-v: Aggreement between Thomas Wilkes and Frederick III, Elector Palatine, Heidelberg, 11 Apr 1577. In Latin. Copy.

ff. 148r-149v: The answer of Ludwig [Louis] VI, Elector Palatine, to Daniel Rogers, agent for Queen Elizabeth I, 4 Sep 1577. In French. For an English translation.

ff. 150r-151v: The answer of Ludwig [Louis] VI, Elector Palatine, to Daniel Rogers, agent for Queen Elizabeth I, 4 Sep 1577. This is a translation of the text in French, ff. 148r-149r, though the translation is evidently from another version, being from 'the Duche' according to the endorsement.

ff. 152r-v: Letter of Petrus Dalbenus to Sir Francis Walsingham, Frankenthal, 21 (or 27) Dec 1577.

ff. 153-v; Copy of 'my' (Daniel Rogers?) letter to John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern ('Duke Casimir'), Frankfort, 24 Dec 1577. In French. Details from the endorsement.

ff. 154r-155v: Letter of Archduke Matthias to John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, Antorff (Antdorf?), 25 Mar 1578. Delivered 'by me' (Daniel Rogers? ) to Duke Casimir. In German and Latin.

ff. 156r-157v: Certain notes to be considered upon by the Privy Council before the departure of the commissioners who are to be sent to the Diet at Schmalkalden in Thuringia, 7 Jun 1578.

ff. 158r-160*v: Instructions 'wch were drawen as wee should bee sent' towards Schmalkalden, 1578. These instructions were evidently drawn up after the privy Council had considered the points in ff. 156r-157v.

ff. 161r-162v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to the Duke of Litlestein [unidentified], 5 Apr 1588. In French. Copy.

ff. 163r-164v: The heads of a league to be treated between Queen Elizabeth I and 'such princes as make profession of the Gospell', n.d..

ff. 165r-166v: Letter of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern to Archduke Matthias, Lautern, 20 Apr 1578. In Latin. Copy.

ff. 167r-168v: Copy of the instructions of the Dutch Estates-General delivered to their agent in London, Joachim Ortel, Delft, 15 Jan 1588. Copy in English translation.

ff. 169r-172v: Discourses touching the Low Countries, Nov 1589.

ff. 173r-176v: Negotiations between England and the Spanish Netheerlands, primarily about trade: a point-by-point response to articles presented by the English ambassador, 23 Jan 1574, and made 16 Feb 1574, presented to the English ambassador by Monsieur Boschott [i.e Jean-Baptiste de Boisschot]. In French.

ff. 177r-179v: Account of the mutiny of Spanish troops in Zeeland following the fall of Ziereksee, 2 Jul 1576. In French.

ff. 180r-181v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to the Dutch Estates-General, Greenwich, 4 Mar 1579. In French. Copy. Noted as received 16 Mar.

ff. 182r-183v: Letter of Queen Elizabeth I to William I, Prince of Orange, Greenwich, 4 Mar 1579. In French. Copy.

ff. 184r-185v: Instructions of William I, Prince of Orange, Brussels, 20 Jan 1578. In Latin.

ff. 186r-187v; Letter of William I, Prince of Orange to Queen Elizabeth I, Brussels, 21 Jan 1578. In French. Copy. Noted at the head of the copy of the letter sent by the prince to the queen 'by me' (Daniel Rogers) at my first return out of Germany.

ff. 188r-193v: What course were fit for Queen Elizabeth I to hold in mediating between the Duke (François Duke of Anjou) and the Dutch estates. Draft., n.d.

ff. 194r-195v: Certain propositions most probable to be maintained. In the hand of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. Reflections on the Low Countries; best either under the King of Spain, with whom it was best for England to be in amity, or else one who would maintain them in their freedoms and liberties, and especially to have their religion free from the Pope's authority. The latter must not be the French King and the Duke of Anjou (so long as he is not French King and obeys the articles of admission to his government) is meetest. And if it seems best to restore the Low Countries to the King of Spain, the queen shall not spare all good means to defend them from the oppressions of the king of Spain's ministers and officers to erect tyranny.

ff. 196r-207v: Certain discourses between William I, Prince of Orange, and William Herle at sundry times. reported by the latter, London, 11 Jun 1573. On the state of the Low Countries. and the troubles threatening those 'of the religion'.

ff. 208r-209v: Letter of Allexandro dela Torre to Antoio di Fonti (in London), Antwerp, 24 Mar 1589.

ff. 210r-213v: Letter of Frederick II, King of Denmark to Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneberg and the Landgrave of Hesse; Kronenburg, 4 Jul 1585. In Latin, but the endorsement notes translated out of Ducth (presumably German) into Latin.

ff. 214r-217v: Letter of William, Landgrave of Hesse to John George, Elector of Brandenburg, Spangenburg, 13 Aug 1585. Copy. In Latin. Endorsement notes that it has been translated out of the Dutch (i.e. German).

ff. 218r-220v: Precis of responses of the King of Denmark and various German princes to the letters of Queen Elizabeth I: Frederick II, King of Denmark, Kronenburg, 14 June 1585 (f. 218r); Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneberg, Heinrichstadt, 6 Aug 1585 (ff. 218r-v); William, Landgrave of Hesse, Spangenburg, 14 Aug 1585 (ff. 21v-219r); Louis [Ludwig] III, Duke of Württemburg, Stuttgart, 6 Jul 1585 (ff. 291r-v); Otto II, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg, Harburg, 19 Jul 1585 (f. 219v); Joachim Charles, third son of Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneberg and godson to Queen Elizabeth I, Helmstadt, 22 Aug 1585 (f. 219v).

ff. 221r-v: Extract of letter from Frederick II, King of Denmark to Queen Elizabeth I, 12 Sep 1577. In Latin. Copy.

ff. 222r-223v: Letter of (?) Queen Elizabeth I to Sultan Mulay Ahmed Al-Mansur, 'Emperor' of Morocco, 1600. In Spanish.

ff. 224r-225r: Ordinance, munitions and habilaments of war, delivered out of the Queen's stores for the land service in the expedition to Cadiz, 1596.

f. 226-227vr: List of attendants on the artillery for the land service in the expedition to Cadiz, 1596.

ff. 228r-229v: Advertisements from Casales (Cascais) in the River of Lisbon, 5 Jun 1589.

ff. 230r-241v: Articles of peace in France (Peace of Monsieur), 7 May 1576. In French. In two hands.

ff. 242r-243v: News of events sent out from France by the English ambassador, 10 and 19 Jul 1577. Noted as received at Neustadt, 18 Aug 1577 (evidently by Daniel Rogers).

ff. 244r-v: Memoir of the order which it seems must be held in the order of this negotiation, Neustadt, 21 Jul 1577. In French.

ff. 245r-248r: A discourse touching the designs of the King of Spain against England and France, and of the means to be used to frustrate him. In French.

ff. 249r-252v: 'Consideration sur les propos et moyens de la paix'. In French, in a French scribal hand. The endorsement calls it 'Discours des Affayres de France'.

ff. 253r-256v: Objections, and replies, concerning the marriage of Madonna (Marguerite de Valois) and (Henri) Prince of Navarre, [1572]. In Italian.

ff. 257r-262v: Discourse on the state of Henri King of Navarre and his party in France. In French. For a partially ciphered version of the same, see ff. 263r-264v.

ff. 263r-264v: Discourse on the state of Henri King of Navarre and his party in France. In French and partially ciphered. For a deciphered version, see ff. 257r-262v.

ff. 265r-268v: A discourse touching the two monarchs in Europe. In Italian. Incomplete at the beginning.

f. 269r: Confession of N, signed by Henri Fagot. In French. Original. John Bossy, Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991) identified Fagot, spy in the French embassy, as the natural philosopher Giordano Bruno. There is a transcription of this document, with translation, at pp 220-1: Bossy plausibly regards this as an enclosure (possibly for Walsingham's eyes only) to the letter of Fagot to Queen Elizabeth I (ff. 390r-391r below). In a later work, Under the Molehill; An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London; Yale University Press, 2001), Bossy is more circumspect, identifying Fagot as 'presumably pseudonymous chaplain' of the French ambassador, Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, and 'perhaps identical with Bruno'.

ff. 271r-278r: Instructions for the deputies attending the Estates-General at Blois [1576] in the name of the Reformed churches of the Ile de France. In French. In French scribal hand.

ff. 279r-283r: Account of the costs of the Army of Dauphiné. In French. In French scribal hand.

f. 274r: Form of payment of a company of fifty lancers. In French. In French scribal hand.

ff. 285r-301v: Articles of peace proposed to Henri III, King of France, by the deputies for Monsieur, François Duke of Alençon, [1576]. in French. French scribal hand.

ff. 302r-305v: Letter of Pierre Loiseleur, sieur de Villiers to Sir Francis Walsingham, 9 Jun 1582. Original. In French. Concerning a conference with Pomponne de Bellièvre. An English translation of this letter is at ff. 307r-310v.

ff. 306r-v: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, Sheffield Castle, 12 and 15 Jul 1583. In French. Copy in French hand.

ff. 307*r-310v: Letter of Pierre Loyseleur, sieur de Villiers to Sir Francis Walsingham, [9 Jun 1582]. English translation of ff. 302r-305v.

ff. 311r-313v: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, Sheffield Castle, 25 Feb 1584. In French. Copy in French hand. With a note at the end in the hand of Laurent Feron, Castelnau's clerk, to Sir Francis Walsingham. With seals.

ff. 313*r-314r: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, Sheffield Castle, 31 Mar 1584. In French. Copy in French hand.

ff. 315r-317r: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, 23 May 1584. In French. Copy in French hand. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 2001) dates

ff. 318r-319v: Letter of Henri III, King of France to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, Paris, 13 Oct 1583. In French. Copy in French hand. English endorsement: 'The coppye of the F.K. letter unto his Amb, towching the overthrowe of the Ryter[?]'.

ff. 320r-v: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, n.d. [14 Jul 1583]. In French. Copy in French hand. Date from John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 2001), p. 180.

ff. 321*r-323r: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, Sheffield Castle, 10 Apr 1584. In French. Copy in French hand.

ff. 324r-326r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, French Ambassador, to Henri III, King of France, London, 17 Jan 1583. Draft. In French.

ff. 327r-328v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to 'Monseigneur' (François Duke of Anjou?), London, 27 Nov 1583. Draft. In French. Signed by Castelnau.

ff. 329r-331v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London, 19 Dec 1583. Draft. In French.

ff. 332r-333v: Letter of Henri III, King of France to Mary, Queen of Scots, St Germain-en-Laye, 20 Dec 1583. Copy. In French (as is the endorsement).

ff. 334r-337r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London, 1 Jan 1584. In French. Draft.

ff. 338r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother of France, London, 1 Jan 1584. Draft. In French.

ff. 339r-340v, 348r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London 24 Jan 1584. Draft. In French. (for another draft of this letter, see ff. 342r-345v).

ff. 341r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London, 5 Jan 1584. Draft. In French. Signed by Castelnau

ff. 342r-345v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London 24 Jan 1584. Draft. In French. For another draft of this letter, see ff. 339r-340v, 348r.

ff. 346r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother of France, 24 Jan 1584. Draft. In French. Signed by Castelnau.

ff. 347r-v: Jottinga and notes, n.d. 1584

ff. 349r-350v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London, 14 Feb 1584. Draft. In French.

ff. 351r-352v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, 21 Feb 1584. Draft. In French.

ff. 353r-354v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London, 26 Oct 1584. Draft. In French. With seals.

ff. 355r-358v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri, Duke of Guise, London, 4 May 1584. Draft. In French. Signed by Castelnau.

ff. 359-360r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London, 22 Jul 1584. Draft. In French.

ff. 361r-363v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Henri III, King of France, London, Nov 1583. Draft. In French.

f. 364v: Jottings of aphorisms and lines of verse [1584].

ff. 365r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to unnamed Scottish lord, London, 17 Jul 1584.Draft. In French. Signed by Castelnau.

ff. 366r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Patrick Adamson, Archbishop of St Andrews, n.d. [c Jul 1584]. Draft. In French. The date is estimated in John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 183.

ff. 367r-369v: Copies of three letters from Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre to Charlotte de Bourbon, daughter of Louis II, duc de Montpensier, being with the Elector Palatine, Frederick III, 28 Jul 1571, 4 Apr 1572, 5 May 1572.

ff. 369r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Catherine de Medici (?), n.d. [before 15 Jan 1584]. Draft. In French. The identification of the 'Madame' addressed and the date are derived from John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 181.

ff. 370r-373v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d. [1 Apr 1584]. Draft. In French. The identification of the 'Madame' addressed and the date are derived from John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 182.

ff. 374r-376r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d. [17 Apr 1584?]. Draft. In French. The identification of the 'Madame' addressed and the date are derived from John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 182.

ff. 377r-381r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), London, 24 [?Dec 1583]. Draft. In French. The identification of the 'Madame' addressed and the possible date and year are derived from John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 181, who dates the letter to c. 20 Dec: the draft definitely says 24. (f. 381v) may belong better here, the folio the wrong way round, and the hand fits better with f. 381r than the folios after.

ff. 383r-384r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d. Draft. In French. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p 181 identifies the recipient as Mary, and suggests ff. 383-384 can be dated to c. 22 Dec 1583.

ff. 385r-386v, 382r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d.. Draft. In French. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 181 suggests that this letter is c. 24 Dec 1583; he has reconstructed the letter and made the identification of Mary as recipient.

ff. 387r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d.. Draft. In French. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 182, suggests that this letter is Jan 1584 and makes the identification of Mary as recipient.

ff. 388r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Catherine de Medici (?), London, 21 [no month and year]. Draft. In French. Signed by Castelnau, John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 182, suggests that this letter is c. 20 Feb 1584; he has made the identification of Catherine as recipient.

ff. 389r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d.. Draft. In French. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), suggests that this letter is between 11 and 19 Jan 1584 and makes the identification of Mary as recipient.

ff. 390r-391r: Letter of Henri Fagot to Queen Elizabeth I, n.d. In French. John Bossy, Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1991) dates this letter to probably 26 Mar 1584. For his discussion of dating, transcription and translation of this letter, see pp 215-18.

ff. 392r-393v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to 'Monseigneur' (François Duke of Anjou?), n.d. Draft. In French. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 181suggests that this letter is c. 31 Dec 1583, and certainly between 19 Dec 1583 and 19 Jan 1584; he also identifies the recipient as Anjou.

ff. 394r-v: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière (?) to 'Monseigneur' (François Duke of Anjou?), 13 Dec [1583] Draft. In French.

f. 395r: Letter to Queen Elizabeth I (?). In Latin.

ff. 396r-397v: Minute (or draft) of a letter to M. de Arvan (?), n.d. In French.

ff. 398r-401r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d. [26 Jan 1584]. Draft. In French. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 181, suggests the probable date and makes the identification of Mary as recipient.

f. 402r-403r: Letter of Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière to Mary, Queen of Scots (?), n.d. [c. 13 Aug 1583]. Draft. In French. John Bossy, Under the Molehill: An Elizabethan Spy Story (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 181, suggests the probable date and makes the identification of Mary as recipient.

f. 404r: Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots to Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière, Sheffield Castle, 31 May [1584].