Elizabeth I ‘in sight and view of all the world': an Unpublished Spanish letter

The article presents the remarkable discovery of an unpublished letter in Spanish written by Queen Elizabeth I to Emperor Maximilian II’s wife Maria. This missive – part of the marriage negotiations between the Queen of England and Charles, Archduke of Austria and Maximilian’s brother – shows the peculiar tone of Elizabeth’s overture to Maria, surprisingly more deferential than that employed in other epistles to address the Emperor. Whether or not this document was meant to send a message to the Spanish King as well as to his sister, one can certainly argue that Elizabeth’s secretaries —who often played an important role in the shaping of her correspondence— collaborated in creating the “dramatic effect” of this letter. Elizabeth was always on a stage. Hers, however, was frequently not a monologue.eth, in fact was always on a stage. Hers, however, was frequently not a monologue.

L’articolo presenta la scoperta di una lettera inedita in spagnolo di Elisabetta I, che si inscrive nella complesso network epistolare che venne a svilupparsi nelle negoziazioni per il matrimonio (mai concretizzato) tra la regina e il fratello dell’imperatore Massimiliano II d’Austra, l’arciduca Carlo. E’ un documento di straordinario interesse anche per il particolare tono scelto dalla regina nei confronti del destinatario, Maria di Spagna, qui trattata con tono quasi deferente. Se da un lato si può pensare che i segretari di Elisabetta abbiano avuto buona parte nella redazione della lettera, Elisabetta si mostra ancora qui come una sovrana “sullla scena”, anche se certamente non in un monologo.