Elizabeth I: Then and Now exhibition material

This article offers a descriptive list of items included in the Elizabeth I: Then and Now exhibition.


Introduction

Her red hair, white face and ruff are almost as familiar as his bald head and beard, making Elizabeth I and Shakespeare two of the most recognizable figures from English history. Elizabeth ruled during most of Shakespeare's lifetime, and the Folgers began collecting materials about her as they focused on Shakespeare. The collection on English history has continued to expand with the Folger itself, making it today the largest repository of items by and about Elizabeth I in the United States.

Born in 1533 to Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn, Elizabeth received the education of a prince. She knew five languages and was a talented musician, dancer and horsewoman. The dangers that surrounded Elizabeth during the reign of her Catholic sister Mary only served to make her politically savvy at an early age. When Mary died in November 1558, Elizabeth was prepared to take on the responsibility of the throne at the age of twenty-five. She was crowned in January 1559, and it is there that our exhibition opens.

Elizabeth Enthroned

The handcolored engraving shows Elizabeth enthroned. We know that she wore three different costumes for her coronation day, two of them inherited from her sister Mary. One of these had a mantle and gown made of cloth of gold, the mantle trimmed with ermine. Robert Glover, who wrote this book, was Somerset Herald and one of the great English genealogists.

The Plimpton "Sieve" Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, 1579

This magnificent portrait by George Gower, Sergeant Painter to the Queen, belongs to the early group of "Sieve" portraits where Elizabeth wears a red gown. The portraits take their name from the sieve she holds in her left hand, recalling the Roman Vestal virgin who carried water in a sieve, thus proving her virginity. In this painting, the globe on the left with the Italian motto "I see everything and much is lacking," appears to refer to Elizabeth's imperial mission as her explorers sailed out to new lands. On the right is her coat of arms with a quotation beneath from Petrarch, indicating that the Virgin Queen is beyond the woes of lovers.

items included

Court Life

Elizabeth's life at court was both religious and secular. She spent time in private devotions, and heard services in her chapel, with magnificent singing by a choir of men and boys. She loved music, as well as dancing, horseback riding and hunting. In addition, she watched others perform acrobatics, masques, tourneys, fencing, and wrestling. Many of the plays she saw were performed by boy students from the schools of St. Paul's, Westminster, and the Chapel. The queen and some of her courtiers also sponsored acting companies. In the 1590s, late in her reign, a new talent appeared on the London scene: William Shakespeare.

The "Bishop's Bible"

The Folger owns the actual copy of the Bishops' Bible given to Queen Elizabeth by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury in October 1568. Bound in red velvet, with silver-gilt bosses decorated Tudor roses, the Bible would have been used in her chapel. On the title page is an engraving of a youthful Elizabeth with flowing hair. With Faith and Charity on each side, she becomes emblematic of Hope. Inside is a handcolored portrait of Sir Robert Dudley, her favorite.

I.B. Book of Prayers

This little book, made the year that Shakespeare was born, may have been used by a gentleman at Elizabeth's court for private prayer. It contains prayers for the queen and for the court. The identity of I (or J) B is still a mystery.

Lute

Elizabeth was known as a talented lutenist, and may have played an instrument similar to this period piece. In 1585 she received a box of lute strings for a New Year's gift from "Francisco", probably one of her musicians.

Merry Wives of Windsor

This is the second play by Shakespeare known definitely to have been performed before the queen, as noted on the title page (the first was Love's Labour's Lost). The tradition that Shakespeare wrote Merry Wives at her request because she liked Falstaff has no foundation, but the play does seem to have been written for the Feast of the Garter, celebrated at Westminster in 1597. Mistress Quickly, disguised as Queen of the Faeries (and thus humorously as the queen herself) gives directions near the end of the play to

Search Windsor Castle, elves, within and out.
Strew good luck . . . on every sacred room.

Windsor, of course, was one of Elizabeth's own castles.

Hoefnagel, Visit to Nonsuch

Elizabeth's court traveled with her when she went around the country on her progresses. This colored engraving shows her arriving at Nonsuch in a plumed coach, as she must have done on many of her visits. The palace was built by her father, Henry VIII. In August 1559, during her first summer as queen, the earl of Arundel entertained Elizabeth at Nonsuch. He arranged for magnificent banquets, as well as a masque, music of drums and flutes, and other festivities that kept the party going until 3AM.

items included

  • The holie Bible. The "Bishops' Bible." London: Richard Iugge, 1568.
  • I.B. A booke of certeine devoute and godlie Praires. Calligraphic manuscript, 1564.
  • Lute. Workshop of Michielle Harton. Padua, c.1598.
  • William Shakespeare. A Most pleasaunt and excellent conceited Comedie, of Syr Iohn Falstaffe, and the merrie Wiues of Windsor. London: T[homas] C[reede] for Arthur Iohnson, 1602.
  • Georg Hoefnagel. Palatium regium in Angliae regno appellatum Nonciutz. 1582. Engraved by Franz Hogenberg, c1598.

Elizabeth's Wardrobe

Queen Elizabeth's self-fashioning literally involved the use of "fashion."

She dressed to be seen; her rich clothes and jewels made a statement about her power as a female ruler and about the stability and strength of her nation. Their impact was noted especially by foreign visitors to court. From Germans we hear of her "red robe interwoven with gold thread," and her "pure white satin, gold-embroidered" gown. From a Frenchman, report of "a chain of rubies and pearls about her neck," and pearl bracelets, "six or seven rows of them."

Van de Passe engraving of Elizabeth

The drawing which served as model for this late engraving probably dates from ca.1592-95. The queen wears a wide French farthingale, made of silk decorated with a trellis design of a light woven fabric, caught up on rosettes by jeweled buttons. The over-sleeves are lined with an embroidered fabric. A wired veil trimmed with lace rises behind her elaborate ruff. She wears a jeweled girdle or belt, and pearls nestle in her hair and hang in ropes from her neck. The engraving was made after Elizabeth's death, and Roy Strong calls it "the most influential portrait ever produced of her."

Elizabeth Wingfield Autograph letter, signed, to Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury

The queen received many rich gifts of clothing from her courtiers at New Years. In this letter, Elizabeth Wingfield reports to the Countess of Shrewsbury that her gift of a light blue satin cloak embroidered with pansies was a big hit: "her majesty never liked any thing you gave her so well." The detail below shows this quotation on the first line.

items included

  • Crispin van de Passe. Queen Elizabeth I. Engraving, after drawing by Isaac Oliver, 1603-04.
  • Elizabeth Wingfield. Autograph letter, signed, to Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, January 2 [1576 or 1577]/

Foreign Affairs

Leicester and Essex

The Scottish Connection

Elizabeth as Ruler

Elizabeth's Funeral

Afterlife, Then and Now