Sir Walter Ralegh and His Readers in the Seventeenth Century

Review Reviewed Work(s): Sir Walter Ralegh and His Readers in the Seventeenth Century by Anna R. Beer Review by: D. R. Woolf Source: Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring, 1999), pp. 89-91 Published by: The North American Conference on British Studies Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4052827 Accessed: 22-03-2020 15:06 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms The North American Conference on British Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies This content downloaded from 130.15.241.167 on Sun, 22 Mar 2020 15:06:28 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Reviews of Books 89 poetry "violates the puritan conception of Christianity as a 'pure' religion," uncontaminated by "the 'camal' worship of the Jews or heathens" (p. 102). In Sir Thomas Browne'sReligio Medici Guibbory perceives an almost "perfect example ofthe ceremonial mentality" but also stresses Browne's "complicated and shifting" relationship to the "ideology of the Laudian church" (p. 1 9). Although this treatise "seems aligned with the Laudians" in the controversy over worship, Browne's singularity and skepticism distance him from "Laudian rigor and threaten to destabilize the Laudianceremonialist order that Browne would defend" (p. 119). Maintaining that, like their correlative ideologies, ceremonialist and puritanwriters "need to be read against each other" and that "the cultural values represented by Herrick and Browne are precisely the ones that Milton attacked" (p. 10), Guibbory devotes two chapters to Milton's views on "camal idolatry and the reconfiguration of worship," covering respectively the period 1634-1660 and the period after the Restoration. In her opinion his three major poems reveal "both the value and cost of puritan individualism" (p. 10), but also constitute "a site for tnre worship in an England polluted by idolatrous forms" (p. 189). Paradise Lost, in her interpretation, not only presents a "history of idolatry" but also portrays "the tiue rites of worship" in the love of Adam and Eve before the fall (pp. 195, 202). In contrast to "the camal/ spiritual, body/ soul dualism that marked his treatment of sex in The Doctrine and Discipline ofDivorce and that undergirds puritan thinking about worship" he "imagines married sexual love as a rite of true worship" (p. 202). His last published poems, on the other hand, reveal far more despair as to the "possibility of religious community," revealing "the lonely, deconstructive, antisocial, and antihistorical implications of a radical puritan ethos" (p. 219). This leamed and imaginative book should prove of major interest to all students of Stuart England and the Interregnum. Its originality, and much of its importance, derive from its fusion of literary and historical evidence; its sensible reassessment of recent scholarship on the bearing of conflicting ideas of ceremonial worship on concepts of religious, cultural, and social community; and its fresh readings and reinterpretations of four major authors of mid-century England. The volume also contains extensive end-notes (pp. 228-68) and an index (pp. 269-75). Henry E. Huntington Library JOHN M. STEADMAN AnnaR. Beer. Sir WalterRalegh and HisReaders in the Se Literature in History.) New York: St. Martin's Press. 1997. Pp. xi, 208. $55.00. ISBN 0-312-175610-4. Some historiographical cadavers just keep creeping out of the grave we thought we had put them in. That Late Parrot, the English Revolution, clings to a kind of phantom existence in literary scholarship twenty years after being swept to oblivion by the revisionist tide. The temptation to fid evidence of opposition, subversion, or "negotiation"-the favorite buzzword since it allows so much room for saving appearances-in every line of verse, letter, marginal annotation or occasional speech, is hard to break with. It must especially be tough if one is devoted primafacie to the proposition that the scaffold-scene of 1649 must have been a half-century in the making, the literary signs of its development staring us in the face if we would but see them. This content downloaded from 130.15.241.167 on Sun, 22 Mar 2020 15:06:28 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 90 Albion Anna Beer's brief book on Ralegh provides a perfect example of this approach to early seventeenth-century texts. The author's considerable spadework has tumed up some inter esting material from Ralegh manuscripts and annotations by readers in Ralegh-authored books. And she certainly puts some distance between her views and an older, Christopher Hill-style, equation of history-writing with opposition. As a whole, however, the exercise i fundamentally misconceived, because it springs from a flawed understanding of the early seventeenth century, in both political and cultural tenns. The book's thesis can be summarized as follows: Ralegh in his Tower period was not the defeated, disgraced world-weary figure that appears in his History of the World, the role-player described by Stephen Greenblatt and by subsequent scholars, including this reviewer. Nor, in contrast, was Ralegh desperately in search of a return to influence on th coattails of a patron such as Prince Henry. On the contrary, he remained as active a politica citizen as he had always been, and perhaps more so, using the vehicle of print to go public with his ideas, communicating directly with "the people." After his death, his works continued to reach a wider public, which perfonned sequential interpretive acts on them, in the service of changing political agendas-providing glosses that would have been no more to Ralegh's liking than to that of the Stuart monarchy. All this illustrates three bold "paradigms" for the understanding of the seventeenth century: "a move from service to opposition"; "a move from manuscript to print transmission"; and "a move from coterie (courtly) to public (non-courtly) readerships." Of the thre only the last is more or less beyond contention. The other two suggestions are more problematic. The so-called "opposition" of the early seventeenth century, especially that of the pre-Laudian 1620s, was composed largely of courtly wannabees quite capable of following patrons in Parliament to push for local refonn, fighting factional campaigns, and gaining attentionforthemselveswithoutmounting anything like an oppositionto amonarchy then seen as unopposable. Although there is considerable reference to recent historiography, there are critical gaps, notably Thomas Cogswell's reconstruction of royal-parliamentary relations in 1624. One can also challenge the rather nebulous notion of "the people" to whom Ralegh was speaking, and the book's occasional reduction of Jacobean cultural politics to what is fast becoming a Foucauldian chestnut: the oppressed and marginalized author resisting a tyrannical regime that is busily working to exert its disciplinary control over subjects' bodies and their speech, while the subjects equally earnestly devote themselves to dissidence of various sorts. Indeed, the familiar figure of the Tiberian despot James, much loved in modem literary circles, makes an appearance here. Thus for Ralegh, in the afternath of the Guiana debacle, Beer notes with drama, "the penalty for failure was death" (p. 82). This is a caricature of early Stuart political culture; compared to the political bloodletting of the early Tudor period, and to some degree of that of the beloved Elizabeth I, James I comes across as a bit of a softy (in the humane sense of the word) and a bridge-builder. It is difficult to escape the conclusion, when all is said and done, that he got rid of Ralegh, a condemned traitor and an old nuisance, because it had simply become impossible to keep him alive and also to maintain good relations with Spain. Beer's reading of Ralegh himself, within this vision of the seventeenth century, is also not without incidental errors of fact or context. John'selden's first published work was not Titles of Honor (1614) but the Duello and JaniAnglorum facies altera, both published in 1610 (p. 32). Elsewhere Beer suggests that history was being depoliticized in the later seventeenth century, owing to its "ostensible 'professionalization"' (p. 171). I know of no This content downloaded from 130.15.241.167 on Sun, 22 Mar 2020 15:06:28 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Reviews of Books 91 work on historiography that would argue either that the "act of history" was apolitical in early seventeenth century, or that it was getting less political in the 1650s and later; f would say itwas being "professionalized" (with orwithout quotation marks), something t didn't happen for two more centuries at least. History was assuredly political throughout the period, but in the first part of the centu it was also extremely conservative. With few exceptions (Ralegh probably not among them early Stuart historiography was devoted to supporting the consensual world view shared the vastmajority of the population, in sharp contrast to the ideologically split historiograp of the Reformation, which returned, to stay, in the 1640s. That is not to say that critic and advice of present monarchs could not be offered through the mirror of the past: a vari of chroniclers and historians from Holinshed to Bacon and Cotton did this. It is merely assert that a political universe which promoted consensual government also cast its hist in that light: examples of "opposition" were Lancastrian specters to be fled, not standar to be rallied around; instances of past bad monarchy put the blessings of good monarch into relief, and could not, till they were read in the radically different context of the 164 provide the grounds for a criticism of monarchy as such. This is a roundabout way of saying that however arguable Beer's vision of Ralegh's o day, her essential point about the twists that could be put on his work in more rebellio times is well-taken. The section on Ralegh's last works is insightful, and the chapter on scaffold speech is especially well argued. The bibliographical appendices will assist schol seeking guidance through the labyrinthine publication history of the History of the W and other works, including those now known to be spurious. It is also helpful to see ju what uses different readers made of the Elizabethan hero, from Thomas Scott and Sir J Eliot inthe 1620s to Milton inthe 1650s. Beer is certainly correct that books, once publish are in a sense no longer the property oftheirwriters, and are capable of being used to supp ideas that were never there in the first place; "the important point about authority," as puts it, is that "it does not necessarily come from the author" (p. 110). This emerges m effectively from the sixth chapter, on Ralegh's reputation and resurrection in the 16 where real oppositional readings are easier to justify; here Beer really comes into her o In the end, Beer is absolutely right on one point: what authors write can eventually be into the service of any agenda. What is left of the headless corpse must be spinning in grave, but three and a half centuries after Thomas Scott, it is probably used to it. Dalhousie University D. R. WOOLF Leslie B. Cormack. Charting an Empim: Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1997. Pp. xvi, 281. $68.00. ISBN 0-226-11606-9. Francis Bacon once remarked that three inventions had altered the face of the world: gunpowder, the printing press, and the compass. Modem scholarship has studied the history of warfare and of printing intensively; by comparison, although voyages and maps have always aroused interest, the rise of geography as a serious subject has received much less attention. Yet, according to Lesley B. Connack, the subject has enormous importance, not least for helping to create the intellectual atmosphere necessary for the eventual creation of the British Empire by generating "a discourse of superiority and exploitation, combined with new ways of analyzing and interpreting the events and structures of the world beyond their This content downloaded from 130.15.241.167 on Sun, 22 Mar 2020 15:06:28 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 

Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century A. Beer ISBN: 9780230371606 DOI: 10.1057/9780230371606 Palgrave Macmillan Please respect intellectual property rights This material is copyright and its use is restricted by our standard site license terms and conditions (see palgraveconnect.com/pc/info/terms_conditions.html). If you plan to copy, distribute or share in any format, including, for the avoidance of doubt, posting on websites, you need the express prior permission of Palgrave Macmillan. To request permission please contact [email protected]. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century Anna R. Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 SIR WALTER RALEGH AND HIS READERS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer EARLY MODERN LITERATURE IN HISTORY General Editor: Cedric C. Brown Within the period 1520-1740 this series discusses many kinds of writing, both within and outside the established canon. The volumes may employ different theoretical perspectives, but they share an historical awareness and an interest in seeing their texts in lively negotiation with their own and successive cultures. Published titles Anna R. Beer SIR WALTER RALEGH AND HIS READERS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: Speaking to the People Cedric C. Brown and Arthur F. Marotti (editors) TEXTS AND CULTURAL CHANGE IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND James Loxley ROYALISM AND POETRY IN THE ENGLISH CIVIL WARS: The Drawn Sword Mark Thornton Burnett MASTERS AND SERVANTS IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DRAMA AND CULTURE: Authority and Obedience ["The series Early Modern Literature in His tor. y is published in association with the Renaissance Texts Research Centre at the University of Reading. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Professor of English and Head of Department, University of Reading Speaking to the People Anna R. Beer 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century First published in Great Britain 1997 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. First published in the United States of America 1997 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 0-312-17610-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beer, Anna R., 1964Sir Walter Ralegh and his readers in the seventeenth century: speaking to the people / Anna R. Beer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-312-17610-4 (cloth) l. Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 1552?-1618. 2. Great Britain-Politics and govemmcnt-1603-17 I 4--Historiography . 3. Authors and readers-Great Britain-History-17th century. 4. Books and reading-Great Britain-History-17th century. 5. Political science-Great Britain-History-17th century. 6. Popular culture-Great Britain-History-17th century. 7. Prisoners' writings, English-Appreciation-History. I. Title. DA86.22.R2B44 1997 942.05'5'092-dc21 97-3277 CIP © Anna R. Beer 1997 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 1098765 432 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 I 97 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 ISBN 0-333-66076--5 for Stephen Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 'He was no slug' (John Aubrey on Ralegh) 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements ix List of Abbreviations xi 1 Sir Walter Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century 2 The History of the World 22 3 A Dialogue betweene a Counsellor of State and a Justice of peace 60 4 The Speech from the Scaffold 82 5 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s 109 6 Re-forming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s 139 1 Postscript 176 Appendix I: The Prose Works of Sir Walter Ralegh 179 Appendix IT: Publications Attributed to Ralegh, or Written in Response to Ralegh's Life and Work, Published between 1618 and 1660 186 Bibliography 190 Index 205 vii 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Contents 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 This page intentionally left blank I would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their permission to examine and reproduce the manuscripts in their care: The Master and Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford; the Bodleian Library; the British Library; Cambridge University Library; Somerset Archive and Record Service; the Public Record Office; The Master and Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge; and The Master and Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. I would also like to thank Lord Eliot, Earl of St Germans, for permission to view and reproduce materials in his private library. Early versions of chapters 2 and 4 have appeared as: ' "Left to the World without a Maister": Sir Walter Ralegh's The History of the World as a Public Text', Studies in Philology, 91 (1994) 432-63; and 'Textual Politics: The Execution of Sir Walter Ralegh', Modern Philology, 94 (1996) 19-38, © 1996 by the University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Many people have helped make the writing of this book possible. lowe long-standing debts of gratitude to Cedric Brown, James Holstun and Nigel Smith for support, guidance and encouragement. My colleagues at St Mary's (and in particular, Brian Robinson) provided support of a different kind, by ensuring that lunch-times were always enjoyable. They, more than most, will know how crucial that was to my well-being. My students over the years have challenged and inspired me to think through my ideas about early modern culture: thanks to all of them, particularly the year of '94 at St Mary's. Special thanks are reserved for one of my students, Donna Joss, who has been an exemplary research assistant. My greatest thanks go to my family and friends. Katey Anderson, Madeleine Katkov, Penny Tyack, Dave Crossley and Katrina Crossley have all listened patiently over the years. My mother, Margaret Beer, has helped in many, many ways, providing everything from Latin translations to child-care. Quite simply, this book would not have been written without her practical and emotional sustenance. Rebecca, my elder daughter, was born in the midst of my PhD on Ralegh; Elise, her sister, was born in the midst of writing this book. Both children have brought unimaginable joy ix 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Acknowledgements x Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers This book is dedicated to Stephen Roberts, my partner in everything. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 into my life for which I am intensely grateful. When I have been working on Sir Walter, they have been cared for by a number of people, all of whom were vital to the completion of this book: my especial thanks go, however, to Fiona Russell for her kindness to both children over a number of years. E.L.H. E.L.R. H.L.Q. M.P. R.Q. S.E.L. S.P. Works: English Literary History English Literary Renaissance The Huntington Library Quarterly Modern Philology Renaissance Quarterly Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 Studies in Philology The Works of Sir Walter Ralegh, eds W. Oldys and T. Birch, 8 vols (London: 1829) xi 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 List of Abbreviations 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 This page intentionally left blank 1 Sir Walter Ralegh in the 'tell how the country erreth... ' Carew Ralegh, son of Sir Walter, made two grand claims for his father's life and work. Writing during the 1650s, he revealed the fall of the Stuarts as God's way of revenging King James' persecution of his father. He describes how his mother fell to her knees, begging God for justice, demanding the punishment of those who had brought her to 'Ruin and Beggary'. He goes on: 'What hath happened since to that Royal Family, is too sad and disastrous for me to repeat, and yet too visible not to be discerned' (1745, p. 59). Carew also makes a direct causal1ink between one of his father's more obscure texts, the 1603 Discourse touching a war with Spain, and his political downfall, arguing that the suspicions of King James were aroused by this 'martial' paper (p. 58).1 Carew is quite clear as to the relationship between his father's wrongful execution and the fall of the monarchy, quite clear as to the connection between the written word and political action. Carew's latter point underpins my entire project. This book sets out to assess the political purposes, repercussions and significance of Sir Walter Ralegh's own writings, and those that were produced in response. The teleological logic of his former point appears more crude (although Christopher Hill argued a similar case in more moderate terms in 1965), but it is useful nevertheless. It serves to focus attention on the ways in which seventeenth-century interpreters viewed historical causality, and it acts as a reminder that Ralegh was writing and being read in a century of violent political upheaval. Clearly, Carew exaggerated his father's importance, yet in a sense it is not the nature of the claim that is remarkable, as much as the fact that it could be made at all. Sir Walter Ralegh should not have mattered to the seventeenth century. When he was executed in October 1618 he had been legally dead for 15 years; 1 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Seventeenth Century Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers when he had been arrested for treason in 1603, he had been the subject of popular vilification; throughout his life he had no faction of his own, no great family behind him. 2 His death should have been unremarkable, at best an opportunity for the state to confirm its power in a display of its control over the subject's body. That it did matter to his contemporaries, and that his reputation remains a matter of debate to this day (during the writing of this book Ralegh's treachery has been 'exposed' by The Sunday Times, and refuted the following week by The Sunday Telegraph) has a lot to do with the impressive speech he made from the scaffold in the minutes prior to his execution. In a wider sense, however, Ralegh's status is a result of his attempt, throughout his years of imprisonment, to find a public voice. His 13 years in the Tower of London, between 1603 and 1616, changed by necessity the nature of his writing, both materially and ideologically. Under Queen Elizabeth, Ralegh had been the author of coterie poetry, of state propaganda and of political and military advice to the monarch and Privy Council. After 1603, condemned by the King and excluded from the Court, he was forced to seek new audiences and to explore new genres. In this context, Ralegh's neglected prison writings need to be seen both as political texts and as political acts. 3 He used print in The History of the World to challenge rather than to justify his monarch; his manuscript advice to the King in A Dialogue betweene a Counsellor of State and a Justice of peace conveyed more criticism than compliment; and, at the very end of his life, he would use the opportunity to speak from the scaffold to condemn the injustice of the state, rather than to confirm its legitimacy. Posthumously, Ralegh's texts and life were used to formulate opposition to the institution of the monarchy itself, opposition articulated in print (and at times in manuscript) that circulated out of the reach of the state's control mechanisms. Texts that originated within a coterie manuscript culture, whether documents of advice, poetry or even private letters, were published posthumously as documents of dissent, which challenged the state's authority. All this suggests three paradigms which help to illuminate the political culture of the seventeenth century. Put in their simplest forms they involve: first, a move from service to opposition; secondly, a move from manuscript to print transmission; and thirdly, a move from coterie (courtly) to public (non-courtly) 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 2 3 readerships.4 These journeys were not, of course, always straightforward. Ralegh wrote a manuscript supplicatory poem to Queen Anne in the year of his execution, showing that the channels for coterie poetic communication within the courtly patronage system were still open at this late stage in his life, if not very helpful to his cause. On the other hand, as early as 1596 and the publication of The Discoverie of Guiana, Ralegh was using print to try to bypass the Court patronage system which had refused to support his exploratory initiative. During the 1640s and 1650s these paradigms developed in new and unexpected ways, as my final chapter will demonstrate. Although the texts by and associated with Ralegh continued to reach an ever-widening audience in print, this public identity was used at times during this period to further political agendas connected with the restoration of the monarchy, alongside continuing efforts to harness his texts and reputation to the antimonarchical cause. This all argues against any simple parallels between authorial and state narratives: Ralegh's journey as author does not entirely match his nation's journey from monarchy to Republic. Broadly speaking, however, these paradigms offer a shape for Ralegh's career and suggest its significance to the century's political culture. The processes I shall be describing began to take place during Ralegh's lifetime (most notably during the prison years) and then gathered further momentum after his execution in 1618. They argue a decline in the monarchical state's control over interpretation, whether interpretation is discussed in terms of censorship, propaganda or dissident readings. This is exemplified by the contrast between the Jacobean state's attempt, and failure, to control by means of print politically disturbing interpretations of Ralegh's execution in 1618, and the events of 1591 when Ralegh's own role had been to control the interpretation, through printed state propaganda, and in the interests of Tudor power, of an English military fiasco. This Elizabethan text provides a useful marker for the start of these processes for a number of reasons. It indicates the nature and function of Ralegh's political writing at the high point of his Elizabethan career, but it also contains some of the dissonances, partly suppressed at this stage, that would characterise his later prison writings. Ralegh's task was to produce a propaganda pamphlet which would justify the loss to the Spaniards of the English ship, the Revenge. The text he produced, the Last Fight of the Revenge, is 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers written from within the Court, in the service of the Queen, and designed to impose a state reading of an event upon the Queen's subjects.s The project, the rewriting of a failure as a success, or the defence of the seemingly indefensible, would become a familiar one for Ralegh. Later, he would attempt to explain away his political (and sexual) betrayal of Queen Elizabeth in the poetry of 1592, attempt to justify his lack of gold in his 1596 pamphlet, The Discoverie of Guiana, and deny his political betrayal of King James in the series of texts written in the months prior to his execution. In the case of the Revenge, Ralegh knew that the English fleet, led by Lord Thomas Howard, had been intercepted by the Spanish near the Azores. The majority of ships fled: one only, the Revenge, captained by Sir Richard Grenville, Howard's Vice-Admiral, stayed to fight. She was completely outnumbered, and although continuing to fight for at least 12 hours, and inflicting extensive damage on the Spanish ships, in the end she surrendered, Grenville himself being mortally wounded. The Revenge was the only English ship to be captured by the Spaniards in the course of the war, and the incident was hailed by them as a great triumph. 6 The English government informer, Thomas Phelippes, writing shortly afterwards, announced that he can write him no good newes from hence the loss of the Revenge Grenefeld being now stale ... they disguised it here w th w th S~. the sinking of so many shippes of the K. of Sp. & losse of so many men besides yt she shold be quite sunke in the sea w th many Sp. yt were in her. (Letter to Thomas Barnes, 31 October 1591, S.P. 12.240.53) That Phelippes uses the word 'disguised' suggests that one rather obvious interpretation of the Azores expedition from the English perspective was that it had been a dismal failure. Ralegh must re-tell the story, one which had already been told by the Spaniards, and uses his opening paragraphs to undermine Spanish accounts in all their 'falshood and vntruth', their 'vaine glorious vaunts', claiming that they aim to 'possesse the ignorant multitude' with their lies (sig.A3r). The propaganda is heightened by a celebration of the God-given power of the Queen herself, formulated in the providential and exemplary terms of the news pamphlet genre (see Clark, 1983, p. 89): 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 4 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century 5 A short digression on the link between rebellion and disaster, and a longer attack on Spanish barbarity and intolerance, provide the formal ending to the pamphlet. It is richly conventional writing, handled with ease and wit, and Ralegh's final sentences set the seal on his vigorous propaganda in the service of the state: To conclude, it hath euer to this day pleased God, to prosper and defend her Majesty, to breake the purposes of malicious enimies, of foresworne traitours, and of iniust practises and inuasions. She hath euer been honoured of the worthiest Kings, serued by faithfull subiects, and shall by the fauour of God, resist, repell, and confound all whatsoeuer attempts against her sacred Person or kingdome. In the meane time, let the Spaniard and traitour vaunt of their successe; and we her true and obedient vas salles guided by the shining light of her vertues, shall alwaies loue her, serue her, and obey her to the end of our liues. (sig.D2r) Writing for a public audience, Ralegh offers both a defence and a celebration of monarchical power conveyed in a voice of public authority, but one which does not challenge the authority of the monarch herself. The assurance of the opening and closing paragraphs does not, however, entirely conceal the ambiguities and contradictions in the central portion of the work. Ralegh elaborates upon his material in order to vindicate Grenville, yet just when it seems that he will manipulate his material in the sole interest of his kinsman, he asserts that Grenville 'vtterly refused' to turn from the enemy. The implied criticism of the absolutist tendency in 'vtterly' appears overtly in the following lines, which express a clear narratorial judgement: 'But the other course had beene the better, and might right well haue beene answered in so great an impossibilitie of preuailing' (sig.B2r). The moral confusion does not end here: Grenville's 'greatness' of mind meant that he could not be persuaded to leave the fight. Ralegh retreats into a factual description of the actual battle, but as the narrative progresses, it moves towards an unambiguous 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Thus it hath pleased God to fight for vs, & to defend the iustice of our cause, against the ambicious & bloudy pretenses of the Spaniard, who seeking to deuour all nations, are themselues deuoured. (sig.C3r) Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers celebration of Grenville's heroism. Ralegh highlights the great forces of the Spaniards, exaggerating their numbers: Hakluyt, often seen as an unscrupulous propagandist, but here seemingly concerned with accuracy, would reduce them to their correct amount in his printing of the work. At the point of surrender, the pragmatism of the survivors is portrayed with sympathetic irony, but it is the heroism of Grenville that is emphatically asserted. He is admired by the Spaniards and is stoical in the face of death, having a 'resolution sildome approued'. The comfort that remains to his friends is that he hath ended his life honourably in respect of the reputation wonne to his nation and country, and of the same to his posteritie, and that being dead, he hath not outliued his owne honour. (sig.Clv) Ralegh balances, and complicates, this celebration of Grenville's heroism with praise of Howard. He makes simple and excellent excuses for the failure of the rest of the fleet to help Grenville, but, perhaps aware of the charges of cowardice that were being levelled at Howard, he goes on to say that 'it is verie true, that the Lord Thomas would haue entred betweene the squadrons, but the rest wold not condescend' (sig.C2r-v). Having given legitimate reasons for the actions of the fleet but also suggested the heroic potential of Howard, Ralegh nevertheless asserts that it had il sorted or answered the discretion & trust of a Generall, to commit himselfe and his charge to an assured destruction, without hope or any likelihood of preuailing: thereby to diminish the strength of her Maiesties Nauy, & to enrich the pride & glorie of the enemie. (sig.C2v) Howard's behaviour is vindicated. It was not cowardice, since he 'would haue entred betweene the squadrons' but for 'discretion' in the interests of the nation state? These equivocations signal the difficulties inherent in the project: Ralegh's partial solution is to suppress the militarist, honour values which would have celebrated Grenville, in the interest of Howard power and Tudor prestige. Grenville's noble attachment to the notion of personal honour is in no doubt: it is the place for that notion in society and at war that is questioned. Whilst Ralegh 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 6 7 equates the actions of Grenville with 'greatness of mind', he also vividly exposes the irrelevance and danger of what is called honourable behaviour. s The tensions in the Revenge may be rooted in the conflicts between the various factional audiences that Ralegh was involved with in his life as a courtier. 9 But they can also be understood in terms of ideology: to sanction Grenville's action wholeheartedly would have allied Ralegh with the male world of honour values which, as Mervyn James (1986) and Richard McCoy (1989) have shown, could be seen as an ideological alternative to the Elizabethan state. lO In 1591, Ralegh appears, if less than wholeheartedly, to reject those honour values, whilst asserting, with eloquence, the eternal power of his Queen. The Revenge emerges as a polished, public performance in the service of the monarchical state. The potential dissonance of honour culture is contained in part by the skilful use of simple, yet convincing, anti-Spanish propaganda, but its power as an alternative to state ideology is acknowledged. Similarly, the discourse of providentialism works here in the interests of monarchical power. Ralegh's later public works, in particular The History of the World, would explore these issues with less ambivalence. Increasingly, honour values were placed in opposition to, indeed as superior to, the values of the bureaucratic state, whilst providentialism became a source of challenge to a monarch's legitimacy. The public voice which Ralegh would forge during the 1610s, despite, and indeed in response to, prolonged imprisonment and political impotence, would have a very different message, tone and form from that of the Revenge. Furthermore, Ralegh's posthumous readers and interpreters would then re-form that public voice of the 1610s into new political modes as the century progressed. That this public identity carried such weight during the seventeenth century is partly because of the strategies adopted by Ralegh, as author, to establish textual authority, something I will be looking at throughout the opening chapters. It is also, however, a reflection of the Stuart state's inability fully to control Ralegh's public voice, either materially or ideologically. As Mark Nicholls (1995: 1) has shown, the Crown had an impressive prosecution case for Ralegh's trial of 1603, having 'proof' not only that he was a traitor, but also in the pay of Spain. However, the fact that the Crown had this evidence and yet failed to capitalise upon it reveals less about Ralegh's treachery and more about the Crown's inability to press 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers home their advantage. At his trial in Winchester, despite careful consideration on the part of James and his ministers about the best way to handle the situation, Ralegh defended himself with eloquence and intelligence, and James commuted the death sentence to life imprisonmentY Nicholls' account of the trial thus implicitly demonstrates Ralegh's ability to establish himself as an authority in contest with that of the Stuart justice system. To make matters worse for the Crown, the wide circulation of the transcripts of the 1603 proceedings helped to transform the public response to Ralegh from one of vilification to sympathy, eventually becoming part of his hagiography, sometimes even a reference point for later attempts to understand the fall of the monarchy itselfP Winchester in 1603 was the first, but not the last, instance of the Stuart state's failure to silence Ralegh, to control acts of dissemination and interpretation. It failed, in material terms, to control the circulation of The History of the World; it failed, in ideological terms, to control interpretation of Ralegh's speech from the scaffold; it failed to control the proliferation of unlicensed works during the 1620s; it failed to silence debate over contending models of government in the 1630s, thus leaving a space for later writers to use Ralegh to legitimise claims for radical political change, or for later anti-monarchical readers, most notably Oliver Cromwell, to recommend him as vital reading. Thus, in the decades after his execution, Ralegh was re-formed by his readers into an authority in opposition to Stuart government. Ralegh had made the transition from the courtier to public spheres of discourse, from speaking to and for the monarch to speaking to and eventually for the people. My use of the term 'the people' is deliberately unspecific at this stage. My aim over the course of this study is to explore the changing meaning of the phrase in terms of its use as a political category in the works by and connected with Ralegh, and as a material category, the reading pUblic,13 These are processes which can only be understood through the study of transmission histories. To ask how Ralegh's works were read, interpreted, re-formed and acted upon over the course of the seventeenth century is to consider the public production of meaning, rather than simply attempting to recover an authorial meaning, and to consider historical processes, rather than simply historical occasions. An insistence on interpretation and construction at the expense of the 'original message' need not entail a rejection of material history.14 Instead, Ralegh can be placed within the cultural history described by Marotti, in which a 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 8 9 new set of 'social relations was emerging in which the patron was ultimately eclipsed by the increasing sociocultural authority of authors as well as by the economic and interpretative importance of the reader, the "patron" of the work as buyer and consumer in the modern sense of the term 'patronage' (1995, p. 292). The potential of this approach can be glimpsed when the political significance of one of Ralegh's Elizabethan works is reassessed in the light of its transmission history. The Discoverie of Guiana (1596) originated in manuscript form, sent to Sir Robert Cecil as part of a campaign to gain funding for a second expedition to find gold in Guiana. Cecil and his courtly colleagues remained uninterested, and Ralegh decided to publish his account as a news pamphlet, an important decision I shall consider in more detail later in chapter 2. Once in the public arena, the text spawned other printed texts which negotiated with the earlier pamphlet: to see these texts as a group suggests a different identity for the colonial and exploratory movements from those derived from reading the Discoverie in isolation. The Discoverie has been discussed extensively in recent years in terms of the gendering of proto-colonial discourse: its specious eloquence has been reluctantly admired, and Ralegh's ambivalence about the land he seeks to mine and the Queen he aims to serve explored in detail. 15 In the concentration on what the text reveals about Ralegh and his Queen, it has been overlooked that this attempt to raise substantial sums by publicising in print his ambitions was not particularly successful. There were two subsequent expeditions in 1596, but both were small-scale operations, intended only to map out more clearly the Orinoco region. Their limited scope suggests limited funds. The first is recorded in a Relation of the second Voyage to Guiana by Lawrence Keymis, a text with a different tone and focus from the elegant and euphemistic Discoverie, which had described in idyllic terms, reminiscent of Ovid and Virgil, a land of harmony, beauty and ever-available food. In contrast, The Relation makes explicit to its readers (inscribed as 'fauourers of the Voyage for Guiana') Ralegh's dependence on non-courtly finance, admitting that the voyage has emptied his purse (sig.E2r), and thus asking the 'manie adventurers' to open theirs (sig.A4r). The second half of the work is a demand for action, which contains a tacit acknowledgement that, whilst many readers enjoyed the golden world evoked by The Discoverie (indeed, there 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers were to be three editions in 1596), few acted upon it. Keymis argues that the English 'onlie to entertaine idle time, sit listening for Guiana news, and instantlie forget it, as if it were nought els, but a pleasing dreame of golden fande' (sig.A4r unpaged). The Ovidian rhetoric, the 'golden fande', is but a 'pleasing dreame', an aesthetically pleasing effect. It had not worked, and therefore in the Relation the potential for gold is actually played down, whilst, concomitantly, the potential for trade and farming is highlighted. There is 'some hope of gold mines', but far more important is the presence of 'Brasil wood, honey, Cotton, Balsamu, & drugs' (sig.E3v). The third and final Guiana account (Masham, 1596) has little rhetorical sophistication, much of the narrative being concerned simply with details of navigation. Although the familiar subjects of gold, friendly natives and useful commodities are present, a note of frustration is also apparent. The voice of those who had put money into the expedition intrudes for a moment: Besides diuers other commodities, which in good time may be found out to the benefit of our countrey, and profit of the adventurers, who as yet hauing ventured much, have gained little. (Hakluyt, 1598, ill, 697) Ralegh's epic journey in search of gold for his Queen has been supplanted by a more mundane, but more realistic, analysis of the economics of colonialism and the mathematics of navigation, relevant to the predominantly non-courtly adventurers who would invest in these early initiatives. Seen as part of a group, the publication of the Discoverie carries a new significance: its overtly aristocratic strategies are rejected in favour of other literary modes, the concern with the power of the Queen and her courtiers is displaced by the voices of those who demand a stake in the colonial project. To study transmission histories is thus both to attend to a work's reception and to the new texts it generates. Another aspect of the project is to examine individual texts in terms of their transmission over time, an approach championed in recent years by Anthony Grafton, who argues against readings based on a model of transmission 'as a simple, one-directional process', in which 'the original message' is assumed to be 'pure and perfect' and thus the most important to uncover (Grafton and Blair, 1990, p. 2). In part, the study of Ralegh demands this kind of non-traditional methodology 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 10 11 of literary history and textual scholarship.16 The issues are well illustrated by the 'problem' of the speech from the scaffold. The remarkable number of manuscript accounts of the speech which survive testify to the significance of Ralegh's execution. Their existence also presents a challenge to conventional bibliographical, historical and editorial techniques. One traditional approach to this plethora of manuscript evidence would be to attempt to reconstruct the historical event as precisely as possible, using the accounts which claim to be written by eye-witnesses. Another would be to establish 'families' of texts with broadly similar contents, and thus draw some tentative conclusions about the way in which the speech was transmitted. The first approach would aim to establish an 'authoritative' text, a project fraught with problems in this instance, since the one thing that binds these texts together is their differences from each other, whether minor or major. Any 'authoritative' text would either have to be composite in nature, or establish some sort of primacy for one of the surviving versions of the speech. The latter approach would avoid the problematic issue of authority, but remains dependent on essentially speculative judgements on the provenance, date and authorship of most of the manuscripts under consideration. Any search for an 'authoritative' text would, however, be a misplaced one. In this case, the concept of the autonomous' author' (implicit in the concept of an 'authoritative' text) who establishes a text whose original meaning can be recovered is inadequate. Instead, we need to recover a collection of voices and an historical process, rather than one authorial voice or indeed one historical moment. This is particularly important in this case since the speech from the scaffold provides insight into the joint project of constructing a political identity, since this is a text written as much by its audience as by its protagonist. The final chapters of this book take this project further, examining the interpretative trajectories that developed between 1618 and 1660, creating new political identities for Ralegh at each stage. A particular quality in Ralegh's writing, his linguistic relativism, permits and encourages certain re-formings. This is not simply a matter of his acute sensitivity to the meanings of words and their etymologies, visible for example in the (interminable) discussion of Enoch in The History of the World. Nor is it merely a manipulation of rhetoric to achieve ironic redescriptions (although this is sometimes the case).17 It is characterised by his refusal to 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers allow key terms, such as liberty, to stabilise: put more bluntly, it is characterised by his inability to make political terms have consistent meanings. Aspects of this 'epistemological and ideological destabilisation' have been noted by Montrose, in his work on The Discoverie of Guiana (1991, pp. 16-18), but for him the contradictions in Ralegh's presentation of The Spaniard, 'an unstable signifier', provide an opportunity for the critic to display his ability to discern the destabilisation, rather than a discussion of the political implications for early modern readers of this instability. Whatever the causes of this linguistic relativism (I shall suggest others in this book, such as theoretical incompetence or the attempted eluding of censorship), it can be seen to encourage re-interpretation of passages of political analysis. So, although, for example, by the end of the section on the rise of the Greek city states in The History of the World the reader is entirely unclear as to whether 'liberty' is a positive or negative political notion, 30 years after its publication, this equivocation would permit the Leveller authors of Vox Plebis to cite Ralegh as a defender of their own notion of liberty. Ralegh himself was concerned with precisely these issues: the relationship between author, text and reader, and who controls the acts of interpretation that take place when a work is read. Alan Sinfield's general point about the writer's involvement with 'the nexus 'of ideology and power' can be applied directly and specifically to him: Writing, even when it is purposefully in the service of an ideology, will very often manifest a slant towards the interests of the writer as writer . .. in a society where writing is taken seriously as an ideological agency (where there is censorship and the direct promotion of writing as an instrument of prestige and manipulation) and where the role of the writer is undergoing rapid development (in terms of professionalization and the beginnings of a market economy), the writer is well placed to gain a distinctive perspective on the relations of power in the society. We would expect this particularly to involve the nexus of ideology and power, for this is where the writer, as writer, is vitally engaged. (1992, p. 2) Ralegh, at times, ruthlessly exposes this 'nexus of ideology and power' as in the opening pages of the final work written from the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 12 13 Tower, the Discourse of the Causes of War. As part of a digressive disquisition on the nature of justice and the possible responses to oppression and injustice, Ralegh compares a thief and a judge and posits that they both take a house. lS The judge 'bestows them upon some friend of his own, or his favourite, he says that the rule of justice will have it so, that it is the voice of the law and ordinance of God himself: and what else herein doth he, than, by a kind of circumlocution, tell his humble suppliants that he holds them idiots or base wretches, not able to get relief?' (Works, VIll, 260). There is thus no difference between the thief and the judge 'than in the manner of performing their exploits, as if the whole being of justice consisted in point of formality' (p. 261). Both God and justice are exposed as merely terms, points of 'formality', deployed to validate social control. Later in the same work, Ralegh considers another aspect of the interrelationship between language and power. He considers the invasions of the Turks and Tartars who consumed 'the very names, language and memory of former times' (p. 256). Thus the powerful destroy not just the physical bodies, but the mind and language of the conquered. This, of course, increases the value of history, that preserver of memory and identity, a concept written into The History of the World, as I shall be arguing later. Therefore, whilst it is important to recognise that Ralegh was a utilitarian writer who had clear political goals for each text he wrote, he also demonstrated an acute awareness of the implications of his central project, the textual fashioning of authority, acknowledging, at one and the same time, both the power of words and the dangers of (mis)interpretation.19 This awareness is evident in his active involvement with the printing process of The History, a rare instance of authorial supervision in this period, and it is evident in the way he writes about writing. In his Instructions to his Son, for example, there is an insistence on the power and importance of words: the son is advised not to speak too much 'for in all that ever I observed in the course of worldly things, I ever found that men's fortunes are oftener made by their tongues than by their virtues and more men's fortunes overthrown thereby also than by their vices' (1962, p. 26). This is fairly conventional stuff, but in a fascinating passage from the Preface to The History of the World, he writes: For conclusion: all the hope I haue lies in this, That I haue already found more vngentle and vncurteous Readers of my 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century 14 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers In the History, a direct connection between his imprisonment and his text is made, and correct reading becomes a metaphor for political life and communication. In the past, his 'Loue' was read incorrectly and he has thus been imprisoned; now because of that imprisonment, he exposes himself and his policy to the reading of the world, who will interpret as they will. A year later, the potentially 'vngentle and vncurteous' readers of the History have become the vicious and dangerous readers inscribed in the Dialogue, represented most obviously by one of the participants, an evil Counsellor, and by implication including the King himself. Indeed, at the very end of the Dialogue, James is pictured reading the work, judging every word. In response to the Justice's assertion that the truth will be seen by the King, the Counsellor replies that 'the misliking, or but the misconceiuing of anyone word, phrase or sentence, will giue Argument vnto the K: either to condemne or reiect t whole discourse' (S.P. 14.85, p. 32). Throughout his work, and in a variety of ways, through prefatory poems, through addresses to the reader, pictorially through the frontispiece to The History of the World, Ralegh encourages correct readings of the texts that are to follow,z° The vulnerability of the writer to (mis)interpretation, and the physical dangers which ensue from misinterpretation, are his recurrent themes, no doubt rooted in his own experiences whether as censor for Queen Elizabeth or as the persecuted owner of a 'dangerous' book, a point crucial to the prosecution case in his 1603 trial (Nicholls, 1995: I, p. 826).21 Ralegh thus acknowledges, sometimes fearfully, that once a text is in the public sphere, it is open to interpretation. This is indeed what happened to his own writing, as, again and again, readers wrung significance from his words, discovering, and ruthlessly exploiting, the 'faultlines' (to use Sinfield's term, 1992) in his texts and policies, to create their own more or less dissident readings. 22 To explore these readings and the conditions which enabled Ralegh's texts to be politically reactivated in this way is the aim of the last two chapters of this book. Ralegh's work is thus far more than a 'delicious game of vanishing points', to use Stephen Greenblatt's phrase (1993, p. xv): the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Loue towards them, and well-deseruing of them, than euer I shall doe againe. For had it beene otherwise, I should hardly haue had this leisure, to haue made my selfe a foole in print. (sig.E4v) 15 texts and their interpreters offer a glimpse of a very serious struggle for material and ideological power in this century of revolution. 23 This struggle has been elided from accounts of his work in recent years, in part because of the influence of revisionist histories of the period which underwrite the ideological power of the Stuart monarchy, encouraging accounts of Ralegh which emphasise his dependence on patronage or his political conservatism. Hobbes set the agenda in Ralegh's own century, recognising the relationship between language and power, between sovereignty and epistemological control. The power of Hobbes' sovereign was 'above all an epistemic power, to determine the meanings of words in the public language, and to induce his subjects to agree on what they termed "good" and "bad" '. The 'consequence of this theory was that Hobbes handed the sovereign unlimited ideological authority, over morality and religion as well as day-to-day politics' (Hobbes, 1991, pp. xvii-xviii)?4 The ideal expression of this fusion of epistemological control and ideological authority would create a homogeneous society. This ideal appears to have been accepted as an accurate picture of early modem politics by, amongst others, Kevin Sharpe. In one essay he comments: Before civil war had thrown them irrecoverably into the contest, Elizabeth, James and Charles had spoken and written to reinforce, authorise and control the common languages on which their power was founded. Their authorings were as vital to their exercise of authority as the authority of Hobbes' sovereign was necessary for a common discourse of state. (Sharpe and Lake, 1994, p. 138) For Sharpe, at least until the civil war, the monarchs of England maintained epistemological control over their subjects. This, of course, suggests that censorship was either efficient or not needed, as Sharpe also argues (1992, pp. 643 f£).25 This model leaves no space for the public production of meaning, let alone ideological opposition to the Crown. Fortunately, it can be challenged by an example brought forward by Sharpe himself. He argues that Charles I withdrew his second answer to the Petition of Right and replaced it with his first, because 'he feared further "interpretation" of what he had assented to would threaten his very capacity to govern' (Sharpe, 1992, p. 61). Charles' own account is significant for its choice of words: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers However Princes are not bound to give an account of their Actions, but to God alone, yet for the satisfaction of the minds and Affections of our loving Subjects, we have thought good to set down thus much by way of Declaration, that we may appear to the world in the truth and sincerity of our own Actions, and not in those colours in which we know some turbulent and illaffected Spirits (to mask and disguise their own wicked intentions, dangerous to the State) would represent us to the publick view. (1659, p. 394) The King, adopting a very defensive tone, claims that he is trying only to speed things up, to stop Parliament discussing things that are irrelevant, but admits that he has succeeded only in creating more debate and rumour. There were 'glances in the house', 'open rumours abroad were spread', 'many other mis-interpretations were raised', 'as if by our Answer to that Petition, we had let loose the reigns of our Government' (p. 397). Parliament's Remonstrance is an 'ill requited' response from the 'people', who have made 'such sinister straines made upon our Answer to that Petition, to the diminution of our profit, and (which was more) to the danger of our Government: we resolved to prevent the finishing of that Remonstrance, and other dangerous intentions of some ill affected persons, by ending the Session the next morning' (p. 398). Charles' response, out of fear of the 'publick view' and 'the people', and out of concern for his 'subjects', is to attempt to stop debate by suppressing the institution that encourages it. This all suggests that the King had something to fear from the 'people', and intimates a climate where correct 'interpretation' was something to be anxiously policed, one in which the 'pub lick' production of meaning might indeed threaten the monarch. Revisionist histories of the period may have left little space for Ralegh as a significant political writer, but it has been Stephen Greenblatt's psychologically based literary criticism that has more specifically influenced a generation of Ralegh critics. Back in 1973, he described Ralegh as an actor, fashioning himself into different dramatis personae in order to escape the 'abyss' of despair, and thus perpetually engaged in a duel between imagination and reality. Nearly 20 years later, Ralegh is still unable to stand 'outside the ideological codes of his time' and thus is engaged 'in a complex and often desperate negotiation with values he could neither securely manipulate nor comfortably embrace' (1993, p. viii). The 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 16 17 notion of 'acting' has become the more sophisticated one of making 'a meaningful story' out of the horror of reality, using narrative to make sense of 'the tangled traces of the past', the primary act of the author (p. ix). Whilst Greenblatt's work is valuable for the way in which it points to important aspects of Ralegh's art, the frequent absence of a stable frontier between self and text, the idea of 'acting' has pervaded and I would argue weakened subsequent analyses, even when those analyses adopt a different critical approach and vocabulary from that of Greenblatt. Berry's provocative feminist analysis of the poetry, for example, argues that Ralegh is concerned with 'his own fantasized self-image as an explorer and charter of hitherto uncharted territories', and that the New World was where 'he hoped to define himself' (1989, pp. 1489). In her insistence on fantasy, Berry denies the materiality of Ralegh's exploratory and colonial acts, and their effects. This notion is pervasive. Examples include an article by Marion Campbell on the political context for Ralegh's poetry to Queen Elizabeth (1990), which nevertheless discusses the poems and the Queen's responses in the language of role-playing.26 Montrose (in Greenblatt, 1993), writing about the representation of duplicity as a narrative event in The Discoverie of Guiana, also argues that Ralegh is duplicitous towards himself: critics following Greenblatt are preoccupied with Ralegh's belief in his own fictions, a 'naive' belief which is implicitly condemned by the critic, who is, of course, above this kind of self-deception. Even an excellent bibliographical article (Gossett, 1987) overuses the verb 'projects' to describe Ralegh's writing, whilst a fairly conservative account of historiography has Ralegh mesmerised by the futility of history, overwhelmed by the incomprehensibility of an aimless Providence (Woolf, 1990, pp. 50-1). These critics follow Greenblatt in focusing on the psychological crises of the exceptional individual and the concomitant need to role-play: art becomes an escape from an intolerable reality, role-playing becomes an escape from the active life. The political implications of this approach become clear when Greenblatt argues that Ralegh was not concerned with 'sedition', because he was concerned only with himself (1973, p. 43): wider political agency is denied or ignored through the invocation of this notion of Renaissance selfhood that denies the public sphere. I find it significant that 'Ralegh the role-player' is inscribed in early modern accounts of his behaviour, particularly on the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers scaffold. This is no surprise, in one sense, given the prevalence of the metaphor of the world as a stage (and men and women only players); Ralegh himself deploys the idea in one of his poems which begins 'What is our life? a play of passion' (Ralegh, 1929, p. 48). But describing Ralegh as an actor was also one of the strategies used by the Stuart state to discredit him, to diminish his political relevance (as will be seen in chapter 4) and it is thus ironic that Greenblatt and his successors are engaged in the same kind of process: by defining his power in terms of his ability as a roleplayer, they are continuing the attempt at political neutralisation begun by the Stuart state. This book sets out to reverse this process: to re-establish Ralegh's texts as political acts, and to explore the transmission traditions that ensured that these writings remained politically active long after the execution of their author. NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The accession of James prompted the writing of A Discourse touching a War with Spain, and of the protecting of the Netherlands, a tract written within the tradition of his manuscript advice to Queen Elizabeth during the 1590s (Works, VIII, 299-316). In it, Ralegh advocates active intervention on behalf of the Netherlands against Spain, arguing in pragmatic terms that because the country cannot defend itself, it will thus turn to some other power for protection. The tract concludes with a passage of praise for the honest adviser; those who remain silent when they can 'declare' and 'publish' their advice are no better than those who flee the kingdom. Unsurprisingly, neither the tone nor the policy appealed to rex pacificus. Satirical poems and tracts from 1603 reveal a hostility founded on accusations of atheism, Machiavellism, ambition, private vice and, above all, complicity in the fall of the Earl of Essex. See Lefranc, 1968, pp. 666-75, and Ralegh, 1875. See Bemthal, 1992 for a possible connection between the trial and Measure for Measure. The neglect of non-fictional prose writing is regretted, and reasons for the neglect explored, by Bushnell, 1990, pp. ix-x, and Holstun, 1989, p.l92. For a broad-ranging survey of the move from a manuscript to a print culture, yet the coexistence of both for some time, see Tyson and Wagonheim 1986. I argue elsewhere (Beer, 1992) that Ralegh's reputation as a propagandist informs his sequence of poems written to Queen Elizabeth in 1592. These poems, produced within the system of courtly exchange, explicate the Queen's power over her male subject, and carry an oblique offer of literary and political service. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 18 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 19 A selection of contemporary accounts can be found in Arber (1871) and an analysis of events which includes Spanish accounts of the incident can be found in Rowse, 1963, pp. 303-24. For a pro-Howard account, see that of Sir William Monson in Arber, 1871, p. 5, who describes Grenville as stubborn, headstrong and rash, and concludes that 'a wilful man is the Cause of his own Woe'. Gervase Markham (see Arber, 1871) has no problems with Grenville's behaviour, converting the story into an epic poetic narrative, the hero's fate determined by the classical gods, 'gentle Grinuile' himself described as 'Thetis paramoure' (p. 57), welcoming death as a bridegroom welcomes his wedding night (p. 73). Few, if any, of the complexities of Ra1egh's piece are present amidst Markham's 'rivers of blood' (p. 71). Phelippes suggests the dangers at Court: 'Once they condemned the L. Thomas infinitely for a coward, & some say he is for the K. of Sp. The quarrel & offer of combat betweene the L. Admirall and Sr W. Rawley about the matter yow are sure he hath hard of.' If Thomas Howard was being condemned as a coward, then it could be argued, Grenville had become something of a hero. It is possible that Ralegh, Grenville's kinsman and fellow soldier, may have supported this interpretation, and thus antagonised Charles Howard, brother of Thomas. See also Cust 1995, pp. 91-3 for a useful discussion of the 'versatility' of the 'cluster of beliefs' connected with honour. See Edwards, 1868, I, 386-437 for a full account. Archbishop Sancroft, for example (in MS Tanner 299), uses the texts connected with the treason trial in order 'to take an exact view of the beginning & progresse of thos mischiefes that have devoured the Church & Crown of England'. Sancroft also includes the texts connected with Ralegh's execution in 1618 which are considered in full in chapter 4. This was a century defined politically by the Common's Resolutions of 4 January 1649 'that the people are, under God, the original of all just power ... That the Commons of England, in Parliament assembled, being chosen by, and representing the people, have the supreme power in this nation' (Kenyon, 1966, p. 324). Somerville's analysis (in Morrill, 1990, pp. 240-3) of the 'ideological dimension' to the civil war pins down the crucial differences between parliamentarians (who believed the King's power derived from an act of transference by the people), royalists (who claimed that the King's power was derived from God alone) and groups such as the Levellers (who argued for a notion of the people as the nation). For differing perspectives contrast Watt, 1991, pp. 2-3, and Manning, 1991; see also Underdown's useful analysis of the issues at stake (1985, p. vii) and Corns on the political currency of notions of the lower classes as the 'propertiless enrage' (1992, p. 10). See Marotti, 1995, pp. x-xi. Greenblatt's insistence (1993, p. x) on the 'incoherence' and 'untranslatability' of the past serves to ensure that 'what the cultural historian can retrieve and reconstruct of the past 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Sir Walter Ralegh an4 his Readers will of necessity be correspondingly incomplete and indeterminate', a form of 'radical indeterminacy' (see Lisa Jardine, in Barker et at., 1991, p. 124). The voyage has often been discussed in terms of Ralegh's motivations, the consensus view being that he was a remarkable and isolated individual driven by a vision, whether of empire, gold or glory. See, in particular, the introduction to the only complete modem edition of the text (Harlow, 1928), in which the editor writes that Ralegh's 'prophetic imagination called up a vision of England overseas which was translated by his successors into glorious reality' (p. xliii). Greenblatt (1973, p. 104) describes the voyage as 'the fulfilment of a personal vision', May (1989, p. 56) writes of Ralegh's 'idealistic proposals', and that he was 'a man ahead of his time', and Greenblatt returns to the theme of an impossible dream (1993, p. xv) when he writes: 'for Ralegh there is no safe haven, no home port'. In historical terms, the view is somewhat limited, both in the light of Ralegh's personal career, and in the light of what is now known about the colonisation movement. See Brenner, 1993, for an excellent general study of merchants and colonisation. For the gender issues see Montrose, 1991, Fuller, 1991, imd Berry, 1989. A sensitive, evocative and partly fictional account of Ralegh's Guiana voyages can be found in Naipaul, 1969. Marotti, 1995, pp. 141H5, makes similar points about Ralegh's poetry. See Skinner 1996, pp. 157ff, for a discussion of 'paradiastolic redescription'. Lefranc, 1968, pp. 38, 194, 224-53, highlights Ralegh's debt to Machiavelli, the Discourse providing one of the best illustrations for his thesis about the relationship between the two writers. Ralegh's actions during the early years of his imprisonment emphasise the intended political utility of his writing. At first, despite the knowledge of an unrevoked death sentence, he appeared to understand neither the serious nature of his predicament nor the strength of King James' hostility, perhaps because of the transitory nature of his disgraces under Queen Elizabeth (see S.P. 14.8.123). Well into 1606 he still expected an imminent release (S.P. 13.26.42), but in August of that year, his hopes were not improved when a supporter, Queen Anne's brother, Christian IV of Denmark, refused to intercede on his behalf (S.P. 14.23.10). This disappointment marked the beginning of a period in which Ralegh actively attempted to gain his release from the Tower. Over the following years he focused his attentions on two areas of activity. One was the projected colonisation of Guiana: the lengthy negotiations which were to culminate in the abortive voyage of 1617 began in 1607. Also in 1607 Ralegh resumed his writing career, concentrating on prose works. See Beer, 1992. See Tylus, 1993, for a discussion of the wider issues of authorship and vulnerability. See Damton, 1990, pp. 131-2, for a general discussion of early modem reading practices, and Holstun, 1989, p. 216, for the reasons 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 20 23. 24. 25. 26. 21 why we need to reconstruct 'lost modes of reading and efforts to appropriate received printed authorities and turn them to new radical uses'. See Smith, 1994, especially the opening pages where he argues that 'communication and authority were fought over and disputed until the end of the century'. For a wide-ranging study of the issues, see Pagden, 1987. See also Quentin Skinner in Aylmer (1972), 1979, pp. 79-98. J. A. Sharpe (1984, pp. 141-5) concurs. 'Law was a means of expressing power': the 'men of property did not wield power only through the whipping post, the house of correction, and the gallows: they also controlled what would in modem parlance be described as the media, and hence were able to reinforce their economic and political power with an ideological one'. Dutton, 1991, p. 7, offers a useful review of attitudes towards censorship which can be seen either as: not needed because dissent was so well contained; state harassment; or one part of a patronage system based on personal contacts rather than ideology. More simplistic analyses can be found. Hill, 1977, pp. 64-5, argues that censorship led to 'decadence' in writing in the early seventeenth century, whilst Woolf, 1990, pp. 243-7, argues that there were so few political problems in the 1630s, that historians did not having anything to write about, and therefore the censors had nothing to censor. See also Giddens, 1985, p.14. An episode has the 'shape of a tragedy', Ralegh 'acts out' scenes, Queen Elizabeth is engaged in 'self-fashioning' (pp. 233,234,246). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century 2 'Say to the Court it glowes, and shines like rotten wood' Sir Walter Ralegh's History of the World was published in 1614. It was a remarkable event. An imprisoned writer, indeed a legally dead writer, had found a way to make his voice heard, to remind the world of his existence, in the form of history, the genre which acts to preserve memory and which conveys political advice to leaders. The very publication of this history of the world, offered to the world for lack of a 'maister' (sig.E4v), should be seen as a political act, both in terms of Ralegh's individual career and within the larger framework of cultural and political development. The History has, however, been understood in recent years in terms of the exigencies of courtly patronage relationships, most particularly in terms of Ralegh's relationship with the King's eldest son, Prince Henry.l Indeed, almost all the works written by Ralegh during the period between his imprisonment in 1603 and the death of the prince in 1612 have been understood in this context. Henry, invariably positioned as an oppositional figure to his father, is described as the inspiration, editor and ideal reader for the series of political and naval tracts which culminated in the History.2 Characteristic of these interpretations is the assumption that Henry admired Ralegh and therefore solicited advice from him. Their natural conclusion is that his death was disastrous for Ralegh's fortunes. These ideas underpin the most influential modern reading of the History, which describes Prince Henry as the work's original patron, and argues that his death led to a loss of control over the narrative, thus prompting its abrupt ending, which is the 'direct result of Prince Henry's death on Ralegh's quest for patronage' (Tennenhouse, in Lytle and Orgel, 1981, pp. 235, 2527). Those following Tennenhouse have even argued that Henry's death ensured that the History was a 'failure', a text rendered 22 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World 23 'meaningless' without its most important reader (Campbell, 1990, pp. 252-3; see also Patterson, 1984, pp. 40ff, 129). The work is deemed a failure since it failed as an act of clientage, and thus these conclusions reflect the methodology of both New Historicist literary criticism and revisionist historical analysis which, as I suggested in my opening chapter, seek to understand literary texts and political life through the analysis of patronage relationships, and thus construct, implicitly or explicitly, a model of literary production and political action that has at its heart the distribution of power from above. This model is inadequate when applied to Ralegh, Henry and the History, not least because the evidence on which it is based is insubstantial and what there is leaves itself open to alternative interpretations. Before going on to the History itself, therefore, I want to reconsider the political and literary relationship between Ralegh and Prince Henry. RALEGH AND PRINCE HENRY Ralegh began to look towards the young prince as a potential patron in the years following 1607. In this he was not alone: Henry came of age as a literary and a political patron in these years and a number of people who were closely associated with Ralegh sought and gained patronage at this time. Sir George Carew, Ralegh's cousin, wrote twice to the prince in the spring of 1608, passing on requests for permission to dedicate anti-Catholic books to him (Edwards, 1868, I, 104, 146). In 1610, Sir Arthur Gorges, another of Ralegh's cousins, presented Henry with a plan for making money, and in the following year he succeeded in gaining a place in the prince's newly established household. Gorges also prepared an account of the 1597 'Islands' Voyage, to which were attached Ralegh's Observations on the Navy, intending to present them to Henry. George Chapman, a poet closely associated with Ralegh during the 1590s, was also the object of the prince's literary patronage, commissioned to translate the Iliad. 3 Ralegh's tract of 1612, Concerning a Match propounded by the Savoyan, between the Lady Elizabeth and the Prince of Piedmont, appears to illustrate his own involvement with the prince. Although it is addressed to King James, it opens with Ralegh's claim that 'to obey the commandment of my lord the prince I have sent you my opinion of the match'. Along with many others, Ralegh clearly solicited and at 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers times gained Henry's political support. The death of the prince in November 1612 was indeed a disaster for many of the writers who had benefited from his patronage, and it closed one potential avenue of help for Ralegh.4 Yet the historical evidence suggests that the pursuit of Henry's patronage was just one political strategy amongst others during this period, and, moreover, despite a number of reported expressions of support from the prince, it was not particularly successfu1. 5 During this period, Ralegh's social position declined still further, culminating in 1609 with the loss of his Sherborne estate to the King on a legal technicality. While Ralegh remained 'legally dead', others were achieving his ambitions, most notably Robert Harcourt in his expeditions to Guiana, accomplished with the full backing of the prince. Whether this failure actively to support Ralegh stemmed from a lack of real political power on the part of the prince or his lack of interest is harder to say, but it suggests that a search for favour has been consistently inflated by scholars into a special relationship between the prince and the prisoner, a relationship supposedly reflected in the works written during this period. In this scenario Henry is the History'S patron, its most important reader, and his death is the context in which the work's 'failure' can be understood (Patterson, 1984, p. 129; May, 1989, p. 89; Parry, 1981, p. 85; Racin, 1974, p. 192). In fact, the death of the prince marked neither the beginning nor the end of Ralegh's search for clientage. The textual history of a tract which is usually entitled Touching a Marriage between Prince Henry of England and a Daughter of Savoy reveals that Henry was simply one in a sequence of intended (and unintended) audiences. In many manuscripts the tract is said to concern Prince Charles (see, for example, Cambridge University Library, Mm 633) and given titles such as 'A politick Dispute about the Happiest Match for the noble and most hopefull prince Charles' (Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson 1208). The tract itself describes the prince concerned as eager to marry, but Ralegh opposes his wishes and is 'exceeding· sorry' that the prince does not agree with him. This does not correspond with Henry's reputed reluctance to marry, and may suggest that Charles was indeed the original subject, making a later dating possible. What is more likely, however, is that a work written earlier about Prince Henry (the Savoyan marriage negotiations took place in Marchi April 1611) was appropriated to new circumstances. Similarly, Ralegh may claim that 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 24 The History of the World 25 But, according to Thomas Wilson, Ralegh intended to revise The Art of Warre and then dedicate it to the Duke of Buckingham. Another text from this period, Observations and Notes concerning the Royal Navy and Sea-Service, has been understood primarily in terms of Henry's patronage: he requested the work, and his death precipitated its (re)presentation in a different form (Sandison, in M.L.A., 1940, pp. 242-52). However, the Observations actually originated in 1597--8, as an address to Queen Elizabeth, 'a manifestation of restored intimacy' between Ralegh and his Queen, following his five year banishment from Court (Gossett, 1987, p. 17). If placed alongside other manuscript texts from the mid-1590s, such as the Relation of the Action at Cadiz (1596) and the Opinions on the Alarm of an Invasion from Spain (1596), Ralegh can be seen to be using the written word in the service of the state and at the same time furthering his own political career, a dual process which had begun in the 1580s. The Observations function as private advice to the Queen, preceded by an account of a parliamentary debate about the navy, a pattern of report and comment used on at least one prior occasion, when Ralegh gave advice On the Succession. Here he acts as a parliamentary reporter and adviser to the Queen (a political role which he unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate under James), and, despite a reference to his disgrace of 1592 (pp. 16--17), he clearly expected his advice to be heard, and thus celebrated the 'absolute will & commandment' of his monarch that could tum his advice into action (p. 20). In 1607, these Observations were re-worked for Prince Henry, and placed alongside Gorges' account of the 1597 'Islands' Voyage. In a number of passages new to this version, Ralegh offers a pungent attack upon corruption and incompetence, arguing that 'favour and partiality shall thus eat out knowledge and sufficiency' in these matters of national importance, and that the king should take back direct control over the navy, employing only 'his majesty's sworn servants'. Typically Ralegh also advocates peace through strength, warning that there is no 'immutable tranquillity' in the world (Works, VIII, 336--42). This is far from being a voice of intimacy and confidence: the fervour of the attack suggests, of course, that 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Of the Art of Warre by Sea, I had written a Treatise, for the Lord HENRIE, Prince of Wales; a subject, to my knowledge, never handled by any man, ancient or moderne; but God hath spare me the labour of finishing it, by his losse. (B351) Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Ralegh is offering himself as a sworn servant to the King (Henry's authority is actually elided at this point), but it also suggests that he knows his words may well fall on deaf ears. After Henry's death, Gorges took over the nominal authorship of the Observations, appending them to his account of the 'Islands' Voyage, and circulating both in elaborate presentation copies, such as the one that survives in British Library R.P. 3898. 6 'The prefaces to both the Islands Voyage and the Observations contain further new rhetorical stances and display further new tensions which, in this case, derive from the position of these texts on the cusp of a transition from private, courtly communication to public, printed communication. Ralegh and Gorges clearly collaborated in their writing and here Ralegh's voice can, I would argue, be heard in ''The Epistle Dedicatorie' to the Islands Voyage, which refers to many of his preoccupations during the 1610s. Whether Gorges or Ralegh, the writer has developed a concern to analyse why and how he is writing. 'The genre is politicised, clearly signalled as history, which is announced to be both truthful and 'profitable ... to reforme errors', if not always welcome to those in power. 'Art' and 'eloquence' are disclaimed in the interests of historical accuracy. Moreover, there is no single patron, a circumstance that is underlined by an attack on the very practice of dedications: Neither doe I by the dedication thereof to any great personage seeke to insinuate myselfe into publique opinion or grace well knowinge the worke to bee of noe such meritt, and my frostbitten fortunes allreadie to much distasted now to relish those Sunshininge fancies. (Sandison, in M.L.A., 1940, pp. 249-50f 'The work is dedicated instead to 'Noble England: my deare and Natiue Countrey' (p. 249). 'The political uncertainty which occasioned this version is evident in the self-conscious signposting of genre, the perceived need to sanction the act of writing itself, and the sense of ambiguity over the audience - in reality influential· courtiers, but within the text, the English nation as a whole. s In the preface to the Observations there is further political comment, conveyed in language characterised by anxiety of tone. 'The writer is worried about speaking plainly, even when his plain speech is in the service of the country. He tries to establish impartiality and disinterestedness, suggesting that he writes that which any good subject would write out of duty. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 26 27 Later still, the works would be published, in 1625 (the year of Gorges' death) by Samuel Purchas and in 1650 in a volume of Ralegh's political works, Judicious and Select Essayes. Purchas, with a side-note claiming that the work dated from 1607, omits the Epistle Dedicatorie, ostensibly for reasons of space, but this omission visibly demonstrates the irrelevance of the courtly patronage system and its discourse to the work's new function and audience, the establishment of a national identity. The Observations and their Preface were also omitted because Purchas thought the texts too dangerous to publish, both for himself and for the country; the work was not fit for 'euery vulgar and notelesse eye': it was only in 1650 that these were published for the 'vulgar' to read. This review of the transmission history reveals that privately communicated manuscript advice to a reigning and then a future monarch emerges, via a number of different forms and two different 'authors', as a public printed text in a collection of political commentaries. In material terms, a work which begins within the Court moves steadily outwards from the Court to reach new audiences, a movement accompanied by various degrees of ideological distancing from that Court and its written culture. The focus on Henry has meant that these kinds of processes have been overlooked. Moreover, the textual evidence suggests that there was no 'confident, familiar (at times jocular) tone' (Racin, 1974, p. 6) with which Ralegh addressed the prince, and the historical evidence suggests that Ralegh's advice, even if it was requested, was not taken. The fact that the marriage tract, with its absence of names and its detached style, could have been applied to both princes, supports this, as does a letter which offers advice on ship-building. This letter may begin 'Most excellent Prince', yet it is strangely bare of courteous address; there is no flattery, no preamble, no conclusion. The text is simply a list of points, closely related to the Observations on the Navy: indeed, it is possible that the letter is simply a fragment of the Observation. What is more, the specific advice contained in it, and in the Observations, was ignored by the prince, since the methodology of ship-building advocated differs from that of the prince's favourite, Phineas Pett, whom Henry vigorously defended against justified and severe criticism during the 1608 investigation into the navy. It was Pett, however, who was commissioned to build Henry's monumental ship, The Destiny, in direct contradiction of Ralegh's advice about the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers problems associated with large ships. Similarly, the two autograph fragments Of the Art of War by Sea rehearse Ralegh's old arguments about the actual weakness of the Spaniards, the economic wastefulness of a defensive war, the importance of forcible trade and the necessity of judging kings by their works. 9 All of these issues had been, and would be, pursued by Ralegh for many years, and to many different audiences. Henry's formative literary influence and the effect of his death have, therefore, been overestimated, since the majority of the works connected with the prince were unsolicited or ignored advice, or texts which had been, or would be, re- worked for other patrons. Another stumbling block to this approach is that, for much of the time that the History itself was being written, the prince was dead. The work had been registered back in 1611 but, owing to its length and complexity, the twin processes of printing and writing were to continue for the next three years, with the Preface being written only during 1614 (Racin, 1974, p. 13). In the light of a sceptical reassessment of this 'special' relationship, the invocations of the prince in The History of the World can be read as literary strategies rather than statements of fact. The death of Henry actually provided an opportunity for Ralegh, giving him a chance to create, textually, a retrospective special relationship which carried significance in the changing political climate. Ralegh was keen to portray the militantly Protestant Henry as a patron, whatever the political reality of the situation may have been whilst the prince lived.1O The prince who, living, had failed to help the imprisoned Ralegh in any material way, was to be more useful to the prisoner in death, as the particular placing of his name in the Preface to the History suggests: Henry is invoked immediately after an audacious disavowal of the method of analogy. Ralegh announces that it is 'enough' for him, in the state he finds himself, to write of the 'eldest times': wherein also why may it not be said, that in speaking of the past, I point at the present, and taxe the vices of those that are yet lyuing, in their persons that are long since deadj and haue it laid to my charge. But this I cannot helpe, though innocent. And certainely if there be any, that finding themselues spotted like the Tigers of old time, shall finde fault with me for painting them ouer a neWj they shall therein accuse themselues iustly, and me 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 28 The History of the World 29 The audacious irony of this statement can only be understood in terms of the early modern concern with history'S political agency (and the implications for history writers of this agency).H The status of history was being debated, often in a confused and confusing way, throughout this period. Was it a rhetorical or factual discipline? Should it be based on the interpretative methodology and educational aims of the humanist, or the empirical observations of the detached recorder? Over the course of Ralegh's lifetime a rather uneven development towards a historiography which self-consciously proclaimed itself as 'non-art' and 'nonpolitical' can be discerned. These are claims for the genre which have not been questioned until very recently. Concomitantly, there was a movement away from a historiography which announced its revelatory and/or political function and in which 'style' was deemed a necessary adjunct to that function. Sleidan's mid-Tudor universal history, written so that 'we might the better handle such lyke busynesses and chaunces in the commonweales', exemplifies the earlier tradition. Sleidan argues that oratory is vital to the learning process, since it 'behoueth to know some for the thing it self, other some for the thing and for the style' (1563, sigs iiiv and A2r). A generation later, Hayward, in his Henry IV (1599, sig.A3r), writes of the 'profit' of history, which offers not only precepts, but 'liuely patterns, both for private directions and for affayres of state'. Early in the seventeenth century, however, the words of the confused Edmund Bolton express the tensions within the discipline. He argues that history concerns itself with truth, rather than style (Trueth is the soueraigne praise of an Historys [sic]') and yet his list of histories which are to be admired included not only The History of the World (praised for its 'proper, clear and courtly graces of speech') but the poetry of Chapman, Daniel, Queen Elizabeth and many others (Hypercritica, ff.1-3, 36-9). During this same period, Selden was one of the first to argue against 'politic discourse and observation' and, in his prefaces, 'took care to inform his readers that they were being subjected to a new experience - the accurate relation of truth' (Berkowitz, 1988, pp. 33,41). However, whilst a writer like Selden was keen to describe his work on tithes as a 'meer narration' (1618, p. 12), he was seeking to 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 falsly. For I protest before the Maiesty of GOD, That I malice no man under the Sunne. (sig.E4r) Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers educate his readership politically. The way in which historical works were presented thus became increasingly inconsistent with the theory of history that generated them. Authors often disclaimed any intention of drawing parallels with contemporary events or people, despite the justification for historical study being that it brought light to the present. This unwillingness to avow a revelatory function had its roots in censorship, the most celebrated illustration being the prosecution of John Hayward, the author of Henry IV, for publishing a 200-year-old story and 'intendinge the application of it to this tyme'. Hayward's refusal to admit that past history had any relation to the present (in direct contradiction of his comments on the relevance of history to 'affayres of state' given above) is understandable in the context of persecution. Ralegh's response to the perils implicit in history writing is neatly to place all responsibility for political interpretation on to others: he cannot help it if they, with their guilty consciences, perceive themselves in his text. He himself is entirely innocent and free from malice. Of course, the text that will follow is anything but innocent and free from malice, but the sleight of pen here is admirableP It as at this tricky point that Prince Henry is invoked, Ralegh claiming that he undertook the work for the service of the prince, who read parts of it. The work is 'now left to the world without a Maister' (sig.E4v). This invocation of the dead prince is presumably a buffer between Ralegh and his critics: if they are not convinced of his innocence, perhaps they will respect its ghostly protector, the ghostly Master of this masterless text. Ralegh's exploitation of Henry becomes even clearer when, in the final lines of the History, he draws attention to the very title of the work, and appears to offer further volumes to his readers, a fairly standard procedure bearing in mind the publication history of The Faerie Queene or Daniel's Brief History of England. Lastly, whereas this Booke, by the title it hath, calles itselfe, The first part of the Generall Historie of the World, implying a Second, and Third Volume; which I also intended, and haue hewen out. (B776) A letter from Ralegh to Cotton (Edwards, 1868, II, 323) requesting books of medieval history suggests that this might not have been a hollow claim. Indeed, these medieval studies were to bear fruit the following year in The Dialogue betweene a Counsellor of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 30 31 State and a Justice of peace (which I consider in detail in the following chapter). Thus, the inconclusive ending of the History is important only because Ralegh makes it so by connecting its form to the dead Prince Henry and his 'many other discouragements' (B776). Henry's death does not therefore terminate the project as such, it merely provides a coda for its first part, a justification for the publication of an unfinished work. 13 John Hayward (1613, sig.A3r) had done the same thing a year earlier, when he described the dead prince as both requesting a history for his own instruction and as urging publication. The prince becomes one amongst the many, more or less fictional, 'friends' who urge writers to publish their works during this period. It is not Henry but his public audience that Ralegh addresses in his Preface: both audience and subject for his History are the boldest possible. He is writing for 'the world' and his plan is simple yet grandiose: 'For, beginning with the Creation: I haue proceeded with the history of the World' (sig.A1r).14 To these readers he offers, in an admittedly ambiguous way and with an important proviso, those further volumes which he has 'aheady hewn out': I doe therefore for-beare to stile my Readers Gentle, Courteous, and Friendly, thereby to beg their good opinions, or to promise a second and third volume (which I also intend) if the first receive grace and good acceptance. For that which is already done, may be thought enough. (sig.E4v) Ralegh's 'Readers Gentle, Courteous and Friendly', who did indeed give the work 'grace and good acceptance' throughout the seventeenth century, have been overlooked in all the attention that has been paid to Henry. In the light of the History'S political agency, the questions of Ralegh's immediate gains or losses of patronage which have dominated recent criticism recede in importance, to be replaced by questions about the nature of Ralegh's public history. RALEGH'S PUBLIC HISTORY In light of the issues raised in my opening section, the very publication of the History late in 1614, printed by William Stansby on behalf of the bookseller Walter Burre, becomes a material event with its own significance. Ralegh himself was actively involved with the production of his book: unlike most of his contemporaries, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers he supervised the printing of his text, arguing a rare level of commitment to the process. IS Interestingly, a number of writers with strong connections with Ralegh became involved with Stansby and/or Burre during 1614. Arthur Gorges, cousin and close friend, published his first work in that year, a translation of Lucan's Pharsalia, for which Ralegh himself wrote a prefatory sonnet. The translation was sold by Burre, whose only other investment during 1614 was the History. Ben Jonson, the author of the dedicatory poem to the History and tutor to Ralegh's son during 1612-13, had as his main bookseller Burre, and had used Stansby throughout the 1610s. 16 Moreover, he wrote a dedicatory poem to John Selden's first published work, Titles of Honour, which appeared in 1614. One further Stansby author had a connection with Ralegh: Dr John Hoskins, brother of the John Hoskins imprisoned with Ralegh during 1614 on account of a supposedly seditious speech in Parliament, published his first and only work in 1615, a collection of sermons given the previous year. The significance and nature of these print acts can be discerned in the works themselves. Selden's preamble to Titles of Honour claims, for example, that he is dealing with 'verum', a thing of 'Publique right' (sig.A2v). He self-consciously places himself and his project outside the patronage system but within the realm of public duty, writing proudly to his dedicatee, his 'beloued Friend and Chamber fellow, M. Edward Heyward', that'I call you not my Patron' (sig.A3v). Ben Jonson's long dedicatory poem to the work conveys a further rejection of a patronage system which encourages sycophancy. Jonson condemns himself for having too oft preferr'd Men past their termes; and prais'd some names too much But 'twas, with purpose, to haue made them such. (sig.B1r) He now realises his error (with some disingenuity, this being Jonson), and vows to use his poetic talent to better purpose, to 'aske, to whome, and why/And what I write'. The sermons published by Dr John Hoskins are similarly concerned with the powers and the responsibilities of the published author. In one of his dedicatory prefaces, Hoskins uses the familiar topos of being forced into print by his friends, but adds an extra dimension to his explanation: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 32 33 The copies were wrested out of mine hands in your house through importunity, and through distraction of my thoughts about the passages of another businesse, suffered me not to fully peruse them, yet I was contented, such as they were, to let them goe. For soe, perhaps, I may recompense, in some sort, the time which I then lost from my function, whilse that which was sometimes preached in the eares of a few, shall now preach to the eyes of all. (sig. A2v) Hoskins is, I would argue, drawing attention to his brother's experience of imprisonment during 1614, the 'passages of another businesse'. He is 'contented' that his thoughts about this imprisonment reach 'the eyes of all' and, indeed, his choice of biblical text is appropriate to the occasion, revealing a concern to show the legitimacy of speaking out. The first is Hosea 8:12: 'I have written unto them the great things of my Law, but they were counted as a strange thing', which he uses to defend the act of writing. The power of print, 'this most profitable inuention', is acknowledged, for 'then indeed the losse of the eare is restored to the eye, and the certaine patterne of truth becomes secured in mens memories' (p. 6). The text for the second sermon is Isaiah 62: 'You that be the Lords Remembrancers, be not silent', and it defends clerical participation in civil affairs. Hoskins argues that the followers of Satan, who have no calling, speak for evil policy, and he asks his readers: 'shall they speake without a calling? and will you that haue a calling, hold your peace ... They will not hold their peace, if you hold your peace' (p. 38). If a cleric knows how to 'shake off the poore mens clamour in the Country', then he must speak out. Hoskins goes on to plead with his wider audience, the citizens of London, insisting that they too speak out, identifying his cause and himself with the parliamentary and nationalist interest: o you that haue either greatnesse in your eyes, or goodnesse in your hearts, set before you this example of a true Patriot, a true Parliament man. Why are your desires at a stay, where is your courage, what is become of your ambition? (pp.39-40) The 'example' is presumably that of his brother, John Hoskins the younger, and is the clearest indication yet that these sermons, already given at the important meeting point of Paul's Cross, are a public call to action. 17 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers The publication act most closely linked to Ralegh was, however, the translation of the republican Lucan'f Pharsalia by Arthur Gorges. Ralegh wrote a dedicatory poem for the work, identifying Gorges with Lucan, the former praised for his freedom from flattery, his suffering and his military achievements. The poem ends with a Stoic encouragement to Gorges to die for the cause of truth and his good name. In his turn, Gorges had drawn attention to Ralegh's aggressive foreign policy in his notes to the translation. The Pharsalia was ostensibly published by Carew Gorges (Arthur's son), but, as Norbrook (in Sharpe and Lake, 1994, p. 52) cautions, 'such claims of accidental publication in the Renaissance, however, are not always to be taken at face value, the more so in this case since Carew Gorges was only ten years old at the time'. Gorges' work is also an oblique call to action, couched in the language of medieval chivalry: as he writes in his address to Lucy, Countess of Bedford, the 'reading of Heroicall actions' may be for ladies, but it is the men, the knights, who will act out their reading. Jonson is clearly an important figure, in general terms because of his longstanding commitment to print culture, and specifically because of his connection with both Burre and Stansby. Presumably it was Jonson, tutor to Ralegh's elder son Wat from spring 1612 through to early summer 1613, who suggested a printer and bookseller to Ralegh.18 Jonson's politics during this period are harder to pin down. On the one hand, he can be seen as committed to print, the champion of the autonomous author who remains free from the political control of patronage, the critic of the court in his dedicatory poems to Selden and Ralegh, the attacker of state (mis)interpretations in his prologue to the 1614 Bartholomew Fair, and one of the 'Sireniacal gentleman' described by Coryat, a group of drinkers at the Mermaid Tavern which included John Hoskins and John Selden. 19 On the other hand, there is the Jonson of the same period, rooted in Court culture, his plays performed for the King, the writer of a masque for the marriage of Carr and the Countess of Essex one year, of The Golden Age Restored, for Pembroke and his protege Villiers the next. As Martin Butler has pointed out (1993, pp. 377-9), Jonson's 'writerly self-consciousness', his forging of a 'new and distinctively modern idea of the author' who validates himself with the 'authority of print', need to be understood alongside the 'patronage economy' within which he worked. The complexities visible here are relevant to all these acts of publication: it is not that writers are necessarily turning away from 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 34 35 the Court and its culture, but that print is being used to negotiate critically with that culture. What these writers had in common in material terms was a lack of success at Court: Gorges, the excourtier, had lost his recently acquired place with the death of Prince Henry; Jonson, once so successful, was reeling from the failure of Catiline and the decline of the corrupt Howard faction; and the Hoskins family had suffered because one of their number had criticised the King in Parliament. Individually disparate as the motives and methods of these authors may have been, they used print to express criticism of the King, his court and his policies. The move was, superficially at least, a reluctant one, and the different writers found different ways of justifying their actions, whether through a brother's imprisonment, a child's fortuitous find or, in Ralegh's case, a prince's death. Despite his avowed anxieties about the ways in which printers corrupt texts, and his frustration that 'the long trauells of a vnderstanding braine ... should be cast away vpon men of no worth', Ralegh insists that authors must 'enlarge themselves' and 'publish vnto the world' (B516-17). The message is clear: print is a powerful medium for the expression of grievances to the largest possible audience. To return to the 1590s for a moment, Ralegh had once before used print to reach a wider public when courtier responses had proved .a disappointment. Earlier I discussed The Discoverie of Guiana in terms of the texts written in response to it: here I want to highlight the significance of its original form of publication. Ralegh published his news pamphlet, designed to drum up support for further expeditions to Guiana (now part of Venezuela), after the apparent failure of his own expedition to find gold in 1595.2° His original plan, expressed in a series of letters, was to raise further money from his Court backers, Sir Robert Cecil and Lord Charles Howard: as part of this project he presented Cecil with an account of the expedition (Letters to Cecil, 10, 13 and 26 November 1595, Edwards (1868, II, 108-17).21 Cecil and Howard did not respond favourably: the result was The Discoverie of Guiana, the first work to carry his full name, and the first instance of a recurring process illustrated in this book: a manuscript work is prepared for a specific and narrow courtier audience in response to a particular need, but then published, by Ralegh or by others, in order to reach a wider audience, and sometimes for very different purposes. The publication of The Discoverie marked an important stage in the development of Ralegh as a political writer, aware of, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers and responsive to, an audience beyond his own courtier circle, a new audience whom he could address directly in his Preface. As was the case with The Discoverie, The History of the World came into being in an atmosphere of political frustration coupled with an awareness of the potentiality of print culture. Ralegh's act of publication in 1614 has, however, a larger political significance. It is the act of a politician and soldier, who, denied an opportunity to participate in the active world because of his imprisonment, turns to reading histories and then to writing one based on his reading, in order to contribute to the common weal. This act can be partly understood in terms of the work of Skinner (1996, chapter 2), who analyses the vital connections between humanist notions of the ars rhetorica and the vir civilis, and in terms of the work of Jardine and Grafton (1990) who offer a case study of a text produced within a culture defined by these notions. The latter authors propose not only the concept of the active text, understandable in a culture which emphasises the utilitarian nature of writing, but also active reading, the logical extension of this process, its purpose being to induce an action which is public in its aims and character rather than private. They also make the point that reading and study were viewed as an approved way of relieving boredom for a man of action, and that history was seen as the best reading for a politician or soldier. The classical theory underpinning these ideas has been summarised by Woolf (1987, p. 20): For Cicero, historia was not simply another kind of literature: it was a source of correct action and human wisdom, the lux veritatis and magistra vitae. The well-known passage from De Ora tore which praises history for its didactic effectiveness acquired the status of a topos in Elizabethan historical theory, soon becoming an incantation chanted in preface after preface. By 1581, it had grown so familiar that John Marbeck could define history in a mere two lines simply by citing Cicero with no further comment: 'What an historie is. Tullie calleth an historie the witnesse of times, the light of vertue, the life of memorie, maistres of life.' History, that 'storehouse of wisdom for the vir civilis' (Skinner, 1996, p. 82) was viewed as a source of correct action and human wisdom for political leaders, from Sleidan's concern with the better 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 36 37 handling of 'busynesses and chaunces in the commonweale' (1563, sig.iiir) to Daniel who offers 'affaires of action, that most concern the gouernment' (1613, sig.A2v). Arthur Wilson, writing in 1653, uses a medical analogy: histories, 'like Anatomies', examine the body for diseases and offer cures for 'the Publique Health' (sig.A4r). Thus the depoliticisation of historiography by some academics in the 1960s and 1970s is clearly inappropriate, but so too is any simplistic equation of history with opposition (Hill, 1965, p. 178, or Notestein, 1971, pp. 390ff). History was a discourse open to all sides, being contested by all sides, neither the language solely of the 'opposition' or the 'state'.22 King James himself was not opposed to history writing in itself as has been often suggested: certain kinds of history were suppressed, but others were active~ encouraged and rewarded by the King and his ministers. 3 Edmund Bolton writes that the King suggested Nero as a subject for a history: the subsequent Nero Caesar (published 1627) was dedicated first to James and then to Buckingham. It may seem hard to understand why James would encourage the writing of a history about a bisexual tyrant, but Bolton turns the story to the state's purposes. Nero may be a villain, 'yet hee notwithstanding (for the great aduantage of truth) will teach this pretious secret: No Prince is so bad as not to make monarchie seeme the best forme of gouernment' (sig.A3v). In the case of Ralegh, it has been argued (Patterson, 1984, p. 129) that the writing of a history was in itself an antagonistic act, but it was not the choice of genre that was problematic, but what was done with that genre. It may be hard to believe, but it appears that Ralegh did not seek to antagonise James. Racin's analysis of the cancellans in the History not only show that he supervised the printing of the work, but that he made late editorial changes which were designed to flatter the King. 24 Chamberlain's gossip adds further weight to the argument: he writes that Ralegh took the calling-in of the History 'much to heart, for he thought he had won his spurs and pleased the king extraordinarily',zs What little evidence there is of James' response to the History supports the idea that Ralegh's fault was not so much the practising of historical analogy as the ferocity of his condemnations of monarchs. James' well-known comment about Ralegh's , description of the kings that he hates, whomof he speaketh nothing but evil' needs to be read in context. It comes in a pleading letter to Robert Carr, offering the King's version of past events, and 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World 38 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers to make good use of this little mirror of yourself which herein I present unto you. It is not like Sir Walter Ralegh's description of the kings that he hates, whomof he speaketh nothing but evil, for this lays plainly and honestly before you both your best and worst parts.26 James is not critical of the act of 'history as advice' (he himself is presenting a history of his relationship with Carr in order to reform him), but condemns Ralegh for his bias and dishonesty. In this context of history as a politically active genre, Ralegh can be regarded as an imprisoned man of action who reads history and then applies his reading actively for the public good. In two respects, however, his project differs from that of the self-effacing scholars described by Jardine and Grafton. Most significant is the fact that his audience is as potentially large as his subject; this is not advice conveyed in a letter or a manuscript for a particular patron but a history of the world offered to the world. Moreover, he does not negate his own selfhood in his act of collation. He may be a collector of ideas for others to act upon, but, in this ostensibly anonymous work, Ralegh engages in a sustained act of personal display, something that is visible even in the title-page (see the jacket illustration of this volume). Corbett and Lightbown (1979, p. 134), authors of a study of Renaissance frontispieces, have written that it is 'not immediately obvious' why a contemporary map of the world was chosen for the title-page, but they suggest that it may signify the scope of Ralegh's work, or perhaps his intention to continue it to the present day. Their own listing of the features of the map, however, reveals that the image has a more specific function. Almost all its details act as a key to Ralegh's biography, serving to draw attention to his active achievements prior to his imprisonment: the islands of the Caribbean are marked, as is the River Amazon; there is a sea battle raging in the North Atlantic; in southern Spain a town marks Cadiz; Dublin is marked by a church; and, as Corbett and Lightbown speculate: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 arguing for improved behaviour from Carr in the future. James compares the quality of his own advice to Carr with Ralegh's advice to him: 'Here is not "he said" and "she said", no conjectural presumptions.' James links the 'little mirror' that he presents to Carr with Ralegh's huge History, asking Carr The History of the World 39 This catalogue of Ralegh's achievements in the world intensifies the meaning both of the accompanying poem's insistence upon the triumph of history over death and oblivion, and the iconographical representation of history trampling death under her feet. Ralegh may be imprisoned, but his previous actions, particularly those in the interest of the state, are remembranced in iconographical form. Just as truth will emerge from death or dark oblivion, so Ralegh will speak from the Tower. Just as Providence will eventually reward and punish individuals, so Ralegh and his persecutors will be judged. The iconographical frontispiece to the History sets the terms for a reading of the text that follows it: as Roger Chartier (1988, pp. 5-7) has written, 'the image was often a proposal or protocol for reading, suggesting to the reader a correct comprehension and a proper meaning for a text'. This particular frontispiece demands an act of interpretation on the part of the reader: it is 'made up of a number of complex images which require a literary interpretation to be understood' (Corbett and Lightbown, 1979, p. 1). The reader is given some help in his or her act of interpretation by the writer of the poem (the unnamed Jonson), who places the ensuing history in a firmly classical and utterly conventional context, deploying Cicero's definition of history: Times witnesse, Herald of Antiquitie, The light of Truth, and life of Memorie. At the same time, however, the poet incorporates the Christian historiographic tradition in the form of Providence, which oversees, and approves of, the project of history writing. The revelatory intention of classical historiography becomes part of Christian revelation itself, 'the reward, and punishment' which are 'assur'd' resonate with providential significance, the classical preoccupation with earthly fame is replaced by the Christian preoccupation with heavenly judgement. In pictorial terms the reader sees truth (history) in triumph, in a setting which incorporates the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 London is not marked, but a church and building in the west; it is unlikely that there would be an engraving slip here; could this be Winchester, the seat of his trial in 1603 and where he was condemned to captivity, wrily alluded to in the last sentence of his Preface? Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers idea of judgement, the eye which watches over the classical tableau. The frontispiece and its accompanying poem are, therefore, a potent fusion of classical and Christian iconography and philosophy, harnessed in the cause of celebrating Ralegh's previous (primarily military) achievements and condemning his present persecuted state: rather than being a sign of collapse (Tennenhouse, in Lytle and Orgel, 1981, pp. 255-6), these personal allusions have primed the reader for the mixture of personal justification and aggressive critique of absolute monarchical power that follows, the infamous 'Preface'. To come to the end of the Preface, having been prepared to read it in a certain way by a 'reading' of the frontispiece, is to have experienced an impressive work of autobiographical display. The absence of Ralegh's name on the title-page does nothing to conceal the presence of his grievances. The Preface may open with a conventional authorial stance, emphasising the unfitness of the writer, but it is used to draw attention to his imprisonment, revealing his age and weakness, and implying criticism of those who have brought him to this state. The reader is reminded that Ralegh is unfit because he is persecuted, not because he is unworthy: he may be an old and wasted prisoner, but he should be out leading an active life. The emphasis on previous actions further establishes his credentials as a writer of histories, since according to contemporary ideas, the historian should have experience of politics and of war. In the final paragraphs there are at least two allusions to Ralegh's imprisoned and persecuted status. Writing about his use of foreign languages in the History, he refers to his 'eleuen yeares leasure' in which he has had time, if he so wished, to learn them. On the subject of writing a modern history, he draws attention to his previous political power, describing himself as 'hauing beene permitted to draw water as neare the Well-head as another'. In a fascinating conclusion to these acts of display, Ralegh insists that the reader is reading him: For conclusion: all the hope I haue lies in this, That I haue already found more vngentle and vncurteous Readers of my Loue towards them, and well-deseruing of them, than euer I shall doe againe. For had it beene otherwise, I should hardly haue had this leisure, to haue made my selfe a foole in print. (sig.E4v) 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 40 41 'Correct reading' becomes a metaphor for political life and communication: in the past, his 'Loue' was read incorrectly and he has thus been imprisoned; now, because of that imprisonment, he exposes himself and his policy to the reading of the world. In the main text, these repeated invocations of his political experience and activities encourage readers to apply their knowledge of his life to other passages, and to interpret more allusive historical narratives. So, for example, Ralegh's strange insistence that Alexander's achievements are not particularly exceptional and that it is only their 'huge bulke' that should be admired, begins to make sense when his heroic model is identified as Epaminondas, an unrewarded captain: But he that would finde the exact patterne of a noble Commander, must looke upon such as Epaminondas, that encountring worthie Captains, and those better followed than themselues, haue by their singular vertue ouer-topped their valiant enemies, and still preuailed ouer those, that would not haue yeelded one foot to any other. Such as these are doe seldome liue to obtaine great Empires. For it is a worke of more labour and longer time, to master the equall forces of one hardie and well-ordered State, than to tread downe and vtterly subdue a multitude of seruile Nations, compounding the bodie of a grosse vnweldie Empire. (B174) There could be autobiographical significance attached to the account of the trial and torture of Philotas (B199) or to the defence of Mandeville, a writer dismissed as a fabler by his own countrymen, but respected in other countries (B207). These passages should not, however, be understood simply in terms of making grievances known, or of reminding the reader of Ralegh's authorship. They also work towards establishing Ralegh's status as an authority, and function alongside other techniques which further demonstrate the authoritative nature of this history, written in negotiation with previous authorities. The digressive modern parallels serve to draw attention to Ralegh's own political experience and acumen. Many examples of phrases such as 'in all that I haue obserued' and 'I am of the opinion that' can be found. Narratives are illustrated with examples from Ralegh's own experience: over the course of a few pages Ireland (B178), Languedoc (B197) and the new world (B207) are mentioned. These 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers anecdotes are accompanied by an ostentatious historical rhetoric, which seeks to establish Ralegh as a thoughtful purveyor of his classical sources, and a conscientious translator of his biblical sources. His control over, and personal involvement with, his material is evident throughout the work in small details of shaping: the recurrent phrases, such as 'But it seemes to me', or in the way in which certain kinds of material are rejected, whether it be the evidence of dreams, or 'a friuolous discourse of Serpents, Apes, and Peacocks' (B207). The announcement of digressions and chronology is another 'truth-telling' signal, as well as a reassurance to the reader that he is in control of the vast body of material. The ostentatious linguistic analysis, which, with its echo of the pulpit, gives weight to Ralegh's work, serves to display his erudition, his wide learning and diversity of sources. Much of the opening material of the History is taken up with discussions of seemingly simple words such as 'beginning' (section l.I.iii) or 'heaven and earth' (section I.I.iv), or concerned with translations, such as of the phrase 'the spirit of God moved upon the Waters'. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century readers have been frustrated by Ralegh's repeated deferral to the mysterious authority of the Bible (Augustine and St Paul are used regularly to provide closure for any problematic passages), but the work's original readership, steeped in the culture of biblical exegesis, would have accepted the technique more readily, understanding that the Word was the ultimate authority and could not profitably be questioned.27 Despite the local complexity of Ralegh's arguments, often structured around a series of 'But's and digressions, the work is also painstakingly organised, with the reader given copious information in titles as to what each section is about, and then further information within the text as to what is being done at each stage. The Preface is followed by the beautifully laid out contents pages, almost overwhelming in their promise of encyclopedic knowledge. Digressions in particular are self-consciously signposted and act as formal displays of Ralegh's use of his wide learning: rather than being a signalling lack of control, they contribute to the overall argument (see Patrides, 1971, p. 35). Thus, although the History is riddled with contradiction and confusion, it is also ruthlessly organised, erudite, inclusive, encyclopedic and, on occasion, platitudinous, all qualities highly valued by the seventeenth-century reader (see Jardine and Grafton, 1991, p. 61). The book is physically huge, carrying, quite literally, a 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 42 43 biblical weight. The significance of its size can be assessed with reference to Chartier's exposition of a hierarchy of forms for printed texts (1989, p. 2): first, the great folio volume, the shelfbook of the universities, intended for serious study and which needed to be propped up to be read. Ralegh's approach to universal history is to encompass most other methods of writing history, including biblical exegesis, territorial or chorographical analyses, and surveys of particular problems. Moreover, his methodology is predominantly collative, in which no one text has primacy, and thus carried a special authority: in a society where books were seen as offering powerful knowledge, the reader who could focus the largest number of books on a problem or an opportunity would therefore appear to have the advantage. (Jardine and Grafton, 1991, p. 61) Ralegh's frequent use of aphorism is equally valuable to the reader, by combining the aphoristic and the encyclopedic mode, Ralegh offers his seventeenth-century reader the ultimate in useful reading. In terms of form and chronology the narrative control is impeccable and highly visible: thus the story of Alexander is shaped into an arc, mirroring the overall rise and fall shape of history.2s This arc is announced as part of a wider chronological framework: for example, he is introduced succinctly from within the context of his father's reign which has just been reviewed: Alexander, afterward called the Great, succeeded vnto Philip his Father; being a Prince no lesse valiant by Nature, than by Education, well instructed, and inriched in all sorts of Learning and good Arts. (B168) The high point of the arc, at Gaza, is just as clearly signalled: 'Here it was that Alexander first beganne to change condition, and to exercise crueltie' (B182). The purpose of this authoritative methodology is made explicit in a section entitled 'Of THALESTRIS Queene of the Amazons; where, by way of digression it is shewed, that such Amazons haue beene, and are'. In this section, Ralegh carefully reviews his sources for the story of Thalestris bearing a child by Alexander. He argues that the story is not present in Alexander's own letters to Antipater, and therefore it should be treated with suspicion. However, he 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World 44 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers I haue produced these authorities, in part, to iustifie mine owne relation of these Amazons, because that which was deliuered mee for truth by an ancient Casica of Guiana, how vpon the Riuer of Papamena (since the Spanish discoueries called Amazons) that these women still liue and gouerne, was held for a (B196) vaine and vnprobable report. Ralegh understands that he must have credibility as a writer and as a previously successful politician in order to make his criticisms of royal policy acceptable. Yet the impressive array of sources and the claims to political acumen, which do indeed establish both Ralegh's authority and his authorship, conceal but do not hide the weakness of the History's political and historical theory, which is at best confused. The discussion of causality is, for example, insubstantial: Ralegh may outline various reasons for the downfall of the Greeks and the triumph of Philip of Macedonia, but this list of second causes is immediately followed by the disclaimer that if the reader only looks carefully enough at causes, then all things will be found to agree with Providence. His comments on tyranny are equally inconclusive: despite much discussion of whether the authority of Nimrod, a conventional representative of tyranny, was given or usurped, the matter remains unresolved. 29 Although an attempt at a 'Ralegh definition' of tyranny can be made (and has been, most recently by May, 1989, pp. 92-3), it is almost impossible to formulate a 'Ralegh political response' to tyranny. This is not only because his argumentative tactics often involve the assertion and then the immediate qualification, if not recantation, of even mildly challenging ideas, but also because his terminology is so fluid. He does argue that tyranny is natural but not legal; what remains entirely unclear is whether he believes that it is legal to take up arms against a tyrant. He is equally inconsistent concerning the relationship between God and counsel. At times, political disaster is not simply the result of bad counsel, but of God making counsel of any kind futile. This is apparent in a digression from the account of Darius' killing of his counsellor, which takes as its theme the quotation 'For liberty in counsell is the life and essence of counsell' (B179). The digression ends: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 insists that, whatever the credibility of the Alexander story, Amazons do exist, supporting his argument with both ancient and modern authorities. His reason is avowedly self-serving: The History of the World 45 Later we are told that Darius fails because of bad, or badly timed, counsel (B185) and that he should have fought with Alexander on the banks of the Euphrates, but does not because his fate is determined by God: But as a man whose Empire God in his prouidence had determined, Hee abandoned all places of aduantage, and suffered Alexander to enter so far into the bowells of his Kingdome. (B188)30 Yet, the obverse process is apparent in the description of the revolt of the Thebans, which Alexander, of course, successfully suppresses. Alexander insists that the Theban orators and captains should be delivered up, but because of his obsession with Persia and his impatience to move on, he accepts that only the captains be banished. Apropos this, Ralegh comments that 'he was exceeding ill aduised, had not his fortune, or rather the prouidence of God, made all the resistance against him vnprofitable' (B170). Ralegh wants to make his point about the bad quality of Alexander's advisors, yet at the same time explains his success in terms of providential purpose, which seems to undermine the significance of the advice. The same conflict of interests is present. in the analyses of the function of history writing. In a section on the dangers of fighting at home, Ralegh appears to assert a positive role for history, justifying the giving of modem examples with the comment: Because we reade historys to informe our vnderstanding by the examples herein found, we will giue some instances of those that haue perished by aduenturing in their owne Countries, to charge an inuading Armie. (B175-6) This passage is, however, immediately followed by one that negates any such positive role for history and in effect places a limit on the role of advice: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The infinite wisedome of God doth not worke alwaies by one and the same way, but very often in the alteration of Kingdomes and Estates, by taking vnderstanding from the Gouemours, so as (B180) they can neither giue nor disceme of Counsels. 46 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers God's judgements, which negate human attempts to influence events, do not lie easily with Ralegh's assertions of the educational role of history. This intellectual inconsistency was present in the Preface with, on the one hand, its insistence on the utility of history and, on the other, a recognition that everything lies in the hands of God. Ralegh's inconsistency may frustrate intellectual historians in search of a linear 'development' in thought, but, as Bushnell (1990, p. xi) has argued, in the Renaissance 'any given text poem, play, treatise, or tract - may be composed of many different political languages and views, often quite contradictory'. This is certainly the case with the History and should not be surprising since inconsistency was inherent to his project: the two world-views which validated history writing were essentially contradictory. One was the Ciceronian, humanist view, which had at its heart a cyclical view of history and suggested that man could learn from the past. The other was the Christian/Protestant view of a linear history controlled by Providence. Fallen man's ability to learn political lessons from history was questionable; more important was the lesson to be learnt about man's sinfulness as a necessary preparation for the culmination of all history, Christ's thousand-year reign prophesied in Revelations XX: 1-5. Incompatible though these theories were, Ralegh was utterly representative of his time in his attempt to fuse them. The political potency of the History does not, however, depend upon consistency of method or theory. Others would take up the issue of historical causes in order to formulate a case against Buckingham and then the King, or would elaborate a political theory to justify regicide. The History'S power lies in the relentless and repetitive rehearsal of God's judgements upon kings; Ralegh will never justify the overthrow of a monarch, but he will illustrate it again and again. This technique is nowhere more visible than in the Preface, during which Ralegh ponders the contentious question: why do kingdoms fall? His answer at this stage is a simple one: kings do not learn from history. Since he has already qualified the classical idea of learning from history, by arguing that learning is only possible if God's judgement is borne in mind, there 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 But where God hath a purpose to destroy, wise men grow shortliued, and the charge of things is committed vnto such as either cannot see what is for their good, or know not how to put in execution any sound aduise. (BI76) 47 is surely the implicit suggestion that kings do not learn because they do not remember God. What follows is a catalogue of God's judgements upon kings, complemented by a catalogue of Ralegh's judgements upon kings: Henry I used 'force, craft, and cruelty'; Richard II 'cannot be excused'; Henry N's 'obtaining of the crown' was 'traiterous'; Edward N was a cruel slaughterer; and Richard m was 'the greatest Maister in mischiefe of all that fore-went him' (sig.A3v-A4v). The list of cruelties culminates in Henry vm of whom Ralegh writes: if all the pictures and Patternes of a mercilesse Prince were lost in the World, they might all againe be painted to the life, out of the story of this King. (sig.Blv) Even the panegyric of James, which concludes the review of English history, is laced with jarring comments. Ralegh may praise James' patience in waiting for the English Crown, and his unification of the Scottish and English nations, but the fulsome (if not long-winded) praise of Union is followed by a brief and bathetic sentence: 'It is true that hereof we do not yet finde the effect' (sig.B2v). Worse is to come. The next paragraph begins: It is true, that there was neuer any Common-we ale or Kingdome in the world, wherein no man had cause to lament. Kings liue in the world and not aboue it. (sig.B2v) This is eulogy with an edge: the complaint against James hovers threateningly on the periphery of the text, despite, or perhaps because of, all the disclaimers. The final paragraph of this survey of kings is introduced with uncharacteristically excited exclamation, carrying echoes of the vocabulary and tone of prophetic preachers, which conflates the authority of God and Ralegh, both in judgement on kings: Oh by what plots, by what forswearings, betrayings, oppressions, imprisonments, tortures, poysonings, and under what reasons of State, and politique subteltie, haue these forenamed Kings, both strangers, and of oure owne Nation, pulled the vengeance of GOD vpon them selues, vpon theirs, and vpon their prudent ministers! and in the end haue brought those things to passe for their enemies, and seene an effect so directly 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World 48 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers The pungent criticism of kings past and present, which passes for political comment, is validated and authorised by the relentless expositions of God's judgements upon evil kings. In the final paragraphs of the History the pattern of rise and fall which characterises the work continues, whether of the rise of Rome ('Now began the Romans to swell with the pride of their fortune' (B761» or the fall of Perseus and his sons (B773), with an accompaniment of political and moral advice, and illustrations of the way in which kings assume too much power. It is perhaps no wonder that Prince Henry is invoked as a ghostly protector for the work, although it is debatable whether his posthumous blessing is enough to defuse the political implications of the historical material rehearsed in the Preface. Since God is the same God everywhere and for all time, as is evinced in the geographically wide-ranging catalogue of fallen kings, then the reader can only adduce that if the fall of a king could happen in the past, then it could happen again. As the work progresses, readers are increasingly encouraged by Ralegh to relate their reading to contemporary life. The confusion over the act of historical analogy evident in the Preface is superseded by a confident exposition of the historian's project, and its relevance to the present day: And as in those times the causes were exprest, why it pleased God to punish both Kings and their People: the same being both before, and at the instant deliuered by Prophets; so the same iust God who liueth and gouerneth all thinges for euer, doeth in these our times giue victorie, courage, and discourage, raise and throw downe Kings, Estates, Cities, and Nations, for the same offenses which were committed of old, and are committed in the present; for which reason, in these and other the afflictions of Israel, alwaies the causes are set down, that they might bee as preced (AS08-9) ents to succeeding ages In the light of this insistence on analogy, the condemnations of rulers such as Rehoboam can only be read as a critique of, and a 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 contrarie to all their owne counsailes and cruelties; as the one could neuer haue hoped for themselues; and the other neuer haue succeeded; if no such opposition had euer beene made. GOD hath said it and performed it euer: Perdam sapientiam sapientum, I will destroy the wisdome of the wise. (sig.C2r) 49 warning to, the King and his ministers. James is Rehoboam who 'knew not how to resolue, so had hee not the iudgement to discerne of counsells, which is the very test of wisdome in Princes, and in all men else', who 'was transported by his familiars and fauourites, not only to continue on the backs of his subiects those burdens which greatly crusht them; but (vaunting falsly of greatnesse exceeding his Fathers) he threatned in sharpe, or rather in terrible termes, to lay yet heauier, and more vnsupportable loades on them', and whose counsellors, described as 'witless parasites', were 'also ignorant that it [taxation] ought to be vsed for the helpe, and not for the harme of subiects'. Ralegh links the irreligion and vacillation of the King with his dependence on 'familiars and favourites', the result being the excessive taxation of the King's subjects. The fate of Rehoboam, who thinks himself safe from God, is predictable: the section is entitled 'Of REHOBOAM his impietie; for which he was punished by SESAC: of his end and Contemporaries' (AS07). James' own view of the matter was, unsurprisingly, rather different: he had announced to Parliament, in May 1614, that he was no Rehoboam 'that took young and new counsellors and rejected the old' (in Proceedings in Parliament 1614, 1988, p. 142). Having decided to write a universal history, Ralegh must start with, and base his chronology upon, the Bible, that familiar source of unerring truth, but this history of the world, despite its biblical start, is nevertheless a political history. No capital is made out of Enoch's translation being a type of Resurrection or Ascension, but instead Ralegh laments the inadequacy of his sources for his story of these 'men of renown': But of the warre, peace, gouernement, and pollicie of these strong and mightie men, so able both in bodie and wit, there is no memorie remaining. (A81)31 Ralegh's methodology and concerns are most transparent in his treatment of David, the only biblical character who gets as much text-space (a whole chapter, II, XVII, to himself) as the far more numerous classical heroes. His interest in David has nothing to do with his Messianic significance, all to do with a career which can be analysed in relentlessly military/political terms: the killing of Goliath is noted as his 'first personal act of fame', whilst Saul is described as a 'jealous tyrant'. David's fall into wickedness is 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World 50 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers used to illustrate a favourite theme: the dangers of peace. condemned: Solomon, for example, receives scant attention, although the occasion is used to espouse an expansionist policy (A499). There are at times tensions between Ralegh's political views, in particular his aggressive foreign policy, and his most authoritative source, the Bible, 'that judge which cannot err'. In an attempt to follow the morality of the Bible, Ralegh appears to condemn his hero's warmongering. David is not allowed to build a temple because he has shed blood: Hereby it appears how greatly those princes deceiue themselves, who thinke by bloudshed and terrour of their warres, to make themselues in greatnes like to the Almightie, which is a damnable pride; not caring to imitate his mercie and goodnesse, or seeke the blessednesse promised by our Sauiour vnto the peacemakers. (A481) But, subsequent to this moral judgement, Ralegh, having described David's military campaigns, decides that he pleased God, and 'hereupon' his kingdom was secured for him and his heirs. The reader either accepts the inconsistency, or perhaps goes back and re-reads the passage about the temple again. If God rewarded David and his posterity eventually, despite (or even because of) his war activities, then who were the petty censurers who stopped him building a temple? Ralegh's dislike of the petty censurers is similar to his disgust at the faction that prevented Hannibal from achieving military success, dismissed as servants to the servants of their enemies: Here may we behold, the fruites of their enuie to that valiant house of the Barchines; of their irresolution, in prosecuting a war so important, as Hannibal had made for them in Italie; and of their halfepennie-worthing, in matter of expense when they had aduentured their whole estate, in the purchase of a great Empire. Now are they seruants, euen to the seruants of those men, whose fathers they haue often chased, slaine, taken, and sold as bondslaues in the streets of Carthage, and in all cities of Africk and Greece. Now haue they enough of that Roman peace, which Hanno so often and so earnestly desired. (B725) 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 In general, pacific periods of history are either marginalised or The History of the World 51 The cause, I say, which hath wrought one and the same effect in all times, & among all Nations, is this, that those which are nearest the person of Princes (which martiall men sildome are) can with no good grace commend, or at least magnifie a Profes(B718) sion farre more noble than their owne. The implications for princes of this dependence on stay-at-home politicians who give bad advice are predictable. Philip of Macedonia 'for all the euill that befell him' can 'thanke his owne peruerse condition', since he abhorred all good counsaile. Wherefore he was iustly punished: by feeling the difference between the imaginarie happinesse of a Tyrant, which hee affected; and the life of a King, wherof he little (B723) cared to performe the dutie. Numerous other criticisms of pacifist court culture, presented as driven by faction and riddled by moral corruption, can be found, at times thinly veiled, as in the descriptions of Darius, 'this Maygameking' who is 'rather like a masker than a man of Warre' and whose military procession is described as follows: To second this Court-like companie, fifteene thousand were appointed more rich and glittering than the former, but apparelled like Women (belike to breed the more terrour) and these were honoured with the Title of the Kings Kinsmen. (B177) In section IV.lI.xvi Alexander's moral corruption is dwelt upon, in particular his 'Sodomiticall Eunuchs' and his hubris, and he is described as having become like one of Darius' 'licentious Courtiers' (B197).32 Ralegh does offer an alternative to a pacifist polity ruled by 'licentious Courtiers'. It is visible in the Hannibal narrative, which plays an important part in the closing stages of the History. Ralegh's treatment of the confrontation between Hannibal and Scipio at Zama shows how he adapted and embellished his classical sources, Livy and Polybius, in order to offer an alternative 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Throughout the History, the grievance recurs that monarchs do not reward their men of war, because those closest to the prince are not 'martiall men': Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers model of manly, stoic militarism. Hannibal, the reader is told, admires Scipio and wants to meet him. When the commanders meet, 'they remained a while silent, viewing one the other with mutual admiration', at which point Hannibal speaks on the subject of change, 'the contemplation of that mutability, whereto all human affairs are subject'. Scipio rejects Hannibal's offer of peace and battle ensues, Hannibal encouraging his men 'with words agreeable to their several conditions', but, despite his 'singular skill', the Carthaginians lose. The fault lies not with Hannibal, however, but with the Carthaginians at home whose 'malicious counsels' had brought their nation into misery (B574-84). This narrative of two great military commanders facing each other in mutual admiration, of Hannibal speaking of the mutability of all things, of battle between respectful enemies, of defeat occasioned by the machinations of stay-at-home politicians, contains, I would argue, an idealised portrait of Ralegh himself, and forms the culmination of the sequence of identifications with historical characters. In the most sophisticated element yet in the tapestry of personal allusion and political comment that characterises The History he places himself/Hannibal firmly within a militarist honour culture which is offered as an alternative to courtly, factional corruption. Ralegh adapts his two primary sources, Livy and Polybius, to create his own History. Livy does not suggest reasons for Hannibal's approach to Scipio, so Ralegh follows Polybius and asserts that Hannibal is impressed by Scipio's allowance of his 'Scowts and Spies' and 'admired the brauerie and courage of his Enemie: with whom on the sudden he grew desirous to haue an Enter-view, and personall conference' (B575).33 The interview is sought because Hannibal respects his opponent. Ralegh does follow Livy almost word for word in the actual description of the meeting, a passage not present in Polybius. Thus Livy has 'for a minute mutual admiration struck them dumb, and they looked at each other in silence'; whilst Ralegh has 'they remained a while silent, viewing one the other with mutuall admiration' (B576). His account of the speeches of Hannibal and Scipio also shows some interesting omissions and additions. Hannibal's speech is relatively short, Ralegh summarising Livy but concentrating attention on the passages in which Hannibal presents himself as a symbol of mutability. Most importantly, Scipio's speech loses its insolent tone and gains a passage which obliquely praises Hannibal and sets the battle in terms of an honour encounter: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 52 The History of the Wodd 53 The commanders' words of encouragement to their troops (B577-8) are rehearsed, then in the battle itself Ralegh describes an encounter between Hannibal and Scipio which is present neither in Livy nor Polybius: This done, he aduanced towards Hannibal: who entertayned him after another manner, than euer he had beene receiued in his life before. All the daies worke till now, seemed to haue beene onely a matter of pastime; in regard of the sharpe conflict, that was maintained betweene these notable souldiours. (B579)34 Finally, Ralegh is not only insistent on Hannibal's military genius, citing both Polybius and Livy, but repeats again his accusations against the Carthaginian government who pushed him into battle too soon (B580), countering Polybius' verdict (1889, II, 150) that Hannibal was defeated by chance or Livy's insistence upon his 'inhuman cruelty', his 'more than Punic perfidy', his 'total disregard of truth, honour, and religion' (Livy, 21.4, 1972, p. 26). The Ralegh/Hannibal identification alerts the reader to some significant aspects of Hannibal's decline, such as his banishment at the hands of evil faction and his position as an unheard adviser: Hannibal was at this meeting: who had long beene cast aside, as a vessell of no vsei but was now required to deliuer his opinion. (B684) Moreover, although 'many were pleased with the great spirit of the man, and said he had spoken brauely', and although Hannibal's counsel is good, 'of all this was nothing done' (B685). Hannibal flits in and out of the closing stages of this huge work, the unheard, but correct, adviser, the victim of political machinations, envy and, in the end, the 'malice' of the Romans (B700): Certainely, for Hannibal, whose tragedie we haue now finished, had he beene Prince of the Carthaginians, and one who by his 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 But I cannot blame thee, HANNIBAL, though thou wouldst be glad to make thy Citizens understand, from how much of their burden they are by thy meanes eased. Onely thou must thinke, that in like sort it concernes me in honour, not to let them bee (B577) gainers or sauers by the wrongs they haue done of late. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers authoritie might haue commaunded such supplyes, as the Warre which he undertooke, required, it is probable, that he had torne vp the Roman Empire by the roots. But he was so strongly crost by a cowardly and enuious Faction at home; as his proper vertue, wanting publike force to sustaine it, did lastly dissolue it selfe in his owne, and in the common miserie of his Countrey and Commonweale. (B715) This is more than Renaissance role-playing. It is the full-scale appropriation of a historical character to the anti-pacifist cause, the harnessing of Hannibal's biography to Ralegh's own political predicament and that of his country.35 Factional interests weaken the public sphere leading to the Commonweale's misery. Without 'publike force' Ralegh/Hannibal cannot sustain themselves, but the implications for the nation are dire. This prophetic element to the History is a crucial one. It was present in the frontispiece, where Ciceronian and Christian notions of revelation fused, the 'reward and punishment assured', and in the Preface where it is announced that God 'hath taken the accompt' of those who have persecuted him unjustly (sig.Alv), and 'the very age of the world' is bringing His judgement closer. It is articulated in the final lines, in which Ralegh summarises his project and its meaning: By this which we haue alreadie set downe, is seene the beginning and end of the three first Monarchies of the world; whereof the Founders and Erectours thought, that they neuer could haue ended. (B775) He questions the reason 'of the succession and continuance of this boundless ambition in mortaH men' (B775) which causes so many problems. His answer is that the Kings and Princes of the world haue alwayes laid before· them, the actions, but not the ends, of those great Ones which prreceded them. (B776) In his final vision, eloquently cynical, Ralegh reminds his readers of 'the end': the end of history, the end of time. The closing concern is with the power, not of God, but of Death, which 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 54 The History of the World 55 It is truth-telling death that is now addressed: 'whom all the world hath flattered thou only hast cast out of the world and despised' (B776). History and death are both revelation: the reader is reminded of Hannibal's suicide which, according to Hannibal himself, will reveal how 'farre the auncient Roman vertue is degenerate and corrupted'. For the post-1618 reader, Ralegh's own stoic behaviour on the scaffold and his speech which condemned the injustice that had brought him to his death would have added further resonance to these passages. Just as Ralegh, on the scaffold, would proclaim that he has come from the darkness into the light to speak his message, the History, written in the Tower, has published the truth to the world. It has revealed Ralegh, the great statesman, it has revealed his critique of courtly mores, and it has revealed the fate in store for kings who err. NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. My own favourite critical assessment is that of Ralegh's Victorian biographer, who argues that the tedious nature of the biblical sections is compensated for by the fact that there is 'no line or word within which there lies the tiniest spark of prurient suggestion' (Edwards, 1868, I, 541). See Racin, 1974, pp. 5--6; Tennenhouse in Lytle and Orgel, 1981, pp. 248-9; Greenblatt, 1973, pp. 152, 157; Edwards, 1868, I: 492--4; Parry, 1981, p. 84; Williamson, 1978, pp. 49ff. Chapman was also involved with Princess Elizabeth, writing the masque for the celebrations of her wedding, reworking his familiar (and Raleghean) theme of colonisation as the means to honour and riches: see The Memorable Maske, 1613. Chapman, like Ralegh, did not benefit materially from his connection with Henry: the £300 that he expected for his translation of Homer was never paid and the pension promised by the prince on his deathbed was equally unforthcoming: see McClure, 1966, p.22. Williamson, 1981, p. 184, lists the elegies for Henry. Norbrook, 1986, p. 96, discusses the militantly Protestant poets who suffered most from the prince's death and the subsequent rise of the Howards. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 puts into man all the wisdom of the world, without speaking a word, which God with all the words of his law, promises, or threats, doth not infuse. Death which hateth and destroyeth man is believed; God, which had made him and loves him, is always (B776) deferred. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Letter from John Chamberlain to Dudley Carleton, 12 November 1612, in McClure, 1939, I, 389. Two further works which are sometimes linked with the prince, The Maxims of State and the Cabinet Council, are now known not to be by Ralegh, and further weaken the argument for a special relationship. Woolf's reading of the History (1990, pp. 53-4) is compromised by his assertion that Ralegh did write these works early in his career, and that they are the 'reflections of an active citizen' in contrast to the History, the work of 'a condemned prisoner'. It is titled as follows: 'A true Relation of the Voyage To the Iles of the Azores by the Nauie and forces of the late Queene Elizabeth of famous memory.... Collected and written accordinge to the accidents & auentures observed from time to time in the Royall shippe called the Wastspight by Sir Arthur Gorges Knight then captaine of the same. With a briefe description of these Islands .... Whereunto are allsoe annexed certain obseruations & ouertures conceminge the Royall Nauie & Sea Seruice gathered & sett down by the same Author.' Sandison's copy text is now lost. RP 3898 appears to be identical. Sandison (p. 245) argues that these presentation copies were individually tailored for their recipients. The rest of the work was lost in a fire in 1623. Two manuscripts containing fragments of plans and contents pages survive. Cotton Titus B VIII consists of notes which indicate that the work contained both practical and theoretical sections, since specific plans of military action are outlined. MS Jones B60 in Dr Williams' Library consists of notes which are to be added to the work. These notes are not arranged in any particular order, giving some indication of Ralegh's compilatory methods. Other poets helped his cause. Browne in his Brittania's Pastorals has the unlikely duo of Essex and Ralegh sitting in the 'valley of grieving wights' with 'Idya' (England) singing a dirge for Henry (in Book I, Song IV, 1l.679ff). The study of genealogy and antiquities, whether to strengthen personal prestige or to settle disputes, is a separate but related area: for a survey of the differences between antiquarian and historical study, see Woolf, 1990; for accounts of antiquarianism, see Fussner, 1962, pp. 92ff; Evans, 1956; and R. B. Manning, 1990. May, 1989, p. 90, describes this passage as 'nothing less than advance notice to the reader to be alert for parallels with contemporary events'. Ralegh also hints that someone (although it is not made clear whom) requested that extra material be inserted (sig.E3r), a fact which excuses 'the vnsutable diuision of the bookes'. Ralegh later explains the text to the reader in more conventional authorial terms, justifying his methodology, his intelligence, the way he uses sources, the unevenness of the style, and his tendency to digress (sig.E3r-E4r). See Grafton, 1980, p. 281, for a description of the usual practice. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 56 The History of the World 57 Burre, who set up business in 1599, had been selling Jonson's books since 1601. Stansby printed Epicoene (1610), Catiline (1611) and the Folio, which was printed throughout the early 1610s, but was only published in 1616. 17. There are echoes here of the mid-1560s, when ministers who were suspended from office by Archbishop Parker turned to print to publicise their cause (see Collinson, (1967) 1990, pp. 76-7). 18. . Stansby had not printed any history books prior to 1611 so he would not have had a reputation in this field. It has been argued ijonson, 1950, IX, 13-15) that the publication of Jonson's Folio was delayed because Stansby was committed at this period to the printing of The History of the World. See Jonson, 1990, pp. 16-22 for the argument that there is a connection between Sejanus and Ralegh's 1603 treason trial. 19. Bartholomew Fair was performed in the autumn of 1614, first at the Hope Theatre and then at Court. Themes and characters relevant to the History, such as political corruption, right reading and Cicero, are all present in Catiline (1611). 20. Despite a good start, the voyage did not tum out as planned. Ralegh successfully captured Trinidad with a surprise attack and the Governor, Berrio, was taken on board and questioned. He and his men then made the arduous voyage up the Orinoco to the Caroni falls, but were unable to work any gold mines. On the way home to England, attempts were made to plunder the towns of the Spanish Main with the aim of seizing some money in order to placate the investors. Despite claiming success in England, this venture was a failure with a heavy defeat at Cumana. On his return in September, the news went around that Ralegh had come back rich, but the truth soon became known. 21. The one manuscript copy of The Discoverie which survives, Tenison MS 250 in the Carew papers at Lambeth Palace Library, supports the tentative hypothesis that Ralegh sent copies of his text to other potential Court sponsors; Sir George Carew was a lifelong friend and supporter of Ralegh. It is also possible that Carew received the manuscript at a much later date: see his letters (in Maclean, 1860, pp. 71, 97) in support of the Ralegh's second Guiana voyage. For discussions of Ralegh's attempts to establish the historicity of his text, see Greenblatt, 1973, pp. 106-7, and Fuller, 1991. 22. Although the pre-revisionist argument that history was the language of opposition is limited by its onesidedness, it at least acknowledges the political agency of the genre and its study. See for example Hill, 1965, p. 178; Berkowitz, 1988, p. 25; Notestein, 1971, pp. 390ff. On the topic of nationalism, see Fussner, 1962, p. 24, and Baker, 1967, p. 30, on Elizabethan state history. 23. James, for example, instructed Henry to read 'authentick histories' so that instruction would be seasoned with pleasure in his Basilikon Doron, 1944, pp. 148-9. Henry Lyte's Light of Britain, a sumptuous genealogy of Elizabeth tracing her ancestry from Brut, was presented in an updated version to James by Thomas Lyte in 1610. James was delighted, and presented Lyte with a Hilliard miniature set in diamonds. See Baker, 1967, p. 92. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 16. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Racin argues convincingly (1974, pp. 16-17) that the changes show Ralegh did intend 'if not to please James, at least not to antagonise him' since he 'took advantage of the opportunity to strengthen the flattery of James' generosity' in his corrections. May, 1989, p. 90, in contrast, sees the work as one of simple confrontation, describing Ralegh as 'baiting' the king with 'a mixture of irony, flattery, and effrontery that made of the History an instrument of all-out reproach'. Greenblatt, 1973, p. 133, also insists that the praise of James is ironical. Letter to Dudley Carleton, 5 January 1614(15), Thomson, 1966, p. 568. Early 1615, Akrigg, 1984, p. 338. For a discussion of the Bible as source, see Baker, 1967, p. 37, and for critics who express frustration with the technique see Baker 1967, pp. 34-5; Fussner, 1962, p. 199; Hill, 1965, p. 186; Racin, 1974, p. 117; and Edwards, 1868, I, 541. Comparison can be made with a contemporary account of Alexander (Obseruations upon the Hues of Alexander, Caesar, Scipio, 1602, an anonymous translation) which adopts a more static exposition of character, the bulk of the work focusing on Alexander's achievements with a summary conclusion listing 'In what things Alexander may be taxed'. See Hill, 1994, pp. 217-22 for a review of early modem treatments of Nimrod. Condren, 1994, p. 56, argues that the 'terms, rebellion, tyranny and arbitrary rule are found only in an accusatory register and were hence terms to be avoided and for which one needed protective, paradiastolic substitutes in the face of accusation. There were no theories of arbitrary rule or tyranny, only attacks upon them. Almost the same is true of rebellion'. This argument is useful in the way it indicates the linguistic and semantic constraints upon writers, but it understates the political work that could be done with 'paradiastolic subsitutes'. God permits certain events, such as the killing of princes, but will also punish the participants. See the comments on Bessus and Nabarzanes, the killers of Darius (B193). See also the discussion of Noah where the fact that the flood provides a complete analogue of the Fall is ignored and, instead, the story is used to 'truly teach the worlds plantation, and the beginning of Nations' (A113). Corns, 1992, pp. 6-7, traces the satire of courtiers as 'ruthless, foppish, esurient, and lecherous' back to the medieval period. Polybius has: 'On their return to his camp, Hannibal was so much struck with the magnanimity and high courage of Scipio, that he conceived a lively desire for a personal interview with him' (1889, ll, 141). The closest parallel is found in Polybius. 'The whole affair being now a trial of strength between man and man at close quarters' (ll, 147). The more familiar autobiographical and political asides still appear. Ralegh argues, for example, for the necessity of waging war against Philip II (B426), advises against the frequent changing of leaders in 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 58 59 Ireland (B439), accuses the Carthaginians of doing things by halves (B491), remembers an example of dishonourable siege-breaking when he 'was a yong man in France' (B497), analyses the entire career of Hannibal in terms of bad counsel and malicious faction, and, finally, uses his death to make the point that the military profession is rarely rewarded (B713). The establishment of 'Ralegh the historian' also continues with, in particular, a favourable comparison between his own impartial and reasonable history and the biased inaccuracies of Livy (B449-50). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The History of the World A Dialogue betweene a Counsellor of State and a Justice of peace Tell men of high condition, that mannage the estate, their purpose is ambition, their practise onely hate. Having been three years in the printing, Ralegh's History finally appeared in early December 1614. Only weeks after its publication, on 22 December, the work was suppressed by Archbishop Abbott, on royal command. Ralegh's public voice and its politically challenging message had been silenced by the Stuart state, for the time being at least. In response, Ralegh turned to a new writing project, a dialogue between a Counsellor of State and a Justice of the Peace on the subject of the King's prerogative, the right of the monarch to assert his authority without interference by Parliament or the law. This text grew in some ways out of Ralegh's experience in writing and publishing his History. In terms of content, it follows truth by the heels in a way that the History claims it does not, offering a review of English parliamentary history from medieval to contemporary times. In terms of the problematic reception of the History, the Dialogue engages directly with James as reader. As I discussed in the previous chapter, Ralegh had made late changes to his History . which were designed, if not to flatter James, then at least not to attack him openly. Racin (1974, pp. 15-16) has shown that an indiscreet detail (a complaint about the 'beggerie' of military commanders and the 'happie Clarkes' who reap rewards instead) was replaced by a less contentious paragraph, which offers pedestrian information about two military commanders known to James. Racin argues that thus an indiscreet aside was eliminated, a change too pointed and informed to have been the work of an I 60 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 3 61 amanuensis, much less that of the printer'. This late change underlines both Ralegh's detailed and active involvement with the production of the History and his awareness that his work would be read by the King (and by others with power over him) in detail. Yet, as was also seen in the previous chapter, James, in his letter to Robert Carr, condemned Ralegh for a biased historian, a man blinded by hatred of kings. The Dialogue implicitly and explicitly acknowledges James' (faulty) reading practices, and exposes the dangers of writing and speaking in a climate where those in power are guilty of wilful misinterpretation. Written during the spring or summer of 1615, the completed text was presented in manuscript form to James late in 1615, probably between September and December. Its most obvious function was of course advice to James, and the Dialogue signalled a return to Ralegh's earlier campaign to gain release from the Tower of London by means of the strategic dedication of manuscript works, such as the series of naval and marriage tracts which he offered up to Prince Henry during the 1607-12 period. The work can be thus understood in the first instance in terms of a continuing quest for royal patronage. Ralegh has returned to direct address to the monarch in the light of the changed political climate, and, in particular, in response to the deaths of five of the six nobles who had signed the warrant for his death in 1603, a phenomenon referred to in macabre fashion in the Preface to the Dialogue.1 In addition to this passing comment on the mortality of his counsellors, the Dialogue offers James a substantial debate about whether a parliament should be called, with the Counsellor seeking to prove his opposition to the idea with a review of history, starting with King John. The Justice then takes over this review of history in order to prove his point, that 'the Kings of England haue neuer receiued losse by Parliament or prejudice'. He starts with Henry ill and works steadily onwards, regularly digressing into discussions of the King's present-day problems. The final stages of the work have the Justice turning explicitly and exclusively to contemporary issues. Ralegh had good reason to present advice, particularly about debt problems, late in 1615 since the James' financial problems were becoming increasingly severe. He had been demanding remedies for his insolvency, and was well aware of the political implications of his situation: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers The only disease and consumption which I can ever apprehend as likeliest to endanger me is this eating canker of want, which being removed, I could think myself as happy in all other respects as any other King or monarch that ever was since the birth of Christ. In this disease I am the patient, and ye have promised to be the physicians. (19(?) October 1607, James I, 1984, p. 291) Many 'physicians' offered their cures in the period after the failure of the Addled Parliament, with suggestions coming from Francis Bacon among others. The King rejected their ideas, but was persuaded into discussing the matter.2 The majority of participants in the ensuing Council of September 1615 were in favour of calling a Parliament, but also remained aware of the need to show improvements in the management of royal expenditure so that the King would not be dependent on Parliament's goodwill. At precisely the moment at which the King's counsellors were offering their advice, Ralegh chose to enter the debate, starting his Dialogue with the Justice questioning the efficacy of the 'benevolence' being levied by James: But, My good Lord, althoughe diuers Sheires haue giuen to his Matie some more, some lesse, what's that to the kings debts? (p. 3)3 Ralegh offers his own set of cures for the King's malaise. Unlike the King's Council, he is less interested in the ways in which James can circumvent Parliament, more interested in the way in which Parliament can help the King to raise money. Ralegh had been aware for some years that the key to royal favour was to bring the King to solvency: his projected second voyage to Guiana had been presented as a solution to the James' dangerous lack of funds in the terms of a money-making exercise, rather than a Protestant, imperialist venture. Like James, Ralegh was aware of the political consequences of the financial problems, writing in one letter with bleak pessimism that the King had refused an easy way to make money 'both dispight of your Malitious enemyes Abroade; and of your gruntinge Subjects att home' (1607 or 1611, in Harlow, 1932, p. 109). Occasioned by the failure of the 1614 Parliament and James' patent need for financial advice, the Dialogue, a sustained analysis of the King's predicament, can be seen as an attempt by Ralegh to 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 62 63 be heard in the voice of a proxy Privy Counsellor, perhaps offering himself as the man to manage Parliament in the interests of the King, a role he had assumed to some extent under Queen Elizabeth. 4 If read in the light of Ralegh's personal situation, the Dialogue moves beyond advice into complaint about unjust imprisonment. In the brief prefatory address to the King, in which Ralegh offers to guide James through the work, he indicates that its subjects will be the summoning of Parliament and impositions, but this proves to be a somewhat disingenuous summary. In fact, Ralegh's treatment of the potentially contentious subject of the legality of impositions is extremely brief and certainly does not come close to the kind of analyses being made by parliamentarians such as William Hakewill who, charged by the 1610 Parliament with analysing historical records, had discovered that many previous impositions have been 'untruly vouched' and 'misapplied', and went on to conclude that the King's prerogatives were permitted by Parliament, and that to allow the King his impositions was to ensure 'the utter dissolution and destruction of that politic frame and constitution of this commonwealth'. John Hoskins, also a participant in this debate, was even more explicit: customs' duties were not part of the inheritance of the King, and therefore he had no right to increase them. Regal power came from God, but 'actuating' it lay with the people. 5 As Maija Jansson, the editor of the Proceedings, writes, 'far from being the confused, do-nothing assembly of tradition, the English parliament of 1614 addressed thorny constitutional issues and anticipated the concern with procedure and privilege that is evident throughout the sessions of the 1620s' (p. xiii). What this 43-day session did not achieve was any solution to the King's financial problems. 6 For Hakewill and Hoskins, however, thinking about impositions meant thinking about the constitutional role of the people. Ralegh, in contrast, when he does consider impositions in the Dialogue, has the Justice offer no challenge to the King's powers of extraordinary taxation, but allows him to comment that the impositions are 'willingly accepted', although suggesting at the same time that the King could have raised more money through the sale of lands and wardships. Later, this pragmatism finds expression in the categorical statement by the Justice that there is nothing in the Great Charter 'against Imposicofis, & besides that, necessity hath perswaded them' (p. 29). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers 1bis is a clear divergence from Hakewill and Hoskins, and may partly be result of Ralegh's intellectual bias towards political expediency: the brevity of discussion, however, also leaves space for a far more passionately argued debate about unjust imprisonment. Thus, when Cust (1987, p. 156) maintains that Ralegh 'argued firmly against this type of levy', he is not only misrepresenting the text, as is evident from the quotation above, he is also failing to do justice to the areas in which Ralegh is in fact politically engaged? Having established the legality and the necessity of impositions, the Justice goes on: But that w ch hath bene euer grieuious, & the cause of many troubles, is that 't LoPPs (abusing the reason of State) doe punishe and imprison the Ks Subts att your discresofi. It's yoW my Lods, that, when the Subt hath some time neede of the Kings prerogatiue, doe then use the strength of the lawe; And when they requyre the law, yoW afflict them with the prerogatiue, & treade the great Charter (wch hath bene confirmed by sixteene Acts of pImt) under yor feet, as a torne parchment, or wast paper. (p.29) Thus Ralegh's central concern is as much the use of the King's prerogative to imprison people (also a concern of the 1614 Parliament), as the use of the King's prerogative to raise extra-parliamentary taxation. Later, the Justice refrains from challenging the legality of the King's prerogative power, but, in his response to the Counsellor's statement that Parliament diminishes the King's prerogative, he twists the argument to focus once again upon arbitrary imprisonment arguing that failure to confirm the Great Charter is to give power to: men of yor LoPps rank, to assist their owne passions, & to punishe and imprison att their owne disresofi the Ks poore Subts, couer- . ing their private hatred w th the collour of the Ks seruice. (p.29) With its twisting of argument, in this case to show the dangers of not confirming the Charter, and its ambiguous conclusions, this passage on the Magna Carta is characteristic of the Dialogue's techniques. Most of this complexity and equivocation, the blurring of crucial issues, the veiling of criticism in almost impenetrable 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 64 65 syntax, appears to be strategic. Ralegh could write clear and controlled prose when he wished to. He skilfully edited the Dialogue into an abridged version (also presented to the King), and he carefully manipulated the raw materials of history for his political purposes. Without seeking to excuse confused thinking or plain disinterest on the part of Ralegh - and there are elements of both these things in his work - the dangers inherent in debate provided a good reason for studied equivocation: indeed the discussion of Henry IV is disingenuous to the point of parody (pp. 23-4). Whether this complexity and equivocation served Ralegh's purpose is another question: the opening address to James is impenetrable. Studied ambiguity may protect a text from attack (according to Patterson, 1984) but it can disable it as well: Those that are supprest & hopelesse are comonly silent, wishn~ the comon ill might in all sort w th their pticular misfortunes: we disposition as it is uncharitable in all men, Soe would it be in me more doglike then Manlike to bite the stone that strake me, to witt, the borrowed authority of my Souraigne misinformed, seeing their Armes and hands that flang it are most of them already rotten. (p.1) He is addressing his 'most gratious Soueraigne', pleading to be heard, but also launching a tortuous attack on the injustice of his own imprisonment. He says that those who are suffering do not speak out, but then twists the sentence so that it actually expresses the grudges of those who are 'supprest'. He suggests that it would be 'doglike' to attack 'the stone' that struck him, but nevertheless proceeds to criticise those who imprisoned him. Since it was James who was ultimately responsible, an attack upon the King may be implied. Ralegh deflects thoughts of attack, however, by going on, elliptically, to say that those who persecuted him were using only the 'borrowed' authority of the King, and that the King himself was 'misinformed'. The passage moves to a close with a comment on the futility, rather than the incorrectness or immorality, of attacking those who attacked him, since most of his prosecutors are dead, and ends with the macabre image of the decaying limbs of the men who had consigned Ralegh to prison. Despite Ralegh's subsequent announcement of his explicit support for monarchical power, there is enough here to suggest that this is a text which should not be understood simply in terms 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers of the quest for royal patronage, or even in terms of Ralegh's personal grievance about unjust imprisonment. In the main body of the Dialogue the reader is offered a succession of savage attacks on evil counsellors and an energetic defence of parliamentary power. The former approach had been evident in the History, but the latter represents new ground for Ralegh. Indeed, the work as a whole signals a crucial development in his political thinking. He had used the genres of advice and history in earlier texts written for Prince Henry and for King James, but the Dialogue, in its fusion of political theory, historical review and topical comment marks a new political engagement. His comment is no longer confined to specific, occasional works (as it was in, for example, Opinions Delivered . .. on the Alarm of an Invasion from Spain (1596) or A Dis- course touching a War with Spain, and of the protecting of the Netherlands, 1603) or embedded within universal history. One year after the publication of The History of the World, Ralegh is writing a work which analyses, in conscientious detail, domestic parliamentary politics from the time of Henry ill to his present day, relating his analysis to a variety of topical questions. This new political engagement in support of parliamentary government suggests another, much larger, group of readers for the work, those who were developing a sense of parliamentary opposition to the King's counsellors and eventually to the King himself. It is this second audience that was to prove the most significant in the text's subsequent history. The Dialogue was widely circulated in manuscript form at the time of its presentation to James, and then, ten years after Ralegh's execution, in 1628, it appeared in a different form, published in a remarkably popular pirate edition with a new and significant title, The Prerogative of Parliaments. Ralegh's 'private' advice to James was thus appropriated to an increasingly urgent and public debate about the nature of government, and it is in this context that the work became politically active. Once again, a concern with personal and patronage politics takes us only so far. It can suggest reasons why the discussions of the legality of impositions or the nature of the King's prerogative are secondary to the primary issues of evil counsel, freedom of speech, unjust imprisonment and the problem of an inaccessible monarch. It can suggest motives for the work itself: to emphasise the bad advice that James receives is, of course, to suggest that Ralegh himself could do better. As John Guy comments, 'when "reformers" asserted the need to remove vested interests from 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 66 67 behind the throne, they usually meant to step there themselves' (1988, p. 5). I would argue, however, that although Ralegh's text may have emerged from his personal relationship, or lack of it, with the king, and although the work is politically cautious in its unwillingness to challenge the King openly, its transmission history as an oppositional document suggests that revisionist historiography is inadequate for an understanding of the political dynamics of this text and its relation to its political culture. 8 Ralegh's engagement with the theoretical issues connected with parliamentary power in 1615 marks a new stage in his dealings with Parliament. Back in 1592, in response to his exclusion from Court because of his marriage to Elizabeth Throckmorton, he had cultivated powerbases outside of the nucleus of the Court, including the pursuit of an active role in parliament. 9 He had been a member during the 1580s, but did not start to play an active role until 1593 (see, for example, Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. 100). Active participation was rare: in the 1593 House of Commons only 60 per cent of MPs ever spoke at all, and only 5 per cent were active speakers. He was also an active committee man. To complement this parliamentary activity, Ralegh consolidated his position in the West Country, acting as Justice of Peace from 1592 until 1603 in both Dorset and Somerset. any This practical activity had not, however, been mirrored theoretical analysis, let alone defence, of parliamentary power. 0 One factor which may have influenced Ralegh's new theoretical interest in parliamentary privileges in 1615 was contact with John Hoskins, 'a true Patriot, a true Parliament man' as he was described in a sermon delivered in 1614 (Hoskins, 1615, pp. 39-40). Hoskins joined Ralegh as a prisoner in the Tower on account of an inflammatory speech made during the 1614 ParliamentY Aubrey suggested that Hoskins revised Ralegh's History during his imprisonment, but it is now known that the printing schedule for the work would not have permitted this (see Racin, 1974, pp. 22-3). Hoskins' imprisonment in 1614 was far more likely to have acted as a formative influence on Ralegh's decision to turn to the subject of Parliament. Moreover, Hoskins is referred to twice in the Dialogue, each time highlighting one of Ralegh's central concerns. One is unjust imprisonment: Hoskins appears as an illustration of the problem early in the text: blo Just But may it please yor LoPP were not Cornwallys, Sharpe, & Hoskinsimprisonned, there beingnoe suspicoft of treason agt them? 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Couns: They were but it cost them nothing. Just: And what gott the k: by itt? for in the conclucon (besides the murmure of the people) Cornwallys, Sharpe, & Hoskins hauing greatly ouershott themselues & repented them, a fyne of five or 6001 was laide on her [sic] Matie for their offences, for soe much their dyett cost her Matie . Couns: I knowe not who gaue the Advise, sure I am it was none of myne. (pp.5-6) Hoskins appears again, albeit in a more oblique fashion, towards the end of the work, this time with reference to the issue of freedom of speech: Couns: What say yoW to the Sicilian Vespers remembered in the last plmt? Just: I say that he repented him hartily that used that speech, & indeede (besides that it was seditious) the example held not. (p.28) It had been Hoskins' invocation of the Sicilian Vespers (the revolt of the Sicilians against the government of Charles I of Anjou in 1282) in his attack on the power of the Scots on 3 June 1614 that had led to his imprisonment in the Tower four days later. Five days after that, he was followed by Dr Lionel Sharpe and Sir Charles Cornwallis, who were charged with having furnished Hoskins with the speech.12 As seen above, Hoskins had been developing his views about the 'actuating' powers of the 'people' throughout the 1610s (see also Sommerville, 1986, p. 66) and Ralegh's Dialogue, in a more oblique fashion, deals with the same issues: if the History was Ralegh's most notorious attempt to speak to the people, then the Dialogue is his most sustained attempt to write about the people as a political entity and to make claims for a public space in which opinions can be voiced in safety. Imprisoned with Hoskins, and himself already the object of state censorship as author of The History of the World, Ralegh could not have been unaware of the dangers of expressing political opinions at this juncture, let alone political criticism. These dangers determine Ralegh's choice of genre: dialogue allows a voice to opposition without the danger of that voice being rigorously identified with the author, and permits contentious subjects to be 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 68 A Dialogue 69 an implicit claim to openness and geniality, to represent a consensus in whatever conclusions are arrived at, and to arrive at those conclusions by the exercise of a rationality which can tolerate the expression of opposing views. History, too, offered an ostensibly neutral language, which could be used to explore a wide range of problems, from the trade crisis of 1611 (see Peck, 1982, p. 122) to the appointment of the High Chamberlainship of England (see Exeter College MS 139). It was a language used by all sides: Laud in 1628 warned Charles against accepting the constitutional pretensions of Parliament by writing a long historical analysis of Magna Carta (Carlton, 1987, p. 67), whilst the Petition of Right, Parliament's response to James' suppression of discussion, deployed its own mythic account of ancient liberty. The climate of repression and misinterpretation within which these generic choices were made is vividly represented within the text. At the very end of the Dialogue, King James is pictured reading the work, judging every word. In response to the Justice's assertion that the truth will be seen by the King, the Counsellor replies that the misliking, or but the misconceiuing of anyone word, phrase or sentence, will giue Argument vnto the K: either tocondemne orreiect yr whole discourse. (p. 32) Earlier, the Justice attacks some lords for imprisoning subjects contrary to Magna Carta. He asks: & what doe yoW otherwise thereby (if the Imposicofis be in any sorte grievious) but renouare dolores, & wthall digg out of the dust the long buryed memorye of the Subts former contentions with their kings. Couns: What meane yoW by it? Just: I will tell yor LoPP when I dare. (pp. 29-30) In a delayed response to the Justice's comment that the 'vndutifull words of a Subt doe often take deep roote, then the memorye 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 explored dramatically, whilst maintaining the illusion of consensus. Moreover, as Patricia Coughlan has pointed out (1989, p. 60) dialogue makes Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers of ill deeds doe' (p. 22), the Counsellor issues a threat to the Justice: the King will ignore his ideas but 'yoW may be sure that others (att whom yoW point) will not neglect their reuenges' (p. 32).13 The King did, indeed, take care to find out who opposed him in Parliament, demanding a 'roll' of all his 'servants' names that sat against me ... for I cannot know them by the scent' (letter to Cecil, July 1610, James I, 1984, pp. 314-15). Thus the fear of misinterpretation by those in power permeates the text, yet at the same time these misinterpretations are exposed as wilful, and based on private ambitions and hatreds. With all this emphasis on incorrect reading, it can be argued that Ralegh is suggesting, in an oblique contrast, a better way of reading his text. The seemingly irrelevant opening, in which the recent fining and imprisonment of Oliver St John on account of his encouragement of non-payment of the 'benevolence' of 1614, discussed only to be dismissed and never mentioned again, can be read in this light, as a way of setting an agenda for correct reading. In the light of my opening comments about the interrelationship between the History and the Dialogue, a letter of Chamberlain which mentions both St John and Ralegh's work is significant. Writing on 5 January 1615, Chamberlain notes two pieces of news: St John has been committed 'for dissuading a benevolence', and Ralegh's book has been called in 'for too free censuring of princes' (1939, I, 568). Although committed in January, St John had to wait until April, and the sitting of the Council, for his hearing: throughout this period he was Ralegh's fellow prisoner in the Tower. His crime had been committed in October 1614, when 'Black Oliver St John of Wiltshire' wrote to the Mayor of Marlborough to dissuade the inhabitants of the town from paying the benevolence of that year. 14 His punishment was a fine of £5000 and, furthermore, he was instructed to acknowledge his fault 'publiquely in all the courtes in Westminster' (Letter from George Carew to Thomas Roe, April 1615, Carew, 1860, p. 11). Francis Bacon describes with complacency the success of the trial: 'St. John's day is past and well past. ... All did well.' He goes on to say that St John was guilty of 'seditious slander', and his writings are described as 'a monster with for heads, of the progeny of him that is the father of lyes, and takes his name from slander'. At his trial, St John was addressed by Bacon in the following words, in which the nature of his 'slander' becomes clear: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 70 71 Your menace, that if there were a Bullingbroke, or I cannot tell what, there were matter for him, is a very seditious passage. You know well that howsoever Henry the Fourth's act by a secret providence of God prevailed yet it was but an usurpation .... And as for your comparison with Richard II I see you follow the example of them that brought him upon the stage and into print in Queen Elizabeth's time .... You speak seditious matter in parable, or by tropes or examples. There is a thing in an indictment called an innuendo; you must beware how you beckon or make signs upon the King in a dangerous sense. (29 April 1615, Bacon, 1869, V, 145) Bacon's language, of 'seditious matter' being conveyed in 'parable', of making 'signs upon the King in a dangerous sense', and the government's concern to make St John's trial a success and to make his repentance public, suggest that in highlighting the case Ralegh is drawing attention to, at one and the same time, the dangers of opposition voiced through historical analogy and its efficacy as sedition. iS With typical disingenuity he is alerting the reader to a way of reading which draws 'indictments' from 'innuendos'. This concern with correct reading relates to two other issues: the need for freedom of speech and the related difficulty of making advice heard within a climate of repression. The Justice and the Counsellor not only discuss the issue of freedom of speech, but the form of dialogue itself furnishes examples of one character seeking to silence the other. As dramatic device, a constant refrain in the Justice's speech is his fear of attack for speaking out, and, concomitantly, the Counsellor emphasises not only his own power to punish the Justice, but also the futility of proffering advice in the first place. One of the most powerful passages in the work has the Counsellor threatening the Justice: And it shall euer fall out soe w th yoW that camp layne, the course of payments shalbe as they haue beene, what care we what petty fellowes say? or what care wee for yor papers? haue not we the Kings eare? who dare contest w th vs? Thoughe we cannot be revenged of such as yoW are for telling the truth, yet vppon some other pretence, we will clapp yoW upp, and yoW shall sue to vs ere yoW gett out: Nay we will make yoW confesse that you were (p. 20) decieued in yor proiects, & eate yor owne words. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue 72 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Just: Your UP knowes it well enoughe, that 3 or 4 of y" LPps haue thought y" hands strong enoughe to beare vpp alone the waightiest affayres of the Comonwealth: And strong enough all the land hath found them to beate downe whom they pleased. Couns: I understand yoW, but how shall it appeare that those haue onely sought themselues & not the king? Just: There needs noe perspectiue glasse to discerne it: for neither is there in the Treaties of peace & warre, in matters of Reuenew, nor in matters of Trade any thing that hath appeard either of Loue or of Judgement: Noe my Lord, there is not anyone Action of theirs eminent, great or small, the greatning of themselues only excepted. Couns: It is all one, y" papers can neither answar nor reply, but we call. (pp.31-2) The Counsellor tacitly acknowledges the validity of the Justice's complaints about self-aggrandisement ('I understand you', 'It is all one') but, because the Counsellor has the power to 'beate downe' others, and, since he maintains his control of communication with the King, he remains complacent that this evil will never be exposed, will never 'appeare'. The interconnection between language and power is vividly exposed, and the corruption of the current age shows up clearly against the glories of the previous one. Earlier, the Justice had celebrated the freedom which existed under Queen Elizabeth, to speak out without fear whether to monarch or in Parliament. He claims that Elizabeth would 'sett the reason of a meane man, agt the Authority of the greatest Counsellor she had': he cites the time when she allowed access to a 'a poore wayter of the Custome house', which her nobles sought to prevent. He goes on to quote the Queen herself: 'That if any man complayned uniustly agt a Magistratt, it were reason he should be seuerely punished, if iustly, she was Queene of the small, as well as of the great, and would heare their complaynts' (pp.20-1). The need for a public sphere, where opinions can be voiced in safety, is Ralegh's response to this climate of repression, so clearly inscribed and described in the text. According to the Justice, the first thing necessary for the successful calling of a Parliament is 'freedom of speech', so that 'if a man of the Comons house should 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A bitter exchange further reveals Ralegh's concerns. 73 speake more lardgly than of duty he ought to doe' he will be pardoned 'and that to be of Recorde' (p. 27).16 Parliament can thus provide that public sphere, and Ralegh's acknowledgement of this lends support to those who were, in the face of the failure of the Addled Parliament, beginning to define themselves as Parliament men. They did so in a climate of widespread political anxiety, in which 'issues such as imprisonment by the Privy Councilor interference in elections came to be vigorously contested where before they had been allowed to pass' (Cust, 1987, pp. 152-3), and in which anxiety about the future role of Parliament as an institution was fuelled by growing suspicion of the way in which great power and influence were beinB. invested in individuals such as Somerset and George Villiers. The kind of personal government that the fall of Somerset and the subsequent rise of Villiers signalled was, of course, not new, but it was becoming less acceptable to a growing minority. These two events, the failure of the Addled Parliament and the rise of Villiers, can be linked to the increase in quantity and urgency of political discussion in the years after 1614. Political debate, often couched in historical terms, was spreading throughout society, finding outlets in drama, pamphlets and circulated letters. 1S Ralegh's text is thus both a contribution to and a reflection of the general growth in discussion of the perceived crisis in parliamentary government. Ralegh's conception of the people emerges most clearly in his discussions of evil counsel, the concept against which these fledgling parliamentarians defined themselves. At the start of the Dialogue, the general pattern of exchange between the Justice and the Counsellor appears to be the familiar one of a merely naive counsellor being enlightened by a knowing JP. 19 Their exchanges are conducted within a framework of almost exaggerated politeness, a formal dance of courtesy, but as the work progresses the evil of the Counsellor emerges more and more clearly. Moreover, his essential cowardice under attack is exposed. When the Justice replies, threateningly, to a question about the removal of evil counsellors (that 'the people haue not stayde for the ks delivery') the Counsellor responds nervously, saying, 'For my pte, I had noe hand in it, I thinke Arth: Ingram was he that ppounded it to the Lo: Trer' (p. 26). Meanwhile, the bluff common sense of the Justice remains immovable: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue 74 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers In identifying his voice with that of the Justice, Ralegh is harnessing a useful set of political characteristics, taking on a voice dearly within the system, connected with Parliament (members of the House were often also Justices of the Peace) and part of the volunteer bureaucracy whose views King James could not afford to ignore (see Wootton, 1986, p. 24). The other participant in the dialogue provides a model of the kind of corrupt Privy Counsellor whose removal from office is demanded by the text. The removal of evil counsellors is seen as vital to the maintenance of royal authority, and Parliament is seen as the authority which enforces kings to act against their counsellors. Thus, in the preface to James, Henry ill is described as a King who was 'raised again' by Parliament, and thus recovered his authority (p. 2). The main text elaborates upon this statement, explaining exactly how Henry was restored to his rightful position through the agency of the 'people'. The King had difficulties with both his nobles and his Parliament, until Hubert, Earl of Kent, was 'found as false to the King as anyone of the rest'. Hubert was removed and the K: had the 40 th pte of euery mans goodes giuen him freely towards his debts: for the people who the same yeere had refused to giue the k: any thing, when they sawe that he had squized those spunges of the Comonwealth, they willingly yeelded to giue him satisfaciofi. (p.9) The Justice argues that the modem-day 'spunges of the Comonwealth' should be, and perhaps more significantly will be, exposed to a similar judgement by the 'people', and that the King should therefore 'cast himself uppon the grall loue of the people' and 'leaue as many of yor LoPps, as haue pilfered from the Crowne to their exaiasofi [sic: should read examination], (p. 22). Whilst there is a certain fluidity in these uses of the 'people' as a political category (most of the time the term is synonymous with Parliament, but phrases such as the 'gra1lloue of the people' suggests a wider notion), the message remains clear. By creating a powerful band of favourites, through the bestowal of land and honours, the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 is it a losse vnto the King to be beloued by the Comons? If it be Reuenue that the K: seeks, is it not better to take it vppon those that laughe, then vppon those that crye? (p. 28) 75 King is displacing Parliament from its 'traditional' role as adviser. Ralegh's criticism of these 'spunges', in essence a criticism of nobles and favourites, is paralleled by praise for 'the people', a category which embraces both the Commons and the people of England. The particular character of Ralegh's analysis becomes clearer when compared with Sir Robert Cotton's treatment of the same events, A short view of the long life and raigne of Henry the third, King of England, a text published 1627 but presented to King James in manuscript in 1615 and now to be found in the same batch of state papers as the Dialogue.2o Cotton, alternating anecdote with sententious comment, a less vigorous approach than Ralegh's, praises the King when he can manage without Parliament, and describes Parliament's demands as 'worse than the maladie'. The two men's historical methodologies expose another difference: whereas Ralegh is trying to accumulate historical examples to prove the possibility of a healthy partnership between King and Parliament, Cotton, for all his pretensions as a historian, bases his analysis almost entirely on the morality of the drama's participants, since 'Publike motions depends [sic] on the conduct of Fortune (p. 42). Passions rule the various protagonists, and the happy ending is achieved because Henry, after plunging the country into civil war, sees the light (it is not entirely clear why or how) and learns from his mistakes. He then establishes the model monarchy. Thus although Cotton appears to criticise his King more openly, blaming both the King and his counsellors for the kingdom's problems, he will praise the right kind of noble. For Ralegh, Henry is raised again through Parliament: Parliament is the agency for the restoration of the king. Ralegh is always careful to establish a traditional framework for his ideas, stating again and again that both King and people are being harmed by James' reliance on evil counsellors. The Justice, hardly a figure who stands outside the system, regularly expresses support for the King, and it is easy to see why the Dialogue has been read as deeply conservative: much of the writing is just that, appealing to the past, and appealing to the notion that the cultivation of the love of his subjects as crucial to a monarch's success (p. 6): 'the people are as louing to their K: as thei were if they bee honestly & wisely dealt wthall' (pp. 12-13). 1 James should act for the good of the people through Parliament, and would thus have no need of his prerogative, as was the case in Elizabeth's time. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue 76 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers But, just as the evil of the Counsellor emerges only slowly, other problematic ideas also emerge slowly, the most important of which is the latent power of the people. Even in the Justice's appeal to the old days, 'in which there was nothing new' (perceived also by Hill, 1965, p. 153), there is an implicit threat, which emerges when the Justice considers the implications of losing the love of the people who, by this stage, have become a much wider political grouping than simply the Commons. Ostensibly he is talking about the diminished threat of armed rebellion from the nobility. Yor LoPP may remember in yor reading, that there were many Earles that could bring into the field a Thousand barbed horses, Many a barron five or six hundred barbed horses, whereas now very few of them can furnishe 20 fitt to serue their K:, But to say the truth my Lod, the Justices of peace in England haue opposed & ouerthrowne the iniusticers of the warre in Engl: The Ks writt runns ouer all, & the Great Seale of Engl: w ch the next Connestable will serue the turne to affront the greatest Lod in Engl: that shall moue agt the K: .... The force therefore by w ch our Ks in former tymes were troubled is vanished away. But the Necessity remaines. The people therefore in these latter ages, are noe lesse to be pleased than the Peeres; for as the latter are become lesse, soe by reason of the Traynings throughout Engl:, the Comons haue all the weapons of the Counties in their possessions.... Soe as the power of the Nobillity being now withered & the power of the people in the flower, the care to content them would not be neglected, the way to wynne them often practised, or att least to defend them from oppression the motiue of all daungers that euer this Monarchy hath undergonne, should bee carefully heeded: for this Maxime hath no posteme. Potestas humana radicatur in voluntatibus hominum. (pp. 15-16) The half-spoken threat of violence in the above passages appears again later, in an argument over whether the King should deliver up 'false' counsellors to the people: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Now my Lord for the plmts of our late Queenes tyme, in w ch there was nothing new, & in w ch neither head-monney, nor sheepe-money, nor Escuage, nor any of these kindes of payments was requyred, but onely the ordinary subsedyes & those as easily graunted as demanded. (p.27) A Dialogue 77 Once alert to the danger implicit in losing the love of the people, apparently innocuous statements gain a new resonance. Here, one notices the crucial word 'safe': is it not more hob1e and more safe for the K:, that the Subt pay by pswasions, then to haue them constrayned? (p. 28) As I have said, the notion of the people in the Dialogue is a fluid one. Here Ralegh appears to equate the people with tax-paying subjects but, as with The History of the World, the work's political message does not rely on any theoretical analysis of the constitutional status of the people as a political category. Instead, Ralegh uses the vocabulary of history to underscore the causal connection between evil advice and the fall of monarchs. 22 The Dialogue enacts a struggle for the control of this discourse of history; ironically, the Counsellor may (in the 'real' world) have the power to silence the Justice, but, within the text, it is the Justice who asserts control over the raw materials of history and the interpretation of these materials. Although it is the Counsellor who begins by citing historical precedents to support his argument, it is the Justice who quickly takes over the control of this particular political language: the majority of the Dialogue is taken up with the Justice's review and interpretation of recent English parliamentary history. Listing, often in tedious detail, the events of each Parliament, these dense catalogues invariably conclude with a moral judgement: the King will receive the necessary money when the evil Counsellor is removed. As Condren (1994, p. 160) has argued about the seventeenth century, the 'overwhelmingly dominant rhetoric was one of conservation and tradition': it is no surprise that Ralegh appeals to history and to the 'good old days' of Queen Elizabeth, in which there was nothing new. What is interesting is the way in which this 'tradition-centred rhetoric', to use Condren's term, can be used to pose so many challenges to the status quo, as will be seen even more 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Couns: But good Sr, yoW blaunche my question, and answare me but by Examples: I aske yoW whether or noe in any such tumult (the people pretending agt anyone, or twoe great Officers) the King should deliuer them or defend them? Just: My good Lod, the people haue not stayed for the Ks deliv(p. 26) ery, neither in Engl: nor in France. 78 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers This K: (my good Ld) was one of the most vnfortunate Princes that euer Engl: had, he was cruell, extreame pdigall, & wholly carryed away w th his twoe Minions, Suffolke & the D: of Ireland, by whose ill aduise & others, he was in great danger to haue lost his estate, wch in the end being ledd by men of like temper, he miserably lost. (p. 16) These preoccupations are not apparent in the Preface to The History of the World, and they signal Ralegh's new political agendas. In the earlier work, King after King is branded as a tyrannous despot; it is for their murderous activities that they and their offspring are punished by God. In the Dialogue, God is conspicuous by His absence: now it is the 'people' who will remove kings. In the History, Edward IV is dismissed as a slaughterer, whilst Richard ill is held up as the epitome of a 'cruell king', but, in contrast, in the Dialogue, Ralegh carefully analyses the ways in which these same kings raised taxes, and then how these acts related to their political problems. Edward IV's downfall came because in his fourteenth year he took a benevolence 'wch Arbitrary taking from the people served that Ambitious Traytor, the Duke of Buckingham after the Ks death' (p. 25). As for Richard ill, Ralegh has only one Parliament to review and concludes, briefly if surprisingly, that the King made good laws. His more measured approach in the Dialogue masks, but does not conceal, his new political agenda. Uninterested in dynastic issues, violent murders or divine retribution, his concern in the Dialogue is to show, again and again, that the removal of evil counsellors and co-operation with Parliament are the best, indeed the only, ways of maintaining royal power in the face of the power of the people. NOTES 1. 2. See Harlow, 1932, p. 304 for the text of the warrant. For Bacon's analysis of the King's financial predicament, the 1614 Parliament and his advice to James, see Bacon, 1869, V, 130, 176ff, and 194-207ff. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 clearly in later chapters. The Justice dwells, for instance, on the way in which Edward II removed an evil counsellor, or, as follows, how Richard II lost his estate through being misled by 'ill aduise': 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 79 Page references are to SP 14.85. Ralegh submitted two distinct versions of the manuscript text, one complete, the other considerably abridged. The presentation copies can be found in SP 14.85 (the full version) and SP 14.84.44 (the abridged version), the latter being marked as 'Sr Walter Ralegh Dialogue 1615'. Aside from the numerous manuscripts which follow these two traditions, there are two exceptional manuscripts. One is a text which was owned by Ralegh, and which carries his autograph annotations. This is in the possession of a private collector who will not permit access: Peter Beal has confirmed that it would be futile to pursue this collector any further. There are also two fragments of the text (MS Jones B60 in Dr Williams' Library) which contain major and unique variants from both the manuscript and print traditions. The version in Works is inadequate for a number of reasons: there is no critical or textual apparatus; the spelling has been modernised; punctuation has been edited without comment; the text contains (unacknowledged) changes from the (presumably 1628) copy text. The 1974 facsimile edition (in the English Experience series, no. 686) provides a text of the 1628 printed edition, but has no commentary. There is a clear need for a modern critical edition of this neglected text. Parliamentarians themselves in 1614 still remembered Ralegh, but only as an object of pity or as 'a mirror of the vanity of all earthly things' (see the debate on 17 May 1614, Proceedings in Parliament 1614, 1988, pp. 270, 275-6). For details of the debate see Notestein, 1971, pp. 364-70. The issues and debates at the heart of the 1614 Parliament were impositions (already a subject of contention in 1610), the Crown's efforts at 'undertaking' or 'packing' (that is, controlling the membership of the House), and the King's powers of premature dissolution. The proceedings were eventually interrupted by suspicions of packing, as Ralegh says: 'the opinion of packing the last pHamt was the cause of all the contencon & disorder web happened' (p. 28). See Proceedings in Parliament 1614, 1988, p. xxiii, for information about .packing. Cust (1987, p. 156) also says that 'the Council did its best to suppress Ralegh's treatise, refusing to allow publication in spite of a fulsome dedication to the king'. I have found no evidence for this, and it is possible that Cust is confusing the Dialogue with The History of the World. 8. 9. 10. Contrast Goldberg (1983, p. 69n), who renders the Dialogue anodyne, a formulaic expression of consensus, and uses it to illustrate a point about the conservatism of political thought. Ralegh came into the 1593 Parliament through the influence of Richard Carew, his cousin, as MP for Mitchell, Cornwall. In 1597 he was returned for Dorset, in 1601 for Cornwall. With his place as Junior Member for Devon he became the only man to represent three counties in the history of Parliament. In 1593, for example, he was closely involved in discussions about the subsidy necessary to fight the war with Spain, and subsequently 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers sat on the subsidy committees of both 1597 and 1601, taking a prominent part in negotiations. See Hasler, 1981, III, 274-5 for further details. In the Dialogue itself, Ralegh draws attention to an Elizabethan parliamentary debate in which he argued against the taxation of the '301 men' (p. 16), a reference to his debate with Francis Bacon. This is one of the few instances when overt autobiography intrudes and it may be an attempt to establish his credibility as a parliamentarian, since in Elizabeth's time he was in fact attacked by Parliament for his abuse of monopolies. Both Notestein (1971, p. 52) and Hill (1965, p. 169) present a rather distorted view of Ralegh the Elizabethan parliamentary 'reformer'. It is just possible that Ralegh and Hoskins knew each other as far back as the 1590s, since both men were involved in a Christmas revel of 1597/8 entitled 'Le Prince d' Amour'. Hoskins 'refused to answer at extempore being importuned by ye Prince and Sir Walter Rawlegh', but went on to give a Tuftaffeta speech' (Hoskins, 1937, pp. 10,98). Neil Cuddy (in Starkey, 1988, pp. 203, 212) suggests that Hoskins' speech in 1614 was a deliberate wrecking tactic, but that its power relied on the 'real sensitivity and importance of the issue'. Cuddy shows that Hoskins had been a thorn in the side of the King as early as 1606. The Justice is particularly concerned with some 'vndutifull wordes' of the Earl of Essex. He 'tolde Qu: Eliz: that her condicons were as crooked as her carkas, but it cost him his head, wch his insurrecon had not cost him, but for that speeche' (p. 22). A transcript of this letter can be found in Sloane MS 1856 entitled' A Discourse of Mr St Johns affirming that the kind of benevolence demanded is against law, reason, and religion'. See also letters from Chamberlain to Carleton during January and February 1615 (Chamblerlain, 1939, I) and Cust, 1987, p. 155. The end of St John's letter reveals his awareness of the dangers resulting from his opposition to the benevolence. 'Hearing that the Justices will be here about this busy worke of Beneuolence, wherein you haue both sent vnto me and talked with me and thinking it maybe you will giue vp the names of not giuers for as much I thinke I shall scarce be at home to make any answeare' (Sloane MS 1856, ff.2r-v). The disclaimer to this is that 'the Reuerence w ch a vassall oweth to his souraigne, is always intended for euery speech': if a motion endangers the monarch's estate, as Wentworth's did in Elizabeth's time, then punishment is necessary (pp. 27-8). See also Russell, 1971, pp. 282-4. See R. B. Manning, 1990, for a discussion of the popularisation of history; Tricomi, 1989, p. 25 for anti-Court popular drama. An exchange concerning Swinnerton (p. 13), part of a highly topical examination of corruption in the Treasury, offers an example of this. For details of Swinnerton and the complex issue of farming, see Peck, 1982, pp. 132-4. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 80 20. 21. 22. 81 See also Martyn, 1615, pp. 74-5 for an account which makes Prince Edward the agent for political change, although Martyn does not pass judgement on the result which was that 'King Henrie regained his former libertie and power, to say and doe in all things as he pleased'. As did most royal advisers: see Bacon, 1872, V, 176-94. Those who have come to the work in search of impartial, theoretical discussion have come away disappointed. Hill, 1965, p. 151, despite his attempt to make Ralegh one of the founding fathers of the English Revolution, is forced to admit that it is 'difficult' to extract a 'consistent political philosophy' from Ralegh's work. The verdict of an historian of political thought (Allen, 1938, p. 63) is scathing. Ralegh 'shows little or no originality and his thought upon political subjects was quite unsystematic'. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 A Dialogue 4 'since I needs must die . .. I The Dialogue was the last work completed by Ralegh in the Tower. Early in 1616 he was released on the understanding that he would travel to Guiana and bring back gold for his sovereign. This last initiative to regain favour with James was to fail spectacularly: the penalty for failure was death. On 29 October 1618, at about half past nine in the morning, Sir Walter Ralegh was executed. This public spectacle coincided with the Lord Mayor's pageant, and, if current views (following Foucault) about capital punishment working as both a source of terror and a call to carnival are right, Ralegh's execution should have signalled in graphic terms the state's control over the subject'S body. 1 His death should have been an opportunity to assert the power of the state, accepted by the victim who had internalised obedience to judicial authority, and celebrated by the literature, normative in content and intent, that accompanied executions. In the words of the social historian, J. A. Sharpe (1985, p. 148), 'the civil and religious authorities designed the execution spectacle to articulate a special set of values, inculcate a certain behavioural model and bolster a social order perceived as threatened'. 2 Despite all this, however, Ralegh did establish his own authority in his speech from the scaffold, in contest with the judicial authority of the state, through his control of both the occasion and the genre of 'last speeches'. His speech became part of a material and ideological contest for the interpretation of the justice of· Ralegh's death in the first instance, and then his other political writings. The political potency of the speech was the more remarkable, because in the months prior to it Ralegh had experienced a sequence of communication failures, predicated on the failure of his second voyage to Guiana. The voyage, as I have said, was a disaster: no gold was found; an unauthorised attack was made upon a Spanish settlement, during 82 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold 83 which Ralegh's 18-year-old son was killed; his second-in-command, Lawrence Keymis, committed suicide when blamed for the failure of the expedition; fever decimated the crew, keeping Ralegh himself bedridden for much of the voyage; and there was mutiny.3 Ralegh had been negotiating with the Privy Council as early as 1607 for this opportunity to return to Guiana, using as bargaining points both James' financial problems (discussed in the previous chapter) and the potential dangers for himself if the voyage was undertaken: 'If he had done well, it had been ffor the kinge, yf yll; the shame, inffamye, and Losse had been his owne, his Enemyes had had a greater Advauntage over him, then ever' (letter to Salisbury, 1611, Harlow, 1932, p. 109).4 A spy sent reports to Spain in late 1612 about the continuing negotiations, writing that James, in dire financial trouble, supported a projected voyage, although not necessarily the choice of Ralegh as its leader. To the Spaniards (and to Ralegh) it seemed that it was the Earl of Salisbury who was blocking the project (see Lorimer, pp. 81-4 and letter to Salisbury, 1611, Harlow, p. 109). The death of the obstructive Salisbury in 1612, the subsequent appointment of the clearly anti-Spanish Ralph Winwood as Secretary, and the rise of George Villiers as King James' favourite all contributed to Ralegh's release. 5 Ralegh's basic proposals for the voyage had remained unchanged since 1607.6 In a little-known article, the historian Joyce Lorimer (1982) has shown that the standard narrative of this last voyage is misleading. It is usually argued that James, controlled by the Spaniards, in particular the ambassador Gondomar, sacrificed Ralegh, who was either deluded or duplicitous in his claims about a gold mine, to the Spanish interest. In contrast to this interpretation, Lorimer proves that James, whom she describes as an 'expert in hard-nosed and cynical brinkmanship', knew all along that the mine did exist and was close to San Tome, the Spanish settlement. Gondomar, usually cast as the villain of the piece, was unaware that James knew this. The charges later levelled at Ralegh - that he had invented the story of the mine in order to engineer his release from the Tower and that he had deliberately embroiled the King in hostilities with Spain - were therefore hypocritical in the extreme. Even though the mine existed, the expedition remained hazardous. The narrative of the journey that Ralegh wanted people to believe appeared in Newes of Sir Walter Rawleigh, an account of the early stages of the voyage which is dated 17 November 1617, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers but was only published, as a pamphlet, in March of the following year. It takes the familiar news pamphlet form of a letter to a friend, and offers an eye-witness account of the voyage from one of its participants, identified only as RM. The Newes is selfconsciously aware of the significance of the voyage it describes, and places it in the wider context of English colonisation and Ralegh's previous travels. The current expedition is the culmination of an ascending series of voyages; with the death of each previous explorer, another man takes over. Many of the themes of The Discoverie of Guiana are rehearsed again in the Newes: the gaining of honour and riches; the virtue of the English mariners; the good treatment of the natives; the plentiful food; the lack of sickness. Just as the current voyage is the culmination of a sequence of previous voyages, the land they are travelling to is a paradise, a place which surpasses'Art'. The language is that of rebirth, hope, promise and fulfilment. To complement this, Sir Walter's virtue, wisdom, clemency and nobility are lauded, a visionary rhetoric Ralegh himself had discarded when writing to the King and his ministers. The utopian rhetoric cannot entirely conceal the grim catalogue of problems already faced by Ralegh and his men at this early stage in their expedition, and worse was to come. On a personal level Ralegh's son Wat was killed, and the unauthorised attack on San Tome gave King James grounds for condemning him: a moving letter from Sir Walter to his wife breaks the terrible news. Long before the act of aggression led by Wat, however, steps were being taken in England to ensure Ralegh's downfall. Gondomar, for example, wrote to the King of Spain that although the voyage was underway, despite his best efforts to prevent it, it could still be turned to Spain's advantage, in that it offered Philip a good opportunity to punish the unpopular, piratical Ralegh. During the writing of his letter, Gondomar received papers which led him to say that, because of 'what Ralegh has done', King James had already promised to do whatever the Spanish suggest to 'remedy and redress it' (22 October 1617, Harlow, p. 153). Since Gondomar goes on to predict trouble in the Canaries, Ralegh's supposed crime, committed so early in the voyage, remains obscure. To make matters worse, Secretary Winwood, his most powerful supporter and the only possible opposition to Gondomar, died during the voyage, to be replaced by the unsympathetic Robert Naunton. On his return to England in 1618, Ralegh, who had contravened the conditions of the voyage by the attack on the Spanish settlement, was the object of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 84 85 hostility from both the Spanish interest at Court and the mutinous and vocal surviving crew members. Despite all this, Ralegh appeared to believe that King James would be merciful. He therefore attempted to communicate with the King or those who might intercede on his behalf, writing a series of letters and apologies whilst he was conveyed as a prisoner from Portsmouth to London to face charges. His keeper was Sir Lewis Stukeley, who, in August, in the first of a number of texts addressed to the King, informed James of Ralegh's progress and safe keeping (MS Ashmole 830). The prisoner, having formulated his case in a number of letters to his cousin, Lord George Carew, made his first attempt to inform the King of his innocence by means of an Apology, written between 28 and 31 July at Salisbury. In order to gain time to write this work, Ralegh feigned illness, inducing vomiting and a rash by means of a patent medicine. At approximately the same time, he wrote what is often described as his Short Apology, actually a long letter which was the culmination of his communications with Carew. Once in London, having turned back at the last minute from an attempt to escape to France, he wrote again to James, this time a shorter Letter. It is probable that, at the same time, he tried to gain the support of Queen Anne, addressing at least one poem to her, pleading with her to intercede on his behalf (see Ralegh, 1929, pp. 96-9). She did so, writing in her turn to the Duke of Buckingham. Carew, Ralegh's younger son, wrote directly to James, begging for his father's life. None of these attempts at manuscript intercession were to any avail. On 28 October a warrant was issued and Ralegh was arraigned at the King's Bench. The following day he was executed? In these attempts to speak to the King, Ralegh is unable to control the language of address. 8 The Apology is a long, tortuous and tortured work, which degenerates into confusion, both syntactically and ideologically. Ralegh mixes humility, in the form of an admission of his failure and his unpardoned status, with aggressive attacks on both the men who failed him in the voyage, the 'very scum of the world', and the 'knaves and liars' who now slander him. This confusion of tone disables the more lucid passages, which, in their use of historical analogy, their careful expositions of events and their dialogic expressions echo the techniques of his other late works. As with the Newes of the Guiana voyage, Ralegh seeks to place his failure to bring back gold in the contexts of his previous career and recent history, and thus to 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers justify it by the use of historical precedent, and when he succeeds in stating his case clearly, it is formulated in the aggressively discriminating tone of The History of the World: For either the country [Guiana] is the King of Spain's or the king's. If it be the king's, I have not then offended; if it be not the king's, I must have perished if I had but taken gold out of the mines there though I had found no Spaniards in the country. (P. Edwards, 1988, pp. 246-7)9 This passage exposes the logical flaw in the state's case: that Ralegh had been permitted to mine gold in Guiana must have meant that the territory was, to some degree, in the power of James. The documentary evidence, the careful expositions of events, and the meticulous financial details remain ineffectual, however, because Ralegh cannot sustain his central argument, that the King's judgement is unjust. lO Similarly, in the Letter to James written in September 1618, which re-works the themes and language of the longer Apology, he succeeds in writing with eloquence and force when he adopts his familiar anti-Spanish rhetoric in his defence: If it were lawful for the Spanish to murder twenty-six Englishmen, tying them back to back, and then to cut their throats, when they had traded with them a whole month, and came to them on the land without so much as one sword amongst them all; and that it may not be lawful for your majesty's subjects, being forced by them, to repel force by force, we may justly say, 0 miserable English! (P. Edwards, 1988, p. 251) This passage appears, in slightly different forms, in all Ralegh's justificatory texts, although the number of Englishmen massacred tends to fluctuate (in the Apology 36 die), but as the passage continues, clause after clause starting with 'if' accumulates (there are ten in all), and the pace of the text accelerates into incomprehensibility: If I had spent my poor estate, lost my son, suffered by sickness and otherwise a world of miseries; if I had resisted with the manifest hazard of my life the robberies and spoils which my companies would have made; if when I was poor I could have made myself rich... (p.252) 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 86 The Speech from the Scaffold 87 I beseech your majesty to believe that all this I have done because it should be said to your majesty that your majesty had given liberty and trust to a man whose end was but the recovery of his (p.252)11 liberty and who had betrayed your majesty's trust. The message contained in these texts is as problematic as the obstructive syntax. Ralegh insists on describing his predicament in terms of a personal relationship, based on a bond of 'trust' with James. He maintains that the King is primarily concerned with his own honour, that is, his only reason for being unhappy is the (incorrect) persuasion that Ralegh has abused his 'trust', and, therefore, all that is needed is a restoration in his belief in him. This attitude is apparent in an earlier letter of 1615 to Secretary Winwood in which he claims that his only problem, the only bar to his release, is that the King does not know him (Harlow, 1932, p. 114). Both the Apology and the Letter appeal to a personal relationship between monarch and subject (based on a bond of 'trust') that had never existed. Ironically, it was Ralegh who had been betrayed: during the expedition itself, he found letters from the King warning the Spaniards of his arrival in Guiana. His perhaps naive response was to send the letters to Secretary Winwood as proof of his impossible situation (see letter to Elizabeth Ralegh, 22 March 1618, Edwards, 1868, II, 361-2). Unaware of Winwood's death, Ralegh clearly believed that all would be well if he could make the world know the 'truth' by means of documentary evidence, despite the fact that this 'truth' might expose the King's treachery (letter to George Carew, 21 June 1617, Hume, 1898, pp. 383-8)P In doing so, Ralegh underestimated James' political will and duplicity: he did not predict or acknowledge the way in which James used him as a pawn in the negotiations with Spain, nor did he know that the King had already abandoned his cause long before the aggression of his men towards the Spaniards in Guiana. In contrast, he appeared to believe that the King had originally supported him in his attempt to find gold, and that it was only a proper understanding of the events of the voyage that prevented James from continuing that support. To compound the problems with address and argument, the machinery of discourse was disabled since his adopted mode of communication relied on 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 As with the Apology, the Letter becomes almost impenetrable when Ralegh finally addresses the King: Sir Waiter Ralegh and his Readers channels of distribution that were effectively closed to him. He wrote the Apology in Salisbury, during his journey to London, because he had heard that the King was due to visit the town, but when the King arrived, Ralegh was moved on and thus denied the opportunity to communicate, with him. Thus, at his death as in the rest of his life, Ralegh still believed in the primacy of personal contact, yet in material and ideological terms he could control neither the machinery nor language of this form of communication. Both the Apology, written at great speed and under great stress, and the Letter written in illness and in the knowledge of imminent judgement, reveal Ralegh appealing to a personal relationship that had never existed by means of a mode of communication that could only fail. They further reveal his overestimation of his own powers of persuasion and his underestimation of the King's political will. Yet these 'failures' were followed by the public triumph of the scaffold speech. At his death, Ralegh could at last speak directly to his audience, whom he describes as 'the people', who could then transcribe, circulate and publish his speech. His first request in the moments after he was told he was to be executed was for pen and ink (Queens College, Oxford, MS 32, f.14r), and he spent his last hours preparing his speech (see letter from Chamberlain to Carleton, 31 October 1618, S.P. 14.103.91-2). Speaking from a set of notes, Ralegh exploited the inherent literary and political potential of the situation to the full, summoning up a number of powerful responses in his audienceP Even the executioner (the physical embodiment of state justice) was affected by Ralegh's performance, one account reporting that 'the fellowe was much daunted (as it seemed to me) att his resolution and courage, in so much that Sr Walter Raleigh clapped him on his back diuers times; and cheered him up' (British Library, MS Harley 6353, f.85v). This vignette of the condemned man comforting the executioner represents the degree of control that Ralegh maintained over the proceedings, this control manifesting itself in a variety of other ways. Accounts of the closing moments of the speech reveal that Ralegh heightened the dramatic elements, and in particular the visual accessibility, of the event: This done, he embraced all the Lords and other of his friends there present, with such courtly compliments of discourse as if he had met them at some feast. They then cleared the scaffold, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 88 89 which being done, he takes up the axe, and feels the edge, and finding it sharp for the purpose, this is that, saith he, that will cure all sorrows, and so kissing it, laid it down again. After that he went to three several comers of the scaffold, and kneeling down desired all the people to pray for him, and conceived a long prayer to himself. Then he began to fit himself for the block, without permitting any help and first laid himself down to try how the block fitted him. After rising up, the executioner kneeled down, and desired him to forgive him, which, with an embrace, he professed he did; but intreated him not to strike till he gave a token, by lifting up his hand; and then fear not, saith he, but strike home. So he laid himself down to receive the stroke, and the hangman directed him to lay his face towards the east. No matter how the head lie, answered he, so the heart be right. After he had lain a little while upon the block, conceiving some prayers to himself, he gave the watchword, and the executioner, it seems, not minding it, he called aloud unto him, asking him why he did not strike. Strike, man, said he; and so, in two blows, was delivered from his pain. (letter from Thomas Larkin to Sir Thomas Puckering, no date, Harlow, 1932, p. 313) Some of the features were, of course, inherent to the occasion: the procession to the scaffold, the culminating act of execution itself, the conventional display of the head: And at two blowes the Executioner presently strooke of his head, his body neuer shrinking nor moving: his head was shewed on each side, and then putt into a red leather bag; and his wrought veluett gowne cast over his body, w ch was after conveyed away in a mourning Coach of his Ladyes. (Bowers, 1951, p. 215) Ralegh developed the dramatic potential, however, in a number of ways: each version of the speech contains its own selection of the most effective devices. He used gestures, such as embracing his friends, kneeling in prayer or kissing the axe. He approached the scaffold smiling, and continued throughout the speech 'wthout appearance of feare or distraction' (Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, f.103r). He deployed visual and symbolic language, saying for example that he comes from the dark of the Tower into the light to speak to his audience, or that he will be before 'the tribunall seate 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers of god within this quarter of this houre', thus placing his speech as part of an urgent, unfolding narrative (Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. D859, f.84r). He interacted with his audience, thus involving them still further in his drama, by joking with his public on the way to the scaffold, asking the nobles watching at a window to come closer, appealing to the Earl of Arundel to corroborate part of his speech, embracing the gathered Lords and friends, going from one side of the scaffold to the other to request the public to pray with him, and finally kneeling with his friends on the platform in prayer. It goes without saying that he prayed in 'an audable voice' (Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, f.103r). One family of manuscripts concludes with the comment that 'in this discourse he wept often' (Bodleian Library, MS Tanner 74/2, f.150v and MS Ashmole 830, f.115v), whilst all manuscripts record at least some of his famous witty asides. It is no surprise that the speech was recorded as theatre by the audience and judged in terms of performance. 14 The manner of reporting supports the view of cultural historians, who argue that 'public executions were carried out in a context of ceremony and ritual' which generated a more complicated response than 'mere terror' O. A. Sharpe, 1985, p. 147). In general, audiences 'read the execution scene', which was a text to be interpreted, and almost invariably moralised' (Donald T. Siebert, in Thesing, 1990, p. 8). In Ralegh's case, one reporter uses the discriminating tone of the theatre critic, commenting that his 'voyce and courage neuer failed him, (insomuch that some might thinke it forced than natural, and somewhat overdonne), (British Library, MS Harley 7056,J.50r), whilst another argues that Ralegh's 'performance' at the arraignment and on the scaffold were such that even the'severest critick could take noe iust exception either against his countenance or carriage' (Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, f.103v).15 As usual, Chamberlain provides a summary: 'In conclusion he spake and behaued himself so, without any shew of feare or affectation that he moved much commiseration, and all that saw him confesse that his end was omnibus numeris absolutus, and as far as man can discerne every way perfect' (letter to Carleton, 31 October 1618, Chamberlain, 1939, II, 177).16 This control of language, so lacking from his communications with James, was paralleled by the physical control he exercised over the timing of his death, something that, in the context of popular beliefs if not orthodox theology, could, if handled correctly, redeem a sinful life: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 90 91 The state of mind of a dying person at a final moment before death determined one's salvation or damnation. As a popular attitude in a religiously tormented age, belief in the 'final moment' was optimistic and offered salvation to everyone. It was also an attitude of radical individualism because an individual could control, by mental concentration, his own death and salvation. (Wunderli and Broce, 1989, p. 259) Ironically, therefore, execution was preferable to sudden death by other causes, since the victim could determine the moment of death: the executioner waited for a sign before striking. The theory of the Final Moment allowed a sinful life to be redeemed at the deathbed and it guaranteed salvation by acting as a sign of election. Common proverbs, such as 'the end sheweth the life' and 'the last act carrieth away the applause', reflected these beliefs, and reveal the importance attached to the 'last act'. Thus Ralegh can afford to acknowledge his sinful life because he is acting out a good death, he can ask God to be merciful towards him for I haue beene a greate sinner in all kindes and my course of life hath been such as hath beene a great inducement unto it For I haue beene a soldier, a captayne and a courtier w ch is the course to breede in a man all villany yf by grace he be not preuented. (Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. D 859, f.85v)17 As if to underline his pious stance, and to satisfy those who had accused him of atheism in the past, God is taken to witness again and again throughout the speech, with the result that, according to Chamberlain, in the final act of leading the crowd in prayer 'the hated atheist became their priest' .18 Another writer assures the reader that Ralegh 'died a true Christian and a protestant' (British Library, MS Harley 6353, f.86r).19 By casting off the suspicions of religious nonconformity which had dogged him throughout his life, Ralegh's newfound piety, his true Christian death, served to validate his claims of political truthtelling. Above all, it served to validate his subversive claim that the judgement upon him was unjust. Whilst the visual spectacle of the execution is usually discussed in terms of popular instruction about the power of the state, it could also act as an emblem of 'injustice'.20 Since execution is, in a sense, literally the embodiment of law, it follows that if the law is seen to be physically unjust, then 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers the lawgivers themselves become questionable. His achievement is ruefully admitted by Sir Lewis Stukeley in the first of the state's published responses when he writes that 'they say he died like a Souldier & a Saint, & therefore then to be beleeued, not only against me, but against the attestation of the State' (Stukeley, 1618, pp. 16-17). Ralegh's first, but crucial, challenge to the 'attestation' of the state, one that has clear echoes in his arraignment in 1618 and his trial in 1603, was his insistence that death would free him from being a subject, thus permitting him freedom of speech. As he says, '1 come not hither either to feare or flatter kings. 1 am now ye subiect of Death, and ye great God of Heaven is my soueraine before whose tribunall 1 am shortly to appeare' (Queen's College, Oxford, MS 32, f.14v).21 In another transmission tradition the language is that of conscience: 'why should 1 feare to speake 1 am not the subiect of any Kinge or Prince but now only the subiect of death therefore 1 will speake freely and to the discharge of mine owne conscience' (Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. DS59, f.84v). The second 'attestation' challenged was that of Ralegh's guilt. Nowhere in his speech does he confess the crimes with which he is charged, and nowhere does he glorify the King. This claim of innocence was in itself seditious. Dr Robert Tounson, who prepared the prisoner for execution, makes the point clearly, if disingenuously, when he writes: After he had received the Communion in the morning, he was very cheerfull and merry, and hoped to perswade the world that he dyed an innocent man, as he sayd. Thereat 1 told him, that he should do well to advise what he sayd: men in these dayes did not dye in that sort innocent, and his pleading innocency was an oblique taxing of the Justice of the Realm upon him. (E. Edwards, II, 491; my emphasis) The significance of this omission can be gauged if it is placed in the context of customary 'last speeches' which invariably followed a set pattern with first, a confession of crimes (temporal matters), then a profession of faith (spiritual matters), and finally, laudatory comments about the monarch. It has been suggested that the condemned person praised the monarch 'because the victims themselves held certain assumptions about a subject'S duty to his sovereign' (Wunderli and Broce, 1989, p. 273; also J. A. Sharpe, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 92 93 1985, pp. 150,163). lbis intemalisation of obedience was vital to the survival of both the state and the state church (J. A. Sharpe, p. 162). The pious and obedient death of the Earl of Essex, for example, who accepted the justice of his execution, acknowledged his sin and begged for forgiveness from the Queen, having abandoned at the last moment the traditional dissonance of honour, provides an illustration of this process, as did the speech from the scaffold of the Babington plotter, Chidiock Tichbome (see Howells, 1816, I, 1360 and Hirsch, 1986). Ralegh had not, it seems, fully internalised obedience to his monarch. Unlike Essex, he does not abandon the language of honour, but instead invokes an Elizabethan era of political honour, in an oblique challenge to the corruption of James' Court, which echoes the language of the contemporary theatrical tragedies of Coriolanus, Philotas, Biron, Sejanus and Catiline, which take as their theme the clash between the dictates of honour and the state.22 In the speech, Ralegh is careful to justify his behaviour towards the Earl of Essex: all accounts of the speech record that the 'last point' is a statement of his innocence towards the Earl. Ralegh, it was argued, attended the execution of his rival 'to feed his eyes with a sight of the earl's sufferings, and to satiate his hatred with his blood' (Howell, 1816, I, 1360). The genesis of Ralegh's own comments in response on the scaffold may be found in a letter from Tounson to Sir John Isham (9 November 1618, E. Edward, 1868, IT, 491), in which he claims that he discussed Essex with Ralegh prior to the execution, 'how it was generally reported that he [Ralegh] was a great instrument of his death'. An eyewitness account reports, interestingly, that as Ralegh was conveyed by coach to his arraignment, he received 'manie reprouchfull taunts of the vulgar (taxing him with Essex)' (Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, f.102v). Ralegh clearly responds to his 'vulgar' critics: indeed, he asks for extra time to speak about this matter 'unto the people' (Balliol College, MS 270, p. 167). He replies with disarming candour to the specific charges that he grinned at the execution and, worse, took tobacco: 'I was of the contrarie faction I confesse, but I wished not his death, for I knew when he was gon, I should not be soe much accounted of' (Queen's College, Oxford, MS 121, f.517r). The popular impression of a bitter antagonism between the two men is replaced by an impression of a cynical, but not a vicious, political relationship. The way is cleared for the popular linking of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Essex and Ralegh as twin symbols of the greatness that had been Elizabeth's reign.23 This discourse of honour had been used in his private communication with James prior to the execution, but there it had been a hollow appeal to a set of values that were irrelevant to his relationship with the King. The language of honour only became politically alive in the public sphere. The potency of these invocations of what seemed like a vanished age is reflected in the strenuous attempts in the state's responses to the execution to undermine Ralegh's Elizabethan credibility and to separate his case from that of Essex. Ralegh's abusive speeches about the late Queen are rehearsed, and the false drama of his death is compared with the 'Tragedie' of 'that most noble Earle, and Saint of God', Essex (Stukeley, 1618, pp. 9-10). Ralegh's own privileged place within that honour culture is epitomised by his explanation of his return to England, despite the opportunity to escape to France. He recounts a conversation with the Earl of Arundel: Then saide his Lo: giue me your hand as you are a Gentleman, whether you speed well or ill in your voyage to returne againe into England. I gaue his Lo: my hande; and promised to doe soe God willinge whatsoeuer fortune befell me: and I am very glad that my Lord is here present to satisfie whether this be true or noe. A marginal note says that 'My Ld Arundell did openlie affirme it to be true' (Queen's College, Oxford, MS 121, f.516r). By recounting this anecdote, Ralegh suggests that his actions have been determined by a personal promise, sealed with a sign of trust ('I gaue his Lo: my hande'), and that it only takes the Earl's word to 'satisfie' his truthfulness. Ralegh is established as a man of honour, defeated by the (dishonourable) activities of the Stuart legal system which ignores these traditional bonds of trust. The challenge to Stuart notions of justice is made explicit during the process of transmission in which considerations of the legality of Ralegh's case were fuelled by the alliance of the scaffold speech with other texts, such as transcripts of his trial in 1603 and his arraignment in 1618. A typical volume of manuscripts (Queen's College, Oxford, MS 121) contains: a letter to the Earl of Somerset about Sherborne dated 1610; a letter to James before the 1603 trial; a letter to Elizabeth Ralegh written after the verdict of 1603; a letter to Secretary Winwood concerning the Guiana voyage; a letter to 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 94 95 James written on return from Guiana; a transcript of the 1618 arraignment; the speech from the scaffold; and the poem 'Euen such is time'. The prose texts functioned as a preface to the speech, whilst the poem, supposedly written the night before his execution, provided a fitting coda, since, as Greenblatt has pointed out (1973, p. 10), the poem uses the metaphor of a legal trust being abused, and thus contains the 'notion of an arrangement which is legal and yet unjust' (see also Marotti, 1995, p. 100). Ralegh's speech thus contains implicit criticism of the monarch and a justification of the right to freedom of speech. It does not contain a confession or any glorification of the King. Further, it locates its speaker within a vanished, but celebrated, age of political honour. Ralegh's death is, then, not simply significant because of its theatricality or because it reveals his desire to perform. As a condemned man he would have been expected to give a speech; moreover, for an audience to respond to a speech from a scaffold in the terms of drama seems a natural response. The speech is important because it reveals Ralegh exploiting the opportunity to speak in public, using the occasion to make politically charged points through both action and speech. The result was that, those who had never loved Ralegh 'loved him in the catastrophe of his life' (Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, f.103v). The power of the speech stemmed in part from the discrepancy between the expected performance, which would have entailed a display of repentance and an acknowledgement of justice, and the actual performance. This disjunction was troubling to the government, since in the days after the execution the speech became a text, widely circulated and widely discussed. John Pory, for example, wrote to Dudley Carleton: Albeit I make no doubte, but your Lo:P shall from diverse of your friends be aduertised of the manner of Sir Walter Raleghs death; yet being a matter of so muche marke & renowne, it is fitt, that all tounges & pennes both good and bad should be employed about it. (31 October 1618, S.P. 14.103.96) There were plans being made for the publication of the speech. Tounson wrote to Isham: I hope yow had the relation of Sir Walter Rawleigh's death There be other reports of itt, but that which yow have from me is 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold 96 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Ralegh's execution had become a public issue, written about, read about and debated. As with The History of the World and the Dialogue, which enacted and engaged in contests for the control of discourses such as history and the Bible, the speech from the scaffold became the site of a contest for the control of the discourse of legitimacy itself, often discussed in terms of acting/performance versus truth/reality. The Stuart state was forced to engage in a battle for the control of interpretation of the speech, and for the· discourses which validate authority. The overwhelmingly sympathetic response to the speech caused consternation amongst those who had supported Ralegh's execution. Ulloa, a Spanish agent, wrote in cipher to King Philip: The death of this man has produced a great commotion and fear here, and it is looked upon as a matter of the highest importance, owing to his being a person of great parts and experience, subtle, crafty, ingenious; and brave enough for anything. His supporters had declared that he could never be executed. (undated, Harlow, 1932, p. 315) It was said that Ralegh's 'death will doe more harme to the faction that sought it, then ever his life could haue done' (pory to Carleton, 31 October 1618, SP14.103.98). This nervousness replaced a confident assessment of Ralegh's unpopularity before his execution; as late as 22 October, Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador, was encouraging King Philip to punish Ralegh since 'whatever measures your Majesty may adopt to punish him will be fully justified, and many honourable Englishmen will be very glad of it' (22 October 1618, Harlow, 1932, p. 153). Ralegh's popularity, glimpsed at the execution when a great 'muttring went through the multitude never died a braver spirritt', necessitated a response from the state.24 A Petition, ascribed to Sir Lewis Stukeley, but probably written by Dr Lionel Sharpe, was published on 28 November, nearly one month after the execution. Ostensibly addressed to the King, the most important audience is, of course, the public.25 It consisted of a defence of Stukeley (much 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 trew; one Craford, who was sometimes Mr Rodeknights pupil, hath penned it prettily, and meaneth to put it to the presse; and came to me about it, but I heare not that it is come forth. (9 November 1618, E. Edwards, 1868, IT, 489) 97 needed in the light of his new nickname, Sir Judas Stukeley) and closed with a request that a declaration be made. A more substantial refutation of the speech, the Declaration of the Demeanour, followed on 29 November, published to 'satisfie all his [James'] good people with his Intentions and Courses' (p. 1). In the face of the multitude's sympathy, a contest for the hearts and minds of the good people of England would now be conducted in print. The nature and content of these texts had been carefully planned well in advance, with the King and his ministers arr!ing over the best method to manage and justify the execution? In the negotiations over the procedure of Ralegh's death, and the way in which it was to be justified, the Commissioners had suggested to James that either Ralegh's crimes should be made public ('a narrative in print of his late crimes and offences') or, better still, that he should be called up in front of the 'whole body of your Council of State, and your principal Judges ... and that some of the nobility and gentlemen of quality be admitted to be present to hear the whole proceedings' (18 October 1618, see Brushfield, 1905-7, pp. 31-2) The Commissioners were concerned to make the process seem legitimate, and above all to have it recorded. James replied, however, that he was opposed to a narrative in print as insufficient, but that he feared that to call Ralegh to the Council would make him too popular 'as was found by experience at his arraignment in Winchester, where by his witt he turned the hatred of men into compassion of him'. James suggests a 'middle course'. Ralegh will be examined only by those who have examined him before, but when the warrant for execution is signed, a declaration will be published justifying the government's actions. Worried about Ralegh's 'witt', James accordingly planned to use Ralegh's own words against him in any declaration: Wherein we hold the French Physitians confession very materiall to be inserted, as alIso his own and his consorted confession ... with his son's oration when they came to the town, and some touch of his hatefull speeches of our person. (letter to the Commissioners, 20 October 1618, Brushfield, 1905-7, p. 33)27 Accordingly, the two works published by the state attempt to discredit Ralegh by turning the language of dramatic performance and legal judgement to the interests of the state. Ralegh's own 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold 98 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers For Soueraigne Princes cannot make a true iudgement vpon the bare speeches or asseuerations of a delinquent at the time of his death, but their iudgement must be founded vpon examinations, reexaminations, and confrontrnents, and such like reall proofes, as all this former discourse is made vp and built vpon. (pp.62-3) The voice of the popular response to his execution is allowed into the text again and again, ironically reinforcing the public claims of Ralegh's speech: 'Yea, but they say, that hee hath not left so sufficient a man behinde him, and that therefore his death is a losse to the common-wealth' (p. 15). The Declaration, the more sophisticated work, appeals to law, presenting 'Proofes and euident Matter' to support its case, thus seeking to depersonalise the confrontation between monarch and subject. As I argued earlier, Ralegh himself analysed his predicament in terms of a personal relationship with James, since even on the day before his execution, when he was brought before the King's Bench, he still believed, or hoped, that mercy would be granted, making the suggestion that the King had thought the 1603 verdict upon him was harsh. He was, however, upbraided by his judges for this appeal to the King's mercy: Sir Walter Ralegh you must remember yourself; you had an honourable trial, and so were justly convicted; and it were wisdom in you now to submit yourself and to confess your offence did justly draw upon you that judgement which was then pronounced against you. (Harlow, 1932, p. 303) The state sought to show that it was the law that condemned Ralegh, and thus to distance the judgement from James himself, to take the personal out of the political, a direct reversal of Ralegh's approach,zs They reminded him that he was to dye by the law since the kings mercy had left him, and the law tooke noe hold against him either for the voyage or his 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 language in the speech from the scaffold then reappears, and once again his specious words are contrasted with the impartiality of law, his 'speeches and asseuerations' contrasted with the true words of the Declaration: The Speech from the Scaffold 99 This approach is continued in the Declaration. For example, the testimony of one of the protagonists, a French physician called Manowrie, is given in full, and then followed by the assertion that the Declaration is founded 'vpon confession of the partie himselfe, or vpon the examination of diuers vnsuspected witnesses'. Ralegh's execution was based on confession and examination, not' coniectures or likelyhoods' (p. 61). Ralegh's 'speeches and asseuerations' are contrasted with the true words of the Declaration: For Soueraigne Princes cannot make a true iudgement vpon the bare speeches or asseuerations of a delinquent at the time of his death, but their iudgement must be founded vpon examinations, reexaminations, and confrontments, and such like reall proofes, as all this former discourse is made vp and built vpon. (pp.62-3) The state sought to discredit Ralegh's terms of argument, his presentation of himself as a special individual, suffering from the misjudgement of the King himself, by asserting the indiscriminate nature of law, and thus the irrelevance of personal considerations to the judgement. Under law, it does not matter that the victim is Ralegh and the King is James, it is only important that a crime has been committed against the state. The Petition's blunter method of attack was to emphasise Ralegh's acting abilities: he performed his parts 'most cunningly', he was a dissembler, his whole life was a 'meere sophistication', he merely 'borrowed some tincture of holinesse' (p. 2). That Ralegh perceived his own death as a performance is offered as further evidence of his wickedness. It is claimed that he invited people to his death, and lied in order to gain public applause. The Declaration, despite its opening and closing claims to impartiality, continues the attack. The familiar charges appear again: Ralegh is an actor, who, using his reputation as an 'actiue, wittie, and valiant Gentleman',lures and enchants people to follow him to their 'ruines and decayes' (p. 27). The denigration of Ralegh as an actor is accom- 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 carriage, since only thus, both in the voyage, and since he had so behaued himselfe, that the kinge would noe longer protect him with his mercy but leaue him to the law which againe pronounced him sentence of death. (Queen's College, Oxford, MS 121, f.512r) Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers plished in subtle ways. His subterfuges on his return to England are described in the terms of farce, with his feigning of sickness recounted in facetious detail. He becomes a comic figure, and then a stage villain, taking 'pleasure' in the spots on his face (caused by a potion), and saying, 'We shall laugh well one day, for hauing thus cozened and beguiled the king, his Councell, and the Physitians, and the Spaniards and all' (p. 52). In this context it is suggestive that in the Petition (p. 15) Ralegh is compared to Coriolanus, whilst in the later Declaration (p. 55) Ralegh is compared to the Duc de Byron, characters who had featured in plays by Shakespeare and Chapman in recent years. 29 What is interesting is that the state seeks to make a pejorative comparison, and thus fails to acknowledge the charismatic appeal of characters such as Byron or Coriolanus. The state reaches more predictable ground when Ralegh's death is presented as a moral paradigm, an example' of terrour to all his other subiects, not to abuse his gracious meanings'. The language is familiar from Ralegh's arraignment,where he had been described 'as a star at which the world hath gazed; but stars may fall, nay they must fall when they trouble the sphere wherein they abide' (Harlow, 1932, p. 302). These topoi are also apparent in the popular literature which celebrated and recorded executions. The language of the popular pamphlet literature (including ballads) which celebrated and recorded executions, and which fed a public with a huge appetite for stories of crime and villainy, was more sensationalist than that used in the arraignment or the Declaration, but equally didactic and normative. Printed ballads were at this time 'the main source of political news and comment ... and, like modern popular journalists, they avoided complex issues and focused instead on the personal dramas of the famous'. More specifically, 'hanging ballads' were 'narrated by a contrite criminal just before his death or even, implausibly, after it' (Bernard Capp, in Reay, 1988, pp. 17-18).30 There were many ballads about the death of the Earl of Essex, for example, and, later, when Ralegh himself was accused of treason in 1603, the two men were linked in popular verse: in 1618, Chamberlain comments that 'almost every day brings foorth ... divers ballets wherof some are called in, and the rest such poor stuffe as are not worth the overlooking' (Letter to Carleton, 21 November 1618, Chamberlain, 1939, II, 185).31 The language of a 'hanging ballad', such as 'Sir Walter Ralegh his Lamentation' (1618), was more sensationalist than that used in the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 100 101 arraignment or Declaration, but equally didactic and normative, perhaps indicating a reason for Ralegh's request to the Earl of Arundel, recorded in some of the speech narratives, that 'base songs' and 'lewd ballads' be suppressed.32 The ballad is written in the persona of a repentant Ralegh, who admits not only that he was 'proud and commanding' under Elizabeth (1.32), but also his 'disloyaltie/Done to his Majestie' (11.37-8). After a refutation of the charge of atheism (11.53-6), the character 'Ralegh' is less frightened, more resigned, as he prepares to be executed: My head on block is laid, And my last part is plaid: Fortune hath me betraid, Sweet Jesus grant mercy. (11.89-92) Since cases of non-repentance or resistance were rarely recorded, this ballad is typical of the genre in its admission of guilt. As Wurzbach (1990, p. 67) points out, 'the extreme deterrent effect intended by ballads of crimes and marvels ... appeals to ethical norms whose validity is reinforced by the principle of poetic justice during the course of the narrative'. The normative, moralistic purpose of the ballad is clearest in the lines: Let this wofull fall be a fit warning. (11.47-8)33 Another verse attack on Ralegh (All Soul's College, MS 155), beginning 'Watt I wott well thie overweeninge witt/Lead by ambitiones humours wrought thy fall', is more sophisticated, but equally didactic. This kind of normative writing, contrasting as it did with Ralegh's actual stance on the scaffold, did not however succeed in silencing less orthodox interpretations of the speech, copies of which circulated rapidly and extensively in the days after the execution. As Edward Harwood wrote to Dudley Carleton, 'this place at this tyme is onely full of the famous & worthy ende' of Ralegh (30 October 1618, S.P. 14.103.86). There were, I would argue, a number of reasons for this failure to control interpretation, reasons which reflect upon the nature and practice of Jacobean statecraft. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers The state's publications came too late, too close together, and were clumsily written. Despite the lengthy discussions mentioned above, and the plan to make the publication coincide with the execution, almost a month was permitted to elapse before anything was published, and then Stukeley's Petition came out only to be hastily superseded by the Declaration.34 One suggestion has been that the state was simply inefficient, but the delay is hard to understand. 35 Perhaps it was seen as necessary to take into account the success of the speech. As seen earlier, James had planned to use Ralegh's own words against him, words spoken over the summer, but the Petition (pp. 3-4) also contains phrases from the speech itself: 'Yea but it was the testimony of a dying man, now a penitent (as al say) as some say, a Saint, euen then when as himselfe said, it was no time to flatter or feare Princes.' Another possibility is that the state underestimated the influence of the speech. The King may have thought, or hoped, that a declaration would be unnecessary, as did Tounson, who wrote shortly after Ralegh's execution that 'now it is blowen over, and he allmost forgotten' (letter to Isham, E. Edwards, 1868, IT, 492). As the weeks went by, it must have become apparent that this judgement was premature. Even without these delays, however, the ground the state chose to fight over - Ralegh's status as an actor, and the legitimacy of his execution - had already been taken by Ralegh himself. A similar mismanagement of 'authoritative' resources had been apparent four years earlier when The History of the World was published. That it was called in within weeks of its publication is not particularly surprising, since, as I have argued, Ralegh was writing within a culture in which historiography was seen as a significant political act, although not necessarily an oppositional one. With the political consequences of history came institutional surveillance: Ralegh himself had acted as censor for a history of Portugal in 1599 (see his letter to Cecil, 15 March 1600, Edwards, 1868, IT, 201), the year in which the Privy Council began controlling the censorship of histories. Nor is it surprising that King James, that sensitive interpreter of historical analogy (as we saw in chapters 2 and 3), found the work unacceptable and demanded its suppression. What is surprising is that the suppression was not effective. Not only did it take place only after publication, the work having been registered in an unfinished state in 1611; not only were the confiscated copies sold off by the Crown on Ralegh's release in 1616, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 102 The Speech from the Scaffold despite his unpardoned status; but in 1617, a new edition carrying Ralegh's name and even his picture appeared without any government intervention. It appears that the incomplete and relatively inoffensive work (sans Preface at least) was licensed for publication in 1611, but the activities of Stansby, the printer, in these years argue that the bulk of the printing of the History took place in 1614: thus the licensers could not have read the complete work at the time of its registration. 36 Neither the printer nor the publisher suffered any loss of business on account of the suppression; in fact, Walter Burre had a particularly good year in 1615, moving up to eight books from two (Gorges' translation of Lucan, and the History) in 1614. The 1616 rerelease,let alone the 1617 new edition, can be seen as gross errors of judgement on the part of the state, which may have believed, as Annabel Patterson now believes, that the History had been calmly appropriated to the system' in 1616 (1984, p. 130; see also Tennenhouse, p. 258).37 The state was in error: The History of the World became a source of ideas and a justification for action in opposition to the King, as I shall demonstrate in chapter 6. The consequences of the state's failure to control the circulation and interpretation of the scaffold speech were even more tangible. Texts which had failed in their primary, private function found a new oppositional, public function and received sympathetic readings. The Apology, which failed as an address to King James, became part of the political hagiography surrounding Ralegh, widely circulated and eventually printed in 1650 as part of a collection of political works. A sympathetic interpretation of the work, which survives in a volume of manuscripts at St John's College, Cambridge, offers an insight into the way in which the writer, a friend of Ralegh who has 'longe somewhat inwardly knowne hym', and, significantly, a Throckmorton (a member of his wife's family), regards the Apology as a success 'whereby his carridges in this his enterprize of Guyana, are so fully opened, and all unfrendly exceptions answared w th suche sinceritie and truethe ... I doe beleeue that all is true' (MS James 14, f.lr). Throckmorton blames the 'unmeetenes of the tyme falleinge muche out of his disfauor from the reason of State', and goes on to say that he, in such a low sphere, 'can but looke on and wonder at the motion of the emperiall heauen'. He confesses 'the weakenes of my capacitye to giue a reason of the effects of so remoate causes' (f.lv). Throckmorton pulls away from any direct political dissent, but he does question the powers that have brought Ralegh to his I 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 103 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers execution. This partisan reading is probably based upon a kinship allegiance, but what the wide circulation of Ralegh's speech from the scaffold did was to create a body of sympathetic readers, people who, despite the appalling syntax of the Apology, despite its confusion of argument, would believe Ralegh's word against the King's. The speech from the scaffold thus confirmed the transition in Ralegh's work from coterie political advice in the service of the Elizabethan and then the Jacobean state to public political commentary in opposition to the Stuart monarchy. In this speech Ralegh transcended the vagaries of manuscript petition and confirmed his public voice, ensuring that his political writing would in future have a public function. The state was unintentionally complicit with this process: as Chamberlain wrote to Carleton, 'they had no thancks that suffered him to talk so longe on the scaffold' (S.P. 14.103.121). Employing irony to the last, Ralegh underlined this point, acknowledging in his speech that he was 'indebted to his Matie who had pmitted him to dye in this publique place, wheare he might w th freedome disburden himself' (Bodleain Library, MS Ashmole 830, f.102v). In 'publique' and with 'freedome', he successfully silenced or exposed the 'attestations' of the Stuart state. The transcriptions of the speech reveal the degree to which the state was silenced. In only one version are the executioner's traditional words, as he displays the head, recorded (British Library, MS Harley 6353, f.85v). Ralegh's 'perfect death' ensured that there would be silence when one would have expected 'God Save the King'. NOTES 1. 2. 3. Aubrey sees the Lord Mayor's Day festivities as a cunning distraction so 'that the pageants and fine shewes might drawe away the people from beholding the tragoedie of one of the gallants worthies that ever England bred' (1898, H, 189), suggesting that for him at least there was a clear distinction between carnival and execution. See also Raymond, 1993, chapter 7, on a culture with a 'very public notion of death', reliant on 'internalised constraints', and in which executions and pamphlets disseminated 'the state's idea of law'. Ralegh's autograph Journal survives (Cotton MS Titus B VIII, ff.162-75) covering 19 August 1617 to 13 February 1618. The most convincing account of the negotiations and voyage can be found in Lorimer (1982). See also P. Edwards, 1988 and Harlow, 1932: the latter contains many useful documents, but the imperialist rhetoric is dated. Carew 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 104 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 105 Ralegh, writing in 1656 (p. 10), claims that his father bought his way out of prison, paying Sir William St Johns and Sir Edward Villiers (Buckingham's half-brother) £1500 each in order to procure his liberty. At the same time as approaching the Council, Ralegh pursued, unsuccessfully, the patronage of Prince Henry (see chapter 2). Although the prince did involve himself with Guiana, he did not support Ralegh's request to lead an expedition. Further details of this period in the negotiations can be found in P. Edwards, 1988; Harlow, 1932; and Lorimer, 1982. In January 1616 Ralegh wrote to Winwood, renewing his calls for a voyage in search of the goldmine, and, presumably, made contact with the new favourite; on his release, he would write to Villiers to thank him for his support (E. Edwards, 1868, TI, 339-41). The mediator for the negotiations with Winwood was George Carew. It is important, however, not to inflate Ralegh's undoubted interest in Guiana into an obsession that ruled him to the exclusion of all else, as do both Harlow (1932) and Quinn (1947) and, more recently, Greenblatt (1973, p. 7 and 1993). In fact, in the months following Ralegh's release, it was discussed whether he should be sent to Genoa to aid the defence of Savoy against Spain, a plan that Ralegh supported. It seems that having achieved the object of his release, Ralegh was quite happy to abandon his Guianan vision. Cambridge University Library, MS Mm 6 33 (f.181r) has Ralegh executed 'betweene the howres of 8 and 9', whilst British Library, Egerton MS 3165 has 'about 9 of ye clocke'. See the appendix for information about groups of manuscripts. When a manuscript is quoted from, it can be assumed that the other manuscripts in its group will have a similar phrase. Greenblatt (1973, pp. 5, 7, 16) offers a psychological reading of the Apology, arguing that it fails because of Ralegh's 'complete commitment to an ideology and, still more, commitment to a role from .which he would not and could not disengage himself'. He maintains that 'regardless of the consequences, Ralegh had to maintain his vision of himself as the discoverer of a golden world ....Strip away Ralegh's role and you look into the abyss.' This analysis lies at the heart of his construction of Ralegh the 'role-player'. Spedding (in Bacon, 1872, VI, 349-50) offers a refreshingly antagonistic reading of the texts considered here, arguing that the Apology was written before Ralegh realised what the charges against him were. He thus reads the work as an attempt to pre-empt charges and, as such, it is judged a skilful composition. Spedding ignores the fact that Ralegh is attempting to force James into acknowledging his duplicity. Ralegh includes his letter to Keymis, and Keymis' reply. P. Edwards, 1988, p. 236, n.43, suggests that the former has been reworked for the Apology. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Edwards, 1988, p. 252 inserts the word 'not' before 'believe' in this passage as 'the simplest way of saving Ralegh's impossible syntax which (if it has been correctly copied) has sunk under its own weight'. Alternatively, and perhaps more simply, one can read 'because' as 'in case'. TIrls letter has survived only in the Spanish translation sent by Gondomar to King Philip. It has been retranslated by Hume. Something approaching a plan of the speech survives (see E. Edwards, 1868, II, 494-5). For details of a 'note of remembrance', see Bodleian Library, MS Eng. Hist. 319 f.20r; British Library, MS Harley 6353, f.80v; and Harlow, 1932, p. 308. Rather insubstantial evidence suggests that there was another speech, one which was found, it is claimed, in Ralegh's pocket when his body was brought down from the scaffold. The speech is unpublished: two versions survive. The first, dating from around 1618, is in British Library, MS Harley 3878, ff.182r-v. This version includes the depiction of Ralegh as a martyr and of his death as a sacrifice: 'the prophets, apostles and holy martyrs ar my forerunners' and 'now I dy I dy a sacrifice.' There is however little religious angst and there is no mention of sickness. A later version (in All Souls College, MS 155, ff.144v-5r) is not ascribed to Ralegh, and appears to be a tidied-up version of the Harley MS. The levels of both religiosity and punctuation have been heightened, and the text was intended to be an all-purpose prayer on death by sickness, with an indication that a cure may be possible ('if I live, I live to sacrifice'). See M. Smith, 1992, for some related comments about accounts of the execution of Ralegh's fellow conspirators in 1603. The scaffold is described as a stage in Queen's College, Oxford, MS 32, f.16v. Ralegh's costume is meticulously described by one observer. 'His attire was; a wrought Night Capp, a Ruffe Band; an Haire coloured Sattin doublett, with a black wrought wastcoate under it; a paire of black cutt Taffatie Britshes; a paire of ash coloured silke stockings; and a wrought black velvett gowne', British Library, Additional MS 34631, f.62r. Dr Robert Tounson, who prepared Ralegh for his death, wrote that Ralegh 'left a great impression in the minds of those that beheld him'. Dr. Robert Tounson to Sir John Isham, 9 November 1618, E. Edwards,1868, II, 489. One group of manuscripts has a more intense and abject version of this admission of sin. See for example, Cambridge MS Mm 6 33,. f.l65r. Quoted in Sokol, 1974, p. 204. Aubrey would later offer an assessment of Ralegh's beliefs: 'he spake not one word of Christ, but of the great and incomprehensible God, with much zeale and adoration, so that he concluded he was an achrist, not an atheist' (1898, II, 189). See Lauro Martines' review in R.Q. 39 (1986),p. 109 on pictures and punishment and the spectacle of suffering. That the power of the visual was appreciated by Ralegh is evident in a 1596 work written 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 106 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 107 either by or for him, in which a method of discrediting the Spaniards in Guiana is described. Pictures of the cruelties perpetrated by the Spaniards will be circulated, 'neatly wrought for the better credite of our workemanshipp, and their easier understanding'. See Of the Voyage, printed in Harlow, 1928, p. 143. At his arraignment, after the words 'Execution is granted', Ralegh had asked that he may speak at his death in order to justify himself, 'where I shall not fear the face of any King on earth'. In his trial of 1603, he argued that if the law destroyed him, he would be out of the reach of the King's power, and would have 'none to fear, none to reverence, but the King of kings' (Works, VIII, 644). Ralegh met Byron, the leader of a French delegation visiting England in 1601. The visit is commemorated in some fascinating letters; see E. Edwards, 1868, II, 229-35. Tricomi, 1989, pp. 85-6, shows that these plays function in two ways. On the one hand, any attack on the Court rebounds upon the protagonist, and thus the falls of Ralegh and Byron, and others like them, display the 'successful consolidation of royal power in a new era of peace'. On the other hand, the plays encourage the audience to respond to the 'tragedy of a military hero who becomes the dupe of subtle courtiers'. Indeed in Browne's Brittania Pastorals (1969, p. 80) the enemies had already become friends in a politically charged reading of the past. The 'grieved Wights', Essex and Ralegh, sit and lament their separation from Elizabeth. Admittedly, Ralegh is dismissed in three lines, whereas 77 are devoted to Essex. Another Elizabethan hero may have been invoked in the anecdote which has Ralegh giving his night-cap to an elderly poor man saying, 'thou hast more need of it now than 1', the words echoing those of Sir Philip Sidney. John Ford, 1620, pp. 48-9, gives Ralegh particularly grudging praise. See Marotti, 1995, pp. 99-101 for details of poetic responses, predominantly sympathetic, to the execution. S.P. 14.103.99 contains two epigrams upon 'Sr Walter Rawely beheaded at 74 years of age', which both adopt a regretful tone, rather than celebrating or condemning the execution. Within the text (see pp. 1-2, 16) both audiences are addressed, the King directly, the public indirectly: 'I haue presumed to offer to your most Excellent Maiestie, a iust defence of my carriage' and 'I leaue it to the censure of the ludicious Reader'. See Brushfield, 1905-7, pp. 31-2 for the relevant documents, including James' original plan for the declaration. In the Declaration, 1618, p. 25, it is described how the Commission for the Guiana voyage was drawn up: 'it was so drawne and framed (as as [sic] you see) his Maiestie himselfe did oft peruse and reuise, as foreseeing the future eunts~. In private correspondence, however, personal hatred is more open. Naunton describes Ralegh as a 'hypocrite' and a 'CreepIe' (letter to Sir R. Wilson, 14 September 1618, S.P. 99.11.25). In the Declaration Ralegh is presented as comparing himself to the Duc de Byron: 'No (quoth Raleigh) they used all these kindes of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Speech from the Scaffold 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers flaterries, to the Duke of Byron, to draw him fairely to the prison, and then they cut off his head; I knowe that they have concluded amongst them, that it is expedient that a man should die, to reassure the Trafficke which I have broken with Spaine.' See also Tyson and Wagonheim, 1986, especially p. 11 and Siebert, 1952. A lamenting 'Epitaph upon Robert, E. of Essex' is closely followed by an extremely long 'despairing complaint' by 'Ralegh'. 'Ralegh'is forlorn and deserted, a sinner without grace, who can turn neither to God nor man for help. He could have turned to Essex, but the Earl is now dead. The poem slips into the third person to exclaim, 'Thou traitor vile how canst thou hope for grace'? Ralegh's fall, mirroring that of Essex, is his just reward. Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 38, ff.4v-5, 11-16. Lefranc, 1968, pp. 666-75 gives a selection of satires on Ralegh in 1603. See Bernard Capp, in Reay, 1988, pp. 17-18; Tyson and Wagonheim, 1986; Siebert, 1952. Tichbome had obviously internalised this idea. He describes his own imminent execution as 'a warning to all young gentlemen' (Hirsch, 1986, p. 313). In the process of writing his letter, Chamberlain receives 'an autenticall declaration of all that business' which he has not yet had time to read properly, but surmises that it was written by Bacon, Yelverton or Naunton, 'or rather fathered upon all three so that in all probabilitie yt must be as true as well written' (S.P. 14.103.180). 35. 36. 37. Spedding deplores the fact that by 'some unaccountable mismanagement, the narrative ... was not forthcoming', in Bacon, 1872, VI, 369. It is possible that the King's active involvement delayed the publication. Bacon writes to the Duke of Buckingham that they have 'put the Declaration touching Ralegh to the press with his Majesty's additions, which were very material, and fit to proceed from his Majesty', 22 November 1618, Bacon, 1872, VI, 378. Chamberlain, on 21 November, acknowledges that 'the proofes had neede be very pregnant and demonstrative, or els they will hardly prevaile' (Letter to Carleton, Chamberlain, 1939, II, 185). Stansby, who usually turned out between 30 and 40 books per year, produced only 15 in 1614. As Dutton, 1993, p. 337, n.21, points out, 'it is odd that it was not until the Printing Act of 1662 that all "Titles, Epistles, Prefaces, Poems, Preambles, Introductions, Tables, Dedications" were formally required to be licensed along with the main body of the text'. Hill, 1965, p. 203, writing before Racin's work was published, perpetuates the belief of Ralegh's Victorian bibliographer, T. N. Brushfield, that the suppression order was circumvented. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 108 5 'Stab at thee he that will, no stab thy soule can kill.' Up to this point I have offered interpretations of Ralegh's works in terms of their original occasions and audiences, elucidating their significance within the political and literary culture of the 1610s, their time of writing and first reception. Now I tum to the ways in which Ralegh's texts, and indeed the character 'Ralegh', were reformed and re-interpreted in the decades after his death. This process was a complex one, and the material I have suggests that any crude binary division between consensus and conflict are inappropriate, a point made in general terms by Peter Lake (1994, p. 173) when he warns his fellow historians about reducing the historiography of the period to the view of a calmly unifying 'political culture', a series of divergent but compatible rhetorics of law and divine right, running through this period, on the one hand; and a rather crude rendition of ideological commitment in which the actions of contemporaries were simply determined by their adherence to coherent and mutually exclusive bodies of ideas, on the other. A number of ideological and material factors enabled new readings to develop during the 1620s and 1630s, building upon the political power of Ralegh's speech from the scaffold which was, as I have already shown, an important factor in this process of reforming. Developments in religious and political beliefs encouraged these readings, which often differed from each other as much as they differed from the original politics of Ralegh himself. Changes in the conditions of production and dissemination created a new body of interpreters for Ralegh's work. What I want to establish in this chapter is the pro-active nature of early 109 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers modern writing and what this means for authorial authority, something I considered in my opening chapter in general terms. The dissident, ideologically committed 'Ralegh' constructed by his readers which will emerge at times in the next two chapters, and which bears little relation to the often conservative Ralegh of the previous chapters, illustrates again the important point about authority, that it does not necessarily come from the author. This has implications for the historiography of the period, most obviously for the work of historians like Kevin Sharpe. He has written extensively about King Charles' creation of himself as the ideal patriarch, in both word and image, but seems to fail to acknowledge that Charles' audience, his subjects, did not always accept this model of good kingship, however fine the van Dyck and Rubens portraits may have been. Similarly, the evidence from the 1620s, a decade in which Ralegh was increasingly harnessed to a variety of oppositional agendas, encourages claims for dissidence and opposition, which challenge recent histories of the period which shun these concepts, and instead emphasise consensus and containment. My final chapter, which considers the 1640s and 1650s, provides a further twist in the tale of Ralegh and his readers, but here I want to examine four textual events from the 1620s and 1630s which offer glimpses of the interrelationships between Ralegh's writings, his readers and the political life of these decades. Sir John Eliot's annotations of his manuscript version of Ralegh's Dialogue relate to the parliamentary campaign against Buckingham and the Forced Loan in the late 1620s; the publication of the Dialogue as The Prerogative of Parliaments in 1628 relates to the parliamentary crisis of that year; a pamphlet by Thomas Scott appropriates the ghost of Ralegh to his militant anti-Spanish campaign of the early and mid1620s; and, finally, the publication, in 1632 and then repeatedly throughout that decade, of Ralegh's Instructions to his Son, originally written, it is thought, in 1609, contributes to the ongoing debate about the nature and legitimacy of 'personal rule' during the 1630s. The first three of these texts, dating from the 1620s, are in material form unlicensed or manuscript works, and thus they circulated outside of state control. In content, they encourage various degrees of opposition to the King and his counsellors. The fourth work, a licensed publication of the popular, pocket-sized Instructions, is usually read as a personal document, or as a highly conventional one, which suggests a less confrontational political! 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 110 111 literary climate for the 1630s. An understanding of the work's publication history, however, and the recognition of the relationship between its contents and the debate over personal rule, compromise this rather cosy view of the decade, whilst at the same time suggesting that Ralegh's political role was modifying once again. The one other major publication from the 1620s and 1630s directly associated with Ralegh was, of course, The History of the World. This expensive work continued in its remarkable popularity throughout this period: its developing significance will be considered in full in my final chapter. These case studies are intended to contribute to the growing body of work on the material conditions of production and reception in early modern England. 1 They offer a perspective on the debate over whether a rise in literacy and the increased dissemination of texts encouraged a common cultural identity, unified by print, or whether these same factors challenged traditional forms of authority.2 My main concern, however, is to move still further beyond a kind of historicism which ties a text to one historical moment or one set of patronage relationships: John Eliot's reading and practical application of the Dialogue to his defence of parliamentary powers during the mid-1620s provides a good starting point for this project. I have already shown that the Dialogue's original function and audience extended beyond that of address to the King, as the widespread manuscript circulation and the passages of dissent indicate, but Eliot's own manuscript copy, which survives at the present Lord Eliot's estate in Cornwall, complete with marginalia, provide a valuable insight into the way in which the Dialogue was read, and Eliot's subsequent development of Ralegh's ideas and methods reveals how the work was then used politically. Eliot reads the work as a weighted dialogue: for example, he carefully marks only the Justice's comments in a lengthy exchange concerning the prerogative, imprisonment and the calling of Parliament (pp. 59-61). His annotations reveal that he is aware that one viewpoint is being satirised, whilst the other represents Ralegh's opinions. Modern historians have been less scrupulous in their attention to genre, and thus Ralegh has been claimed both as an apologist for absolutism and as a bitter critic of monarchical government.3 Up to a point, Eliot works within the two, interrelated, transmission traditions which can be discerned in other surviving 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers manuscripts. 'The first stresses Ralegh's position as author/martyr, his epitaph ('Euen such is time which takes in trust') placed at the end of the text in the vast majority of the manuscript copies, and many copies themselves being found in collections of what can only be described as Raleghana. 4 'The second stresses the work's occasion, and its status as a response to political crisis. Stowe MS 177, for example, is entitled: A dialogue betweene a Counsellor of State and a Justice of peace the one diswadinge the other perswadinge the callinge of a parliament, Written by Sr Walter Raleigh knight imediatlie after the dissolution of that pliamente for pliaments cannot be called where noe acte hath bene passed in the twelth yeere of the kinge, Which nowe discontentedly broke upp wthout doeing anie thinge to the greefe and discontente of both kinge and people. 'This title places the text firmly in a historical context, signalling its status as a response to the 1614 'Addled' Parliament. s Eliot in the 1620s is clearly concerned with Ralegh's status as author/martyr, and presumably aware of the work's relationship to the crisis of the mid-1610s, but he takes his reading further. In his annotations, we have evidence of 'reading for action', the action being the confrontation of Parliament with King Charles and his counsellor Buckingham during the late 1620s. At first his notes are restricted to the occasional marginal memorandum of an event ('mad parl' for example), but the first large section that is marked off sets the tone for his later annotations: it is the beginning of the section which is quoted at length above (p. 76i pp. 15-16 in Dialogue). Eliot marks a passage which records the grievances of parliaments in giving money to the King when a 'devouring Lady', the Duke of Lancaster, and the Chancellor ('these Cormorants') receive all the money. 'The section continues with the analysis of the declining power of the barons and the necessity of pleasing the people also discussed earlier. Eliot goes on to be struck by Ralegh's most politically charged passages: an explicit reference to the direct link between the delivering up of favourites and Parliament giving moneYi a section on the corruption of justice, the way in which judges are forced to subscribe 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 112 113 to unjust judgements; and the lengthy discussion of the issues of the King's prerogative, imprisonment and the calling of Parliament. Eliot's political preoccupations in the late 1620s, evil counsel, unjust imprisonment, the link between taxation and the removal of counsellors, are all clearly apparent in his annotations. 6 Moreover, the work was extremely relevant to his own experience of imprisonment in 1627 for non-payment of the Forced Loan. But the Dialogue did not merely echo his concerns, it helped formulate his response to the crisis of the late 1620s, in both an immediate (and quantifiable) and a more general (and elusive) sense. The work produced during his imprisonment, the Petition from the Gatehouse, dated 10 November 1627 (published 1649), reveals the influence of the earlier work, together with some interesting developments from Ralegh's position and method? The Petition starts in a similar way, with an obsequious preamble insisting on Eliot's loyalty to the King, and it adopts the same kind of historicallybased argument. Two things, however, set Eliot apart from Ralegh. First, he is explicitly concerned with precedent: he has had 'recourse unto the Laws' and presents his findings, praising Edward ill and Richard ill because they confirmed that no extra-parliamentary loans should be made (pp. 92-3). He asserts that whilst he is sure that King Charles does not want to set a bad precedent, the Forced Loan does just that (p. 94). Whilst Ralegh is content to accumulate historical examples to validate his pragmatic arguments and his Justice claims that he does not know 'whether it be time or consent' that makes impositions just, Eliot insists on the legal concept of precedent. Just as important, he asserts that 'it is no factious humour nor disaffection', but only his 'conscience' that makes him oppose the loan. He is making explicit his status as a truth-teller standing outside the system, a stance implicitly taken up by the character of the Justice, who claims that his status as a prisoner ensures his selfless honesty since he can gain nothing from his advice. With more conviction and emphasis, and speaking in the first person rather than through the veil of dialogue, Eliot presents his opposition as based on conscience rather than interest, giving primacy to his theoretical justification of his refusal to pay the Loan. The reader is commanded not to read this as a work of personal ambition.8 Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the political status of Eliot and of Ralegh. The latter may have been 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers seeking a role in Parliament, if one accepts a narrowly ambitious reading of the original Dialogue, but Eliot actually had a role. He was a representative of the 'people', whilst Ralegh could only represent them in another sense, as characters in his text. Eliot was committed, in a practical way, to using Parliament to bring an 'evil counsellor', Buckingham, to account. Ralegh may have recognised the latent power of the people and of Parliament to achieve this end, but Eliot both theorised and attempted to enact Ralegh's illustrative approach, most directly in his Petition, but more generally in his political programme as a representative of the people. In his parliamentary campaign to bring down Buckingham, he was not content to argue merely from historical example, but woUld use historical methods to establish 'causes' which could then be used to challenge a counsellor's power, and, by extension, the power of the King. 9 The argument that those men who divided the king from his subjects deserved condign punishment was most frequently voiced by anti-absolutists, especially in the years after 1627.... One implication of this kind of propaganda was that the king's mental abilities were those of a child. As long as it remained unrealistic to advocate active resistance, this was perhaps inevitable. If the king could do not wrong it was necessarily true that whatever was wrongly done was the responsibility of evil ministers. (Sommerville, 1986, p. 139io At the same time, Eliot was working with ideas of private and public responsibilities, arguing for a public sphere in which private individuals could not hide behind the protection of the monarch, observing 'a new wisdom ... that the faults of private men be shaddowed under the secretts of state', and his concern is the 'publique cause',u By the 1620s Eliot was not alone in regarding the apparent disjunction between the public and private spheres as a justification for parliamentary opposition to the Crown. A comment from Edward Coke epitomises the conflict of interest. In a parliamentary debate about subsidies in 1625, Coke decided not to support the levying of a subsidy, primarily because of the absence of a legal precedent, yet at the same time he drew a distinction between his public and private responsibilities: 'for his own particular he would give £1000 as a private man, not as a parliament man' (Proceedings in Parliament 1625, 1987, p. 452). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 114 115 Parliament can only operate as a public arena if there is freedom of speech, argue both the Dialogue and Eliot, and the texts and the people who were arguing for a notion of public responsibility were also creating, in a material sense, the conditions to support this. So, for example, the cases of those men who refused to pay the Forced Loan of 1628 were widely circulated as 'separates', as a part of a 'co-ordinated campaign to publicize the moderate ideas' (eust, 1987, pp. 151, 168). The Dialogue itself moved from being a coterie manuscript to a published pamphlet, when it was printed in 1628, without a licence, using first the false imprint of 'Hamburg' and then 'Middelburg'. The publication was extremely popular, running to five editions in 1628, with two more appearing, with equal pertinence, in 1640. The audience for the Dialogue was thus hugely increased: it became a public text and, moreover, one which was not sanctioned by the state. The text had received an ideological gloss as well: it had a new title, The Prerogative of Parliaments. Whilst Ralegh's original heading of 'dialogue' had been unspecific and uncommitted, in 1628, the work is clearly labelled as a case study of the powers of parliament, and, according to the title-page, the prerogative of Parliament is actually 'proued' by the text. 12 This slightly misleading later title thus appeals to a new audience, one interested in the theoretical discussion of Parliament's role and in the justification of its rights. Written by the 'worthy, much lacked and lamented' Sir Walter, and dedicated to 'the King and to the House of Parliament now assembled'(my emphasis), the work is described as having been preserved to be now happily 'in these distracted times' published to 'the world'. Ralegh is now speaking to a larger audience in both an ideological and a material sense, speaking to both the people as Parliament and to the reading public. As advice to the monarch, perhaps part of a personal campaign to regain favour, the Dialogue was clearly flawed: its criticisms were too open; its solution - the restraint of favourites which would then result in the love of the people and their willing supply of money - too simplistic; Ralegh's personal grievances too close to the surface. But, as with the History, the work's transmission history shows that it is only in the context of an address to the monarch that the work can be deemed a 'failure'. The similarities between the two periods of circulation, the mid1610s and the late 1620s, not only gave the work its potency, but underline the recurring nature of the monarchy's political 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers problems. The echoes are unmistakable: King Charles was extracting a Forced Loan from his subjects; Archbishop Abbot had been suspended from office in 1627 because he had refused to license a sermon in support of the loan; Parliament had been dissolved (but this time would not be recalled until 1640, significantly the next publication date for Ralegh's work and the year in which both Strafford and Laud were impeached); whilst it ran, its concern was the prevention of the use of arbitrary imprisonment to enforce arbitrary taxation, and the maintenance of its privileges; and there was a notorious imprisonment case, that of the 'Five Knights'. Perhaps the most dramatic event of the year was the physical removal through assassination of the Duke of Buckingham, the man who had come to represent the idea of evil counsel to many of his contemporaries. 13 In his work on John Felton, of Buckingham'S assassin, Holstun (1992, p. 546, n.8) has argued for the existence of an 'oppositional unconscious' during the 1620s, which could only emerge when individuals escaped the 'pressures of censorship and the patronage system'. These individuals were the 'precursors to the relatively uncensored sectarians and radical presses of the revolutionary era ... prophets of more material opposition in the forties and fifties'.14 Both imprisoned, Eliot and Ralegh could be seen as existing beyond the exigencies of the patronage system (and certainly both appeal to this notion in their writing); but Holstun draws a parallel between Felton, awaiting execution, and Thomas Scott, the radical Protestant polemicist in exile. Both men, it is argued, stand outside the system, in both a material and ideological sense, and the latter provides a very different way of 'reading Ralegh' during the 1620s from that of John Eliot, one which used a different, and potentially more disruptive, notion of the people. Scott's reading of the character and policies of Ralegh appeared in a series of pamphlets which first appeared in the early 1620s: in them, we catch a glimpse of this 'oppositional unconscious' forming itself around concepts of revelation and violence, and expressing itself materially in unlicensed works. Scott was not one to shy away from a providentialist interpretation of current events: an indication of the distance between his view of the world and that of his monarch can be glimpsed in their respective interpretations of the significance of the comet of November 1618. Scott argued that the comet' gaue occasion of much discourse to all sorts of men ... Surely these Comets are not the worke of Chaunce, but of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 116 117 prouidence, and they haue their speciall ends and vses wherefore they were made' (1620, p.2). He is tapping into the popular notion that 'when stars wear locks they threaten great men's heads' (The Revenger's Tragedy, V.iii.23).15 King James, on the other hand, had a far more down-to-earth view of the phenomenon, swearing that it was 'nothing else but Venus with a firebrand in her arse' (1958, IT, 172). He also wrote a poem on the subject, which asks why the people of England gaze upon 'an Angry starr'. It argues that to attempt to interpret or predict God's actions in this way is at best misguided, at worst dangerous. The letter is such as none can it translate: And for to guesse at God Almighties minde Were such a thinge might cosen all mankinde: Therefore I wish the curious man to Keepe His rash imaginations will hee sleepe: Then let him dreame of famine, plague, and warre, And thinke the match with Spayne hath rays'de this starre: And let him thinke that I theyr Prince, and Mynion Will shortly changei or which is worse religion: And that hee may haue nothing else to feare, Let him walke Paules, and meete the diuell there: Or if hee bee a Puritane, and scapes, Jesuites salute him in theyr proper shapes: These jealousies I would not haue bee treason For him whose fancy ouer-rules his reason. But to bee sure hee did no hurte, t'were fitt, Hee should bee bold to pray for no more witt, But onely to conceale his dreame: for there Are they that would believe all hee dares feare. (1958, IT, 173)16 James' fears about these beliefs, although expressed with irony, illustrate neatly Walsham's (1994, pp. 86-7) argument about the political role of providentialism: Far from a set of bizarre phobias and irrational beliefs, providentialism, like anti-popery, could on occasion operate as a coherent and unifying force .... Indeed by the third decade of the seventeenth century, providence, as a concept was no longer politically benign. The language, interpretation and application of God's 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 16205 and 16305 118 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Lake (1994, p. 192), too, points out that the views of the godly 'could generate extraordinary activism and zeal', and as Walsham has shown (1994, p. 79), in her study of his interpretations of the Blackfriars catastrophe, Thomas Scott was 'dangerous' in that he 'teased out the seditious implications inherent in his position'. His treatment of Ralegh is similarly provocative. 17 Parliament is mentioned only in passing. Instead, Scott responds to Ralegh's antiSpanish militarism as expressed throughout the History of the World and, in a typical fusion of the religious and the political in his writing, he responds to Ralegh's descriptions of God's active interventions in the affairs of the world, epitomised in the History by the eye which overlooks the frontispiece, reminding the reader partly of the Day of Judgement, but also that God judges man year in, year out, in this world. 18 Ralegh makes his first appearance in Scott's work in the hugely popular Vox Populi, first published in 1620 (in an edition littered with errors) and running to nine editions during that year alone. In this work the evil Count Gondomar, agent of the Spanish state, exposes his part in the downfall of Ralegh: But the last service 1 did for the State, was not the least; when 1 underwrought that admirable Engine Raleigh, and so was the cause his voyage (threatning much daunger and domage to us) was overthrouwe, and himselfe returning the disgrace, 1 pursued al most to death, neither (I hope) need 1 say almost, if all things hit right, and all strings hold. (p.Clr) The pamphlet presents itself as being written just prior to Ralegh's execution. We are told that Gondomar is motivated by a desire to quench the heate & valour of that nation, that none should dare hereafter to undertake the like, or be so hardy as to looke out at sea, or breathe upon our Coastes. And lastly because 1 would bring to an ignominious death, that old Pyrat, who is one of the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 judgements were generating conflict and exacerbating divisions at the highest levels of church and state. The exponents of its more inflexible and revolutionary forms were finding themselves progressively marginalised from the early Stuart establishment. Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s 119 Gondomar lists his agents at James' Court: courtiers who want Spanish gold, and those who hate Ralegh; foreigners who want his elixir and who hope to find it, rather disturbingly, in his head; and those of the Romish faith or Spanish faction. All of these would haue been my bloodhounds, to hunt him or any such to death willingly, as persons hating the prosperity of their Country, and the valour, worth, and wit of their owne nation, in respect of us and our Catholike cause. (p.Clr) Gondomar appeared again, this time as Machiavelli, in a second part to Vox Populi, which was reissued in 1624 as part of Scott's socalled complete works, and then, in 1626, Scott returned in an even more challenging way to the relationship between Ralegh, vox populi, and Gondomar, fox populi, in the hugely entertaining Sir Walter Rawleighs Ghost, or Englands Forewarner, published in 'Utricht' (allegedly). He had already brought another Elizabethan hero back from the dead in his Robert Earle of Essex his Ghost Sent from Elizian: To the Nobility, Gentry, and Communialtie of England, a pamphlet claiming to have been printed in Paradise in 1624 (although the typesetting seems to suggest otherwise) from whence Essex, together again with his 'fellow Saint' Elizabeth, offers a critique of James' pacifism. In 1626 it is Ralegh's turn. Spain is on the point of achieving a universal monarchy, claims Scott, and only Ralegh, now tragically executed, would have been strong enough to save the day. Time, therefore, for an appearance of Ralegh's ghost, who torments Gondomar, resulting in his 'strange affrightment, Confession and publique recantation: laying open many treacheries intended for the subuersion of England'. Ralegh is the agent for the exposure of treachery, the instigator of 'publique recantation'. Throughout the Ghost, Scott appeals to the traditional warrior instincts of the English, instincts which terrify the Spaniards. In the descriptions of Ralegh, 'wholy soldier' (p. 15), and Gondomar, the familiar equations of war and masculinity, and peace and effeminacy emerge. Gondomar is pictured attempting to give birth to evil: he tries to work out how he 'might make a glorious passage for the huge and monstrous bodie of mischiefe where withall he 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 last now living, bred under that deceased English Virago, and by her flesht in our blood and ruine. (p.Clr) Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers was that day in labours' (p. 7). A page earlier he is described as producing every minute 'new and unnaturall Cocks-egges'. He 'brooded them from the heat of his malice, hatcht them with the deuilishnes of his Policie, and brought forth Serpents able to poyson all Europe'. The reader has already been told of the 'natural', and traditional, war-like nature of the English, which ensures that 'euery child will be an Hercules' and kill those same serpents 'in his cradle' (p. 5), but the epitome of the challenge to Gondomar's monstrous femininity comes when he is overwhelmed by the appearance of Sir Walter in silver armour, brandishing a sword and carrying a gold cup full of blood, which he sprinkles on the Spaniard and on the ground saying, 'Cresce cruor, Sanguis satietur sanguine Cresce, quod spero Sitio, ah Sitio, Sitio' (p. 11). This quite literally bloodthirsty demand for revenge (which carries echoes throughout the pamphlet: even in the extracts given here, Spanish blood will be avenged by Gondomar's Spanish 'bloodhounds'), expressed in the language of the Senecan tragedies of blood, acts as the climax to the pamphlet, and precipitates Gondomar's confession (p. 11 ff). He now admits that Ralegh was 'not borne for thy se1fe but thy Countrie' (p. 16), and acknowledges that if his achievements could have been continued, Spain would not now be powerful. He finishes by asking Ralegh for absolution (p. 21). A religiously correct Ralegh challenges Gondomar's presumption: it was not the Count who brought him to his death it was God, who disposes of second causes (p. 23). He then demonstrates that Spain aspires to a universal monarchy (pp. 25-40), rehearsing their aggression towards most of the countries of Europe, and lamenting the loss of the Palatinate (p. 39). The piece ends with Ralegh threatening to watch over Gondomar as he hatches further evil (p. 40), and then, 'at these words, the glorious aparition (wauing his sword about) vanished out of his sight' (pp. 40-1). The excited reader is assured that they will be informed of any sequel when the next post arrives from Spain. . This conflation of religious and military agendas, the latter expressed in the violence of the language and through Ralegh's masculinity, had direct political relevance at the times of publication. In 1620, Scott was clearly dissatisfied by James' appeasement of the Spanish, epitomised by the execution of Ralegh. Yet later he was equally critical of Charles' record as a godly fighter, despite his commitment to the withdrawal of Spanish troops from the Pala- 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 120 121 tinate which involved war with Spain, and his commitment to the besieged Huguenots, which involved war with France. Scott was not alone in his dissatisfaction: the Ghost pamphlet came at a time when King and Parliament were in direct conflict over the progress and funding of war. Two issues dominated the debate: the handling of the war itself, and the demand for the impeachment of Buckingham in return for the supply of money. The two were of course related as Buckingham was Lord Admiral. The King refused to hand over Buckingham, dissolved Parliament and, to pay for the war, raised the Forced Loan of that year.1 9 It is perhaps no surprise that Ralegh is being used to promote an aggressive foreign policy, but the new ingredient is the 'ideological politicisation' described by Collinson (1991, pp. 3-11) which established England as God's nation in opposition to Spain and which led to the identification of Protestantism with nationalism, and to the rise of imperialism, the project of the elect nation. 20 Thus in Vox Populi, Ralegh would have made 'a new conquest of the West Indies' if he had not been destroyed by Gondomar, whilst in the Ghost the Spanish King could not say he was 'King alone of the Indies as long as Rawleigh liued' (p. 14). None of this is directly seditious in itself, but these pamphlets offer a heady mixture of godly religion, militarist nationalism and nostalgia for the Elizabethan era, which form a challenge to the Arminian, pacifist, Stuart state, and provide a vocabulary for later dissent. Attempting to show that the battle-lines of the civil war cannot be related back to the 1620s, Russell has to admit that the one correlation he finds is between 'Parliamentarianism and support for the Spanish war. There is an almost equally clear correlation between royalism and opposition to the war' (1979, p. 429). He is quick to point out the implications of this: parliamentarians are ageing conservatives, 'holding fast to old-fashioned Elizabethan reflexes', and in any case, they 'are a vocal minority'. The irony, which he ignores, is that these ageing conservatives became the agents of revolution, even if they were not conscious of it at the start of the 1640s. In his excellent study, The Rites of Knighthood (1989), McCoy offers a suggestive context in which to understand Scott's interest in Ralegh. McCoy positions chivalry (and its close relation militarism) as neither an irrelevance nor simply a symbol of royal power but as a force, with a potential for deference and aggression, in negotiation with royal authority (pp. 2-3). Focusing on the Elizabethan era, he is concerned with feminine royal authority, and 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers this has connections with the discourse of militarism in the 1620s, where masculinity in the form of Ralegh is contrasted with the perverted femininity of Gondomar and, by extension, the effeminate King James himself. Stepping outside his period, McCoy also argues (p. 8) that the 'inchoate alliance between aristocratic chivalry and Protestant zeal failed in 1601, but ... it succeeded in the opening stages of the Civil War'. The inchoate alliance described here is beautifully illustrated by the image of the silverarmoured knight Ralegh speaking the words of religious radicalism. 21 This image, together with Scott's vigorous anti-Spanish polemic, and the ubiquitous blood-letting (an image of purgation central to the violence of language and action in the 1640s according to Peck, 1991, pp. 214-15), all in a pamphlet from 1620, suggests once again that viewing the outbreak of civil war as a watershed can be too crude a model, and that Holstun's concept of an 'oppositional unconscious' is the more valid one. Ralegh is now part of this opposition, re-created as the voice of true religion, acting as a force for revelation and repentance, rejecting any interpretation of historical events couched in human terms, insisting instead upon God's complete and ineffable control. He is also the voice of his country, vox populi. Scott explicitly states that Ralegh is not simply an illustrious individual, but the embodiment of the English nation's virtues: in Vox Populi, his status is conflated with that of the English nation, whilst in the Ghost he represents his 'Countrie' and not simply himself, as Gondomar has to learn. Thus Ralegh's voice in the 1620s changes in nature. It is becoming identified with the people, whether in terms of Parliament in opposition to the King and his evil counsellors, or in terms of a nation of red-blooded Protestant Englishmen in opposition to their pacifist and effeminate Catholic-sympathiser King. This new voice is reaching more people, primarily in print, and more often than not in unlicensed form. Materially and ideologically Ralegh and 'Ralegh' are operating outside of, and in oppo- . sition to, the monarchical state. The proliferation of unlicensed works in the 1620s appears to reflect the failure of the state to contain dissent, rather than suggesting that the state was so confident of its powers that it did not need, or pursue, rigorous censorship.22 With the 1630s, this process seems to grind to a halt. There appears to be far less political urgency to the readings and appro- 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 122 123 priations of Ralegh. 1632 saw the first publication of his hugely successful Instructions to his Son, a pocket book of rather platitudinous advice which, in its third edition of 1632, gained the Advice of a Loving Son to his Aged Father. Four further editions appeared over the following three years, and it continued to be published throughout the 1640s and 1650s, often in conjunction with other works claiming to be Ralegh's such as Maxims of State. In 1634 yet another edition of The History of the World appeared, and then, in 1636 and 1637 respectively, two brief works related to The History, and using Ralegh's name, were published, Tubus Historicus and The Life and Death of Mahomet. The former positioned itself within the courtly patronage network, being dedicated to the young Prince Charles. The text itself is introduced as a 'modell to that Heroick Worke, The History of the World' (sig.B1r), and offers the reader a 'succinct Recollection' of 'infinite Volumes' (sig.Blr). The consciousness of royal patronage might underlie the rather biased summary of the work's scope: the 'Originall, Progresse, and Duration of the most Glorious Monarchies & flourishing States of the World' (B1v). This summary omits the subject perhaps closest to Ralegh's heart, the falls of princes, and what follows is a very slim volume, comprising some chronological tables, and a list (without even dates) of kings and emperors.23 The Life and Death of Mahomet is not in fact by Ralegh, but it is dedicated to his son Carew: it does indeed offer a brief life of Mohammed and then goes on to chronicle Almansor's conquest of Spain. Almansor is described as the ruler of the greatest empire that 'ever obeyed one Monarch' (p. 268), a 'King of justice' who 'ever favored the poore man & observed the just law of the godly' (p. 274).24 At the very start of the decade, another 'ghost' text had appeared, with an agenda far removed from that of Thomas Scott. Its very title (Rawleigh his Ghost Or, a Feigned Apparition of Syr Walter Rawleigh, to a friend of his, for the translating into English, the Booke of Leonard Lessius (that most learned man) entituled, De Prouidentia Numinis, & Animi immortalitate: written against Atheists, and Polititians of these dayes) admits the fictionality of the ghost, whilst the Translator's address to the reader claims that the reason of usinge this Fiction is, because it is well knowne, that Syr Walter, was a man of great Naturall Parts, and yet was suspected of the most foule and execrable crime of Atheisme. How truly, God and himselfe only know; though I must thinke 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers the best of him, & the rather in regard of that most excellent, and learned Description of God, which himselfe setteth downe in the first lines of his History or Cronicle. Now, in regard of his eminency in the world when he was aliue, I am the more easily perswaded, that the very Name of him (by way of this feigned Apparition, and the like answerable Title of the Translation) may beget in many an earnest desire of perusing this Booke; and so become the more profitable. I hope for taking this method, I cannot be iustly blamed; for if I haue offended any, it must be Syr Walter himselfe. But him I haue not wronged, since I do vindicate, & free him from the former blot, as presuming him to be innocent of the suspected Crime. (sig.4r-v) Instead of a seditious rabble-rouser, Ralegh's ghost becomes a means to establish his religious conformity and, more importantly, to make an obscure translation more profitable, whether for the translator or the reader it remains unclear. Meanwhile, The History of the World is diluted into a table of great leaders, and is presented in this form to the heir to the throne, and the only new work by Ralegh is a 'personal' one, reflecting the new politics of 'personal rule'. Though four out of five of these works from the 1630s are cheap pamphlets or pocket books, suggesting a further widening of the audience for works 'by' Ralegh, the nature of the texts themselves seem to argue that wider readership does not entail a challenge to state power, possibly quite the opposite (see Watt, 1991, p. 5). This relative quiet could be said to reveal the triumph of consensus after the crisis and confusion of the late 1620s, or perhaps suggests the triumph of censorship during the 1630s.25 This certainly would support the view of Sharpe who, considering the 'confusion and lack of direction' of the 1629 Parliament, sees the period of personal rule which followed as the logical and welcome response to this disorder in the body politic. Russell (1979, p. 424) also sees the rise in the 'political temperature' of the late 1620s as 'a mood of the moment': 'the overheated atmosphere in which the Petition of Right was passed was one which was unlikely to survive eleven years of the humdrum business of being a JP settling bastardy cases and dealing with militia defaulters'. The 1630s are thus seen as a decade of peace and stability, a political climate that only changed with the Scottish (or British) 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 124 125 problem, when 'political conflict and ideological tension were introduced into a relatively stable England from outside' (Lake, paraphrasing Russell, p. 172). In this model, any upheavals in religion in this decade, in particular the increasing opposition to Arminian practices and their chief exponent, Archbishop Laud, are seen as peripheral to the politics of the time, and thus do not disturb a picture of relatively successful absolute rule. It also depends on an acceptance of Charles' self-presentation during his personal rule as historical reality?6 The transmission history of one of Ralegh's works, his Instructions to his Son, suggests that there are important limitations to this model of political stability and consensus, limitations which are exposed when the crises in religious beliefs and practice during this decade are considered. A decade which saw a new and hugely expanded edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, with 200 pages of new material, three rather than two volumes, a call for new martyrs, and which saw'godly ministers' drawing together in conference to decide what action could and should be taken in response to the Laudian reforms to the national church, must be understood in religious as well as political terms. Whilst the printing history of the Instructions suggest, perhaps, a further movement towards the linking of Ralegh's name with consensus and a traditional political order, it suggests something very different for the climate of the decade itself. The Instructions were Ralegh's most popular work from the 1630s, running to eight editions in the space of four years. 27 They are broken down into ten chapters of fatherly advice, which consider 'choice of friends' and the 'choice of a wife', warn against flattery, verbosity and 'public disputations', and offer tips on the 'care of thy estate', servants, clothes, money and wine. A final short paragraph prays to the son that 'God direct thee in all His ways and fill thy heart with grace'. Latham (in Davis and Gardner, 1959, p. 215) has aptly described the work's dynamic as being 'how to avoid making friends and being influenced by people'. The prime concern is that of a social elite, the control and maintenance of one's private estate, a preoccupation present long before chapter 5, which directly addresses the subject: the chapter on friendship warns that one should not 'endanger thine estate' (p. 19), whilst in the discussion of marriage we are told that if a woman loves you she will care for your estate (pp. 19-20). This is allied with a concern with posterity, defined variously in terms of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers reputation, progeny and estate?8 Ralegh is not interested in any educational programme, indulges in minimal religiosity and, perhaps most significant in terms of the argument of this book, does not advocate an active public life. The absence of these elements quickly eliminates three conventional purposes for the work, the religious, the pedagogical and the political, the last two linked with a humanist tradition of advice. 29 Clearly, in 1609 or thereabouts (the date of writing is not known for sure), Ralegh is not thinking in the terms that would dominate his later prison writings. His concern with the private estate and the offering of advice to his son have encouraged interpretations that emphasise the personal nature of this work, even suggesting that the 'real' Ralegh can be glimpsed through it. This 'real' Ralegh has not been much liked, and critics have sought to explain away, rather than to understand, the 'coldly prudential' tone (Ustick, 1932, p. 434), and the 'vague, conventional, and platitudinous' manner (Latham in Davis and Gardner, 1959, p. 212). The work's originally unpublished status is seen to establish its 'truthfulness' (Ustick, p. 437; Wright, 1962; May, 1989, pp. 21, 68-9), but there is disappointment that in this personal, private work there is little sense of Ralegh's own life: thus 'the autobiographical value of the work is lessened' (Latham, p. 202).30 Latham suggests (p. 216) that Ralegh's autobiographical reticence in the Instructions derived from the absence at this time of 'an adequate means of charting, assessing, and displaying ... personality'. Apart from the fact that elsewhere in his works, and often at entirely inappropriate moments, Ralegh engages in emphatic autobiography, these critics are misunderstanding both the nature of advice as a genre and the status of unpublished texts. 31 It is generically implausible to expect autobiographical experiences to dominate advice: they are usually detached pieces of work, weighty and prescriptive in tone (Helgerson, 1976, pp. 19-20).32 Similarly, as recent scholarship has shown, manuscript, coterie communication was far from 'private'. The original function of Ralegh's work can be understood in terms of his negotiations with the literary models he is using, and in the way he carves out an authoritative voice from them. The Instructions are assured and axiomatic: using the full force of auxiliary verbs, and never using 'if' when he can use 'when', Ralegh convinces the reader of the inevitability of his predictions: 'thy inferiors will follow thee but to eat thee out, and when thou 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 126 127 leavest to feed them, they will hate thee' (19), or 'the desire dieth when it is attained and the affection perisheth when it is satisfied' (21) (my emphasis). The many quotations and references to classical, biblical, or contemporary sources establishes the voice as that of the wise adviser, a Solomon, who draws on both experience and authority to make his pointS.33 This technique would reach maturity in The History of the World: here, in the early years of imprisonment, it is being developed. Ralegh's project can be related to that of his fellow prisoner, the Earl of Northumberland, who also turned to advice writing at this time. Northumberland tells his son that he intends 'to amend in you the errors I have found in myself; perhaps delivered out of glory to see what I could say or out of good will to instruct you what you ought to do, or mixed out of both ends' (1930, p. 73, my emphasis). The Instructions are an early attempt by Ralegh, the prisoner, to find (or to rediscover) an authoritative voice, an early attempt to see what he could say. Northumberland's response to the realisation that imprisonment was permanent was, according to his editor, to create an autobiographical work, one which acted as 'a testament to his son, [giving] some very practical directions on the best way of avoiding his own misfortunes' (1930, p. 36). He was thus working against the grain of the genre, by offering something approaching a 'personal' statement. Ralegh's response was different: it was to begin the process of developing an effective mode of advice, one which fuses pragmatic truth-telling with quotations from authorities. Since the function of fatherly advice was to display the piety, eloquence or political ability of the father, rather than to focus on the son, any personal revelations of Ralegh as a father, are less important than the ways in which the work establishes him as a patriarchal authority figure. Some years before Ralegh entered the field, his monarch had already brought forth his own advice to his young son. In a brief but fascinating article on the printing of Basilikon Doron, Doelman (1994) has explored the political implications of King James' act of publication: his arguments suggest a framework for the understanding of the significance of Ralegh's own Instructions to the 1630s. Basilikon Doron was published in England in 1603 in accordance with the biblical directive that 'that whiche they had spoken in the eare in secret place, should be publiklie preached on the tops of houses' (James 1,1944, p. 12). Doelman shows that the words of this text were vital to the representation of the King, who took time to 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers arrive in London, and then left shortly after because of plague (pp. 1-2). These words were returned to James in different forms, at times in flattery, at times as criticism. 'English readers attempted to govern the King by his own words': in the religious debates of James' early years, readers such as 'the Petitioners and Parliament were, in effect, calling upon their king to be true to his word, or as they frequently put it, 'to be himself'. Indeed, Ralegh does it himself: the first authority quoted in The History of the World is King James. Ralegh's immediate point concerns the 'inconsiderate multitude' who 'condemne without hearing; and wound without offence giuen: led there-unto by vncertaine report only; which his Maiesty truly acknowledgeth for the Author of all lies'. The reader is referred to James' Daemonology. This citation of James as a careful and tolerant judge has a certain irony coming from the pen of a man who had been condemned and wounded, as he believed, without 'offence' and through 'vncertaine report', and Ralegh's invocation can be read as a plea to James to be true to his word. A similar process can be seen at the very end of the History, when, after yet another catalogue of appalling monarchs, the disclaimer is, of course, that his readers are lucky to be ruled by a king who knows his own limits extremely well, a lesson James himself is 'able to conceiue and teach' as a quotation from The true Law of free Monarchies (B774) reveals. Doelman argues that since the King's English subjects had come to know James first through his words, rather than his appearance or actions, it followed that 'those words became the standard against which they measured his later deeds.' (pp. I, 5-6). Publication was therefore a double-edged sword, as George Herbert pointed out: to publish was good because it extended the knowledge of the king beyond Britain, but it was also something that lessened, or at least compromised, James' glory: Truly thou wast borne before in our hearts; but thou wishest also to be thumbed in our hands; and laying aside thy majesty, thou. dost offer thyself to be gazed upon on paper, that thou mayst be more intimately conversant among us. 34 Basilikon Doron, Doelman concludes, ultimately 'gave over to his subjects the power to interpret and direct their own king' (p. 7).35 If the King's authority is conflated with the authority of his word (or, indeed, his divine authority is conflated with that of The Word), 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 128 129 then publication of the King's words not only disseminates the King's power, but it permits it to be interpreted. The political implications of this potential conflict between loci of authority, Crown and Bible, were to become evident to many as the century progressed. It is in this context that the publication of the Instructions in the 1630s, the decade of personal rule, the decade in which Charles I attempted to establish himself as the model patriarch, father, husband and king, becomes significant. The popularity of the Instructions should be viewed as a further stage in the establishment of Ralegh as an authority figure, in negotiation with, but not necessarily in opposition to, the patriarchal authority of Charles I. The notion of patriarchal authority was the ultimate foundation of both domestic and civil order: the ideal of a divinely ordained cosmic order, at the heart of which was the patriarchal family remained 'virtually unquestioned and all pervasive throughout the early-modem period' (Underdown, 1985, pp. 9_10).36 Yet it is important to acknowledge that it was an 'ideal' which could be modified and challenged, that it was politically 'live'. Ralegh himself negotiates with the concept in different ways through his career. He offers a succinct analysis of the ideal connection between patriarchy and government in The History of the World: The rule of the husband over the wife, and of parents over their children, is naturall, and appointed by God himselfe; so that it is alwayes, and simply, allowable and good. The former of these, is as the dominion of Reason over Appetite; the latter is the whole authoritie, which one Freeman can have over another. The rule of a King is no more,nor none other, than of a common Father over his whole country: which he that knowes what the power of a (1634, B326) Father is, or ought to be, knowes to be enough. Even in this definition, however, some tensions can be glimpsed, in the statements that a king is 'no more' than a father, and that there are qualities that this father 'ought to' have'. In his final prose work, a Discourse of War, Ralegh offers a more openly problematic definition of patriarchal power: the King is a father, but if the family is overrun with sin, then utter ruin will follow, and if there is immorality, then the government will falter. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers All kingdoms being but the connection of families, the prince thereof is truly termed the father of the country, the grand paterfamilias, the great master of the household. Now if the domestics of a family be overrun with the deadly sin of pride and luxury, sloth and rapine, it is a fair sign of its utter ruin. Thus is the larger rule of government there is the like dangers of ruin, where the ministers and public officers, who are the hands of a nation, are basely corrupted, serving the public no further than it serves their own interest .... they had better never have been born'. (Works, VIll, 282) Kevin Sharpe (1992, pp. 183-5) has shown in detail how the 'royal family was obviously central to Charles' sense of self', how Charles' conception of his harmonious family life was linked to his contemplation of 'a larger social order and of government', how the 'representation of his family was the representation of his government'. This is clearly true, but Sharpe also argues (p. 188) that it was 'the happy circumstances and practice of domestic government in Charles's reign that empowered the representation with reality'. This easy link between royal image-making and public response does not convince since the concept of patriarchy which underpins it was open to subversion, as the strange transmission history of the Instructions during the 1630s suggests. 37 A new text, The Religious and Dutifull Advice of a loving sonne to his aged Father, was added to the work in the third and subsequent editions. This work is almost certainly not by Ralegh, but the edition makes no attempt to clarify authorship. Moreover, there is some rather sketchy evidence that Chapter 10, the most overtly religious section of the Instructions, was only appended to the work in the printed edition of 1632.38 These two moves seem to suggest that a substantial element of religiosity was attached belatedly to Ralegh's predominantly secular work. Ralegh's own instructions are characterised by pragmatism rather than piety: cruelty to one's wife is advised against not because cruelty is in itself wicked, but· because it 'engendereth no other thing than hatred' (p. 22). It is better to satisfy one's 'appetite' with 'a mistress than in a wife, for when thy humor shall change thou art yet free to choose again' (p.21). The addition of The Advice of a loving Sonne to his aged Father may be spurious, its pious fervour (including some 'weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth', p. 35) sitting awkwardly alongside Ralegh's 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 130 131 laconic cynicism, but the publishing history of the work (seven editions in four years) testify to the success of this combination of texts, suggesting that the works were seen to complement each other. The Advice of a loving Sonne is a highly emotional piece, framed in the language of apocalypse and judgement, an attack on 'evening Repenters' (p. 51) and a call to prepare for death, imagining the elderly father seeing 'the gastly Dragon, and the huge gulph of hell, breaking out with most fearfull flames'. Most importantly, the son urges repentance upon the father. It is now more than a seasonable time to alter the course of so unthriving a husbandry, and to enter into the field of GODS church in which, sowing the seed of repentant sorrow, and watering them with the teares of humble contrition, you may heereafter reape more beneficial harvest, and gather the fruites of everlasting comfort. (sig.C2r) The repentance must come before the God of revenge exacts his punishment. Oh! no, no, the wounds of his most sacred body so oft rubbed, and renewed by our sinnes, and every part and parcell of our bodies so divers, and sundrie wayes abused, will bee then as so many whetstones and incentives to edge and exasperat his most just revenge against vs. (sig.CBr) The response of the loving son highlights the duties of the patriarch as well as his rights, these reciprocal obligations potentially carrying political significance (see Peck, 1991, p. 214). The response highlights not the patriarch as representative of God, but as the potential victim of his wrath. As with the work of Scott, the Instructions are a fusion of two modes of thought and style, the secular and aristocratic with the religious and popular. They exemplify Morrill's hypothesis about the dual nature of the following decade: 'while the civil war was a defensive political operation, a defence of existing liberties against an arbitrary king, it was an aggressive religious operation, a challenge to the whole of the existing structure and practice' (1993, pp. 13-14). The Instructions thus have a significance beyond that of their original occasion, and beyond what they reveal about Ralegh's 'authority'. Harnessed to apocalyptic religious polemic, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers they can be seen to contribute to the ongoing debate about whether Charles I, the exemplary husband and father, was the only embodiment of 'successful' patriarchal government. The son offers a critique of a secularised model of society based on one's material estate, offering instead a more individualistic model based on redemption. Whilst recent research, most notably that of Comad Russell, has shown that there is no easy correlation between political allegiances in the pre-civil war period and the choice of sides in the war itself, this should not lead to a simplistic denial of the interrelationship between the two periods. As Coward points out (in Jones et al., 1986, pp. 9-39), if one emphasises conservatism and consensus, then it makes it 'more difficult than before to explain the radical escalation of events in the 1640s'. Whilst it appears that Ralegh's more politically provocative texts and the more politically provocative interpretations were contained during the 1630s, his voice nevertheless continued to be heard. 39 The title given to the work when it was published in 1632 underlines the point: it became Sir Walter Raleighs Instrvction to his Sonne and to Posteritie. Words have become Ralegh's posterity, and his posterity has become a larger concept than his own biological son: it has grown into the reading public, those who will judge Ralegh (and his persecutors). Moreover, works were being yoked together to create new political agendas. If, as Kevin Sharpe argues (in Sharpe and Lake, 1994, p. 135), Charles was forced to become a rhetorician, forced to enter the battle for validating discourses, only in the 1640s, he was entering the battle late. Ralegh himself, for one, was established as a figure of authority in tension with other authoritative voices, not least that of the King. This process intensifies during the following decades, dominated by war and upheaval, but not in an entirely straightforward way. A hint of what was to come can be found in the Printer's introduction to the Instructions. He argues that the work was not intended for the public, but justifies his act of publication by taking on the power of Imperial Rome, comparing himself to Augustus who decreed that Aeneas should live against the wishes of his author, Virgil (sig.Blr-v). During the 1640s and 1650s, the printer would join Ralegh himself, his readers, and his re-formers in establishing the nature of textual politics. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 132 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s 133 NOTES 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. It is generally accepted that there was an increase in books and readers during these decades, but the extent of literacy and the readerships for different kinds of books both remain unclear. Underdown, 1985, p. 1, comments on the 'massive illiteracy of the English population. Male illiteracy averaged about 70 per cent in the rural areas; women were even less likely to be literate'. Others, such as Friedman (1994, p. 5) argue that 'literacy was common'. See Watt, 1991, pp. 3-4, and Woolf, 1990, p. 245, for analyses which stress consensus. See Jardine, 1993, for the argument that the printing house was an agent for change. Somerville, 1986, p. 43, and Goldberg, 1983, p. 69n, have Ralegh as a conservative absolutist, whilst Cust, 1987, pp. 155-7, and Hill, 1965, position him as a proto-radical. A rare exception is the copy owned by the Earl of Strafford, now in the Sheffield Central Library, Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments, MSS 1, ff.95-130. This copy has been dated by the librarian to approximately 1617, which explains the lack of epitaph, but does not explain the unique absence of annotations or ascription. British Library, Additional MS 34631, for example, contains not only the Dialogue but also personal letters, including Ralegh's farewell letter to his wife, details of the 1603 trial, and Ralegh's Short Apology for his Guiana voyage. The transcriber of Exeter College, MS 139, despite an incorrect dating, emphasises Ralegh's position as author/prisoner, entitling the work: 'A Dialogue ... of the Successe of ParliamIs since the conquest to this time written in the Tower of London by Sir Walter Raleigh and dedicated to King James our soueraigne Lord. In Anno 1610.' The version in Exeter College, MS 139 mentioned above is found in a collection of parliamentary material. For a very different interpretation of Eliot and his activities during this period, see K. Sharpe, 1992, pp. 60-1,678-9, who contrasts Eliot's unscrupulousness with Charles' personal integrity and consistency. For analyses of the Petition's effectiveness see Hulme, 1957, pp. 168-9, who argues that Eliot weakens his case by not naming names, but that despite this failing the work was influential, setting the tone for the Petition of Right in its policy of 'impersonal attack'. Cust, 1987, p. 170, sees Eliot's petition as 'the most effective response that could have been made to the propaganda of the Crown'. Sommerville, 1986, p. 149, draws Hoskins and Eliot together in his chapter on 'The Liberty of the Subject' bracketing the two men as 'anti-absolutists' who having 'shown that subjects possessed property in their goods by the law of the land ... were able to argue that taxation without consent was nothing more than theft'. In his copy of the Dialogue, Eliot has marked the Justice's comment 'but for my body, my Minde vallues it att nothing'. The words come in response to the Counsellor's demand as to what the Justice hopes to gain from the work. For discussions of the crucial issue of con- 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 1. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers science see Keith Thomas in Morrill et al., 1993, pp. 29-56; and Cust and Hughes, 1989, pp. 88-9. Sommerville, 1986, pp. 58-9 writes that Eliot, in the 1629 Parliament, used Plutarch (always useful for attacking absolutism) on Antiochus 'to support a radically anti-absolutist contention: royal officers who acted against law and justice could always be resisted by the king's subjects'. Holstun, 1992, p. 519 argues that 'the opposition to Buckingham employed a deferential rhetoric focusing on evil counsellors misleading the king, but Charles' implication in the controversy was clear to contemporaries'. From the Diary of Bulstrode Whitelocke, quoted by J. N. Ball, in K. Sharpe, 1974, pp. 190-l. See Somerville, 1986, pp. 134 ff for a useful discussion of the issue of prerogative. Russell, 1979, p. 362, accepts that the word 'prerogative' was being interpreted in different ways in the late 1620s. See Holstun, 1992, p. 543, who argues that the murder of Buckingham was 'a principled, ideologically motivated act that called for similar principled acts of solidarity with it, and helped a nascent political opposition articulate for itself a conception of the limits of monarchical power, and of the historical and religious grounds for resistance'. Peck, 1991, p. 26, analyses the nature of Buckingham's activities. For the alternative view that prophetic preaching 'assumed and underwrote the social and political order, offering no challenge to it', see Collinson, 1991, pp. 17-18. See B. Manning, 1991, p. 56 for responses to the blazing star at the time of the Root and Branch petition. James' poem is dated 28 October 1618, strangely enough a few weeks before the star actually appeared. Ralegh was executed on 29 October. Assessment of Scott's religious beliefs, and the political implications of those beliefs, differ. See Walsham, 1994, p. 79, Cust and Hughes, 1989, pp. 89-90, and Norbrook, 1986, p. 87: the latter article provides a conceptual framework for Scott's militantly Protestant ideas. Examples of Ralegh's aggressively anti-Spanish foreign policy are easy to find. A typical example reads: 'But as the Turke is now counterpoised by the Persian, so in stead of so many Millions as haue beene spent by the English, French, and Neatherlands in a defensiue war, and in diuersions against them, it is easie to demon- _ strate, that with the charge of two hundred thousand pound continued but for two yeares or three at the most, they may not only be perswaded to liue in peace, but all their swelling and ouerflowing streames may be brought backe into their naturall channels and old bankes' (B775). For a discussion of the Forced Loan and its significance, see Cust, 1987, especially pp. 1-6. For an opposing view of the events of these years, which nevertheless brings out the importance of war, see Russell, 1979, who concludes (p. 423) that the 'political difficulties 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 134 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 135 of the early years of his [Charles'] reign, then, appear to be first and foremost, not the difficulties of a bad King, but the difficulties of a nation reluctantly at war'. See also Walsham, 1994, p. 81: 'late Jacobean preachers began to attribute past and impending catastrophes to England's invasion of her responsibility to relieve her afflicted Protestant cousins abroad and royal hesitation to take action to recover the Palatinate, to the scandal of the Spanish match and the government's connivance at the idolatry committed by its Catholic subjects.' One version of Ralegh's speech from the scaffold (British Library MS Harley 1327), which is found amongst a collection of parliamentary speeches from the mid1620s, receives a strongly anti-Spanish gloss: 'Sr Walter Raleigh his speech at his death: being therunto hunted by bloodthirsty Count de Gondomara the Spanish Ambassador' (f.55r) and the transcript ends with the comment 'Farewell brave Raleigh' (f.56v). William Hunt's work, in Grafton and Blair, 1990, pp. 204-37, is equally relevant. He has shown that popular chivalry was used as a justification for fighting on parliament's side, but also acknowledges (p. 206) the social confusion implicit in the political debate: in one 1642 pamphlet the treacherous aristocracy are condemned, ironically, for their absence of bourgeious values such as thrift. He concludes (p. 208) that this is 'an especially complex and paradoxical case of cultural transmission' whereby chivalry, which is an aristocratic code, based on inherited social status and nobility, is also open to a different conception of honour which is earned through virtuous deeds. Moreover, the image of the godly soldier which he discusses, 'irresistably calls to mind the self-image of the soldiers of the New Model Army' (p. 224): thus 'the moral code of chivalric service has been recast in terms of Protestant eschatology, and the ranks of the warrior elite opened up to men of "relatively" low birth, but lofty character' (p. 225). Kevin Sharpe (in Sharpe and Lake, 1994, p. 134) argues that 'there was no effective control of literary production' during the 1630s, but that this was not a problem since the 'king had triumphed over debate'. This idea is echoed by Woolf, 1990, pp. 243-7, who argues that the 1630s were a period of continued political stability and little historical writing, because 'historians were running out of things to write about'. Woolf, 1990, p. 54 is wrong to argue that Tubus Historicus highlights an 'apocalyptic scheme'. This was probably based on Almansor the Learned and Victorious King that Conquered Spaine, His Life and Death published by Robert Ashley (1627) which was a translation of a Spanish romance by a fictional Arabian author, Ali Abencufian. During the seventeenth century, however, Almanzor was seen as a real figure in history. See, for example, one of Dorothy Osborne's letters to William Temple (1987, p. 284, n.4) Ashley's account, dedicated to Charles I, is far more detailed than the one ascribed to Ralegh ten years later. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 16205 and 16305 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers In his Personal Rule, 1992, p. 643, Sharpe insists both that censorship was ineffectual and that the machinery of censorship was weak, a conclusion that the transmission histories of both The History of the World and Ralegh's speech from the scaffold during the 1610s seem to support. The conclusion he draws for the 1630s is, however, that there cannot, therefore, have been much opposition, which of course underlines his commitment to the concept of a pre-civil war period characterised by consensus. Similarly, Sharpe (pp. 650-1) continually emphasises that each 'new' attempt to control publication and dissemination was not in fact new, and thus remained ineffectual. Again this is seen as a sign that censorship was not truly needed. Yet it is equally possible that censorship remained ineffectual in the face of concerted efforts to circumvent it, and that stagnant policymaking, and the ineffectual implementation of what policies there were, might signal a government unable to control dissent On pp. 652-3, Sharpe has to admit that unlicensed books had a certain appeal (what he calls 'the Lady Chatterley factor'), but he attributes the success of these books to 'market forces'. Whether it was ideology or 'market forces' that inspired the production and dissemination of unlicensed texts, texts which were produced despite the threat and actuality of corporal punishment and imprisonment, Sharpe cannot deny that the trade existed and indeed flourished. Indeed, he admits that, by the end of the 1630s, Charles had realised that it was 'important to communicate to a popular audience an official account to offset false rumours' (p. 653). See Thomas May's description of an England in the 1630s which 'seemed happie in that tranquillity', whose Lords and Gentlemen 'did nothing but applaud the happiness of England, calling those ingrateful and factious spirits, who complained of the breach of Laws and Liberties; that the Kingdom abounded with wealth, plenty, and all kinde of elegancies, more then ever; and, that it was the honour of a people, that their Monarch should live spendidly, and not be curbed at all in his Prerogative, & c.' The bathetic 'et cetera' exposes this golden image of the 1630s as a sham (1655, p. 5). There were three editions in both 1632 and 1633 and one in 1634 and 1636. Other advices include those of Martyn (1612), Breton (1621) and King James himself. Ustick, 1932, argues for the pious nature of much advice literature. An option explored by Latham is that of the last will and testament, a purpose claimed by King James in Basilikon Doran, sig.A6b, and by Henry Percy. May, 1989, follows Latham's dating of 1603-5 and her general approach, that this is a personal text written at a moment of crisis, but one which is nevertheless based on literary sources rather than experience. This dating, and the idea of personal crisis, are more appropriate to a letter from Ralegh to his son discovered by Latham. This letter is certainly preoccupied with imminent death, and can be 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 136 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 137 placed alongside the more famous letters that Ralegh wrote to his wife when facing execution. May, however, cannot argue that the Instructions themselves are equally charged with feeling. The 1603-5 dating, in its insistence on personal crisis as the motivating factor, does not sit easily with his analysis of the Instructions as a formulaic work. This is a point echoed, and implicitly regretted, by both May, 1989, pp. 69-70, and Latham. See, for example, Lord Burghley's approach in Osborne, 1962. The stance tends to be: do this or you are not my son, familiar from Henry Percy and King James, or a variation, found in more overtly pious works such as those of Martyn and Breton, do this or else God will punish you. Sharpe says that James' writing were his attempt to bring the wisdom of Solomon to his people (in Sharpe and Lake, 1994, p. 125). Ralegh is thus a player in the contest for the ownership of this wisdom. Oration to King James, 18 May 1618, in Herbert, Complete Works in Verse and Prose (1982, ill, 449): cited by DoeIman. See also Goldberg (1983, p. 91) who argues that James' words carried a 'spiritual weight; they were meant to impress his son, to make him an imitation of his word', and K. Sharpe (in Sharpe and Lake, 1994, pp. 137-8) who discusses Charles I's Eikon Basilike as an unproblematic conflation of the King's own words with Holy Writ, which thus bestows authority on the King. See also Collinson, 1991, chapter 3 on 'The Protestant Family' for a clear analysis of the importance of the concept and its wide-ranging application as a theory of social and political relationships, and Goldberg, 1983, especially 'Fatherly Authority: Politics of the Family', pp. 85-112. Goldberg points out (pp. 85-6) that, since the ideal state imitates the patriarchalism of the family, the family is thus a public unit. Lake, 1994, p. 178, makes a similar point about Russell's analysis of the actions of King Charles in the early 1640s. Russell is described as 'positively Culpepper-like in his capacity and/or desire to take Charles' newly found moderation at face value'. Ralegh textual scholarship is always a fraught business. There are only two extant manuscript versions of this work, one of which postdates the printed version of 1632. Add. MS 22587, ff.11-16 contains material that is not in the printed edition (a personal allusion in chapter 1 to the Earls of Southampton and Essex), but omits chapter 10. This manuscript is considered by Latham (in Davis and Gardner, 1959), but ignored by Wright in his 1962 edition. MS Harley 6534, ff.102-3 reproduces limited extracts from the published edition of the text (including the advice from the son to the father) as part of a sequence of theological pieces. The state's attempt to control private papers during the 1630s is considered briefly by K. Sharpe, 1992, pp. 655-8. But Ralegh during his life, and his family after his death, continued to circulate and to 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers publish texts. Bess Ralegh, his wife, attempted to maintain control of Ralegh's papers after his death (see her letter to Lady Carew, Nov (?) 1618, in Edwards, 1868, ll, 413-4) and that she succeeded to some extent is revealed by the comment 0n the top of Sir Roger Twysden's copy of the Dialogue, dated 1622: 'the lady Ralegh did assure me this was her husbands doeing'. Carew, Sir Walter's son, was probably involved with the publication of the Instructions, and the 1650 Judicious and Select Essayes were dedicated to him. Later still, in 1702, Philip Ralegh published a collection of Three Discourses. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 138 6 'And if they make reply . .. ' Back in the 161Os, and most obviously in 1618, it was Ralegh himself who represented contested ground, as the King and his ministers sought to silence their prisoner's troublesome selfjustificatory publications, or to foist a correct reading of his imprisonment and execution upon a sceptical public. Through the 1620s and 1630s, Ralegh was used in different ways, by different people, to develop new ideas which often challenged the monarch's power. During the following two decades, the project of constructing a voice of authority, most clearly visible in The History of the World, had come to fruition: Ralegh had become an authority himself, cited, applauded, imitated, challenged and, during the 1650s, relentlessly published by mainstream printers and booksellers. Many of the politicians and writers seen as important to this period, such as Cromwell, Milton, Lilburne and Bradstreet, negotiated in one way or another with Ralegh and his written work, which had now achieved canonical status. This chapter sets out to examine these and other responses to Ralegh during these decades of remarkable political change. r want to start with four textual events which appear to continue the processes outlined so far in this book. The first is the publication in 1640 of two new editions of the Dialogue, with its oblique hints about the potential violence of the people and its less oblique call for the removal of evil counsellors. Even more acutely than in 1628, Ralegh's text could be related to this new crisis: evil counsellors, Laud and Strafford, were being delivered up to the people; the Southwark apprentices had tried to tear down HenriettaMaria's chapel; and 'the multiplied evils & corruption of sixteen yeers strengthned by custome and authority, and the concurrent interest of many powerfull delinquents were now to bee brought to 139 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Re-forming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers judgement and Reformation' (A Remonstrance, 1641, p. 15). What had been latent in Ralegh's fictional dialogue was now being acted out. Elsewhere, readers were being given lessons in the praxis of political theory. My second text is a commentary attached to one of the works attributed to Ralegh during this period, the Maxims of State (which first appeared in 1642 and then regularly over the following years), a pocket reference book of political aphorisms. Entitled A Method, how to make use of the Book before, in the reading of the Story, the commentary provides a method of reading the Bible as political history underlining once again the interconnections between the religious and the political, between the Bible and history (one and the same thing to most in the seventeenth century). The reader is encouraged, for example, to consider King David's marriage, at aged 70, to Abishag, in terms of the maxim that 'old age is not ever unfit for publick government'. The next task for the reader is to provide an example (Charles V is offered as a suggestion), an observation, an affirmation, a negative and finally a defence (pp. 67-70). The commentary thus acts as a primer in political debate, using the Bible as textbook. This is a handbook for the newly politicised reader, and Ralegh's name is linked to a way of reading which encourages interpretation and debate, and which stresses the connection between theory and action. 1 Six years later, in 1648, Ralegh's speech from the scaffold, a work which had previously circulated only in manuscript, was published in a format which followed that of the majority of manuscript versions, placing the execution narrative alongside accounts of the 1603 trial and the 1618 arraignment, and adding a selection of letters to King James and Bess, Ralegh's wife. The reader is encouraged through this bringing together of texts to come to the conclusion, familiar from 1618, that Ralegh was the victim of Stuart injustice. When, in 1656, Carew Ralegh defended his father's reputation in a pamphlet, he could refer his readers to both the 'arraignment' and the Guiana 'Apology, now in print, and to be had every where,. 2 Finally, in a text published in 1652 but written during the civil war period, Ralegh the historian would be invoked by the author of A Cat may look upon a King, a history which offers an extremely synoptic survey of the kings of England. The Cat's tone and concision can be gathered from the verdict on Henry ill (p. 12): A Chip of the old block, for no oath could bind him; Jealous of the I 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 140 141 Nobility, brings in strangers, despiseth all Councell in Parliament, wastes all the Treasure of the Kingdome in Civil Wars, sells his Plate and Jewels and pawnes his Crowne.' The Cat encourages his readers to study Ralegh, whom he admires on account of· his accessible language, his condemnations of princes and the manner of his death. Ralegh is positioned as a predecessor to the author of A Cat, who justifies his own work by asserting most explicitly the connection between history writing and political action: 'The Common people of this kingdome cannot attend to read Chronicles, and they are the major part whom it concerns.... In this little Book, I would haue them hereafter know for whom and for what they fight, and pay' (p. 33).3 These four examples demonstrate not only Ralegh's continuing relevance as historian, martyr and political writer to the political culture of the 1640s and beyond, but further illustrate the processes outlined so far in this book: Ralegh's public voice continues to develop, speaking to and for a constantly changing notion of the people. This is perhaps not surprising in the 1640s, given the rapid expansion in readership caused by the relaxation of censorship and the concomitant publishing explosion of 1640/1, and the expansion of the political base over the period as a whole. The development of a newly politicised reading public has been described by Nigel Smith (1994) in his authoritative study of the 1640s and 1650s, and, as Corns (1992, p. 2) points out, 'securing the opinion of the reading public became almost an obsession in the political life of the nation in the 1640s, facilitated at least temporarily by a collapse in effective control,.4 Ralegh, however, had almost no part to play in the various radical literary and political cultures that developed during the 1640s, a culture of 'writing, printing, posting to and fro' (as Anne Bradstreet described it, 1969, p. 186). Political debate in this period was being conducted with a speed and urgency never seen before. For example, Thomas Edward's Gangraena, a truly interactive text, was relentlessly re-worked, at each stage demanding participation from and urging action upon its readership. The same author's Antapologia received hostile printed responses even before it was in circulation, vividly illustrating a vigorous and pro-active print culture. Hughes and Peters, who have analysed these processes in detail, conclude that 'printing polemic was an urgent necessity not an abstract response to academic issues': texts were produced as 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Reforming Ralegh: the 16405 and 16505 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers immediate responses to events, often in response to other printed polemic. Meanwhile, theoretical notions of the people were far outstripping anything that Ralegh might have written or even hinted at. A pamphlet of 1644, Jus Populi, discusses the nature of 'potestas', and uses historical examples familiar from Ralegh's work but to very different effect: Rehoboam is not merely ineffectual, he exhibits the 'usual rapine and insolence of kings', whilst David is used not to excuse a white lie but to justify tyrannicide (p. 46).5 Three years later, Ralegh's own History of the World was once again brutally reduced from its original form, this time to a narrative of 'the cruel war between the Carthaginians and their own Mercenaries' (1647). The bare historical narrative, expunged of the politically contentious discussions of tyranny and mercenary armies, is preceded by the apposite tag from Ecclesiastes that 'there is no new thing under the Sun'. Ralegh and his texts still have a part to play in the textual politics of the 1640s, but it is a minor part, and one overshadowed by the speed and urgency of political culture.6 By the early 1650s, however, another shift had taken place: a spate of 'new' works, by Ralegh and attributed to him, appeared in print, creating a canon of secondary texts to complement The History of the World which maintained its remarkable popularity, with three editions appearing in 1652 alone. Yet Ralegh's relative non-engagement with the political crises of the 1640s acts as a warning to treat his role in the culture of the 1650s with care. Aubrey may have reported the rumour that Ralegh wanted to 'sett up a commonwealth' on the death of Elizabeth (1898, IT, 186), and in our own century, Christopher Hill may have made highly influential claims about Ralegh's status as a proto-Republican, admired by Milton and 'most English radicals' (1977, p. 61), but in fact these claims do not reflect the evidence? The spate of publications connected with his name (some of them actually written by him) which appeared in the early 1650s clearly show that Ralegh is once again relevant to the political culture. However, the provenance of, and the interpretative acts connected with, the texts published in this period demand the recognition of the many different ways in which Ralegh is used to further a variety of political causes. Overall, the transmission histories of the texts from these two decades suggest a complex picture, from which emerges no single political identity but instead a number of fascinating interpretive trajectories. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 142 Reforming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s 143 Vox Plebis or The Peoples Out-cry Against Oppression, Injustice, and Tyranny. Wherein the Liberty of the Subject is asserted, Magna Charta briefly but pithily expounded. Lieutenant Colonell Lilburnes Sentence published and refuted. Committees arraigned, Gaolers condemned, and remedies provided. London printed 1646. in the sitting of Parliament; during which time the Presse ought to be free and open, as the Parliament declared to the Bishops at the beginning thereof. This is not the Vox Populi of Thomas Scott, which represented a complete political community, but Vox Plebis, the voice of the plebeians, the common people. Themes which had concerned Ralegh at various points during his lifetime, such as Magna Carta, false imprisonment, the nature of parliamentary power, and freedom of speech, coalesce and are transformed into a radical manifesto. What was latent in the content of Ralegh's Dialogue is brought to the surface: by 1646, the Levellers had moved far beyond Ralegh's careful suggestion, embedded within a dialogue which appeared to support the legitimacy of monarchical government, that 'Potestas humana radicatur in voluntatibus hominum (S.P. 14.85, pp. 15-16). Vox Plebis offers a legalistic but highly readable exposition of the rights of the subject and of the physical power of the people, again a latent power recognised by Ralegh in his Dialogue. The First Agreement of the People of October 1647 and the Humble Petition of September 1648 showed how far the Levellers were willing to take these ideas, and the massacre of the Levellers at Burford demonstrated how far others were prepared to go to stop them. 8 Despite the defeat of the Levellers, this period saw the clearest expression of, and action upon, the belief that 'the people are, under God, the original of all just power' as the Commons' Resolution of 4 January 1649 expressed it. Vox Plebis thus takes Ralegh's ideas (most obviously those in the Dialogue) to their logical extremes: at the same time, in its invocation of a vengeful God, it echoes the techniques of The History, and it is this work that is cited in order to validate the pamphlet's 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 My starting point is, however, one of the most genuinely radical readings of The History of the World, the Leveller movement's use of Ralegh 'in a Republican way to comment upon free states in Greece' (Smith, 1994, p. 150). The full title of the work is the ambitious and wordy: Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers demands. Thus in terms of both form (a news pamphlet) and content, this is Ralegh speaking for the people to the people, or at least a broader conception of the people than had ever been attempted before. Yet, if the details are considered, this claim can be somewhat finetuned: the changes made, necessarily, to Ralegh by the Levellers not only reveal the gaps between their respective political views, but offer a glimpse of a praxis of interpretation. Ralegh is only one of the numerous authorities (ranging from fables to Machiavelli, from the Bible to Seneca) who are brought in to justify the claim that No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseised of his Free-hold, or Liberties, or free Customes, or be out-Iawed, or exiled, or any otherwise destroyed: nor we will not passe upon him, nor condemne him but by lawfull judgement of his PEERES, or by the law of the land. In these few words lies conched [sic] the liberty of the whole English Nation. (p. 10) If the Ralegh citations are examined, a radical reading for action appears, since Vox Plebis is nothing if not a call to action. Ralegh's cynicism had been rooted out by the Levellers in order to produce the idealistic Vox Plebis: they also replaced Ralegh's linguistic relativism with a confident assertion of the stability of words such as liberty and justice. These things we alleadge not, as if we suspected any of you (0 ye noble Patriots) to be guilty of any of these crimes, that may either hazard the continuing of the present Government, or destroy the publike liberty; but to awake you, and put you in mind to provide fit remedies against these growing evills, whereby you may procure safety and peace to the Commonwealth, and everlasting honour to your own Names and Posterities, for they are to be thought worthy of honour, not which begin, but well end honourable Actions. (p. 66) Substantial quotation is needed in order to understand the relationship between the two texts. The first reference to Ralegh in Vox Plebis is as follows: For where a State holds their subjects under the condition of slaves, the conquest thereof is easie, and soon assured. And 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 144 Reforming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s 145 The reference is to a section in Book V of The History entitled 'Of Philip the father of Perseus, King of Macedon', which concerns the nature of Roman military power, the proliferation of wars at the time and the nature and causes of Pyrrhic victories. 9 Its message is typical of Ralegh: even when harsh empires have huge armies they are not always successful in maintaining their power, and they themselves will become the conquered: for example, the Assyrians or Chaldeans invade the Kingdom of the Medes with 200,000 foot and 60,000 horse 'but failing in their intended conquest they became subject within a while themselves unto the Medes and Persians' (B501). At first sight, the concerns of Ralegh in The History and the author(s) of Vox Plebis appear to mesh: harsh, oppressive regimes can (will?) fall and those who have been oppressed will revenge themselves. But the practical interpretation of this phenomenon is different in the two works. Ralegh writes: But Princes are often carried away from reason, by misseunderstanding the language of Fame: and despising the vertue that makes little noyse, adventure to provoke it against themselves; as if it were not possible that their owne glorie should be foiled by any of less-noted excellence. (B501) His point concerns the pride of princes who cannot bear their subjects to have any glory, and he goes on to argue that great empires must finish off their enemies when they are down. A printed marginal comment refers the reader, predictably, to the English inability to finish off the Spaniards, thus proving the Armada to be a Pyrrhic victory by analogy. In other words, Ralegh is concerned to show how great empires, however oppressive they may be, can maintain their power if only they follow his advice. Vox Plebis uses the example in a very different way, in order to validate a view of history in which those who conquer will in turn be conquered, thus giving hope to those suffering under oppression, as opposed to giving tactical tips to the oppressors. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 when a forced Government shall decay in strength, it will suffer as did the old Lion for the opprssion [sic] done in his youth, being pinched by the World, goared by the Bull, and kickt also by the Asse, as Sir Walter Raleigh, 1.5.fo1.501. wittily observes. (p.63) Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Shortly after this passage, The History is referred to again. The pamphlet asks, 'How many flourishing States have been ruined by the Avarice, Pride, Cruelty, and non-observance of the lawes by the Governours?' (p. 64), but goes on to give a positive account of the people freeing themselves from oppression through co-operation with other states, as for example the Thebans freeing themselves from the Spartans. The reader is referred to the Third Book of The History (p. 65) which is concerned with Persian oppression of the Greeks. Ralegh's approach to his material and the issues is at one and the same time far more cynical and yet far more confused than that of Vox Plebis. For example, in chapter 5, section 7, which concerns the Ionian Rebellion, he argues that the Greek colonies had 'enjoyed' their 'liberty' for 500 years, but the Persians then made them 'Tributaries'. Thus the Ionians and other Grecians sought 'by all meanes possible to free themselves'. This may sound like the language of Vox Plebis, but Ralegh goes on to analyse in the most cynical terms the political intrigue which leads to the Ionian revolt, a revolt stirred up by the 'tyrants', who orchestrate the revolt because they want to stay in Greece rather than travelling to Persia to pay homage to Darius. Similarly, the joining together of Athens with the Ionians is seen as the result of a bribe (B44-5). The passage reveals Ralegh's essential blurring of key terms such as liberty and tyranny: tyrants are only so-called tyrants, liberty is mentioned and then forgotten, and above all it is unclear, as it were, who the winners and losers are. It also illustrates Ralegh's recognition of realpolitik and his minimisation of ideology, which further sets him apart from the author(s) of Vox Plebis. Chapter 8 continues in this vein, concerned as it is with the delicate balance of power between all the states until Philip and Alexander (whose forefathers had bin dependants, and followers, yea almost meere Vassals to the Estates of Athens and Sparta) found means, by making use of their factions, to bring them all into servitude, from which they never could be free, till the Romans presenting them with a shew of libertie, did themselves indeed become their Masters. (B88) Ralegh's language, emphasising here the illusory nature of political freedom, the 'shew of libertie', suggests the ultimate futility of resistance: political concepts are only words, political reversals are inevitable. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 146 147 When this aspect of Ralegh's work is emphasised it is hard to see how he can be useful as a rallying cry in the 1640s, yet Vox Plebis uses him as such. In chapter 11, section 11, of Book ill, entitled 'How the Thebans recovered their libertie, driving out the Lacedaemonian Garrison', the Thebans do indeed find a way to 'shake off their yoake, and gave both example and meanes to others to doe the like'. This is the crucial line in terms of the Vox Plebis argument, and one has to work hard to find it. It is quickly superseded by Ralegh's almost farcical account of a plot involving warriors dressing up as female prostitutes and killing the enemy in flagrante delicto (Bl18-19), and then by some· fulsome praise of Epanimondas, Ralegh's model of military heroism (B126-7). All this suggests that those who cited the History were, on the one hand, very careful readers, and on the other, rather unscrupulous in their citations. They were content to ignore what did not . fit with their purposes, simply taking key ideas out of context. This is apparent in the final use of Ralegh in Vox Plebis, towards the end of a passionate statement of purpose, which underlines the pamphlet's claim to speak for the people: And we beseech you, not to take it in ill part from us, that we offer our humble advices to you in these particulars; Since we the people, conceive it our duty, to shew unto our Governours, that good, which by reason of the malignity of the times and of fortune, we have not been able to do our selves; to the end, that you our Senators, being given to understand thereof, some of your whom God shall more favour, may put it in practise for the publike good. Neither is our opinion to be despised: For it is a sure Maxime, that the people are of as clear judgment in all things that concern the Publique, as any, and as wise, and circumspect concerning (p. 67) their liberties, and as capable of the truth they heare. The culmination of this passage is a restatement of what the writers 'know' and what they 'fear': they 'know that the pretence of necessity in a Prince or State, is but the Bawde to Tyrannie' and they fear that their advice about liberty of the subject will not be taken, and, in lines which at one and the same time deny the usefulness of historical example and yet deploy it, they write: For, we know, that all men are better taught by their owne errours, then by the examples of their foregoers ... we hope that 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Reforming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers God will raise up some noble English Romane Spirit, such a one as Caius Flaminius, who as Sir Walter Rawleigh 1.5 p. 357. observes, for the preservation and maintenance of that Commonwealth, understanding the Majesty of Rome to be wholly in the people, and no otherwise in the Senate, then by way of delegacy, or grand Commission, did not stand highly upon his birth and degree, but assisted the Multitude, and taught them to know and use their power over himself, and his fellow-Senators, in reforming their disorders; and vindicating the publike liberty of his Countrey: In, and for which, we are resolved to dye: and which we wish may alwayes flourish, and continue for the perpetuall benefit, utility, and renown of all the free-born Subjects of England. Caius Flaminius appears in Book Five, chapter 2, section 8 of The History (B356ff) and Ralegh's account of him is not quite so democratic as that in Vox Plebis. He was one of the leaders of the conquest of Gaul, but in the midst of his successful campaigns, Rome sent letters to say that the Soothsayers had nullified his election. Flaminius received the letters but did not open them until he had won all his battles: even when he finally acknowledged the news he still returned to Rome and managed to have a triumph but, as Ralegh points out, sore against the will of the Senate, and not altogether with good liking of the people, who yet bare him out, for that hee sided in faction with the Commonaltie, though a man of great Nobilitie. (B356) Ralegh is again more cynical about the political motivations and implications of Flaminius' actions, something which becomes even clearer when the quotation in the pamphlet is placed in context. This was that Flaminius, who had propounded the Decree, for dividing the Countrie of the Senones among the people of Rome, He was the first, or one of the first, that understanding the Majestie of Rome to be indeed wholly in the people, and no otherwise in the Senate, than by way of Delegacie, or grand Commission; did not stand highly upon his birth and degree, but courted the multitude, and taught them to know and use their power, over himselfe and his fellow-Senators, in reforming 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 148 Rejorming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s 149 Perhaps most interesting, apart from Ralegh's use of terms such as 'arte' and 'preferment', is the change made from the source: where Ralegh has 'courted the multitude' Vox Plebis has 'assisted the multitude'. In order to make Ralegh speak for the plebs, acts of creative editing have to take place, providing further evidence for Thomas Corns' argument that 'Leveller publications work to invent or to call into being political categories that had not previously existed' (1992, p. 135). Vox Plebis reveals readers who were looking to, and rooted in, the past, but using this past to project a sometimes radical future, a Janus-like condition which has been described by Sommerville: It is a commonplace that the Civil War and the Interregnum were periods of great fertility in English political thought. ... But it would be unwise to overemphasise the innovatory nature of the bulk of what was produced in those years. The Levellers owed a great deal to both Coke and the natural law tradition, though they put their sources to uses which earlier writers would have found surprising. (Sommerville, 1986, p. 237)10 It also reveals readers who, as Corns has argued (1992, p. 10), are stalked by the fear of the power of the lower classes and thus persistently assert not only their own respectability, but represent radical change as if it were some kind of restoration. The appeal to tradition and respectability made a space for a writer like Ralegh: who better to cite than an aristocratic figure of authority? The Levellers are simply re-forming the canon in their own interests. The Levellers were certainly not alone in their appreciation of the political potential of The History of the World. The numerous examples of providential or revelatory readings testify to a culture that still believed that it was possible to ascertain God's purposes through the reading of history and thus to predict his actions, most frequently (and often gleefully) his acts of vengeance. This providentialism was a conventional way of viewing. the world, and no doubt explains in part the continuing popularity of The History of the World. A first edition in the Bodleian library carries marginal 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 their disorders. For this, the Commons highly esteemed him, and the Senators as deeply hated him. But he had the surer side, and found imitatours, that rose by the same arte, which in processes (B357) of time, grew the only or chiefe way to preferment. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers annotations which insist that truth will out and that God will judge the wicked. Ralegh's comment that 'no man can long continue masked in a counterfeit behauiour' (sig.A2r) is noted, whilst the fates of the Earls of Hastings and March provoke: 'note in this the terryble iudgements of god' and 'note gods iust judgement' (sigs. A4v and B1r). In a 1628 edition, the marginal annotations reveal a reader who believes that history enables prediction and the understanding of a just God. As with the 1614 edition, the Preface is heavily annotated, and in this case there is little evidence of the rest of the book having been read in any detail, since there are no marginal annotations in the main body, and the hand-written notes at the back summarise only the Preface. A typical annotation uses Ralegh's discussion of the French kings, Francis I, his sons and grandsons, to offer a prediction of future events: 'Observe then what will be end of Lewes XIV, a more inhumane persecutor than any of the very pagan Empp:'. Ralegh's analysis of Spanish power in the Netherlands (sig.B2r) receives the follOWing comment: 'nb: And now what is become so miserable as the Spanish Monarchy? 6 Just God!' Printed commentary on the History often shares similar perspectives: in 1655, Clement Writer, at some point on his slide from Presbyterianism to atheism, admired The History's revelation of the punishments of those 'back-biters, slanderers, envious, covetous, self-seekers' condemned in Scripture: 'Perfidiousness of this kinde, how detestable it is in the sight of God, and how punished by him in the sight of men, is well set forth by Sir Walter Rawleigh' (1655, p. 72).11 Presumably this was the appeal of the work for its most famous advocate, Oliver Cromwell, who (in the only recorded instance of the kind) recommended The History as vital reading for his son Richard: the book will spur on an 'unactive vain spirit', a hope rooted in the tradition of 'reading for action' discussed earlier in chapter 2,12 Cromwell, with his belief that each victory in battle was not merely an event, but an opportunity to discern the divine will (Sommerville, in Morrill, 1990, pp. 249-50), has some remarkable affinities with his favoured author: both were weak as political theorists, yet both managed to fuse pragmatism with Providentialism. 13 The differences between the two men's reading of biblical history are however more revealing than the similarities. Take, for example, the story of Phineas in Numbers 25(1-17). The people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and the Lord said unto Moses, 'take all the heads of the people, and hang 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 150 151 them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel'. Moses agrees, and when a 'child of Israel' blatantly fornicates with a Midianite woman, Phineas takes a javelin and thrusts 'both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly'. The result is that 'the plague was stayed from the children of Israel', Phineas is praised by the Lord for his zeal, and his act in turn inspires Moses to command his people to 'Vex the Midianites'. Ralegh's brief version of the story comes in the Second Book, chapter 5, section 9 of the History. Israel's 'troubles about the Madianites' are touched upon, but Ralegh is primarily concerned to work out if there might in fact have been one leader of the two tribes, Madianites and Moabites. He recounts that God ordered the Israelites to be put to the sword, quickly mentions Phineas' act of violence, and concludes that 'the plague ceased, and Gods wrath was appeased. For such was the love and kindnesse of his all-powerfulnesse, respecting the ardent zeale of Phineas in prosecuting of Zimri (who being a chiefe among the Hebrewes, became an Idolater) as he forgave the rest of Israel, and stayed his hand for his sake' (A259). What Cromwell does is to focus on the actively seditious elements in this story, in an act of interpretation similar to those of Scott in the 1620s. In a letter to Philip Lord Wharton, Cromwell suggested that God sanctioned the actions of those who had destroyed the Stuart monarchy just as much as he had those of Phineas. Mere human reason would have condemned Phineas, but the Lord was wiser. Cromwell believed that Providence had validated the use of extraordinary powers in times of necessity. The Bible demonstrated that on occasion the Lord had granted special commissions permitting private individuals to do things for which public authority would ordinarily be required. The New Model army's success shows that it had been given a similar commission. (Sommerville, in Morrill, 1990, pp. 250-1) The difference between the two men goes further than their difference in means: Ralegh, essentially a pessimistic Providentialist, insists on the futility of all human actions since death will surely come. Cromwell's understanding of Providence, at least when he was in a good mood, suggests the huge potentialities of human endeavour. In a letter written on the same day that he recom- 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Re-forming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers mended the History to his son, Cromwell wrote to his brother of his successes in Ireland, 'ff God be for use, who can be against us? Who can fight against the Lord and prosper? Who can resist his will?' (1929, II, 134). Both the Levellers and Cromwell clearly perceived Ralegh as an authority, yet one that could be adapted to their own purposes. The History of the World retained its canonical status despite, or more importantly because of, these re-formings. A measure of the way its weighty presence hung over the period is Anne Bradstreet's Foure Monarchies, an extended poem based on the History (published in 1650 in London in The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America). This book, the first publication of a British American poet, shows Bradstreet adapting Ralegh to her own agenda in ways which reflect both her gender and her millenarian beliefs. What is crucial for Bradstreet is the Second Coming of the Lamb, an image absent from Ralegh's macho theology, and indeed irrelevant to his exposition of God's active interventions in this fallen world. According to Hammond (1993, p. 97), Bradstreet succeeds in showing the 'redemptive meaning of history' in the Foure Monarchies, which, if it is true, offers a new perspective on Ralegh's own History, in which any form of redemption seems impossible in a world in which a vengeful God regularly seeks out a sinner's innocent grandchildren for punishment. Bradstreet may summarise Ralegh's sense of the endless decline of empires: Here ends at last the Grecian Monarchy, Which by the Romans had its destiny. Thus kings, and Kingdoms, have their times, and dates, Their standings, over-turnings, bounds, and fates; Now up, now down, now chief, and then brought under, The Heavens thus rule, to fill the earth with wonder. (1965, p. 173) Yet all four monarchies' All trembling stand, before that powerfull Lambe' (p. 174). For her the end of history is not Death, but the death of monarchy. Bradstreet also adapts to her own purposes Ralegh's 'unfinished' top os (discussed at length earlier in chapter 2), claiming that her 'tired braine' cannot continue, the subject being 'too high' for her, more fitting to a man than a woman. And yet she does continue, 'To finish what begun', turning to the fourth monarchy of the 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 152 153 Romans, and ending her poem with an attack on Tarquinius Superbus, the last Roman King. In her emphasis on 'the end of the Roman Monarchy, being the fourth and last' (p. 179), and her final line ('And people sweare, ne're to accept of King'), Bradstreet seems to invoke the end of the monarchy in England. Thus when Rosenmeier (1991, pp. 67-8) speculates as to why Bradstreet broke off, suggesting that she was disillusioned because the civil war had failed to herald the end of history, the Second Coming of Christ, she misses the point that Bradstreet uses the false ending of her Foure Monarchies to raise issues about female authority and authorship, at one and the same time acknowledging her unfitness and yet still completing her task, acting as historian to the end of monarchy itself, and thus proving herself against the canon. This too was the task of the next reader and re-writer of The History, Alexander Ross. Condensed versions of the work had been popular, for perhaps obvious reasons, from the 1630s onwards, but in 1650 Ross's The Marrow of Historie set a new agenda for this kind of project. His opening comments position the history in a traditional way, as useful for leaders, but in the Preface to the reader Ross markets his text as a labour-saving device and celebrates his own status as a philanthropist to the poor: Good Reader This Epitome hath this threefold advantage; it is more portable, more legible, and more vendible than the great Book: this may be a pocket companion, and it is soon read over; for everie one will not take pains to read great volumes, and manie cannot, for want of leasure. There are also divers that have three or four shillings to bestow on this, which have not twentie or thirtie to impend on the great Book. (sig. A3r) Within the text itself, Ross removes Ralegh's sense of a first- person narrator who negotiates brilliantly with centuries of authorities. He shortens phrases such as 'God, whom the wisest men acknowledge to bee a power ineffable ... ' to 'God is a Power uneffable' (p. 1), gets rid of much of the linguistic analysis and, most strikingly, omits the Preface. The elements of display discussed earlier in chapter 2 are thus carefully removed, leaving information seemingly unmediated by the author. There is, however, an act of display going on here on the part of Ross, most visible at the end 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Re10rming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s 154 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers a Eloquent, Just, and Mightie Death! whom none could advise, thou hast perswaded ... with these two narrow words, HIC JACET. And thus we have seen the beginning and end of the three first Monarchies of the world; the remainder of the Universal Historie, God willing, if I be not interrupted, I purpose to compile in an Epitome for the benefit of those our countrie-men, who are not at leisure to read long and voluminous discourses. (p.574) The function of the history has been changed. In Ralegh's version, the promise of further volumes (already hewn out) is part of an elegy for Prince Henry and a complaint about his own unjust imprisonment. Ross takes over one aspect of Ralegh's voice, promising more volumes, but Ralegh's personal concerns are removed. Instead, Ross will produce an epitome, useful because time is money in the new economic reality. If the Levellers, Cromwell and Bradstreet all use Ralegh to pursue or validate political agendas which can be described as radical in differing degrees (and the changes that they felt were necessary to make signal the gap between their mid-century rejection of monarchy and Ralegh's constant, if critical, negotiation with the institution), then the work of Ross signals a different, ostensibly depoliticising, interpretative trajectory. I shall return later to two related processes, the commodification of the text and the professionalisation of the author, but there are other texts from the early 1650s which follow this more conservative trajectory. Just as the interpreters already considered had done, these authors are negotiating with Ralegh as a canonical author, but in these cases they are using him to validate political standpoints which either urge conformity or express doubts about political change. In 1651, a work which had first appeared 20 years earlier was reprinted, entitled Sir Walter Rawleigh's Ghost; or, his apparition to an intimate Friend, willing him to translate into English, this learned book of L. Lessius. The publisher was Thomas Newcomb, who would be involved with a more celebrated invocation of Ralegh's name later in the decade when Milton published what he believed to be Ralegh's Cabinet Council. This book is published on the premise that Sir Walter's ghost has begged that it appear to the world and 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 of his Marrow. He abridges, indeed adapts, Ralegh's famous closing comments as follows: 155 that the title should bear his name. The translator, appalled by the present iniquities and disbelief, presents the book 'in order to the performance of Sir Walter, my dear deceased friends request' (unpaged). Interestingly, the 1631 edition had been quite open about the fictional nature of the ghost, but here the idea appears with no disclaimers. The Ralegh who is invoked is a deeply religious, sound individual, who is needed in these troubled times to hold society together: My own designe in the translation is no more but to comply with Sir Walters last request to me, thereby to clear him from so black an opinion; and to keep others in these giddie times of liberty and fluctuation from disowning the true and onely God. (unpaged) A ghost pamphlet from the same year is also a far cry from Scott's highly focused polemics of the 1620s; which had relied for their power on a particular set of characteristics associated with Ralegh: in fact, it is not very clear why Ralegh's name is invoked at all, and the pamphlet as a whole veers between modes quite unpredictably. The boundaries between the elements of prophecy and news are extremely unclear, with what appears to be factual reporting, from Bordeaux, Provence, Scotland and Genoa following on from impassioned visions, and then being superseded by 'a review' of 'certain remarkable presidents, worthy of observation' (p. 5) which reveal Providential intervention in the world: ' Antiochus for his pride and blasphemy, was strucken from God with an invisible and incurable disease' causing in tum a pain in the bowels, falling out of a chariot, putrefaction and being consumed alive with worms (p. 7). The full title explains, to some extent, the work's premises and prophecies. All is not Gold that glisters: Or, A WARNING-PIECE TO ENGLAND, BEING A Prophecie, written by that famous and learned Knight Sir W ALTER RAWLEIGH, the day before he was beheaded on 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Reforming Ralegh: the 16405 and 16505 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Tower-Hill, in the Raign of our late Soveraign Lord KING JAMES. Fore-telling the great and wonderful things that will befall the King of Scots, the Pole of this Nation, the change of Religion and Law, and how long the Government shall continue without a King, or House of Lords. Also, the landing of an English Army in France this Summer, the taking of the City of Rome, the beheading of the Pope, and seven of his Cardinals. With other remarkable Passages and Presidents. There is ambiguity here even in the opening words: what precisely is the false gold? Is it the success of Cromwell, and is this why the pamphlet is a warning? Yet the tone is one of religious triumphalism, offering a utopian vision in which the English will be restored to their 'former pristine condition', both the sentiments and the vocabulary inconsistent with Ralegh's own laconic pessimism: For be assured (saith he) 0 ye people of England, that the dayes will come, When diligent inquisition shall be made for innocent bloud, both from Kings, Parliaments, Common-wealths, & States; and that great will be the fall of Tyrants and Usurpers; yet nevertheless (after a short time) the people shall be governed by a Head, a mutual enjoyment of peace, will attend the English Nation; and all the Saints and Inhabitants thereof shall sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Blessed be the Name of the Lord, for this great Work of Reformation, and restoring of us to our former pristine condition. (p. 3) This 'Work of Reformation' is to be accompanied by a heady programme of events, all predicted by 'Rawleigh': in 1652 England will master France, in 1653 the Germans and Danes will submit, in 1654 Cromwell will enter Italy, and in 1655 the Pope and his cardinals will be executed (p. 4). This pamphlet expresses in far cruder form the concerns and tensions present in Marvell's Horatian Ode: Cromwell's achievements, his triumphs over the Scots, the Irish, over Charles IT at Worcester, are at one and the same time impressive, terrifying and seemingly unstoppable. These achievements can be understood only in terms of a mysterious history governed by 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 156 Reforming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s 157 Government is of two sorts. 1. Private, of himself. Sobrietie. Of his Family; called Oeconomie. 2. Publick, of the Common-wealth, called Policie. A man must first Govern himself, e're he be fit to govern a Family: And his Family, e're he be fit to bear the (p. 1) Government in the Commonwealth. There is little remarkable in the political theory, an unimpassioned rehearsal of the merits of monarchy when justly and moderately managed: In every Just State, some part of the Government is, or ought to be imparted to the People; As in a Kingdom.... the matter rightly may be propounded to a Parliament ... For which cause, Tyrants (which allow the people, no manner of dealing in State matters) are forced to bereave them of their wits and weapons, and all other means whereby they may resist or amend themselves, as in Rushland, Turkey, & c. (pp. 6-7) Tyranny is defined as 'Perversion from publike good to the private benefit of leaders and followers' and is particularly' terrible in kings because monarchy should be the best state, since it 'resembleth the Sovereign Government of God himself'(p. 7). Similarly the Sceptick of 1651, with its refrain 'I know not' is an entire tract on the impossibility of certainty and the importance of a detached perspective. None of these texts was actually written by Ralegh, but they create a new political identity for him. In the light of their methods and agendas, it does not seem so anomalous that Ralegh's main publishers during this period were the 'solidly Royalist' Humphrey Moseley and William Sheares, whose publications during the 1640s suggest that he too had Royalist sympathies.14 One particular publication from William Sheares offers another perspective on this shift in political identity. In 1653, he published a further work attributed to Ralegh, Sir Walter Raleigh's Observations touching Trade & Commerce with the Hollander, and other Nations, as it 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Providence and this, perhaps, is the clue to Ralegh's ghostly presence in the pamphlet. Other texts contain more straightforward messages. The Maxims of State, whose Commentary was considered earlier, may focus on the responsibilities of those in power, on 'Government', but its conclusions are utterly conventional: 158 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers the significance of this text as yet another instance of the connections between Ralegh's name and the issue of trade, but here it is the transmission history itself that it significant. This tract about the economic reforms necessary to improve English trade, and in particular the need to revitalise the herring and cloth industries, was actually written by John Keymer early in the seventeenth century. It had already appeared in print in 1650, although not under Keymer's name, published by T.M. & A.V. for John Saywell, with a preface signed J.D., and the title A cleare and evident way for enriching the Nations of England and Ireland and for setting very great Numbers of Poore on work. The differences between the two versions are signalled in the titles: Sheares' 1653 version announces its courtly origins through both author (Ralegh) and inscribed audience (King James), and it elides both the Irish and the poor, concentrating instead on a nationalistic vision of England's greatness. Within the texts there are further changes of content and emphasis. The 1650 version claims that the advice contained was offered to and rejected by the late king, thus implicitly criticising and exposing a monarch deaf to reason; it promises to 'enrich and fill the coffers of the State' and to make 'the people' wealthy (my emphasis). The 1653 version, in contrast, retains the format of address to the king, promising to 'enrich and fill your Majesties Coffers' and to make 'your people' wealthy (p. 61). The earlier version had been offered as a self-help manual for the reader in this age when 'miracles are ceased' so that the economic underdogs can get back at those in 'publique Place or Trust' who have until now channelled all the money into their own pockets (sig.A2r). Moreover, it links its accounts of historical events to the present political situation, drawing attention to its status as a work published in and relevant to the events of 1650. The later version works by resurrecting advice, unchanged, from a previous era. Compare, for example, the two versions concerning the famine of 1614. The 1653 version describes 'the last Dearth six years past' when the Hamburgers and Embdeners provided the English with food (p. 17). The reader is offered no specific dates: the original readers would presumably have understood the reference, the readers of 1653 mayor may not have. The 1650 version pins down the date of the 'dearth' (November 1614) and carries an apposite comment: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 was presented to K. James. Wherein is proved, that our Sea and Land Commodities serve to inrich and strengthen other Countries against our owne. With other Passages of high Concernment. Later, I shall consider 159 'And if so much in 1614, five times as much between 1648 and 1649' (p. 5). The obsequious address to King James (which is presented to readers as Ralegh's voice) firmly anchors the 1653 version in the vanished world of courtly advice which remains unconnected with the current political situation. Ralegh's authorial presence in this version thus both mirrors and validates the renewed political conservatism of the work's content. Not only do these two versions reveal the way in which Ralegh's name was being allied with the values and modes of traditional advice writing, but they also suggest a change in the political climate between 1650 and 1653. The year after the execution of Charles I, trade is presented as a bulwark of the new Republican order of state and people. Three years later, trading interests are already being connected with the traditional political order of monarch and subjects, perhaps in contest with the policies of the Cromwellian state. Whoever decided to use Ralegh's name to promote this tract in 1653, he was tapping into a very different tradition to that of Ralegh as Republican hero, underlining once again the variety of interpretative trajectories open to readers, re-writers and printers. In the light of this, the most well-known appropriation, Milton's publication of what he believed to be Ralegh's Cabinet Council in May (?) 1658, need not be seen as a straightforward gesture of acknowledgement to an admired writer, as the use of a martyr to Stuart injustice as a rallying cry to a failing republic. Whilst it is possible to understand why Cromwell, working within a providentialist tradition of interpretation, might recommend Ralegh as essential reading, one can also see why Milton might have used the work of Ralegh, the purveyor of courtly advice, in a heavily ironical fashion, as Martin Dzelzainis (1995) has recently argued. Dzelzainis has shown that the Cabinet Council is pieced together from a number of court advice manuals, most obviously Machiavelli's The Prince. Just as Machiavelli argues that a prince 'must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession but war, its institutions and its discipline' (1979, p. 124), the Cabinet Council claims that the 'Art Military is of all other qualities most necessary for Princes; for without it they cannot be defended' (p. 56). The style is Tacitean, involving the firing of a maxim at the reader, validated by a quotation, invariably from Tacitus, Livy, Euripedes or Hesiod. For Dzelzainis, it is the signals sent out by the genre of the book that 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Re10rming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers are crucial: since Milton disliked aphorisms, despised Tacitean historiography (in particular, Machiavelli) and abhorred cabinet councils, he was therefore publishing something of a type he 'strongly disapproved'. Thus, concludes Dzelzainis, his intention in publishing was entirely ironic: 'if he was offering an advice book to Cromwell, then this was only because his regime had degenerated to the point at which such a debased form of advice had become appropriate'. The Cabinet Council is 'corrupt advice for a corrupt regime'. This is a very tempting argument, and certainly helps to tip the balance further away from any simplistic equation of Ralegh with Republicanism. The Cabinet Council does seem to read, at times, as a guide to being a good tyrant: Tyrannical Princes are not advanced by favor, neither do they trust unto Fortune, but by degrees of Warr, or else by some other indirect meanes do aspire unto greatness; and therein do maintain themselves by all wayes either honest or dishonest, without respect of Justice, Conscience or Law either of Nations or Nature: A Prince by such impious means aspired, and desiring to hold that he hath gained will take order the the Cruelties he committeth may be done roundly, suddenly, and as it were at an instant; For if they be executed at leasure and by piecemeale, then will the Princes fears continue long, and the terror in Subjects take deeper impression, whose nature is such that either they must be bound by benefits, or by cruelty made sure from offending; Example, Dionysius and Agathocles. (pp.9-10) As Cedric Brown quite rightly points out, however, one 'may speculate a good deal' about Milton's motives in publishing a work which considers tyranny and war in such detail. He suggests that 'England was in danger of sliding back to something like the conditions of monarchy: there is much advice in Cabinet Council about how to endure tyranny' (1995, p. 144), but does not go as far as Dzelzainis in explicitly identifying the tyrant admired by the amoral Machiavelli as Cromwell. IS Brown also comments on the resurgence of Milton's 'spirit of active responsibility' in the crisis year of the Republic (p. 143), but whilst Dzelzainis' reading runs the risk of over-interpreting the epigram, the message of stoical endurance of tyranny that Brown finds in the Cabinet Council is not perhaps the most obvious one in this formulaic text. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 160 161 The notion of 'active responsibility' is far more relevant to the later Readie and Easie Way written in 'the face of near-universal backsliding' (Holstun, 1987, p. 262). This is indeed a text that rails against 'regal-bondage' (Milton, 1980, VIT, 355), demands that the English nation must not 'creep back' to the 'detested thraldom of kingship' (356-7), and states Milton's vision of public service (3601) and federalised oligarchy (383-4). Milton himself is Jeremiah, talking to stones, with only a faint hope that some may hear, offering, in the revised version, a closing prophecy, relating England's desire for a king to Israel's yearning for Egyptian servitude, and placing English history in the context of a linear providential historiography. Here, if anywhere, might lie faint echoes of one aspect of Ralegh the historian, perhaps the tone glimpsed in the famous Jeremiad which closes The History of the World. But it is not this interpretative tradition, despite all its political potential, that Milton chooses to engage with, at least in May 1658. Instead, Ralegh the courtier purveyor of second-hand political aphorisms for a tyrannical prince is more useful to his cause. The opening words of the title (The Cabinet-Council: Containing the Chelf ARTS OF EMPIRE, And MYSTERIES of STATE; DISCABINETED In Political and Polemical Aphorisms) claim that the text 'discabinets' the mysteries of state, makes public that which was private. This places the work in a grand tradition of Republican discabineting, described by Thomas May. The Kings letters taken at Naseby were publikely read in London before a great Assembly of Citizens, where many of both houses of Parliament were present, and leave was given to as many as pleased, or knew the kings hand (to refute the calumny of those who said the Letters were counterfeit) to peruse them all, out of which a selected bundle were printed by command of the Parliament. From the reading of these Letters many discourses of the people arose, for there appeared his transactions with the Irish rebels .... Many good men were sorry that the kings actions agreed no better with his words. (1655, pp. 129-30) Throughout the 1640s, private letters (often from the King himself) were published to the world in order to expose the monarchy's corruption and duplicity, accompanied by a rhetoric of revelation. Lord Digby's Cabinet (1646) publishes the plots of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Reforming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Charles and Digby (imitating their 'General, the grand Enemy to mankinde') to engage foreign support, but it is God 'who hath discovered the Counsels of the Enemy', it is 'Gods work, and it is marvellous in our eyes' (unpaged, prefatory note). Similarly in Straffords Plot discovered (1646) Divine Providence acts as a force for revelation, now working through print, bringing papers into the author's hand (sig.A2), Milton himself had anonymously published 'Articles of Peace, Made and Concluded with the Irish Rebels, and Papists' in May 1649. Discabineting was thus a Republican rhetoric of openness, and in the Cabinet Council it is Ralegh who is ostensibly positioned as the instigator of the process. 16 Within the text itself, however, one of the maxims insists that 'in every state of what quality soever, a secret or Cabinet-Council is mainly necessary' (p. 15), and, as Milton must surely have realised, the information contained in the maxims was hardly revelatory, in fact it would have been wearisomely familiar. Thus, the Cabinet Council is not a true act of discabineting, and it is possible that Ralegh's status as truth-teller is being ironised, since any educated reader would recognise this as merely a collection of other people's ideas. If Milton believed that this text was 'by' Ralegh, and if he recognised Ralegh's sources, then it is possible that he is not only using the genre of courtly advice manual to ironic effect, but also implicitly condemning or discrediting Ralegh's compilatory methodology as well, challenging any conception of Ralegh as a canonical historianP It was during this period that Milton was writing his own History of Britain (1655-9) and trying to set new standards for historiography, fusing a seemingly scrupulous use of sources, a minimal use of commentary, and an ostentatious rationalism, with a providential understanding of human affairs: Thus omitting Fables, we have the veiw [sic] of what with reason can be rely'd on for truth, don in Britain, since the Romans forsook it. Wherin we have heard the miseries and desolations, brought by divine hand on a perverse Nation; driv'n, when nothing else would reform them, out of a fair Country, into a Mountainous and Barren Corner, by Strangers and Pagans. (Milton, 1980, V: I, 183) 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 162 163 In this context, Dzelzainis' interpretation of the Horatian epigram to The Cabinet Council (,who could fittingly tell of Mars clad in his adamantine tunic', Odes, I.6.13-14) becomes even more suggestive. As he points outs, in its original form this line represents Horace modestly giving way to Varius, who will write about Agrippa: Milton appears to be claiming that he cannot write, but that Ralegh will write, indeed already has written, of the exploits of Oliver Cromwell/ Agrippa. If the book is to be read as about an Agrippa/Cromwell figure, then it not only argues that Cromwell has become a prince, but it also reveals something about Milton's opinion of Ralegh, purveyor of courtly platitudes. If the irony of Milton's engagement with Ralegh is going to be effective, not only do his audience have to share his belief in the corruption of Cromwell's 'court', but they must share his perspective on the irrelevance and specious nature of Ralegh's courtly compilation. Whilst much of this must remain speculation, what is clear is that Milton's appropriation of Ralegh should not be read as a straightforward act of Republican hagiography. A reading which positions the work as an ironical engagement with a writer who had come to represent a political world that classical Republicans repudiated, becomes even more convincing when another interpretative traby the cluster of texts which consider trade, is jectory, si~aled examined. 8 Milton saw the English desire for prosperity as analogous with Israel's desire for the Egyptian yoke: he denounced those who believed that 'nothing but kingship can restore trade' and attacked those who argued that 'we must forgoe and set to sale religion, libertie, honour, safetie, all concernments divine or human to keep up trading' (VII, 385--6). Ralegh, in sharp contrast, had become by the 1650s a spokesman for trading interests. On the Seat of Government, a fragment written by Ralegh probably during in the 1610s but which first appeared in print in 1651, is typical in its claim that 'the seat of government is upheld by the two great pillars thereof, viz civil justice and martial policy, which are framed out of husbandry, merchandise, and gentry of this kingdom'. The closing lines of this fragment insist on the connection between trade and foreign policy: merchants are vital to the economy and they must be allowed to protect their interests, if necessary by force. Merchants enrich the kingdom: yea, their trades, especially those which are forcible, are not the least part of our Martial Policie ... they have in all ages and times 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Reforming Ralegh: the 16408 and 16508 164 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Ralegh here spells out his vision of an England made strong through trade (or something that sounds more like piracy), all backed by an aggressive foreign policy. Ralegh's Discourse of the invention of Shipps, Anchors . .. Together with the five manifest causes of the suddaine appearing of the Hollanders, which appeared in 1650, dealt with similar issues in a more focused way. Opening with some fairly dry (and technical) shipping history (the English have been successful 'Because our Netheroverloops are raised commonly from the water', p. 17), the text swiftly moves into a consideration of Dutch power, recalling nostalgically the days when 'one ship of her Majesties, would have made forty Hollanders strike sayle', when the Hollanders acknowledged the English to be 'Domini maris Brittanici' (p. 27). Ralegh argues that although England does not have as many warships as it did in Elizabeth's time, the merchant fleet should be used (p. 28) and then indulges in a rousing call to action (pp. 29-32). His vision is simple: if England controls the seas, then they will control the 'Trade of the world it selfe. But we have now to our future prejudice, and how far to our prejudice I know not, forged Hammers and delivered them out of our hands, to breake our owne Bones withall' (p. 35). Ralegh advocates, as in On the Seat of Government, 'trade by force' and demands that the Dutch must be stopped, since they now are 'permitted to eat us out, by exporting and importing both our owne Commodities, and those of Forreigne Nations' (p. 42). The 1650s saw the implementation of some of the ideas associated with Ralegh's name, those both real and those imagined by Thomas Scott and the author of All that. Glisters. In terms of military policy, Cromwell was to do nothing by halves (Ralegh's complaint against Elizabeth I): in August 1649, following in Ralegh's footsteps, he achieved control over Ireland through the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford, went on to conquer Scotland, and then achieved recognition for the Commonwealth from most of the states of Europe. The Navigation Act 1651, which challenged Dutch control over trade and quickly resulted in 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 assisted the Kings of this Land, not onely with great sums of money, but with great Fleets of Ships in all their enterprises beyond the Seas ... give them but the Commission of Reprisal, they will either Right themselves, or sit down with their own loss without complaint. (1651, pp. 66-7) 165 war with England's Protestant neighbour, seemed to be an acknowledgement of merchant demands for an aggressive promotion of English trading interests, and the fulfilment of Ralegh's vision. To a far greater extent than earlier in the century, war was an instrument of policy and, in some areas, it was a successful policy. There were victories against the Dutch and Spanish, and in the Baltic, Cromwell's navy prevented the sea being controlled by anyone power and thus guaranteed English access to its most important source of naval supplies. In the light of this, Ralegh can be seen as legitimising the Commonwealth's policies. But, as with Milton's use of Ralegh, it is not so easy to assess the political orientation of the tracts on trade, or the political agendas they served. Ralegh's seemingly simple formula of successful trade through aggressive militarism was to prove more complicated in practice. As the war continued, and as the Commonwealth moved towards bankruptcy, the merchants withheld their financial support, resulting in tension between the Rump Parliament, merchant interests and, by April 1653, Cromwell himself. After the forcible closure of the Rump Parliament, Cromwell moved into conflict with the Barebones Parliament over the Dutch war. By this stage the war had become one of ideology rather than of trade, any earlier reluctance millenarians might have had in fighting a reformed nation being displaced by a concern to root out anti-Christ in whatever guise. As Marvell pointed out in his The Character of Holland, the Dutch nest of sectaries and blasphemers needed to be challenged by the order of Cromwellian England (see Corns, 1992, pp. 241-2). The merchants meanwhile had found that the war actually led to a 'great decay and interruption of trade both domestique and forreigne' (see J. P. Cooper, in Aylmer, 1979, p. 138): indeed, one of the reasons for the development of a Cromwellian state navy according to Capp (1992, pp. 6-7) was that the merchant ships had proved insufficiently loyal to the state. 19 So, although the Republic needed to enact Ralegh's peace through strength policies in order to survive, the very progress of the war against the Dutch served to alienate merchant interests from that of the state, highlighting the gulf between the interests of the millenarians and the merchants, and exposing Cromwell's awkward position between the two interests at the very moment when he took charge of foreign policy (see Venning, 1995). The London merchants withheld their financial support from the Rump, in a reprise of the problem, familiar from the 1620s, of a 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Reforming Ralegh: the 16405 and 16505 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Parliament that advocated the aggressive promotion of English trade but did not want to pay for expensive wars to achieve this aim. By 1653 the Commonwealth was bankrupt, and on 20 April 1653 Cromwell forcibly closed the Rump Parliament, only to come into conflict with its successor, the predominantly millenarian Barebones Parliament, over his desire to end the Dutch war. Cromwell succeeded in his aim, and in April 1654 the Dutch war was ended, and over the next months trading agreements were established with Sweden and Portugal, and the wool and cloth trades with Spain and Spanish Netherlands could resume. The transmission histories of the texts associated with Ralegh over this period reflect the shifts in policy, generated by the tensions between ideological militarism (as when Cromwell offered support to the Huguenot republican enclave at La Rochelle whilst France and England were allies in 1657-8; see Venning, 1995, p. 42), militarism in the interest of commercial expansion, and commercial interests which were in fact interrupted by war. They also reflect the changing status of Ralegh as an author. In 1650 and 1651 Ralegh's name is used to validate 'forcible trades' and an aggressive foreign policy. By 1653, a text considered earlier in terms of its transmission history, Sir Walter Raleigh's Observations touching Trade & Commerce with the Hollander, considers merchandising, manufactory and the need for free trade with particular attention given to 'the maine bulke and mass of Herrings from whence ... so many millions' can be raised. Ralegh's familiar collation of honour, riches and the providentially sanctioned superiority of the English nation has had two of its components removed, and all that remains is a concern with the economics of trade. In this text, the name of Ralegh appears to be allied with a narrowly economic view of England's interests, in sharp contrast to millenarian visions on foreign policy. Ralegh's new status as a seeming champion of merchants' interests can be understood, of course, in terms of his engagement with the colonisation of Virginia and the search for gold in Guiana, and his lifelong commitment to the need for merchants to have the right of 'reprisal' (see Ralegh, 1864). But there was an irony to this status which can be recognised if Brenner's (1993) analysis of merchants and colonisation during the period between 1625 and 1640 is considered. In general courtiers such as Ralegh were profoundly unimportant to the development of trade, certainly in the Americas: 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 166 Reforming Ralegh: the 16405 and 16505 167 What Brenner makes clear is that those people traditionally reliant on monopolies, whether nobles, gentry or company merchants, had a minimal effect on colonisation and thus on trading. In the few cases where courtiers such as Ralegh were involved, their initiatives were not successful: 'only rarely did they carry through on their original commitments. Nor did the company merchants at any point take up the slack. The result was a dismal record of failure of almost all the formally patented colonizing companies.' The projects did not provide the quick returns demanded (whether gold, a route to the East Indies, or ready existing staples), and required a good deal of investment just to keep them going?O The Americas were thus left'open to an entirely new group of traders from social strata much lower'. These merchants, keen to have a stake in any new territories, were understandably opposed to absolutist notions of government (pp. 102-3), and 'were willing and able to operate under the conditions of free market capitalism' (pp. 111-12). The use of Ralegh to champion merchant interests thus represents a shift from courtly to bourgeois agendas and audiences. The tensions between the interests of an emerging merchant capitalism and radical Protestantism were revealed in the foreign policies of the early 1650s: they also forced interpretations of Ralegh into two distinct traditions, one which positioned him as a militarist (in the tradition of Thomas Scott and Cromwell) and the other that positioned him as an economic analyst with a rare understanding of a capitalist economy founded on merchant interests. At first sight, the publication, three times over, of The History in 1652 appears to testify to the continuing relevance of the first of these interpretative traditions: the appetite for providential historiography remained strong, and the work's popularity clearly signals, once again, Ralegh's canonical status. There is, however, a subtle change in the way in which Ralegh, as author, is presented. Immediately after the Preface, 'The LIFE of Sir Walter Raleigh' is offered to the reader. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 After 1625, free trade became the rule in American commerce: the traditional leading merchants, who were used to trading with the protection of monopolies, were alienated from the business, clearing the field for a new breed of entrepreneurial small merchants who flourished under the deregulated conditions. (pp.105-6) 168 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers In some respects this uses the language of earlier decades, and indeed carries echoes of Ralegh himself, who in his denunciations of effeminacy and his parading of authorities, can be said to deserve the epithets 'masculine' and 'well-compil' d'. There is, however, something else going on here, something that becomes more evident as the Life continues. Its author begins by despairing of his task, unless 'we could by some Magick power (as the Author of a Pamphlet has done, to terrify and make Gondomare speak the truth) raise him from the dead, and converse a while with his Ghost' (p. 1). But, with immense courage, he attempts the life, beginning with the 1603 trial, but then neglecting the years of imprisonment in the interests of a full report on Ralegh's earlier military, parliamentary and naval exploits. Ralegh's biographer touches briefly upon the imprisonment, but only to point out that his subject devoted himself to learning until 'he was delivered of that great Minerva the History of the World'. King James' hostility is mentioned, but an unfamiliar reason is given for it: the King was jealous of Ralegh's writing ability. In a similar fashion, a new reason is given for the unfinished nature of the History. Ralegh is described as burning, in a fit of pride, the second part just before his execution, because Walter Burre told him that the first part was not selling very well (p. 17). The biographer concludes, having reviewed the Guiana voyage and printed the scaffold speech, that Ralegh was a 'Person of so much Worth and so great Interest, that King James would not Execute him without an Apology' (p. 36) and appends a list of Ralegh's published writings. This biography is the culmination of the process which was visible, but still allusive, in the first publication of The History of the World. Throughout his work, and in a variety of ways, through prefatory poems, through addresses to the reader, pictorially through the frontispiece to The History of the World, Ralegh encourages correct readings of the texts that are to follow. Here, in 1652, we have this process made explicit, but not by Ralegh himself: the life of the industrious and masculine Ralegh, military, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 I determine to write the Life, the Rise, Fortunes, and End of Walter Raleigh, Knight; his Memoirs beings certainly worthy to be transmitted to posterity, who hath been so successfully industrious in retrieving the Actions of former Ages from the Ruines of Time, even in its very Infancy, in a well-compil'd, masculine, and learned History of the World. (p.1) 169 parliamentary, naval hero, helps the reader to appreciate the text, the industrious and masculine History. Furthermore, this marks the emergence of a new 'Ralegh': the professional writer. The biography works in negotiation with the written, printed productions of Ralegh and 'Ralegh', referring to both Thomas Scott and works such as the Apology. This is a biography which understands opposition to Ralegh in terms of his writing ability, rather than in terms of his political ideas and actions; which understands the extent of Ralegh's power in terms of the state's written responses to him; which understands Ralegh's (alleged) actions in terms of the commercial motivations of a hack writer; and which ends with an up-to-date list of Ralegh's published writings, almost a publisher'S blurb, including the recently published Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations. This collection of texts, which had appeared in 1650, operates within the same discourse of the professional writer and his textual commodities. The publisher, Humphrey Moseley, may choose a tag from Horace to open proceedings ('Virtus recludens immeritis mori/Caelum, negata tentat iter via'),21 which emphasises Ralegh's valour and his status among the elite, and, interestingly may compare Ralegh to Augustus Caesar, but as with the anonymous biographer (and indeed with Ross's Marrow of Historie considered earlier), the unfinished status of the History gains a new, economic, significance. It is a positive bonus for the publisher, since it may prompt the reader 'to value at a higher rate this his Posthume Production' (unpaged A4r). In a disingenuous disclaimer, Moseley concludes that 'Raleighs very Name is Proclamation enough for the Stationers advantage' (unpaged A4r). These texts construct Ralegh as a writer who wanted to make money, and from whom people can now make money. Of course, many of the texts I have already considered (those of Scott, Lessius, even Milton) can be understood in this light, but these were primarily ideologically-based interventions, authors using Ralegh's name or reputation to promote their own political or religious agendas. Ross, Moseley, and the biographer of 1652, are, explicitly or implicitly, rejecting earlier interpretative strategies for reading The History of the World as a political text, creating a space for new notions of ostensibly depoliticised, professional historiography.22 Indeed, Alexander Ross would return to the History of the World three years after producing his Marrow, publishing in 1653 Some Animadversions and Observations upon Sr Walter Raleigh's Historie of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Reforming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers the World. Wherein his mistakes are noted, and som doubtful passages cleered. 23 The subtitle makes clear Ross's opinion of the work and the text itself systematically demolishes its 'defective and mistaken' arguments and methodology, by first quoting from The History and then revealing the inadequacies of each quotation and its author. In an attempt to work out how Moses could give an account of Eden, Ralegh for example argues in The History that the Flood did not utterly deface the marks of Paradise, and therefore Moses was able to describe the place from the surviving evidence. Ross, however, argues that Moses got his information from 'Tradition or Revelation', pointing out that Moses describes the trees of life and knowledge, and, as Ross demands, 'will anie hence infer that these trees were exstant after the Flood?' (p. 3). Having dealt brutally with Ralegh's logic, he also exposes his inaccuracies, pointing out for example that Belus is simply another name for Nimrod (pp. 1617), or dismissing tales of the Amazons as only hearsay. The tone is patronising, holding Ralegh's scholarship, or lack of it, up to ridicule, 'for wee read of women that have been excellent Archers, and yet have both their breasts' (p. 50). Another cluster of texts from the 1650s offer the other side to the same coin. Throughout the decade a pamphlet exchange (war would be too strong a word) sputtered into life, centring on the issue of Ralegh's credibility, which was in turn implicitly and explicitly related to judgements upon King James. The equations familiar from 1618 re-emerge: if Ralegh was telling the truth, then James was in the wrong, if he was a liar, then James was in the. right. This is hardly heavyweight political theory, and the personal edge to it all can be understood if the authorship of the pamphlets is considered: on the one hand, Carew Ralegh, on the other William Sanderson, the son of the William Sanderson who provided as much as 80 per cent of the funding for Ralegh's first Guiana voyage, and who felt, rightly or wrongly, that he had been cheated of his patrimony and indeed was to die a debtor in prison. Thus, in pamphlets such as Aulicus Coquinariae (1650) Sanderson, who claims to have been 'often present with Sir Walter, in his imprisonment' reveals Ralegh's private plots to deceive James (p. 78), and offers a highly satirical account of the second Guiana voyage: 'the mountain was fled away', and Kemish kills himself 'so no tales could be told' (p. 93). Sanderson's A Compleat History of the lives and reigns of Mary queen of Scotland and of her son and successor, James the sixth (1656) casts no better light on Sir Walter (repeating many of 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 170 171 the claims word for word), and thus Carew Ralegh responded with his Observations upon a Book entitled 'A Complete History' (1656) asserting that Sanderson, a 'poor contemptible beggar', was entirely motivated by a personal grudge. 24 Carew himself, however, could be seen to be motivated by his desire to have his father's Dorset estates restored to him, a project he pursued by various means from 1621 onwards. 25 The grievances of two sons who saw themselves as impoverished are highly visible here, but a detail of Sanderson's attack upon Ralegh is relevant to the wider picture I am attempting to draw. There is one area in which he cannot fault Ralegh, his learning: indeed it is his 'fame of learning' that 'begat many to pitty his sufferings' and contributed to his release (p. 91).26 Other commentators responded in related ways: however corrupt Ralegh the man may have been (or been made through his contact with the court), even his fiercest critic cannot fault his History of the World. Thus Arthur Wilson lavishes praise upon the 'perfection' of the 'excellent and incomparable' History but points out that, with liberty, its author swerved from this ideal path so 'as the event proved fatal to him' (1653, p. 4). For Bishop Joseph Hall, Ralegh's 'noble History' shows that the Tower 'reformed the Court in him' and enabled him to produce a worthy monument 'of art and industry, which we should have in vain expected from freedom and jollity' (1646, pp. 216-17). This all echoes the language of the 1618 arraignment, when Ralegh was condemned as a liar and a traitor, and yet commended for his learning and piety as evinced in the History.27 This separation of author from text depoliticises the act of history writing in a similar way to the ostensible 'professionalisation' of historiography going on at this time. These interpretative strategies continued during the later part of the seventeenth century. The Dialogue was read for its sententious axioms, taken indiscriminately from the Justice and the Counsellor (see British Library, Harley MS 6191). An Abridgement of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World (1698) boasts Ralegh's 'sublime Wisdom and Piety'(sig.A3r) but regrets his 'too frequent and long Digressions'. His 'Moral and Religious Reflections; on the other hand, 'tho sometimes long, are generally too excellent to need a Vindication' (sig.A3v) whilst the Preface is 'a most sublime Piece of Morality and Divinity' (sig.A4v)?8 The same edition of The History of the World which carries the notes of a virulently apocalyptic early seventeenthcentury annotator, also contains a later reader's comments. Now 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Re10rming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers we have 'Sweet Rawleigh' (sig.C3v), a Ralegh whose request that his argument is accepted until it is 'reproued by a better' is 'modest and reasonable' (A65). Older modes of reading have been displaced by newer modes of reading: along the way the political urgency and agency both of Ralegh's writing and the responses of his early-modern readers had been lost, perhaps for good. NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The commentary acts as a public invocation of the idea of 'conference', the method of biblical study in which the true meaning of the text is sought by bringing to bear the talents of a company variously schooled, a practice described by Collinson (1967), 1990, pp. 126-7, in its Elizabethan form and by Tom Webster in Caroline form (see his chapter on the Ockham conference in his forthcoming book, The Tribe of Levi). Webster's work on religious belief and practice in 1630s meshes with my understanding of the decade. Issues such as ceremonies and conformity, which were made on the basis of decisions about the respective authority of the monarch and the Bible, became issues where compromise was increasingly difficult. Webster describes two responses: the godly minister driven into hostility by Laudian changes or the minister maintaining principled opposition based on earlier conditions. He points out that when considering the godly it is not so much a matter of numbers but of the active communication between these people. Aubrey also writes: 'for his noble design in Guiana, vide the printed bookes' (1898, II, 187). Worden discusses A Cat (which he attributes to Marchamont Nedham, although it is more usually attributed to Antony Weldon) in terms of Nedham's engagement with Machiavellian republicanism (in Armitage et al., 1995). See Lake, 1994, pp. 190-1 and Manning, 1991, p. 50. Corns gives statistical details about the 'extraordinary surge in the work of the press in the early 1640s' due to the 'sudden release of controls, a strong market, and the belief that it was worthwhile, politically and economically, to address that market' (1992, p. 2). A glance through the news pamphlets of the later 1640s shows a heated contest for the control of the meaning of the words 'the people': see Raymond, 1993, chapter 5 for a selection of relevant materials. James Holstun has pointed out to me, however, that the text could refer to Parliament's 'war' with its 'New Model Army'. On 14 June 1647, the Army, in A Declaration or Representation from Sir Thomas 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 172 Reforming Ralegh: the 16405 and 16505 173 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 'not a mere mercenary army, hired to serve any arbitrary power of a state, but called forth and conjured by the several declarations of Parliament to the defence of our own and the people's just rights and liberties'. Hill's attempt to position Ralegh as an intellectual precursor to Milton founders on a number of occasions, not least its reliance on the now-discredited School of Night theory and the idea that Ralegh was on 'the radical Protestant wing in government circles' (see 1977, pp. 59,310,328, for example). His argument that Michael's rejection of military virtues at the end of Paradise Lost 'virtually quotes' The History of the World is not only unsubstantiated but ignores Ralegh's consistent celebration of 'military virtues' and war. See also Hill, 1993, p. 420. Woolf, 1990, p. 249, seeking a tradition of republican historiography writes about the 'influence' of Ralegh upon May, basing his argument on the discredited idea that the Maxims of State and Cabinet Council are by Ralegh, both being 'the reflections of an active citizen, not a condemned prisoner'. Both Hill (1977, p. 137) and Le Comte (1978, p. 45) credit Ralegh with Milton's relaxed attitude towards polygamy, pointing out that Milton takes notes on the subject from The History of the World. See the Leveller's Humble Petition (in Kenyon, 1966) for an indication of the issues at stake, especially pp. 319-20. The page reference comes from the 1634 edition of the History, what I would call B501. See also Worden (in Armitage et al., 1995, p. 167) on the relationship between the 'insular and backward-looking language of custom, precedent and the ancient constitution' and the developmental of republican political theory. Writer refers the reader to section I1.VI.viii, a passage explaining Joshua's victory. Ralegh lists the reasons for Joshua's success, which include the observation that 'God hath taken away all wisdom and foresight' from the 'Gouernours' of the Canannites (B326). A comment echoing Writer appears in the margin of the Bodleian edition mentioned above: 'Note those people God will destroy he takes their wisdome & courage away.' What Cromwell actually writes, in a letter of 2 April 1650, is: 'Recreate yourself with Sir Walter Raleigh's History: it's a Body of History; and will add much more to your understanding than fragments of Story' (1929, II, 135). See Sommerville (in Morrill, 1990, pp. 234-49) on Cromwell's twin motivators, 'necessity, and Providence' and the tension between a belief in the latter and a belief in natural law contractualism. Moseley was the major publisher of non-controversial and creative writing in the mid-century period: see Corns, 1992, p. 61. For Sheares' publications, see Ingoldsby (1642), a tract against disobedience, and Parker (1642) in opposition to the dangerous power of the people. It may be relevant that in these publications (for example the 1650 Judicious and Select Essayes published by Moseley, and the 1651 Sceptick, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Fairfax and the Army under His Command, had insisted that they were 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers published by Sheares) the rare truncated version of the scaffold speech is the one printed, with its bathetic ending that Ralegh utterly denied everything with 'these and other protestations'. Worden (in Armitage et al., 1995, pp. 156-80) also describes the Cabinet Council as a veiled attack on Cromwell. The rhetoric of discabineting is not confined to Republican interests. Martin Dzelzainis has drawn my attention to a Royalist discabineting (see 'Oliver Cromwells Cabinet Councell Discoverd', in Morrill, 1991, p. 47) and Cedric Brown has pointed out its prevalence in Whig publications of the late 1670s and 1680s. Interestingly, Milton's way of publishing Ralegh (his use of the standard engraving for example) emphasises his canonicity (see Dzelzainis, p. 190). These texts are Observations and Notes on the Navy (1650), A Discourse of the Invention of Ships (1650), On the Seat of Government (1651), A Discourse of the Causes of War (1650), Observations on Trade with the Hollander (1653). All were reprinted throughout the 1650s. Capp describes the plethora of extremely partisan newspapers, pamphlets and jingoistic almanacs which threatened the Dutch with total destruction should they dare to challenge God's chosen people (1992, p. 77). At the same time Naval officers, with a firm belief in Providence 'saw the wars against the Dutch and Spaniards as heralds of Christ's approaching kingdom and signs of Babylon's impending fall' (pp. 298-300). Brenner acknowledges that Ralegh did seek merchant support (as did Humphrey Gilbert): 'In each case, a group of merchants did agree to participate, but each made it clear that it was primarily interested in the trading side of the venture, demanding commercial monopolies as the price of the involvement of its syndicate. In the end, for various reasons, neither of these merchant syndicates actually took part in the Gilbert or Ralegh ventures' (pp. 106-9). 'To such great hearts as may not die, By ways untrodden faring forth, She opens the skies. Her wings deny the rabble and the earth' (Odes 3, no. 2). Chairs in history as a separate discipline were set up in 1620s at Oxford and Cambridge. The edition in the Bodleian Library is catalogued as 1648, but there is no date on the colophon and the content of the work argues that it was written after the Marrow of Historie. James Howell, 1655, pp. 6-8 also suggests the 'imaginary airy' Guiana mine to be 'a Chimera' in a letter dated 28 March 1618. He notes that King James was a fool to permit Ralegh to attempt to expedition, but that Ralegh, previously wise, is now the fool for returning. Apparently Carew demanded a retraction. Carew Ralegh attempted to restore himself 'in blood' in 1621 and 1624, but each time King James vetoed the legislation. He achieved some recognition from Charles in 1628, but was not permitted to make any claim on the Dorset estates. By 1635, he was a Gentleman 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 174 26. 27. 28. 175 of the Privy Chamber, and remained at least nominally in the King's service until 1645. Between 1648 and 1660 he continued to try to get Sherborne back. Carew challenges this, arguing 'that it is well known, King James forbad Sir Walter Raleighs book, for some passages in it which offended the Spaniard, and for being two [sic] plain with the faults of Princes in his Preface' (1656, pp. 9-10). Arthur Marotti (1995, pp. 99-100) has found a unique copy of a poem which responds to The History of the World in a similar way, arguing that Ralegh (the corrupt courtier) who has 'the way to heaven neglected', has now, through the grace and providence of God, been able to produce 'Art to make men sound'. The heading asserts that 'Master Thomas Scott sent these verses'. Taking the passage concerning Hannibal and Scipio at Zama discussed in chapter 2, the 1698 abridgement omits the military details (for example, the preparation for and progress of the battle itself), the major speeches (most notably the exhortations of the respective commanders) and the discussion of Carthaginian factionalism. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Re10rming Ralegh: the 16405 and 16505 I am comforted by the example of Algernon Sidney who tied himself up in knots negotiating with Ralegh as a canonical writer, trying to assimilate the various interpretive traditions associated with him. Engaged in a prolonged controversy with Filmer in the 1680s, Sidney was faced with the latter's citation of Ralegh in Patriarcha (1680). Filmer takes a quotation from the Counsellor's attack on Magna Carta in the Dialogue, which he then uses to validate his pro-monarchy views. At first, Sidney attacks Filmer's 'baseness and prevarication, in turning the words of an eminent Person, reduced to great difficulties, to a sense no way agreeing with his former actions or writings'. In any case, he is guilty in citing Sir Walter Raleigh to invalidate the great Charter of our Liberties as begun by Usurpation, and shewed to the world by Rebellion; whereas no such thing, nor any thing like it in word or principle can be found in the works that deserve to go under his name. The Dialogue in question, with some other small pieces published after his death, deserve to be esteemed spurious. (1698, p. 398) Sidney'S 'if in doubt, reject it from the canon' approach has had its appeal in our own day of course, but his next argument reveals that his desire to attack Filmer is stronger than his desire to make Ralegh fit with his own notions of classical Republicanism. Ralegh is unceremoniously ditched as an authority. Or if, from a desire of life, when he knew his head lay under the Ax, he was brought to say things no way agreeing with what he had formerly profess'd. they ought rather to be buried in oblivion, than produced to blemish his memory. But that the publick Cause may not suffer by his fault, 'tis convenient the world should be informed, that tho he was a well qualified Gentleman, yet his Morals were no way exact, as appears by his dealings with the brave Earl of Essex. And he was so well assisted in his History of the World, that an ordinary man with the same helps might have performed the same things. (p.398) 176 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Postscript 177 Sidney has to resort to the suggestion that Filmer has turned Ralegh's words, or that Ralegh could not have written the Dialogue, or that he was coerced into it through his hardships, or that he was immoral, or that he was not really up to political theory, anything, in fact, to discredit Filmer's use of him. What Sidney does not do, of course, is read the Counsellor's words in terms of a weighted dialogue: if he had done, his problems would have been solved, and he could have resuscitated Ralegh as an opponent of absolutism. Sidney's confusion here carries both comfort and a warning: the Ralegh I have described, a writer whose words have political agency, who grows politically alive in a newly created public sphere, is as much a product of my political frustration working in what is left of the public sphere in post-Thatcherite Britain as Algernon Sidney'S Ralegh was a product of his political frustration in post-Restoration England. Just as Sidney missed the point about weighted dialogue, I have no doubt missed many other points about early modem reading and writing practices, and I have not even attempted to indicate what happens to Ralegh and his readers in the centuries between the seventeenth century and our own, although this is a project worth pursuing. 1 What this book does offer is a further contribution to the growing body of work on seventeenth-century political culture, a body of work which argues that texts are neither inert entities, nor simply reflectors of their own time. Seventeenth-century readers did not passively accept the canon: instead they constantly renegotiated it to serve new political agendas. Their active engagement with their textual heritage, creating new models of political culture, offers a lesson for our own time. NOTE 1. There is much to find in the eighteenth century, when Ralegh is reformed once again into the defender of 'the 'glorious cause of liberty' (in a letter forged by Steele in 1713, but which appears as genuine in Works, VIII, 665-6) or the author of 'Discourses [which] may be of some use towards enflaming that Zeal which is already kindled in the Breasts of all True English Men, and Protestants, for the Preservation of the Liberties of Europe, and the Defence of the Reformed Religion' (Ralegh, 1702, sig.A4r). From these appropriations through to our own time, to Blackadder, 'Operation Raleigh' and recent reports in The 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Postscript 178 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph, Ralegh's name still does political work in the public sphere, even whilst his political writings remain, regrettably, the province of a twentieth-century academic elite. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer The following survey of the prose works of Ralegh is intended to complement the preceding chapters. It is necessary because of the absence of a modem, critical edition of Ralegh's works, and should be consulted alongside other, more substantial, bibliographical tools, such as the Index of Literary Manuscripts and the Short Title Catalogue of English Books. The original date of composition for each work is given, together with information about subsequent editions. For each work it should be possible to ascertain the relationship between manuscript and printed texts. Selected texts receive more detailed coverage because more bibliographical information is needed for an understanding of the related chapter. This is not intended to be a definitive analysis of the prose canon. The problems facing an editor of Ralegh's work are formidable, and an entire study could be devoted to the subject. As Peter Beal, the editor of the Index of Literary Manuscripts points out, 'since so few of his works were published in his lifetime, and since many anonymous poems and tracts were posthumously attributed to him, the canon is highly problematical' (I. ii. 365). These difficulties were no doubt responsible for the decision, taken by the Clarendon Press some years ago, to abandon the preparation of an edition of the collected works. The most recent contribution to this area of study is Sir Walter Ralegh: An Annotated Bibliography, compiled by Christopher M. Armitage (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987). The texts are organised by date of writing, rather than by date of publication. M.e. selected information about surviving manuscript copies. F.P. date and form of first publication. 1591: A Report of the Trvth of the fight about the Iles of A~ores, this last Sommer. Betwixt the Reuenge, one of her Maiesties Shippes. And an Armada of the King of Spaine. M.e.: None known. F.P.: 1591; anonymous pamphlet, entered in Stationer's Register, 23 November: London: J. Windet for W. Ponsonbie. First edition ascribed to Ralegh: 1599/1600, Richard Hakluyt, Principal Navigations. February 1592/3: On the Succession. M.e.: Hatfield House, Cecil Papers 139/139-40v, AUTOGRAPH. Only surviving MS. F.P.: 1960; Pierre Lefranc, Etudes Anglaises, 13 (1960) 38-46. 1595: The Discoverie of the large, rich and bewtiful Empire of Guiana. M.e.: c.1595(?} Lambeth Palace, MS Tenison 250, ff.315a-337 (without dedications). Only surviving MS. F.P.: 1596 (three editions). 179 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Appendix I: The Prose Works of Sir Walter Ralegh Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Summer 1596: A Relation of the Action at Cadiz. M.e.: Dr Williams Library, MS Jones B60, pp. 1-15, directed to the Earl of Northumberland. Only one other MS. F.P.: 1700; Echard, Laurence, An Abridgement of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World in Five Books . .. with some genuine remains publ. by P. Raleigh, (London: Matthew Gelliflower). 1596: Opinions Delivered by the Earl of Essex, Lord Burleigh, Lord Willoughby, Lord North, Sir William Knollys, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir George Carew, on the Alarm of an Invasion from Spain in the Year 1596, and the Measures proper to be taken on the occasion. M.e.: MS Tanner 235, ff.18-22. Only one other MS. F.P.: 1829; Works. c.1602-3: Considerations concerning Reprisalls. M.e.: Public Record Office, S.P. 12.253.117, AUTOGRAPH. F.P.: 1864; J. P. Collier, N.Q. 5 (1864) 208. 1603: A Discourse touching a War with Spain, and of the protecting of the Netherlands. M.e.: MS Tanner 103 and numerous other copies. F.P.: 1702; in Three Discourses of Sir Walter Ralegh as Of a War with Spain, and our protecting the Netherlands. 1608-10 (7): A Discourse of the Invention of Ships, Anchors, Compass & c. M.e.: British Library, Sloane MS 1856, ff.50v-6v. Five other copies. F.P.: 1650; Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations by that Renowned and Learned Knight Sir Walter Ralegh (London: Humphrey Moseley). 1608-10 (7): Of the Art of Warre by Sea. (fragments of plans and contents pages) M.e.: British Library, Cotton MS Titus B VIII, ff.226, 228, AUTOGRAPH: Dr. William's Library, MS Jones B60, pp. 230-4, AUTOGRAPH. F.P.: 1968; Pierre Lefranc, Sir Walter Ralegh, ecrivain (Paris: Librarie Armand). 1597-8,1607-10 and after 1612: Observations and Notes concerning the Royal Navy and Sea-Service. (Some versions are ascribed to Sir Arthur Gorges.) Three distinct manuscript versions. M.e.: 1597-8. For Folger library (MS J.a.l, not listed in ILM) see Gossett (1987). 1608. British Library, Add. MS 9298, ff.39-54v: 'Excellent Observations and Notes, concerning the Royall Navy and Sea Service written by Sr Walter Rawleigh and by him Dedicated to the most noble and illustrious Prince, Henry, Prince of Wales: H:H.' Carries no mention of the death of Prince Henry. Post-1612. Introductions written after Henry's death. MS Ballard 52, ff.125-36v (c.1640s) published by Sandison in Modem Language Association of America, ed., Essays and Studies in Honor of Carleton Brown (New York: New York University Press, 1940). Two manuscripts ascribed to Arthur Gorges: British Library, Harley MS 4311 and R.P. 3898 (microfiche), a presentation copy from Gorges. F.P.: 1625; Ilands Voyage printed in Purchas his Pilgrimes (London). Observations (1608 version) printed 1650 in Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations by that Renowned and Learned Knight Sir Walter Ralegh. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 180 The Prose Works of Sir Walter Ralegh 181 1609 (1): Instructions to his Son and to Posterity. M.e.: British Library, Add. MS 22587, ff.11-16 (chapters I-IX only and letter): Inner Temple, Petyt MS 538, Vol. 18, f.215. No other MSS. F.P.: 1632; six more editions before 1636, with the addition of the Advice of a Loving Son to his Aged Father (attributed to Ralegh). Published with Maxims of State (also attributed to Ralegh) in 1642, 1650, 1651, etc. M.e.: 'Copy in volume of tracts owned by Ralegh' (I.L.M.). This volume is in the possession of a private collector who will not permit access. Numerous other copies including British Library, MS Carte 77, ff.89-102. F.P.: 1750; The Interest of England with regard to Foreign Alliances, explained in two discourses. 1612: Concerning a Match propounded by the Savoyan, between the Lady Elizabeth and the Prince of Piedmont. M.e.: 'Copy in volume of tracts owned by R' (I.L.M.); see above. Numerous other MSS from early to mid-seventeenth century. F.P.: 1750; The Interest of England with regard to Foreign Alliances, explained in two discourses. 1610-14 (1): Notebook. M.C.: British Library, Add. MS 57555, AUTOGRAPH. F.P.: 1952-68; extracts printed in The Times, 29 November 1952; Walter Oakeshott, The Queen and the Poet, 1960; and Walter Oakeshott, 'Sir Walter Ralegh's Library', Library, 23 (1968) 285-327. 1614: The History of the World. M.e.: No manuscript copies; notes for The History appear in Notebook (see above). F.P.: 1614; anonymous publication. See John Racin, Sir Walter Ralegh as Historian, (Salzburg: Institut fUr Englische Sprache und Literatur, 1974) for further details of publication. 1615: A Dialogue between a Counsellor of State and a Justice of Peace (published in 1628 with the title The Prerogative of Parliaments in England). M.e.: There are two distinct versions of the text; one complete, the other considerably abridged. For ease of reference these will be indicated as Text 1 (complete) and Text 2 (abridged). Both Texts 1 and 2 were submitted to King James late in 1615. All manuscript copies have roughly, if not precisely, similar variants to the printed edition, unless otherwise stated. Comparison of manuscript with print version reveals such minor variants as: inversions of syntax, abbreviations of words (unto/upon becomes to/ on), plural to singular, and vice versa. More important are the infrequent changes in the sense of the text. The MS often gives a 'better' (in terms of meaning and interest) reading, although this is not always the case. Points of interest in each MS are noted in bold. Bradfer Lawrence 61, ff.148-70v. 'Copy with a few minor autograph corrections and additions in the dedicatory epistle to King James, in a volume of tracts owned by R. (I.L.M.)' This manuscript was until recently owned by Bradfer-Lawrence family, 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 1612 (1): Touching a Marriage between Prince Henry of England and a Daughter of Savoy (possibly a later date if it refers to Prince Charles) Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers but was then sold to a 'secretive' private collector by Quaritch. All attempts to pursue this private collector have failed. S.P. 14/85 (Text 1) Date: 1615. S.P. 14/84/44 (Text 2) Date: (December?) 1615. Marked as 'sr Walter Ralegh Dialogue 1615'. British Library, Harley MS 6191 (Text 1) Date: late (?) seventeenth century: heavily annotated. The similar MS variants suggest there was a transmission tradition stretching into the late seventeenth century which did not refer to the printed edition. Dr William's Library, MS Jones 56, ff.36v-46v (Incomplete text 1) Date: (?) Ends at p. 17 of 1628 published edition. Port Eliot, Cornwall annotated by John Eliot. Property of Lord Eliot (Text 1) Date: 1620s. Carries Sir John Eliot's marginal annotations. Exeter College, Oxford, MS 139, ff.190v-2. (Text 1) Date: (?) early-mid-seventeenth century. In a collection of parliamentary material. Title given is: 'A Dialogue ... of the Successe of Parliamls since the conquest to this time written in the Tower of London by Sir Walter Raleigh and dedicated to King James our soueraigne Lord. In Anno 1610.' Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments in Sheffield City Libraries, MSS 1, ff.95-130: copy owned by Strafford. (Text 1) Dated by librarian as c.1617. No annotations. More examples of singular variants than other MSS. Unusual in that there is nothing to indicate that it is Ralegh's work in the heading. British Library, Stowe MS 177, ff.138-70 (Text 1) Date: before 1616(?) (MS appears between texts arranged chronologically from 1610 and 1616). 'A dialogue betweene a Counsellor of State and a Justice of peace the one diswadinge the other perswadinge the callinge of a pliament, Written by Sr Walter Raleigh knight imediatlie after the dissolution of that pliamente for pliaments cannot be called where noe acte hath bene passed in the twelth yeere of the kinge, Which nowe discontentedly broke upp wthout doeing anie thinge to the greefe and discontente of both kinge and people.' British Library, Additional MS 34631, ff.20-59 (Text 1) Date: (?) early-mid-seventeenth century. Text missing at beginning and end (ends on p. 57 of 1628 text). MS in collection of biographical documents such as letters, 1603 trial details, and the Short Apology for the voyage to Guiana. Bodleian Library, MS Tanner 103, ff.213-20 (Text 2) Date: early seventeenth century. British Library, Lansdowne MS 806, ff.28-39 (Text 2) Date: (?) 1620s. Title of volume in which MS appears is 'Against Imprisonment for Debt'. Title ('Out of the Dialogue') shows awareness that it is an abridgement. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 182 183 Dr William's Library, MS Jones B60 pp. 235--4i and pp. 245--4i. Date: (?) The work appears as two untitled fragments, in a collection of works and letters by and attributed to Ralegh. This extract differs considerably (and uniquely) from all other MSS and the 1628 edition. Although quite similar ideas are expressed (in a similar order) the phrasing and emphases are different: for example, impositions are not mentioned, tyranny is mentioned, and overall the argument appears more confused. F.P.: 1628 Hamburghe [London]. There were five editions in its first year of publication, the other four using the imprint Midelburge. There were two further editions in 1640. Works prints the 1628 text with minor (unmarked) changes: for example countrey becomes contrary (counter in MS). 1604-16: On the Seat of Government (fragment). M.C.: Early-mid-seventeenth century (?) Northamptonshire Record Office, FH 3641/3 (imperfect) and Dr Williams Library, MS Jones B60, pp. 17-22. Only two manuscripts. F.P.: 1651; Sir Walter Raleigh's Sceptick or Speculations (London: W. Bentley for W. Sheares, 1651). 1616(1): A Discourse of the Original and. Fundamental Cause of Natural, Arbitrary, Necessary and Unnatural War. MS: British Library, Sloane MS 1856, ff.57--4i2v. Nine other MSS. F.P.: 1650, Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations by that Renowned and Learned Knight Sir Walter Ralegh (without a section on civil war). 1702, Three Discourses of Sir Walter Ralegh, (London). 3 May 1617: Orders to be Observed. M.C.: (c.1619) National Maritime Museum MS LEC/8 pp. 35 et seq. A presentation copy formerly at Petworth House and thus probably owned by the Earl of Northumberland. Eight copies, of which four are attributed to Sir Arthur Gorges. F.P.: 1932; Harlow, V.T., Ralegh's Last Voyage (London: The Argonaut Press, 1932). See Sir Julian Corbett, 'The Elizabethan Origins of Ralegh's Instructions', in Fighting Instructions 1530-1816, Navy Record Society (London: Spottiswoode and Co., 1905), pp. 27-45 and Helen Sandison, 'Ralegh's Orders once more', Mariners Mirror, 20 (1934) 323-30 for analysis of British Library MS Stowe 426, ff.30v--4i, a 1619 MS with Gorges' autograph revisions. 1617: Newes of Sir Walter Rawleigh. M.e.: none known. F.P.: 1618; Newes of Sir Walter Rauliegh With the true description of Guiana. Entered in Stationer's Register, 17 March. 19 August 1617-13 February 1617/18: Journal of Second Voyage to Guiana. M.e.: 1617-18, British Library, Cotton MS Titus B VIII, ff.162-75, AUTOGRAPH. F.P.: 1848; The Discovery of the Empire of Guiana, ed. Sir R. H. Schomburgk. Summer 1618: The Short Apology (a letter to Lord George Carew). MS: MS Carte 77, ff.41-2. Numerous other MS versions. F.P.: 1650; Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations. 28-31 July 1618: Sir Walter Rawleigh, his Apologie for his Voyage to Guiana. Also known as Ralegh's Large Apology. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Prose Works of Sir Walter Ralegh Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers M.e.: St John's College, Cambridge, MS I 4 Games 305), ff.2-11v (transcribed by A. Throkmorton, with an accompanying letter, for an aristocratic friend). Numerous other MS versions. F.P.: 1650; Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations. September 1618: Letter to James. M.e.: S.P. 14.96.69. Numerous other MS versions. F.P.: 1651; Sir Walter Raleigh's Sceptick or Speculations. October 1618: Will. M.e.: S.P. 14.103.37. F.P.: 1868; Edwards, Edward, The Life of Sir Walter Ralegh, 2 vols, (London: Macmillan, 1868). October 1618: Defence. Ralegh's second testamentary note: 'a list of points which Ralegh prepared for his own defense' (I.L.M.). M.e.: British Library, Cotton MS Titus C VII, f.93. Other MS versions. F.P.: 1751; Thomas Birch, The Works of Sir Walter Ralegh, Kt., political commercial and philosophical, with his letters and poems, To which is prefix'd a new account of his life, 2 vols (London: R. Dodsley). October 1618: Speech in Pocket. M.e.: (c.1618) British Library, Harley MS 3787, ff.182r-v (ascribed to Ralegh) 1679; All Souls, MS 155, ff.l44v -5 (not ascribed to Ralegh). F.P.: Unpublished. 29 October 1618: Speech on Scaffold. A listing of manuscripts I have seen, divided into groups. Eye-witness accounts: Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, ff.102v-103v British Library, Add. MS 4106, ff.82r-v British Library, Harley 6353, ff.80r-86r British Library, Add. MS 6789, f.533 For analysis of this version see B. J. Sokol, 'Thomas Hariot's Notes on Sir Walter Raleigh's address from the scaffold', Manuscripts, 26 (1974) 198-205. Group One Bodleian Library, MS Tanner 299, ff.26v-28v Cambridge University Library, MS Ee 5 23, pp. 464-7 Queen's College (Oxford), MS 32, ff.14r-16v Somerset County Record Office, DD/MI loose papers 76-89: ff.1r-2r (my foliation) See also the version printed by R. H. Bowers, 'Raleigh's Last Speech: The 'Elms' Document', R.E.S., 1/2 (1951) 212-15. Group Two Bodleian Library, MS Eng. Hist. c 319, ff.19r-21r Bodleian Library, Jesus MS 83, ff.68v-70r British Library, Egerton MS 3165, f.115r Group Three British Library, MS Harley 7056, ff.49r-50r British Library, Add. MS 40838, ff.27v-30r Queen's College (Oxford), MS 121, ff.512r-517v 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 184 185 Group Four Balliol College, MS 270, ff.165r-167r Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. 0 180, ff.46r-52v Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. 0859, ff.84r-85v British Library, Add. MS 44848, ff.267r-269v Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, MS 73/40, ff.214r-215r Public Record Office, S.P. 14.103.74-76 Group Five Bodleian Library, MS Tanner 74/2, ff.148r-150v Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, ff.114r-115v British Library, MS Stowe 141 (ff.74r-74v AND 75r-75v) British Library, MS Stowe 180, ff.47r-48r British Library, MS Harley 852, ff.29r-32r British Library, MS Harley 1893, f.81r (incomplete) British Library, MS Harley 39, ff.361r-368v Cambridge University Library, MS MM 6 33, ff.181v-185v Somerset Record Office, 00 SF 4514 26-33, ff.lr-2v (my pagination) 'Unique' versions with no clear links to other groups British Library, Harley MS 791, ff.49v-50v British Library, Harley 1327, ff.55r-56v F.P.: 1651; Sir Walter Raleigh's Sceptick or Speculations. Note that this version of the speech is incomplete. 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 The Prose Works of Sir Walter Ralegh November 1618: Stukeley, Sir Lewis, The humble petition and information of Sir Lewis Stucley, Knight, touching his owne behaviour in the charge committed vnto him, for the bringing up of Sir Walter Ralegh and the scandalous aspersions cast upon him for the same (London: B. Norton and I. Bill). November 1618: A Declaration of the Demeanour and Cariage of Sir Walter Raleigh, knight, as well in his Voyage, as in, and sithence his Returne; And of the true motives and inducements which occasioned His Maiestie to Proceed in doing Iustice upon him as hath bene done (London: B. Norton and I. Bill). 1618: Sir Walter Ralegh his Lamentation who was beheaded the 29 October 1618 (London: P. Birch). 1620: Ford, John, Honour Triumphant: and A Line of Life (London: W.S. for N Butter). 1620: Scott, Thomas, Vox Populi or Newes from Spayne, translated according to the Spanish coppie Which may serve to forewarn both England and the Vnited Provinces how farre to trust to Spanish pretences (London). 1621: Ralegh, Sir Walter, The History of the World (London: W. Jaggard for W. Burre). 1626: Scott, Thomas, Sir Walter Rawleighs Ghost, or Englands Forewarner, ('Utricht'). 1628: Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Prerogative of Parlaments [sic] in England proued in a Dialogue (pro & contra) betweene a Councellor of State and a Iustice of Peace (Midelburge [London]). 5 editions. 1628: Ralegh, Sir Walter, The History of the World (London: H. Lownes). 1631: Lessius, Rawleigh his Ghost Or, a Feigned Apparition of Syr Walter Rawleigh, to a friend of his, for the translating into English, the Booke of Leonard Lessius (that most learned man) entituled, De Prouidentia Numinis, & Animi immortalitate: written against Atheists, and Polititians of these dayes, translated by A.B. (London). 1632: Ralegh, Sir Walter, Sir Walter Raleigh's Instrvctions to his Sonne, and to Posterity (London: Benjamin Fisher). 186 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Appendix II: Publications Attributed to Ralegh, or Written in Response to Ralegh's Life and Work, Published between 1618 and 1660 187 1632: Ralegh, Sir Walter, Sir Walter Raleigh's Instrvctions to his Sonne, and to Posterity with the Adviuce of a loving sonne to his aged father (London: Benjamin Fisher). 2 editions. 1633: Ralegh, Sir Walter, Sir Walter Raleigh's Instrvctions to his Sonne, and to Posterity with the Adviuce of a loving sonne to his aged father (London: Benjamin Fisher). 3 editions. 1634: Ralegh, Sir Walter, Sir Walter Raleigh's Instrvctions to his Sonne, and to Posterity with the Adviuce of a loving sonne to his aged father (London: Benjamin Fisher). 1634: Ralegh, Sir Walter, The History of the World (London: R Young). 1636: Ralegh, Sir Walter, Sir Waiter Raleigh's Instrvctions to his Sonne, and to Posterity with the Adviuce of a loving sonne to his aged father (London: Benjamin Fisher). 1636: Tubus Historicus: An Historical Perspective (London: Benjamin Fisher). 1637: The Life and Death of Mahomet. The Conquest of Spaine Together with the Rysing and Ruine of the Sarazen Empire (London: RH. for Daniel Frere). 1640: Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Prerogative of Parlaments [sic] in England proued in a Dialogue (pro & contra) betweene a Councellor of State and a Iustice of Peace (London: T. Cotes). 2 editions. 1642: Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), The Prince or Maxims of State (London). 1644: To day a man, tomorrow none (London: R. H.). 1646: Vox Plebis or The Peoples Out-cry Against Oppression, Injustice, and Tyranny. Wherein the Liberty of the Subject is asserted, Magna Charta briefly but pithily expounded. Lieutenant Colonell Lilburnes Sentence published and refuted. Committees arraigned, Gaolers condemned, and remedies provided. London printed 1646. in the sitting of Parliament; during which time the Presse ought to be free and open, as the Parliament declared to the Bishops at the beginning thereof (London). 1647: A notable and memorable story of the cruel war between the Carthaginians and their own Mercenaries, Gathered out of Polybius, and other Authors, by that famous Historian, Sir Walter Ralegh (London: Thomas Underhill). 1648: Overbury, Sir Thomas, The Arraignment and Conviction of Sr Waiter Rawleigh (London: William Wilson for Abel Roper). 1649: Eliot, Sir John, The Arguments upon the Writ of Habeas Corpus, concerning bans in the Court of the Kings Bench. Whereunto is annexed The Petition of Sir John Elliot Knight, in behalf of the Liberty of the Subject (London: M.F. for W. Lee, M. Walbancke, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell). Written in late 1620s. 1650: Ralegh, Sir Walter, Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations (London: Humphrey Moseley): includes Excellent Observations and Notes Concerning the Royall Navy and Sea-Service, Apology, Discourse of War, and scaffold speech. 1650: Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Maxims of State (London: W. Bentley for W. Sheares). 1650: Weldon, Sir Antony, The Court and Character of King James, (London). 1650: Sanderson, William, Aulicus Coquinariae: or a Vindication in Answer to a Pamphlet entitled the Court and Character of King James (London: Humphrey Moseley). . 1650: Bradstreet, Anne, The Tenth Muse (1650), ed. Josephine K. Piercy (Gainesville, FL: Scholar's Press Facsimiles, 1965). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Publications Published between 1618 and 1660 Sir Waiter Ralegh and his Readers 1650: Ross, Alexander, The Marrow of Historie, Or an Epitome of all Historical Passages from the Creation to the end of the last Macedonian War, First set out at large by Sir Walter Rawleigh, And now Abreviated [sic] by A. R. (London: W. Du-Gard for John Stephenson). 1650: Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Maxims of State (London: W Bentley for W. Sheares). Includes Instructions, Son's Advice ... 1651: Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Maxims of State (London: W. Bentley for W. Sheares). 1651: Lessius, Sir Walter Rawleigh's Ghost; or, his apparition to an intimate Friend, willing him to translate into English, this learned book of L. Lessius (London: Thomas Newcomb). 1651: Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Sir Walter Raleigh's Sceptick or Speculations (London: W. Bentley for W. Sheares). Contains Cities, Seat of Government, and letters. 2 editions. 1651: All is not Gold that glisters: Or, A WARNING-PIECE TO ENGLAND (London: G. Horton). 1652: Ralegh, Sir Walter, The History of the World, (London: S. Cartwright, R. Best and J. Place). 3 editions. 1652: Weldon, Sir Antony, A Cat may look upon a King (London: William Roybould). 1653: Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Sir Walter Raleigh's Observations touching Trade & Commerce with the Hollander, and other Nations, as it was presented to K. James. Wherein is proved, that our Sea and Land Commodities serve to inrich and strengthen other Countries against our owne. With other Passages of high Concernment (London: T.H. for William Sheeres). Previously published as A cleare and evident way for enriching the Nations of England and Ireland and for setting very great Numbers of Poore on work (London: T.M. & A.V. for John Saywell, 1650). 1653: Ross, Alexander, Som Animadversions and Observations upon Sr Walter Raleigh's Historie of the World. Wherein his mistakes are noted, and som doubtful passages cleered (London: William Du-Gard for Richard Royston). 1653: Wilson, Arthur, The History of Great Britain, being the Life and Reign of King James the First (London: Richard Lownds). 1655: Writer, Clement, The Jus Divinem of Presbyterie: newly enlarged: and therine, by many Reasons, Justifying the present GOVERNMENT in not giving Power to any to judge Errors or Heresies & c (London). 1655: Howell, James, Epistolae Ho-Elianae: Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren (London: Humphrey Moseley). 1656: Sanderson, William, A Compleat History of the lives and reigns of Mary queen of Scotland and of her son and successor, James the sixth (London: Humphrey Moseley, Richard Tomlins, George Sawbridge). 1656: Ralegh, Carew, Observations upon some particular Persons and Passages in a Book lately made publick; Intituled A Compleat History . ... Written by a lover of the truth (London: G. A. Bedell and Thomas Collins). 1656: Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Maxims of State (London: W. ShearesJunior). 1657: Ralegh, Sir Walter, Remains of Sir Walter Raleigh (London: William Sheares Junior, Westminster Hall). 1658: The Cabinet-Council: Containing the Cheif ARTS OF EMPIRE, And MYSTERIES of STATE; DISCABINETED In Political and Polemical Apho- 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 188 Publications Published between 1618 and 1660 189 Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 risms, grounded on Authority and Experience; And illustrated with the choicest Examples and Historical Observations. By the Ever-reknowned knight, Sir WALTER RALEIGH, Published by John Milton Esq (London: Thomas Newcomb for Thomas Johnson). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Bibliography All is not Gold that glisters: Or, A WARNING-PIECE TO ENGLAND (London: G. Horton, 1651). Arber, Edward, ed., The Last Fight of the Revenge at Sea (London: English Reprints, 1871). Ashley, Robert, Almansor the Learned and Victorious King that conquered Spaine. His Life and Death (London: John Parker, 1627). Aubrey, John, Brief Lives, ed. Andrew Clark, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1898). Bacon, Francis, The Letters and Life, ed. James Spedding (London: Longman & Co., 1872). Bacon, Sir Francis, His Apologie in Certaine imputations concerning the late Earle of Essex written to the right Honorable his very good Lorde, the Earl of Deuonshire, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (London: Felix Norton, 1604). Bolton, Edmund, Nero Caesar, or Monarchie Depraued (London: T. Walkley, 1624). Botero, Giovanni, Obseruations upon the liues of Alexander, Caesar, Scipio (London: A. Islip for I. laggard, 1602). Bowers, R. H., 'Raleigh's Last Speech: The 'Elms' Document', R.E.5., 1/2 (1951) 209-16. Bradstreet, Anne, The Tenth Muse (1650), ed. Josephine K. Piercy (Gainesville, FL: Scholar's Press Facsimiles, 1965). Breton, Nicholas, The Mother's Blessing (London: John Smethick, 1602). A Briefe and trve relation of the mvrther of Mr Thomas Scott (London: Nath. Butter, 1628). Browne, William, Brittania's Pastorals [16131-1616 (Menston: The Scolar Press, 1969) Brushfield, T. N., 'Raleghana', Transactions of the Devonshire Association (1905-7). Carew, Lord George, Letters from George, Lord Carew to Sir Thomas Roe 16151617, ed. John Maclean (London: Camden Society, 1860). Chamberlain, John, The Chamberlain Letters ed. E. M. Thomson, (London: Murray, 1966). Chamberlain, John, The Letters of John Chamberlain, ed. N. E. McClure, 2 vols . (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1939). Chapman, George, The Memorable Maske of the two Honorable Houses or Inns of the Court, the Middle Temple, and Lyncolns Inne (London: George Norton, 1613) Chapman, George, The Poems of George Chapman, ed. Phyllis Brooks Bartlett (New York: Modem Language Association of America, 1941). Chapman, George, The Works of George Chapman, ed. R. H. Shepherd, 3 vols (London: Chatto and Windus, 1874-5). Charles I, Bibliotheca Regia, ed. Peter Heylen (London: Henry Seile, 1659). 190 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 PRIMARY TEXTS Bibliography 191 A Declaration of the Demeanour and Cariage of Sir Walter Raleigh, knight, as well in his Voyage, as in, and sithence his Returne; And of the true motives and inducements which occasioned His Maiestie to Proceed in doing Iustice upon him as hath bene done (London: B. Norton and I. Bill, 1618). Echard, Laurence, An Abridgement of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World in Five Books .... Wherein the particular Chapters and Paragraphs are succinctly Abridg'd according to his own Method, in the larger Volume. To which is Added, His Premonition to Princes, (London: Matthew Gelliflower, 1698). Echard, Laurence, An Abridgement of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World in Five Books ... with some genuine remains publ. by P. Raleigh, (London: Matthew Gelliflower, 1700). Edwards, Edward, The Life of Sir Walter Ralegh, 2 vols (London: Macmillan, 1868). Edwards, Philip, ed., Last Voyages: Cavendish, Hudson, Ralegh. The Original Narratives (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988). Eliot, Sir John, The Arguments upon the Writ of Habeas Corpus, concerning bans in the Court of the Kings Bench. Whereunto is annexed The Petition of Sir John Elliot Knight, in behalf of the Liberty of the Subject (London: M.F. for W. Lee, M. Walbancke, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell, 1649). Ford, John, Honour Triumphant: and A Line of Life (London: W.S. for N. Butter, 1620). Goodman, Godfrey, The Court of King James the First, ed. John S. Brewer, 2 vols (London: 1839). Hakluyt, Richard, Richard Hakluyt: Voyages and Discoveries, ed. Jack Beeching, (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1985). Hakluyt, Richard, The Original Writings and Correspondence of the two Richard Hakluyts, ed. E. G. R Taylor, 2 vols (London: Hakluyt Society, 1935). Hakluyt, Richard, The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation (London: G. Bishop, R Newberie, R Barker, 1598). Hall, Bishop Joseph, The Balme of Giliad or Comforts for the Distressed, both Morall and Divine (London: M. Flesher, 1646). Harcourt, Robert, A Relation of a Voyage to Guiana (1613), The Hakluyt Society Second Series LX (London: E. AUde, 1926). Hayward, John, The first part of the life and reigne of King Henrie the IIII (London: John Woolfe, 1599). Hayward, John, The Lives of the III Normans, Kings of England (London: RB., 1613). Hobbes, Thomas, Leviathan, ed. Richard Tuck (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Cotton, Robert, A short view of the long life and raigne of Henry the third, king of England (London: 1627). Cromwell, Oliver, Letters and Speeches, ed. Thomas Carlyle, 3 vols (London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1908, 1929). Daniel, Samuel, The First Part of the Historie of England (London: The Company of Stationers, 1613). Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Hoskins, Dr John, Two Sermons Preached: The One At St Maries in Oxford, The Other Being the Conclusion of the Rehearsall Sermon at Pauls Crosse, 1614 (London: W. Stansby, 1615). Howell, James, Epistolae Ho-Elianae: Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren [sic] (London: Humphrey Moseley, 1655). Hughes, P. L. and Larkin, J. F., eds, Tudor Royal Proclamations (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1969). Ingoldsby, William, The Doctrine of the Church of England Established by Parliament against Disobedience and wilfull Rebellion (London: William Sheares, 1642). James I, Letters of King James VI and I, ed. G. P. V. Akrigg (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984). James I, The Basilikon Doron of King James VI, ed. James Craigie (London: W. Blackwood & Sons Ltd, 1944). James I, The Poems of James VI of Scotland, ed. James Craigie, 2 vols (Edinburgh: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1955, 1958). Jonson, Ben, Sejanus his Fall, ed. Philip J. Ayres (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990). Jonson, Ben, Works, eds C. H. Herford, Percy and Evelyn Simpson, 11 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925-52). Keymer, John, A cleare and evident way for enriching the Nations of England and Ireland and for setting very great Numbers of Poore on work (London: T.M. & A.c. for John Saywell, 1650). See Ralegh (attrib.), Observations on Trade ... Keymis, Lawrence, A Relation of the second Voyage to Guiana (London: T. Dawson, 1596). The Kings Cabinet opened: or certain packets of secret letters & papers, written with the Kings own hand, and taken in his Cabinet at Nasby-Fie/d, June 14, 1645, (London: Robert Bostock, 1645). Lessius, Rawleigh his Ghost Or, a Feigned Apparition of Syr Walter Rawleigh, to a friend of his, for the translating into English, the Booke of Leonard Lessius (that most learned man) entituled, De Prouidentia Numinis, & Animi immortalitate: written against Atheists, and Polititians of these dayes, translated by A.B. (London: 1631). Lessius, Sir Walter Rawleigh's Ghost; or, his apparition to an intimate Friend, willing him to translate into English, this learned book of L. Lessius (London: Thomas Newcomb, 1651). Livy, The War with Hannibal, translated by Aubrey de Selincourt (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, (1965) 1972). The Lord Digby's Cabinet and Dr Goffs Negotiations; Together with his Majesties, the Queens, and the Lord Jermin's and other Letters Taken at the Battel at Sherborn (London: Edward Husband, 1646). Machiavelli, The Portable Machiavelli, eds Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1979). Martyn, William, The Historie and Lives, of Twentie Kings of England (London: W. Stansby for H. Featherstone, 1615). Martyn, William, Youths Instruction (London: I. Beale for R. Redmer, 1612). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 192 193 Masham, Thomas, The Third Voyage set forth by Sir Walter Ralegh to Guiana, with a pinnesse called The Watte, in the yeere 1596. Written by M. Thomas Masham a gentleman of the companie (London: 1596). May, Thomas, A Breviary of the History of the Parliament of England (London: J. Cottrel for Thomas Brewster, 1655). Milton, John, Complete Prose Works, revised edition, 8 vols (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1980). Osborne, Dorothy, Letters to William Temple, ed. Kenneth Parker (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1987). Overbury, Sir Thomas, The Arraignment and Conviction of Sr Walter Rawleigh (London: William Wilson for Abel Roper, 1648). Ovid, The Metamorphoses of Ovid, trans. M. M. Innes (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1955). Parker, Henry, Animadversions upon those Notes which the late Observator hath published (London: William Sheares, 1642). Percy, Henry (Ninth Earl of Northumberland), Advice to his Son, ed. G. B. Harrison (London: E. Benn, 1930). Polybius, The Histories, trans. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh, 2 vols (London: Macmillan & Co., 1889). Proceedings in Parliament 1610, ed. Elizabeth Read Foster (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1966). Proceedings in Parliament 1614 (House of Commons), ed. Maija Jansson (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988). Proceedings in Parliament 1625, eds Maija Jansson and William B. Bideswell (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987). Purchas, Samuel, Purchas His Pilgrimes (London: William Stansby for Henrie Featherstone, 1625). Ralegh, Carew, A Brief Relation of Sir Walter Raleigh's Troubles, 1669, printed in The Harleian Miscellany, vol. IV (London: 1745). Ralegh, Carew, Observations upon some particular Persons and Passages in a Book lately made publick; Intituled A Compleat History. . .. Written by a lover of the truth (London: G. A. Bedell and Thomas Collins, 1656). Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Tubus Historicus: An Historical Perspective (London: Benjamin Fisher,1636). Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Maxims of State (London: W. Bentley for W. Sheares, 1650). Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Sir Walter Raleigh's Observations touching Trade & Commerce with the Hollander, and other Nations, as it was presented to K. James. Wherein is proved, that our Sea and Land Commodities serve to inrich and strengthen other Countries against our owne. With other Passages of high Concernment (London: TH. for William Sheeres, 1653). Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Sir Walter Raleigh's Sceptick or Speculations (London: W. Bentley for W. Sheares, 1651). Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), The Cabinet-Council: Containing the Chelf ARTS OF EMPIRE, And MYSTERIES of STATE; DISCABINETED In Political and Polemical Aphorisms, grounded on Authority and Experience; And illustrated with the choicest Examples and Historical Observations. By the Everreknowned knight, Sir WALTER RALEIGH, Published by John Milton Esq. (London: Thomas Newcomb for Thomas Johnson, 1658). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Bibliography Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), The Life and Death of Mahomet. The Conquest of Spaine Together with the Rysing and Ruine of the Sarazen Empire (London: R.H. for Daniel Frere, 1637). Ralegh, Sir Walter, A notable and memorable story of the cruel war between the Carthaginians and their own Mercenaries, Gathered out of Polybius and other Authors, by that famous Historian, Sir Walter Ralegh (London: Thomas Underhill, 1647). Ralegh, Sir Walter, A report of the truth of the fight about the iles of Acores, this last sommer, betwixt the Revenge, one of her Maiesties Shippes, and an armada of the King of Spaine (London: J. Windet for W. Ponsonbie, 1591). Ralegh, Sir Walter, Considerations concerning Reprisalls, ed. J. P. Collier, N.Q. 3rd Series 5 (1864) 208. Ralegh, Sir Walter, Excellent Observations and Notes Concerning the Royall Navy and Sea-Service (London: Humphrey Moseley, 1650). Ralegh, Sir Walter, Journal, British Library, Cotton MS Titus B VIII, ff.162-75 Ralegh, Sir Walter, Judicious and Select Essayes and Observations (London: Humphrey Moseley, 1650). Ralegh, Sir Walter, On the Succession, ed. Pierre Lefranc, Etudes Anglaises, 13 (1960) 38-46. Ralegh, Sir Walter, Remains of Sir Walter Raleigh (London: William Sheares Junior, Westminster Hall, 1657). Ralegh, Sir Walter, Sir Walter Raleigh's Instrvctions to his Sonne, and to Posterity (London: Benjamin Fisher, 1632). Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Discoverie of Guiana, ed. V. T. Harlow (London: The Argonaut Press, 1928). Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Discoverie of the large, rich and beautiful empyre of Guiana (London: R. Robinson, 1596). Ralegh, Sir Walter, The History of the World, ed. C. A. Patrides (London: Macmillan, 1971). Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Poems of Sir Walter Ralegh, ed. Agnes Latham (London: Constable & Co. Ltd, 1929). Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh, ed. John Hannah (London: G. Bell, 1875). Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Prerogative of Parlaments [sic] in England proued in a Dialogue (pro & contra) betweene a Councellor of State and a Iustice of Peace (Midelburge [London]: 1628). Ralegh, Sir Walter, The Works of Sir Walter Ralegh, eds W. Oldys and T. Birch, 8 vols (London: 1829). Ralegh, Sir Walter, Three Discourses of Sir Walter Raleigh (London: 1702). Raymond, Joad, ed., Making the News: An Anthology of the Newsbooks of Revolutionary England 1641-1660 (Moreton-in-Marsh: Windrush, 1993). A Remonstrance of the State of the Kingdom (London: H. Elsinge, 1641). Ross, Alexander, Som Animadversions and Observations upon Sr Walter Raleigh's Historie of the World. Wherein his mistakes are noted, and som doubtful passages cleered (London: William Du-Gard for Richard Royston, 1653). Ross, Alexander, The Marrow of Historie, Or an Epitome of all Historical Passages from the Creation to the end of the last Macedonian War, First set 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 194 195 out at large by Sir Walter Rawleigh, And now Abreviated [sic] by A. R. (London: W. Du- Gard for John Stephenson, 1650). Sanderson, William, A Compleat History of the lives and reigns of Mary queen of Scotland and of her son and successor, James the sixth (London: Humphrey Moseley, Richard Tomlins, George Sawbridge, 1656). Sanderson, William, Aulicus Coquinariae: or a Vindication in Answer to a Pamphlet entitled the Court and Character of King James (London: Humphrey Moseley, 1650). Sanderson, William, The Arraignment of Dr Peter Heylins Advertisement on the Three Histories Mary Queen of Scots, King James & King Charles, Vindicated by the Author William Sanderson Esq (London: Thomas Leach, 1658). Scott, Thomas, Robert Earle of Essex his Ghost Sent from Elizian: To the Nobility, Gentry, and Communaltie of England (printed in Paradise: 1624). Scott, Thomas, Sir Walter Rawleighs Ghost, or Englands Forewarner ('Utricht': 1626). Scott, Thomas, Vox Populi or Newes from Spayne, translated according to the Spanish coppie Which may serve to forewarn both England and the Vnited Provinces how farre to trust to Spanish pretences (London: 1620). Selden, John, Titles of Honour (London: W. Stansby for I. Helme, 1614). Sidney, Algernon, Discourses concerning Government (London: 1698) Sidney, Sir Philip, Prose Works, ed. Albert Feuillerat, 4 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, (1912), 1962). Sir Walter Ralegh his Lamentation who was beheaded the 29 October 1618 (London: P. Birch, 1618). Sliedan, John, A Briefe chronicall of the foure principal/ empyres, to witte, of Babilon, Persia, Grecia, and Rome. Wherein is compendiouslye conteyned the whole discourse of histories (London: Rouland Hall, 1563). Sokol, B. J., 'Thomas Hariot's Notes on Sir Walter Ralegh's address from the scaffold', Manuscripts, 26 (1974) 198-205. Straffords Plot discovered, and the Parliament vindicated (London: Ruth Raworth for John Dallam, 1646). Stukeley, Sir Lewis, The humble petition and information of Sir Lewis Stucley, Knight, touching his owne behaviour in the charge committed vnto him,for the bringing up of Sir Walter Ralegh and the scandalous aspersions cast upon him for the same (London: B. Norton and I. Bill, 1618). Vox Plebis or The Peoples Out-cry Against Oppression, Injustice, and Tyranny. Wherein the Liberty of the Subject is asserted, Magna Charta briefly but pithily expounded. Lieutenant Coionell Lilburnes Sentence published and refuted. Committees arraigned, Gaolers condemned, and remedies provided. London printed 1646. in the sitting of Parliament; during which time the Presse ought to be free and open, as the Parliament declared to the Bishops at the beginning thereof (London: 1646) Weldon, Sir Antony, A Cat may look upon a King (London: William Roybould, 1652). Weldon, Sir Antony, The Court and Character of King James (London, 1650). Wilson, Arthur, The History of Great Britain, being the Life and Reign of King James the First (London: Richard Lownds, 1653). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Bibliography 196 Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers MANUSCRIPTS (See Appendix I for details of manuscript copies of works by Ralegh.) All Soul's College, MS 155, verse attacks on Ralegh. Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 830, Sir Lewise Stukelyes Appollogie. Bodleian Library, MS Rawl. 100, a parliamentary speech by Ralegh. Bodleian Library, MS Wood 1722, Bolton, Edmund, Hypercritica, or a rule of iudgement, for writing or reading our Histories. British Library, Sloane MS 1856, A Discourse of Mr St Johns affirming that the kind of benevolence demanded is against law, reason, and religion. British Library, Sloane MS 1133, Ralegh, Sir Walter (attrib.), Of the Voyage to Guiana. Exeter College, Oxford, MS 139, proposals for the Lord Chamberlainship Public Record Office, S.P. 12.240.53, letters about the loss of the Revenge. Public Record Office, S.P. 13.26.42: S.P. 14.23.10: S.P. 14.8.123, papers concerning the early years of Ralegh's imprisonment. Public Record Office, S.P. 14.103. 86-180, papers concerning Ralegh's execution. St John's College, Cambridge, MS James 14, Ralegh's Large Apology with accompanying letter from A. Throckmorton. SECONDARY TEXTS Allen, J. 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Wootton, David, ed., Divine Right and Democracy: An Anthology of Political Writing in Stuart England (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986). Wunderli, Richard and Broce, Gerald, 'The Final Moment Before Death', The Sixteenth Century Journal, 20 (1989) 259-75. Wiirzbach, Natascha, The Rise of the English Street Ballad 1550-1650 trans. Gayna Wells (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 204 A Cat may look upon a King, 140-1 Elizabeth I, 29, 71, 119, 121-2 Ralegh's career under, 2,4, 18n, 2On,25,80n, 101, 142 Ralegh's representation of, 4,7, 9-10,25,72,76-7, 80n, 93-4, Abbot, George, Archbishop of Canterbury, 60, 116 All that Glisters is not Gold, 155-6, 164 Anne, Queen, wife of James I, 3, 85 Arundel, Charles, Earl of, 94, 101 Aubrey, John, 67, 104n, 142, 172n. 164 Essex, Earl of, see Robert Devereux executions, 82, 88, 90-3, 104 exploration, see colonisation Bacon, Francis, 62,70-1, 108n. Bolton, Edmund, 29,37 Bradstreet, Anne, 141, 152-3, 154 Browne, William, 56, 107n, 168 Buckingham, Duke of, see George Villiers Burre, Walter, see printers and booksellers Byron, Duc de, 107-8n in drama, 93,100, 107n Felton, John, 116 Filmer, Robert, 176 forced loan, see taxation Foxe's Book of Martyrs, 125 Gondomar, Count, 83-4, 96, 118-20, 122, 168; see also Spain Gorges, Sir Arthur, 23,25-7,32,34, 35,103 Grenville, Sir Richard, 3-7 Carew, Sir George, 23, 57n, 85 Carr, Robert, 37-8, 61, 73, 94 Cecil, Sir Robert, 9, 35, 83 censorship, 3, 8, 12, 15, 30, 60, 68, 102-3, 116, 122, 124, 141 Chapman, George, 23,29, 55n, 100 Charles I, 15-16,24,69,100,112, 113, 120-1, 125, 129-30, 132, 159, 161, 174n Civil War, 1, 19n, 122, 131-2, 153, 161,172n Coke, Edward, 114 colonisation, 9-10,24,35,84,166-7; see also trade Cotton, Sir Robert, 30,75 Cromwell, Oliver, 8, 150-2, 154, 156, 159-60, 162-5, 167 Daniel, Samuel, 29,30,37 Devereux, Robert, Earl of Essex, 18n, 56n, 80n, 93-4, 100, 119, 176 Edwards, Thomas, 141 Eliot, Sir John, 110-15 Hakewill, William, 63 Hall, Bishop Joseph, 171 Hayward, John, 29-31 Henry, Prince of Wales, 22-8,30-1, 48,55n, 61, 105n, 154 Herbert, George, 128 historiography, seventeenthcentury, 13,22,26,28-30,36, 40, 45-6, 69, 75, 77, 102, 113, 135n, 140-1, 153-4, 159-62, 167, 169-71 Hobbes, Thomas, 15 Holland, see the Netherlands honour, 6-7, 52-3, 93-4, 135n Hoskins, Dr John, 32-3, 67 Hoskins, John, 32-5, 63, 67-8, 133n Howard, Lord Charles, 19n, 35 Howard, Lord Thomas, 4, 6 imperialism, see nationalism impositions, see taxation James I, 37-8,61-5,70,75, 117, 120, 127 205 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 Index Index and Ralegh, 1, 8, 14,23, 60-2, 83, 84-7,97-8,158-9,168,170 as reader, 14,37-8,60-1,69, 102 Ralegh's representation of, 47, 49, 63, 65, 75-6, 87, 93, 94, 128 Jonson, Ben, 32, 34-5, 39, 93 Jus Populi, 142 Keymis, Lawrence, 9-10,83,170 last speeches, see executions Laud, William, Archbishop of Canterbury, 69, 125, 139, 172n Lessius, Leonard, 123--4, 154 Levellers, 12, 19n, 142-9, 154, 173n Lord Digby's Cabinet, 161-2 Machiavelli, Niccolo, 18n, 20n, 119, 159 Markham, Gervase, 19n Marvell, Andrew, 156,165 May, Thomas, 136n, 161 Milton, John, 142, 154, 159-63, 165 Moseley, Humphrey, see printers and booksellers nationalism, 121, 158; see also colonialism Naunton, Robert, 84, 107n. Navy, the, 25-8 Netherlands, the, 18n, 164-5 Northumberland, Earl of, see Henry Percy Parliaments and parliamentarians 1610, 63, 70, 79n 1614, 49, 62--4, 67-8, 69, 73, 112 1625, 114 1626, 121 1628, 15-16, 110, 115, 124 1629, 124 1649, 143, 19n Barebones, 165 John Hoskins and, 32-3 Ralegh as parliamentarian, 25, 67, 79n, 80n, 168 Ralegh's views on parliament, 60-7, 73-6, 143 Rump, 165 Sir John Eliot and, 112, 114 patriarchy, 129-31 patronage, 3, 8-9, 15, 22-3, 26, 32, 34,66-7, 111, 116 Percy, Henry, Earl of Northumberland, 127 Pett, Phineas, 27-8 prerogative parliamentary, 115 royal, 60, 63, 64, 75, 136n Printers and booksellers Burre, Walter, 31-2, 103 Moseley, Humphrey, 157, 169 Sheares, William, 157 Stansby, William, 31-2, 103 providentialism, 7, 39--40, 44-6, 54, 116-18,149-52,155-6,159, 161-2, 167, 174n Purchas, Samuel, 27 Ralegh, Carew, 1,85, 104-5n, 138n, 140, 170-1 Ralegh, Lady Elizabeth, 1,67,84, 94, 138n, 140 Ralegh, Philip, 138n Ralegh, Sir Walter 1603 trial, 1, 7-8, 14, 18n, 61, 94, 100, 106n, 107n, 168 1618 arraignment, 97, 100, 140, 171 and Oliver Cromwell, 8, 150-2, 154, 156, 159-60, 162-5, 167 and foreign policy, 25, 49-50, 163-7 and militarism, 6-7, 34, 40, 49-54, 60, 118-20, 167 and John Milton, 159-63 and Parliament, 25, 62, 63--4, 66-7, 69, 79n, 168 and Spain, 3-7, 25, 28, 106-7n and textual scholarship, 11, 79n, 137n, 179 and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, 18n, 56n, 80n, 93--4, 100, 119,176 and trade, 163-7 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 206 Index A Dialogue betweene a Counsellor of State and a Justice of Peace, 2, 8, 14,30-1, chapter 3,96,110-16, 138n, 139, 143, 176-7 A Discourse on the Original and Fundamental Cause [...J of war, 13, 129-30, 174n A Discourse on the invention of Ships, 164, 174n A Discourse touching a War with Spain and the protecting of the Netherlands, 1, 18n, 66 A Relation of the Action at Cadiz, 25 A Report of the Truth of the fight . .. betwixt the Reuenge ... and an Armada of the King of Spaine, 3-7 Apology Jor his Voyage to Guiana, 85-6, 103-4, 140, 168 Concerning a Match propounded by the Savoyan, between the Lady Elizabeth and the Prince of Piedmont, 23 Instructions to his son and to Posterity, 110-11, 123, 125-7, 129-32 Observations and Notes concerning the Royal Navy and Sea Service, 23, 25-7, 174n Of the Art of Warre by Sea, 25, 28 On the Succession, 25 Opinions . .. on the Alarm of an invasion from Spain, 25, 66 poetry, 3, 18, 95, 112 Short Apology (Letter to Lord George Carew), 85,86 Speech from the Scaffold, 2, 11, 17-18,55, 88-96, 135n, 140, 168 state responses to: Declaration of the Demeanour, 97-100,102 Petition, 96-100, 102 The Discoverie of the large, rich and bewtiful Empire of Guiana, 3, 9-10,12,17,35-6,44 The History of the World, 2, 8, 11-14, 17, chapter 2, 66--8, 70, 77--8,96,102-3,111, 118, 123-4, 127-9, 142-54, 161, 167--8, 171, 174n, 176 Touching a Marriage between Prince Henry of England and a Daughter of Savoy, 24, 27 Ralegh, Sir Walter: works attributed Advice of a Loving Sonne, 130-2 Cabinet Council, 56n, 159-63 Life and Death of Mahomet, 123 Maxims of State, 56n, 123, 140, 157 Observations touching trade with the Hollander, 157-9, 174n Sceptick, 157 Tubus Historicus, 123 Ralegh, Wat, 34,83,84 reading practices, 8-10, 12-14, 36-41,42,60-1,69-71,102, 111-14, 128, 140, 141, 149-50, 159, 167-9, 171, 177 republicanism, 34,163, 172n, 173n, 176-7 Ross, Alexander, 153-4, 169-70 Salisbury, Earl of, see Cecil, Sir Robert Sanderson, William, 170-1 Scott, Thomas, 110, 116-22, 131, 143, 155, 164, 167, 175n Selden, John, 29-30, 32, 34 Shakespeare, William, 18n, 93, 100 Sheares, William, see printers and booksellers Sidney, Algernon, 176-7 10.1057/9780230371606 - Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century, Anna Beer Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to McGill University - PalgraveConnect - 2013-07-06 as censor, 102 career under Queen Elizabeth, 2, 4-5, 14, 25, 94, 101 execution, 1, 19n, 55, 88-96, 112, 118, 139, 140, 155, 176 first Guiana voyage, 9-10,35,44, 166,170 imprisonment, 20n, 22-6, 61 in ghosts, see Scott, All that Glisters, Lessius in the eighteenth century, 177 representation of Queen Elizabeth, 4-5,7,9-10,25,72, 76-7,164 second Guiana voyage, 62, 82-5, 170,174n Ralegh, Sir Walter: texts 207 Index Sidney, Sir Philip, 107n Sliedan, John, 29,36 Somerset, Earl of, see Carr, Robert Spain and second Guiana voyage, 83-7 at war with England, 3-7, 164 Ralegh on Spain, 1, 3-7, 12, 25, 28, 66, 106-7n, 150, 175n the Spanish match, 110,117,11823 Spenser, Edmund, 30 St John, Oliver, 70-1 Stansby, William, see printers and booksellers Steele, Richard, 177n Strafford, Earl of, see Thomas Wentworth Strafford's Plot Discovered, 162 Stukeley, Sir Lewis, 85,92,96 subsidies, see taxation taxation forced loan, 110, 113, 116, 121 impositions, 63-4, 70 subsidies, 80n, 114 Tichborne, Chidiock, 93 Tounson, Robert, Dean, 92, 93, 102 trade, 10, 28, 72, 157-8, 163-7 tyranny, 44, 78, 142, 157, 160 Villiers, George, Duke of Buckingham, 25,34,73,83,85, 105n, 108n, 110, 112, 114, 116, 121 Wentworth, Thomas, Earl of Strafford, 139, 162 Wilson, Arthur, 37, 171 Winwood, Ralph, 83, 87, 94, 105n Writer, Clement, 150 10.1057/9780230371606 - 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