1st Edition

Elizabethan Diplomacy and Epistolary Culture

By Elizabeth R. Williamson Copyright 2021
304 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

304 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

304 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

A new account of Elizabethan diplomacy with an original archival foundation, this book examines the world of letters underlying diplomacy and political administration by exploring a material text never before studied in its own right: the diplomatic letter-book. Author Elizabeth R. Williamson argues that a new focus on the central activity of information gathering allows us to situate... Read more

Introduction

Part I

Writing

Chapter One

Diplomatic Players: The People Within and Without the Embassy

Chapter Two

Travel, Intelligencing, and the Skills of Information Management

 

Part II

Copying

Chapter Three

Diplomatic Letter-Books: Writing, Copying, and Keeping Letters

Chapter Four

Writing Reputations: Copying Henry Unton’s Letter-books

 

Part III

Keeping

Chapter Five

Beyond the Embassy: Preservation, Consultation, and the Afterlife of Letters

Chapter Six

Abundance and Access: Letters in the Digital Archive

 

Conclusion

Biography

Elizabeth R. Williamson is a Research Fellow in Digital Humanities at the University of Exeter. She has published essays on early modern letters and ambassadorial writings, and has worked on multiple digital projects, including The Diplomatic Correspondence of Thomas Bodley, Early Modern Letters Online, and A Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama.