Description:

4 of Elizabeth Tudor's Privy Councilors Incl. Sir Nicholas Bacon Sign Document in 1560, Roughly 1 Year after Queen's Coronation

A paper fragment from a larger manuscript document signed by four Privy Councilors of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), including Sir Nicholas Bacon, illegible; Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, as "F. Bedford"; Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, as "Penbroke"; and Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, as "E. Clynton". The document appears to be dated February 11, 1560 (interpreting the day as written in Roman numerals, as "xi"). N.p. The paper fragment is mounted to a larger album page with scattered pencil inscriptions. Expected folds and isolated foxing, else near fine. The paper fragment measures 6" x 4.25" while the album page measures 7.875" x 10.75." Currently stored in a former collector's wrapper, copied over with copious biographical notes; also included is Sir Nicholas Bacon's entry from the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (1910) included with the lot for reference. Provenance: From the estate of a Maryland collector.

Elizabeth Tudor had ascended to the English throne in mid-November 1558 and hosted her first Privy Council meeting on November 20, 1558. The Privy Council served in an important advisory capacity to the ruling monarch, and its members were both Protestant and Catholic as well as selected from all socio-economic classes (albeit mostly from the nobility.) Elizabeth preferred to maintain a smaller Privy Council because it was easier to manage. Elizabethan Privy Councils maintained between 14 - 20 Councilors on average at various points throughout the queen's 44-year-long reign.

This document dates then, from just one year after Elizabeth I had been coronated in mid-January 1559. The first two years of Elizabeth I's reign were consumed by foreign policy concerns. Folgerpedia, an extension of the Folger Shakespeare Library, has compiled a day-by-day calendar of events in Elizabeth I's court. The entry for February 11, 1560 records that a new French ambassador, Chevalier Michel de Seurre, arrived in London. Relations between the English and the French were particularly tense because Mary, Queen of Scots, the widow of French King Francis II, threatened Elizabeth I's throne. On February 27, 1560, English and Scottish emissaries signed the Treaty of Berwick which neutralized the threat of French invasion from Scotland.

The signers include:

- Sir Nicholas Bacon (1510-1579), who served as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal (the physical seal of state) between 1558-1571, and as the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (the personal seal belonging to the monarch) between 1558-1579. The Lord Keeper, in addition to serving as the physical custodian of the seals, served a crucial administrative role.

- Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (1527-1585), a Privy Councilor who also served on various diplomatic missions to France and Scotland in the 1560s.

- Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1501-1570), a Privy Councilor who had served as an able military commander; as guardian to Elizabeth I's half-brother Edward VI; as the Governor of Calais, England's foothold in Normandy; and as President of Wales.

- Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln (1512-1585), a Privy Councilor who had also served as Lord High Admiral during the reign of Elizabeth I's half-siblings, between 1550-1554.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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