The Langham letter, published by 1580, is a significant source for the entertainments of the Elizabethan period in England. Dated from
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
on 20 August 1575, and titled ', it describes the summer 1575 entertainment of
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
by
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years.
Dudley's youth was ove ...
, at
Kenilworth Castle
Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England, managed by English Heritage; much of it is in ruins. The castle was founded after the Norman Conquest of 1066; with development through to the Tudor period. It ...
. It is addressed to Humfrey Martyn, the son of Sir Roger Martyn, a
master
Master, master's or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
In education:
*Master (college), head of a college
*Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline
*Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
of the
Mercers' Company
The Mercers' Company, or the Worshipful Company of Mercers, is a livery company of the City of London in the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. Mercer comes from the Latin for merch ...
.
Authorship
The authorship of the letter was ascribed to Robert Langham or Laneham (c. 1535–1579/80), a mercer and keeper of the
privy council chamber, based on the author's references to himself in the letter as "Lanham" or "Laneham", "Langham", "Ro. La.", and "R. L. Gent. Mercer", and other biographical details, such as his self-description as a "Merchauntaventurer, and Clark of the Councell chamber doore", for which office he writes that he obtained through the patronage of Leicester. Council records confirm that he was paid £10 each April from 1573 to 1579 as keeper of the council chamber.
The letter's editor, R. J. P. Kuin, argues that it is an authentic account by Langham, but others think it was written by
William Patten as a joke at Langham's expense, a view which has been accepted by some authorities. The argument for Patten's authorship is based on similarities of form, style, subject matter, and phraseology common to the letter and Patten's acknowledged work and the close resemblance between his known hand and that which appears in two annotated copies of the letter. In addition, Patten himself witnessed the Kenilworth festivities and contributed some Latin verses to welcome the queen.
Reprints
The work was reissued at Warwick in 1784, and was reprinted in
John Nichols's ''Progresses of Queen Elizabeth''.
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
quoted from it in his novel ''
Kenilworth
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...
'' (1821), leading to the republication of the ''Letter'' in London the same year. Subsequent reprints were in
George Adlard's ''Amye Robsart'' (1870), in the Rev. Edward Hadarezer Knowles's ''Castle of Kenilworth '' (1871), and in the publications of the Ballad Society (ed. Furnivall), 1871.
['']Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Laneham, Robert (fl. 1575), writer on the Kenilworth festivities of 1575, by Sidney Lee. Published 1892.
See also
*
Captain Cox
Notes
References
*Langham, Robert
''A Letter'' R. J. P. Kuin, ed. E. J. Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, 1983.
*Logan, Sandra
''Text/events in early modern England: Poetics of History'' Ashgate: Aldershot, Hants; Burlington, VT. (2007)
External links
* Reprint of Langham letters from th
English Heritage site.for the download
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langham Letter
Letters written in English
Elizabethan era
1575 works
16th-century documents
1575 in England