Mr. Secretary Walsingham and the Policy of Queen Elizabeth

Cross, Arthur Lyon; Read, Conyers

doi:10.2307/1840076

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…75 They have identified, nevertheless, the existence of both a regular, trusted secretariat of personnel -including those like Thomas Phelippes -possessing skills in code-breaking and forgery, together with a wider cast of regular agents who provided intelligence from embassies, mercantile missions, prisons, and private households at home and abroad. 76 The latter group -including Robert Barnard, Nicholas Berden, Maliverey Catlyn, and William Herle -were clearly involved in pro-active intelligence gathering and provide insightful periodic commentary on their methods and occupational identity as spies. Witness, for example, Berden's candid declaration to Walsingham of how he viewed his activities and motives: 'I profess myself a spy, but I am not one for gain, but to serve my country'.…”

Section: IVmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robert Barret and the Making of an Early Modern Occasional Spy

WOODCOCK

2023

History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article examines letters written by the soldier‐author Robert Barret in 1581 describing his travels in France and Italy, while a runaway apprentice during the 1570s, that led him to the English College in Rome. Barret's letters constitute a valuable, hitherto overlooked source of first‐hand information about British and Irish Catholics in continental Europe, complementing better‐known sources by Anthony Munday and Charles Sledd. Barret latterly recast his travels as an intelligence‐gathering opportunity in which he collected detailed information both on Catholic exiles (including Thomas Stukeley, Bishop Thomas Goldwell, and Cardinal William Allen) and on putative plans to invade England. The letters provide an exemplary record of the – not uncommon – experiences of someone compelled by circumstances to adopt the role of an occasional spy. This article not only analyses the value of the letters’ contents but discusses broader questions concerning the pliable, shifting nature of early modern intelligence and intelligence‐gatherers.

show abstract

Section: IVmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robert Barret and the Making of an Early Modern Occasional Spy

WOODCOCK

2023

History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Mr. Secretary Walsingham and the Policy of Queen Elizabeth

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

Robert Barret and the Making of an Early Modern Occasional Spy

Robert Barret and the Making of an Early Modern Occasional Spy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About