Six Holograph Letters in French from Queen Elizabeth I to the Duke of Anjou: Texts and Analysis

Elizabeth I’s Foreign Correspondence

“…For an overview of the debate in the mid-sixteenth century, see again Some occurrences: 1b/20 conuiene , 1b/23 pensiero , 1b/31 sentiero , 1b/39 niente ; 1a/14 fuoco , 1b/17 and 1c/25 luogo , 1b/41 and 1c/50 gentilhuomo , 1b/53 and 1c/54 buon . As far as the bona type is concerned, which alone represents three of the four occurrences of missing diphthongization, we note that in popular spoken Florentine the reduction of the diphthong is well documented only from the seventeenth century (seeSerianni, La lingua ,83), but in writing may recur through Latin influence since Petrarch.16 . The diphthongization of the open-mid vowels preceded by consonant + /r/ is present in all Florentine texts of the century and disappears in the following century; see Paola Manni, Il Trecento toscano .…”

“…No letter taking this attitude seems to have been sent. 82 This seems to be an example of a letter that Elizabeth came very close to sending. It is neatly and fully laid out, and signed.…”

“…Several letters, sent and unsent, address the topic from different points of view and with more or less enthusiasm for the marriage. 83 Elizabeth seems to have given up on this one, which takes a particularly negative view toward the marriage, before adding her signature, although the existence of a substantive alteration in a differently colored ink suggests it was only after a second attempt. Revision: Ink color suggests that Elizabeth revised this letter, making both minor and major alterations, at the same time as, or shortly after, the letter's initial composition.…”

“…It is possible that no letter like either version was ever sent to Anjou. 84 Part of Elizabeth's reason for not sending the letter might have been the fact that it spills over onto a third page. Lines written on the third page might have been visible from the outside of the folded package.…”