The New Murrey and Blue blog

I am currently reading the new edition of The History of King Richard the Third by Sir George Buc.

This is a massive tome, by any standards, and certainly, no light read. I have barely begun to absorb the contents, but one interesting discussion in the (very large) introduction is about the famous letter which Buc saw from Elizabeth of York to Norfolk. This letter has sometimes been interpreted as proof that she was willing to marry Richard.

Sadly, Buc only paraphrased the letter. He did not quote it verbatim. This leaves huge scope for interpretation.

Some historians have even suggested that the letter never existed. This seems to me unlikely. Buc was an antiquary and a gentleman (in the 17th-century sense of the word) and for him to tell an outright lie would risk damage to his reputation. (He did not live in our post-truth society where liars are often lionised.)

Secondly, if he was going to insert fiction into his account, would it not have been more advantageous to make use of it as a key part of his argument and not a peripheral one? He could, for example, have invented the proofs of the Edward IV/ Eleanor marriage that were submitted to Parliament.

Thirdly, and most important of all, he said where the letter was to be found. In a cabinet belonging to the Earl of Arundel. This was as much a reference as any modern footnote. Any gentleman could have asked Arundel to allow him to see it. It would not have looked well for Buc’s reputation had Arundel said: ‘What letter is that, old chap? Buc made that up, don’t you know.’ Especially since Arundel was Buc’s patron, to whom the book was dedicated. (I must say with all the bootlicking that was expected in that era.) You don’t, if you are wise, set your high-ranking and powerful patron up to look a fool.

It may be objected that the letter is no longer extant. Very true, but time has a way with documents. Especially with a little incident like the Civil War between then and now.

I am not the first to attempt a reconstruction of the letter, but here is my modern language version.

Dear Norfolk,

As you were a loyal servant of my father and family I am asking for your help.

My future happiness is entirely in the King’s hands and I am dependent on his choices. So I am asking you, as a friend, to take up the question of my marriage with him, and try to get it progressed.

By the way, the Queen is very ill indeed. Most of February is gone, and I don’t think she can last much longer, but still she hangs on. It’s very sad.

All best wishes,

Elizabeth

In short, as was commonplace in medieval and early modern society, she is asking someone with more ‘kick’ at court to intercede on her behalf and promote her interests. In particular, she wants her marriage expedited.

That marriage was almost certainly that mooted for her with the Portuguese Duke of Beja. As matters then stood, a very advantageous marriage indeed.

Well, that’s my take on it anyway. You may not agree, and that’s fair enough. We don’t have the real letter to be sure. What I don’t think is tenable is to argue that there was no letter in the first place.