Vol. 3 (2014): Letter Writing in Early Modern Culture, 1500-1750
Part Two - Case Studies

To and From the Queen: Modalities of Epistolography in the Correspondence of Elizabeth I

PDF
  • Giuliana Iannaccaro,
  • Alessandra Petrina
Giuliana Iannaccaro
BSFM: Laboratorio editoriale OA (Responsabile)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13128/JEMS-2279-7149-14165

Published 2014-03-10

Keywords

  • Dedications,
  • Elizabeth I,
  • Epistolography

How to Cite

Iannaccaro, G., & Petrina, A. (2014). To and From the Queen: Modalities of Epistolography in the Correspondence of Elizabeth I. Journal of Early Modern Studies, 3, 68–89. https://doi.org/10.13128/JEMS-2279-7149-14165
Copyright Notice

Abstract

The article analyses the connection between modalities of letter writing and the relation between writer and addressee. We take into consideration the case of Elizabeth I of England, situated in the overall panorama of early modern European historiography. The English Queen was a prolific and skilful letter writer, endowed with an uncommon talent for foreign languages; but she was also, thanks to her role, the willing or unwilling recipient of thousands of epistles. By selecting two different corpora of letters, from and to the Queen, it is possible to explore how personal relations, degree of acquaintance, respective status and purpose of the letter influence the very structure of the genre.

PDF