Philip II of Spain, Letter

Public

Letter (in Spanish) signed "Yo El Rey", to the Marques de Ayamonte, Governor of Milan. Countersigned by Philip's Secretary of State Antonio Perez, and with address, contemporary endorsements and paper seal on the verso [as well as two modern ink stamps by an Italian dealer]. San Lorenco el Real, xxij de Septiembre MDLXXVij. Antonio Perez was for many years Philip's closest counselor and chief minister. He fell from favour and incurred the king's deadly enmity when he fell in love with Philip's mistress the Princess of Eboli, and was forced to flee abroad. He was given asylum in England, where as 'Don Antonio' he became a well-known figure at court and a close friend of Francis Bacon and the Earl of Essex. His relationship with Queen Elizabeth's Jewish physician Roderigo Lopez is believed to have suggested to Shakespeare the character of Shylock's enemy Antonio in 'The Merchant of Venice'.

In Collection:
Creator Contributor Subject Language Identifier
  • Shelf Mark: Doc.Brown.9
Date created Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 page folio ; 283 x 207 mm
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 40, -4
Additional physical characteristics
  • A few small holes caused by ink corrosion, in clear and legible condition with good signatures. Seal legend, partially visible on paper used to protect wax at time of sealing. Two modern stamps in blue ink from (or referring to commerical collections of) Damiano Muoni, Italian historian and Milanese archivist (d. 1894), plus Italian note citing date and content of document.
Physical repository Collection
  • Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts Collection
Provenance
  • Donated by Bruce and Dorothy Brown.
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • Accession Number: 1989-069; Item: 10
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • February 23, 2012
Transcript
  • Transcription by Emma Fanning, as part of coursework for a manuscript studies class with Dr. Adrienne Williams Boyarin (ENGL), April 2015.
Technical note
  • Metadata by KD.
Rights
  • Contact Special Collections and University Archives for access to the original manuscript and for reproduction requests (fee for reproductions). This material is made available on this site for research and private study only.
DOI

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