Introduction: Authority, Authorship and Aristocratic Identity in Seventeenth Century England: William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and his Political, Social and Cultural Connections

Edwards, Peter; Graham, Elspeth

doi:10.1163/9789004326217_002

“…Although letters were their main output, secretaries were involved in the creation of other genres as well. John Rolleston (1597-1681), secretary to William Cavendish (bap.1593-d.1676), for instance, transcribed not only Cavendish's literary works but those of his daughters, both poets and playwrights, Elizabeth Brackley (1626Brackley ( -1663 and Jane Cavendish (1622-1669), and his wife, the writer Margaret Cavendish, née Lucas (1623?-1673), too (Hulse 1995;Fitzmaurice 2003;Edwards and Graham 2016; see Drama by Elizabeth Brackley/Jane Cavendish). While Rolleston mostly improved William's orthography, another of his secretaries, Robert Payne (1596-1651), made much more substantial changes to his master's texts (Raylor 2000).…”

Section: The Professional Scribementioning

confidence: 99%

Manuscript, Women, and Scribal Culture

Fikkers,

Riach

2024

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Early Modern Women's Writing

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Secular scribes played a vital role in the production of manuscripts, with early moderns making use of the services offered by professional scribes, scriveners, and secretaries. Scribes worked on a more informal level too, as family members, friends, servants, and neighbours penned texts at the request of their kith and kin. Women, too, contributed to this scribal culture, both as those requesting the use of a scribe and as those wielding the quill.The definitions of "scribe" given in contemporary scholarship often prioritize the professional, thus excluding those working in an informal capacity from the conversation altogether. Creating a more inclusive definition, one which also recognizes the authorial license concomitant to scribal work, will allow these "amateur" scribes (who we might call "scribblers," perhaps) an identity through which they can enter into the contemporary scholarly discourse surrounding the role of the scribe in early modern England. As these amateurs were sometimes female, this expanded perspective will make it possible for scholars to gain a more rounded and complete understanding of manuscript culture.

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Manuscript, Women, and Scribal Culture

Fikkers

¹

,

Riach²

2022

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Early Modern Women's Writing

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Secular scribes played a vital role in the production of manuscripts, with early moderns making use of the services offered by professional scribes, scriveners, and secretaries. Scribes worked on a more informal level too, as family members, friends, servants, and neighbours penned texts at the request of their kith and kin. Women, too, contributed to this scribal culture, both as those requesting the use of a scribe and as those wielding the quill.The definitions of "scribe" given in contemporary scholarship often prioritize the professional, thus excluding those working in an informal capacity from the conversation altogether. Creating a more inclusive definition, one which also recognizes the authorial license concomitant to scribal work, will allow these "amateur" scribes (who we might call "scribblers," perhaps) an identity through which they can enter into the contemporary scholarly discourse surrounding the role of the scribe in early modern England. As these amateurs were sometimes female, this expanded perspective will make it possible for scholars to gain a more rounded and complete understanding of manuscript culture.

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The decline of an aristocratic stud: the stud of Edward Lord Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, at Welbeck (Nottinghamshire), 1717–29

Edwards

¹

2015

The Economic History Review

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In 1716 Edward Lord Harley took possession of one the country's most iconic studs when his wife, Henrietta, inherited Welbeck Abbey (Nottinghamshire) on the death of her mother. At the time, the stud, made famous by her great grandfather, William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, was in temporary eclipse and run down. He resolved to restore its fortunes. However, beset by debts and with other expensive interests to distract him, including the purchase of books and manuscripts, he allowed the stud to decay, winding it up just over a decade later. With careful management and sound, timely investment, Harley could have restored its fortunes. However, he hoped to re-establish the stud 'on the cheap', utilizing the top class stallions and mares he had at his disposal to produce first-rate foals, from which he would select the best as replacements. Sadly, too few of the foals came up to expectations. In vain, his agent advised him to retire the ageing mares and invest in suitable replacements. His failure to do so soon impacted on the quality and the number of horses produced. Inevitably, he failed, providing contemporaries and historians alike with an object lesson on how not to run a 'top-end' stud.

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Introduction: Authority, Authorship and Aristocratic Identity in Seventeenth Century England: William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and his Political, Social and Cultural Connections

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Manuscript, Women, and Scribal Culture

Manuscript, Women, and Scribal Culture

Manuscript, Women, and Scribal Culture

The decline of an aristocratic stud: the stud of Edward Lord Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, at Welbeck (Nottinghamshire), 1717–29

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