MS 301: Five 16th century documents

Five diverse manuscript documents, chiefly from the 1550s, collected together in a guard book. These consist of: 1. A copy of a letter of 1554 from Nicholas Ridley (ca. 1502-1555, Bishop of London and protestant martyr) to Gilbert Bourne (ca. 1510-1569, Bishop of Bath & Wells), probably written around 1555; 2. An autograph letter from Francisco Mendoza de Bobadilla (1508-1566, Spanish Cardinal & Archbishop of Burgos) to Mary I (1516-1558, Queen of England) dated 1554; 3. A letter signed by Adolf III von Schaumberg (1511-1556, Archbishop-Elector of Köln) to an unidentifiable addressee in England dated 1555; 4. A bill of the signet signed by Elizabeth I (1533-1603, Queen of England) to James Turberville (d. 1570, Bishop of Exeter) dated to 1558; and 5. A document in English purporting to be a translation of an original in Spanish which reveals advice passed from Philip II (1527-1598, King of Spain) to his son, Philip III (1578-1621, King of Spain), probably produced soon after 1598.

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This catalogue entry derives from Stewart Tiley's unpublished descriptive catalogue of the post-1500 western manuscripts at St John's College, Oxford (2018). This entry was uploaded to ArchivesHub in May 2023 as part of the St John's College Library digitization project. To learn more about the project and to find digital resources, please visit the Digital Library

20th c. armorial bookplate of St John's College on front pastedown.