Romancing the Renaissance:
the Feminization of Early Modern Culture in Twentieth Century Mass Media

English 339

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Sir Francis Walsingham
Biography:

Sir Francis Walsingham was born sometime around the year of 1530. He was a respected English statesman who managed to balance Christian sincerity in his private life and Machiavellian policy in the international affairs he dealt with. He was born into a Protestant family and embraced his religion fervently. Intelligent and scholarly, he studied at Cambridge. When Walsingham was 23 years old, the catholic Queen Mary's accession to the English throne occurred, and he therefore voluntarily exiled himself rather than give up his religion. He returned to England five years later, when Elizabeth became queen, and was a member of her first and second parliaments. It was at this point that he began his career of public service, and it was to his advantage that he supported and was supported by William Cecil, Baron Burghley. In 1570 he was appointed ambassador to France and worked passionately for the full toleration of the Huguenots. In 1573 he became one of the queen's principal secretaries of state and remained one of her top advisors for the rest of his life. It was during this time that he became involved in obtaining intelligence from abroad. He showed a special genius for the secret service work which defended the English crown and England's national independence, and as a result he built up a very effective and elaborate political spy system. Out of his own pocket, he employed several agents in foreign courts and was able to uncover many plots and conspiracies that threatened England in one way or another. The most famous plot he discovered was the plan to assassinate Elizabeth, initiated by Anthony Babington. Walsingham's discovery implicated Mary Queen of Scots in the conspiracy and led to her execution. His intelligence system also acquired very important details about the impending attack of the Spanish Armada.

Sir Francis Walsingham was a very temperamental man who was often capable of biting sarcasm, and he never hesitated to use torture when questioning a person if he thought it was needed. However, he only used it as a last resort, and he surprisingly had a reputation for being charming and generous at times. The characteristic virtue he was most known for was his loyalty. Despite many differences between Walsingham and Elizabeth, the biggest being the difference in religious fervor, the two managed to stay cordial with one another. Although he was honored by her with his knighthood in 1577 and his appointment to many missions, he never was able to persuade the queen to his policies of militant Protestantism. He was always financially hard up because of Elizabeth's parsimony about government services, and later on in his life he took responsibility for the debts of his son-in-law. Because of this, he died in debt in 1590.

Bibliography

Meadows, Denis. Elizabethan Quintet. London: Longmans, Green and CO, 1956.

Read, Conyers. Mr. Secretary Walsingham and the Policy of Queen Elizabeth. 3 vols.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925.

Novels:

Patricia Finney, Firedrake's Eye.

Films and television:

 Elizabeth

Elizabeth R

The Virgin Queen

Elizabeth and Essex.

Description | Schedule | Syllabus | Class Handouts | Internet Resources

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