https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2023/07/showing-elizabeth-i-in-a-new-light.html Skip to main content * Catalogues & Collections * Discover & Learn * What's on * Visit * Business Support * Shop * Join THE BRITISH LIBRARY Medieval manuscripts blog * All our blogs * Latest posts * About this blog Search this blog [ ] Search Search Main Previous post 15 July 2023 Showing Elizabeth I in a new light If you have been following the news recently, you may have seen that we've been doing specialist imaging on the draft manuscripts of William Camden's Annals of the Reign of Elizabeth I, with sensational results. This research has been undertaken by Helena Rutkowska, a collaborative DPhil student in partnership between the University of Oxford, Open University and the British Library, with the imaging generously funded by the British Library Collections Trust, carried out by Eugenio Falcioni, and co-ordinated by Calum Cockburn. Specialist imaging of a manuscript of Camden's Annals The specialist imaging of Camden's Annals, using transmitted light, being carried out at the British Library Camden's Annals has long been regarded as one of the most important, contemporary accounts of the reign of this famous Tudor queen. The work was originally requested by William Cecil, Lord Burghley (d. 1598), and was then completed by command of King James I of England and VI of Scotland (d. 1625). William Camden (d. 1623), an antiquarian scholar and Clarenceux King of Arms, is credited with authorship of the work, but he was probably writing in collaboration with others, including Sir Robert Cotton (d. 1631), founder of the famous Cotton library. The first three books, covering the period to 1587, were published in Latin in 1615, with the remainder of the work published after Camden had died, in 1625. Helena's research has focused on the ten volumes of manuscript drafts of the Annals (Cotton MS Faustina F I-X). These manuscripts reveal a continuous process of revision of the text prior to publication, with multiple crossings out, amendments and additions. Most notably, there are dozens of pages on which the original text has been pasted over, with new wording written on top. By using transmitted light, the Library has now been able to reveal what is under those pastedowns, and to read the original text of Camden's Annals for the first time in 400 years. A draft manuscript of Camden's Annals The draft manuscripts of Camden's Annals contain numerous revisions, with many parts of the original text pasted over and over-written The new discoveries will be outlined in Helena's doctorate, and we also plan to make the images available online. Early analysis has made some startling revelations, including earlier accounts of Elizabeth's excommunication by Elizabeth I in 1570, the death of King Philip II of Spain in 1598, and the implied involvement of James VI in a plot to assassinate the English queen. There are also subtle changes in the manuscript drafts which suggest that Elizabeth did not nominate James on her deathbed as her successor, unlike the version that made its way into print. Helena suggests that this all indicates that Camden was self-censoring his work, for fear of upsetting his patron, King James, and to paint him (and his mother, Mary Queen of Scots) in a more flattering light. The British Library is delighted to have been able to support this groundbreaking research, and we look forward to discovering what else has been covered up in the manuscripts of Camden's Annals. We are very grateful to the British Library's Collections Trust for supporting this project. You can read more about Helena Rutkowska's research in this article by Dalya Alberge, published in The Guardian on 14 July. Follow us on Twitter @BLMedieval Posted by Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern Manuscripts at 10:11 PM Tags Digital scholarship, Early modern, Manuscripts, Royal Medieval manuscripts blog recent posts * Showing Elizabeth I in a new light * The last day of Constantinople * Death of the Wolf * Medieval and Renaissance Women: remember their names * Caption this May 2023 * Medieval and Renaissance Women: full list of the charters and rolls * The Coronation Banquet of Henry VI * Lost and found: in praise of Cardinal Wolsey * Inventing a royal past * Shakespeare before Shakespeare Tweets by BL Medieval Manuscripts Archives * July 2023 * May 2023 * April 2023 * March 2023 * February 2023 * January 2023 * December 2022 * November 2022 * October 2022 * September 2022 More... Tags * Africa * Alexander exhibition * Ancient * Anglo-Saxons * Animals * Black & Asian Britain * British Library Treasures * Calendars * Classics * Decoration * Digital scholarship * Early modern * Elizabeth and Mary exhibition * English * Events * Exhibitions * Fashion * Featured manuscripts * French * Gold exhibition * Greek * Harry Potter * Humanities * Illuminated manuscripts * International * Ireland * Latin * Law * Leonardo * LGBTQ+ * Literature * Magna Carta * Manuscripts * Maps * Medieval * Medieval history * Middle East * Middle east * Modern history * Music * Olympics * Palaeography * Polonsky * Printed books * Rare books * Research collaboration * Romance languages * Royal * sacred texts * Sacred texts * Science * Scotland * Slavonic * South East Asia * Visual arts * Women's histories * Writing Medieval manuscripts links * Explore our collections in our Manuscripts Reading Room * The British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts * Digitised Manuscripts Other British Library blogs * Americas studies * Asian and African studies * Collection Care * Digital scholarship * Endangered archives * English and Drama * European studies * Innovation and enterprise * Knowledge Matters * Maps and views * Newsroom * Medieval manuscripts * Music * Science * Social Science * Sound and vision * UK web archive * Untold lives All text is (c) British Library Board and is available under a CC-BY Licence except where otherwise stated * Terms of use * About the British Library * Privacy * Cookies * Accessibility * Contact us .