7.1. Research for Shake-speare

There are hundreds of indications that underline the fact that Edward de Vere was the man behind William Shake-speare.
But the world doesn’t want to know.
- What are we going to do now?
It is highly likely that further documents will be discovered that will give us insight into the daily routine of the Elizabethan court or that will help in the interpretation of documents already known. They will show us the responsibilities that Oxford had at court, as a poet and playwright. We mustn’t lose hope that there are letters in existence other than the correspondence between Oxford and Lord Burghley. The Earl surely corresponded with Thomas Smith, Francis Walsingham, Christopher Hatton, Walter Raleigh, Mary Pembroke, and John Davies among others. I feel certain that there are still letters written by Oxford in existence, or at least extracts thereof.
In his denunciatory biography of the Earl of Oxford, Alan Nelson quotes letters - among others, from Sir Thomas Smith, Lord Burghley, Sir Walsingham, Sir Walter Raleigh - as a rule, only from printed sources.

As of even date, the surviving unpublished correspondence of Queen Elizabeth’s courtiers has not been systematically investigated from the point of view of the life of the Earl of Oxford.

It is my firm opinion that all of the available literature, including private correspondence concerning the Court Theatre of Elizabeth from the period between 1573 and 1603 should be systematically catalogued.

1. A list should be made of all of Elizabeth’s literary figures, courtiers and other governmental and ecclesiastical officials who were regular visitors to her residences in London (Whitehall, Greenwich, Hampton Court etc). The correspondence between such people and others within and without England, both private and official, should be registered.

2. All surviving correspondence from the period between 1573 and 1608 between English diplomats and their counterparts in the French, Dutch and Spanish archives should also be registered.

3. The relevant correspondences should be checked for references to Court Theatre and court performances of all kinds, particularly in the Twelve Days of Christmas and during Shrovetide.

Is there any information to be gleaned from the archives in Paris, Venice, Mantua and Ferrara concerning the Earl’s travels in April 1576?

Now is the time for European historians and philologists to go to the archives with fresh inspiration and courage- and to compare their findings. Let us collectively make new discoveries rather than reproduce the old errors as individuals.

The study of the indicated materials will open the door to the archives.

ENGLAND:

- Cecil Papers at Hatfield House
http://cecilpapers.chadwyck.com/marketing/about.jsp

Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House, Volume 1, [1539]-1571. Published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1883. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-cecil-papers/vol1

Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House, Volume 2, 1572-1582. Published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1888. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-cecil-papers/vol2

Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House: Volume 3, 1583-1589, London, 1889. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-cecil-papers/vol3

About The Cecil Papers. Pro Quest.http://cecilpapers.chadwyck.com/marketing/about.jsp

A catalogue of the Lansdowne manuscripts in the British Museum. With indexes of persons, places, and matters. London 1819. https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfTheLansdowneManuscriptsI

- Castelnau de Mauvissière, Michel de ; Correspondance diplomatique (1576-1585). Transcript: Dispatches of Castelnau de Mauvissière, Public Record Office, Baschet; Transcripts de Paris, bundle 27 (Public Record Office 31/3/27)

- Talbot Papers MSS / 3197- 3206 (Lambeth Palace Library)
See: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=109-mss_1-2_3&cid=2-6#2-6

- Shrewsbury Papers MSS / 694-710 (Lambeth Palace Library)
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=109-mss_1-2_1&cid=1#1

- The papers of Anthony Bacon and the Earl of Essex MSS 647-662 (Lambeth Palace Library)
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P7953

- Gibson Papers MS 929-942 (Lambeth Palace Library)
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=109-mss_1-2_1&cid=2#2

- Carew Papers MSS / 596-638
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=109-mss_1-1_1&cid=36#36

The Letters of Sir Thomas Smith
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P26541

The Letters of Francis Walsingham
see: Derek Wilson: Sir Francis Walsingham, Courtier in an Age of Terror (2007)
and: http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/28/101028624/

The Letters of Sir Philip Sidney
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/introductions/SidneySirPhilip.html

The Letters of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/introductions/EssexRobertDevereuxEarlof.html

The Letters of Sir Christopher Hatton
British Library, Add. MS 15891. A large square-shaped folio letterbook, in several secretary hands, 248 leaves, in embossed calf.

The Letters of Sir Arthur Gorges
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/introductions/GorgesSirArthur.html

The Letters of Sir John Davies
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/introductions/DaviesSirJohn.html

The Letters of Fulke Greville Lord Brooke
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/introductions/GrevilleFulke.html

The Letters of Samuel Daniel
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/introductions/DanielSamuel.html

The Letters of Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/authors/pembrokemaryherbertcountessof.html

The Letters of George Puttenham
http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/introductions/PuttenhamGeorge.html

The letters of the Earl of Sussex (to Lord Burghley), Hatfield House

William Russell of Thornhaugh (c.1553-1613)

Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester (c.1550-1628)

and others.

In this context, the following collections are of note:

Nelson, Alan H.: Monstrous Adversary. The Life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Liverpool 2003

(Nelson’s sourcebook was determined to demonize the Earl of Oxford. He didn’t allow historical fact to prevent his achieving this end at any time. He did in fact present a distilled version of the accounts of Oxford’s sworn enemies; Lord Henry Howard und Charles Arundell. As one may well imagine, the end result was as about as accurate as one could expect a biography of Trotzki to be if the author’s reconstruction of his life were exclusively based on Stalin’s remarks.)

- Edmond Malone, An Enlarged History of The English Stage; in The Poems and Plays of William Shakespeare, Vol. III. London 1821 https://archive.org/details/playspoemsofwill03shak_0

- The Malone Society’s Publication List

- Documents Relating to the Office of the Revels in the Time of Queen Elizabeth, ed. by Albert Feuillerat, Louvain 1908. https://archive.org/details/DocumentsRelatingToTheOfficeOfThe

- Charles William Wallace, The Evolution of the English Drama Up to Shakespeare, With a History of the First Blackfriars Theatre (Berlin 1912)

- E. K.Chambers & W.W.Greg, ed., `Dramatic Records of the City of London. The Remembranciaʼ, The Malone Society Collections (1907), Vol. I, Part I, pp. 43-100.

- E. K.Chambers & W.W.Greg, ed., `Dramatic Records from the Lansdowne Manuscriptsʼ, The Malone Society Collections (1908), Vol. I, Part II, pp. 143-215. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.172915

- E. K.Chambers & W.W.Greg, ed., `Dramatic Records from the Patent Rolls ʻ, The Malone Society Collections (1909), Vol. I, Part III, pp. 260-84.

- E. K.Chambers, ed., `Dramatic Records of the City of London: The Repertories, Journals, and Letter Booksʼ, 285-320. Dramatic Records: The Lord Chamberlainʼs Officeʼ, The Malone Society Collections (1931), Vol. II, Part III, pp. 321-416.

- Vol. VI, containing: D.Cook & F.P.Wilson, ed., 'Dramatic Records in the Declared Accountsof the Treasurer of the Chamber, 1558-1642', The Malone Society Collections (1961), Vol. VI, pp. 1-176

- Vol. X, F.P.Wilson & R.F.Hill, ed., 'Dramatic Records in the Declared Accounts of the Office of Works, 1560-1640', by F. P. Wilson. The Malone Society Collections (1975), Vol. X.

- Sir E. K. Chambers, The Elizabethan Stage (4 volumes, 1923)

- Lost plays and masques, 1500-1642, ed. by Sibley, Gertrude Marian. London 1933. https://archive.org/details/lostplaysmasques00sibl

- John H Astington, English Court Theatre 1558-1642. Cambridge 1999.

- Print, Manuscript, and Performance. The Changing Relations of the Media in Early Modern England. Edited by Arthur F. Marotti and Michael D. Bristol. Ohio 2000.

- Martin Wiggins, with Catherine Richardson, BRITISH DRAMA, 1533–1642, A catalogue. 2010 ff.. Volume One: 1533–1566; Volume Two: 1567–1589; Volume III: 1590-1597; Volume IV: 1598-1602; Volume V: 1603-1608.

- Elizabeth I. Collected Works, ed. by Leah S. Marcus, Janel Mueller, and Mary Beth Rose (2000)

- Mary Dewar, Sir Thomas Smith, A Tudor Intellectual in Office. London 1964

- The Letters of Sir Walter Raleigh, ed. by Agnes Latham and Joyce Youings. Exeter 1999

- The Prose Works of Sir Philip Sidney, ed. Albert Feuillerat, 4 vols (Cambridge, 1912-26; reprinted 1963).

- The correspondence of Sir Philip Sidney and Hubert Languet, London 1845. https://archive.org/details/correspondenceof00sidnuoft

- Devereux, W. B.
The Devereux: Lives and Letters of the Devereux, the Earls of Essex (2 vols). London 1853
https://archive.org/details/livesandletters00devegoog

- John Nichols, The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, ed. by Elizabeth Goldring; Jayne Elisabeth Archer; Elizabeth Clarke (2014)

John Nichols, The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, I (1823) https://archive.org/details/progressespublic01nich

John Nichols, The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, II (1823) https://archive.org/details/progressespublic02nich

John Nichols, The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, III (1823) https://archive.org/details/progressespublic03nichuoft

- Calendar of the manuscripts of the Most Hon. the Marquess of Salisbury, preserved at Hatfield House, Part I-II, London 1883 https://archive.org/details/calendarofmanusc01greauoft

- The manuscripts of His Grace the Duke of Rutland : preserved at Belvoir castle, Vol. I. London 1888. https://archive.org/details/hists52199677

- A Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Cottonian Library deposited in the British Museum. By Samuel Hooper. London 1777. https://archive.org/details/acataloguemanus00astlgoog

- Martin A.S. Hume, The courtships of Queen Elizabeth: a history of the various negotiations for her marriage (1898) https://archive.org/details/courtshipsqueen00humegoog

- Queen Elizabeth and Her Times, Series of original Letters, selected from the inedited Private Correspondence of the Lord Treasurer Burghley, the Earl of Leicester, the Secretaries Walsingham and Smith, Sir Christopher Hatton and most of the distinguished persons of the period. Ed. by Thomas Wright, in two volumes. London 1838.

https://archive.org/details/queenelizabethhe01wriguoft

https://archive.org/details/queenelizabethh02wrig

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reigns of Edward VI., Mary, Elizabeth, 1547-1580, Public Record Office. Ed. by Robert Lemon. London 1856

https://archive.org/details/cu31924091775258

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1566-1579, Public Record Office. Ed. by Mary Anne E. Green. London 1871

https://archive.org/details/cu31924091775316

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1581-1590, Public Record Office. Ed. by Robert Lemon. London 1865.

https://archive.org/details/cu31924091775266

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1591-1594, Public Record Office. Ed. by Mary Anne E. Green. London 1867

https://archive.org/details/calendarofstatep03greauoft

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1595-1597, Public Record Office. Ed. by Mary Anne E. Green. London 1869

https://archive.org/details/cu31924091775282

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1598-1601, Public Record Office. Ed. by Mary Anne E. Green. London 1869

https://archive.org/details/cu31924091775290

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1601-1603, Public Record Office. Ed. by Mary Anne E. Green. London 1870

https://archive.org/details/cu31924091775308

Calendar of State Papers Domestic: James I, 1603-1610, Public Record Office. Ed. by Mary Anne E. Green. London 1857

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/domestic/jas1/1603-10

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 10, 1572-1574, Allan James Crosby (editor) (1876)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol10

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 11, 1575-1577, Allan James Crosby (editor) (1880)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol11

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 12, 1577-78, Arthur John Butler (editor) (1901)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol12

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 13, 1578-1579, Arthur John Butler (editor) (1903)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol13

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 14, 1579-1580, Arthur John Butler (editor) (1904)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol14

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 15, 1581-1582, Arthur John Butler (editor) (1907)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol15

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 16, May-December 1582, Arthur John Butler (editor) (1909)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol16

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 17, January-June 1583 and addenda, Arthur John Butler and Sophie Crawford Lomas (editors) (1913)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol17

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 18, July 1583-July 1584, Sophie Crawford Lomas (editor) (1914)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol18

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 19, August 1584-August 1585, Sophie Crawford Lomas (editor) (1916)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol19

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 20, September 1585-May 1586, Sophie Crawford Lomas (editor) (1921)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol20

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 21, Part 1, /2/3/4. 1586-1588, Sophie Crawford Lomas (editor) (1927)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol21/no1

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol21/no2

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol21/no3

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol21/no4

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 22, July-December 1588, Richard Bruce Wernham (editor) (1936)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol22

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volume 23, January-July 1589, Richard Bruce Wernham (editor) (1950)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/foreign/vol23

FRANCE:

It is well within the realms of possibility that the Earl of Oxford corresponded with people in France. Should that be the case we may well find hitherto undiscovered biographical clues in the Parisian archives, particularly in the diplomatic correspondence of Castelnau de Mauvissière.
Perhaps somebody is able to find the correspondence between the Duke of Alençon and his representative in “affairs of the heart”, Jehan de Simier, whom Alençon sent to London prior to his own visit between January and August 1579. (See: Lettres d'Arnaud Du Ferrier, Henri III, Catherine de Médici, François, duc d'Alençon - written between 25 June 1575 and 28 January 1580). It would be interesting to know if Oxford, or “le jeune seigneur”, as Mauvissière called him, personally wrote to King Henri III.
Provided they are still in existence, it would be well worthwhile to look into the correspondences of Philippe Desportes and Agrippa d'Aubigné.

In connection with the above it would be of interest to examine:

Recueil des Dépêches, Rapports, Instructions et Mémoires des Ambassadeurs de France en Angleterre et en Ecosse. Publiés par Charles Purton Cooper. Paris et Londres 1840. - Correspondance Diplomatique de Bertrand de Salignac de la Mothe Fénélon, Tome Quatriéme, années 1571 - 1572.

https://archive.org/details/correspondance6704feneuoft

https://archive.org/details/recueildesdpche02coopgoog

https://archive.org/details/correspondancedi06feneuoft

or:

https://books.google.fr/books/about/Recueil_des_d%C3%A9p%C3%AAches_rapports_instruct.html?hl=fr&id=RO0vAAAAMAAJ

Recueil des Dépêches, Rapports, Instructions et Mémoires des Ambassadeurs de France en Angleterre et en Ecosse. Publiés par Charles Purton Cooper. Paris et Londres 1840. - Supplément à la Correspondance Diplomatique de Bertrand de Salignac de la Mothe Fénélon, Publiée par A. Teulet, Tome Septiéme, années 1568 - 1575.

https://archive.org/details/correspondanced04coopgoog

Castelnau de Mauvissière, Michel de

Les Memoires de Messire Michel De Castelnau, Seigneur De Mauvissière. Par J. Le Laboureur, Tome Troisième [III], Bruxelles 1731

http://books.google.de/books?id=sptDAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ViewAPI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

Castelnau de Mauvissière, Michel de ; Correspondance diplomatique (1576-1585). Transcript: Dispatches of Castelnau de Mauvissière, Public Record Office, Baschet; Transcripts de Paris, bundle 27 (Public Record Office [Kew] 31/3/27)

BN de Paris, Ambassade de Michel de Castelnau, sieur de Mauvissière , en Angleterre. (4 juillet 1578-20 juin 1581), Français 15973

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90609269/f5.item.r=mauvissi%C3%A8re%2015973.zoom

See also : Castelnau de Mauvissière, Michel de ; Correspondance diplomatique (1576-1585).

ark:/12148/btv1b90603356

ark:/12148/btv1b90602880

ark:/12148/btv1b9060643s

Henri III Roi de France

Lettres T. II (1574-1576). Édité par Pierre Champion, Michel François

Lettres T. III (1576-1578 et addenda). Édité par Pierre Champion, Michel François

Lettres T. IV (1578-1580). Édité par Pierre Champion, Michel François, Avec Bernard Barbiche, Henri Zuber

Lettres T. V (8 avril 1580-31 décémbre 1582). Édité par Jacqueline Boucher, Pierre Champion, Michel François, Avec Henri Zuber

Lettres de Catherine de Médicis, publ. par M. le Cte Baguenault de Puchesse. Tome Cinquième 1574-1577. Paris 1895 https://archive.org/details/lettresdecatheri05cathuoft

Lettres de Catherine de Médicis, publ. par M. le Cte Baguenault de Puchesse. Tome Sixième 1578-1579. Paris 1897 https://archive.org/details/lettresdecatheri06cathuoft

Lettres de Catherine de Médicis, publ. par M. le Cte Baguenault de Puchesse. Tome Septième 1579-1581. Paris 1899 https://archive.org/details/lettresdecatheri07cathuoft

BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE

gallica BnF

Bibliothèque nationale. Catalogue des Manuscrits de la Collection des Cinq cents de Colbert. Par Charles de la Roncière. Paris 1908. https://archive.org/details/cataloguedesman00manugoog

Bibliothèque nationale. Catalogue de la collection Dupuy, Par Léon Dorez, Tome I (No 1-500). Paris 1899. https://archive.org/details/cataloguedelaco01dupugoog

or: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2091607/f39.image

- Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, 1572-1589 (see above, In England)

Relations politiques de la France et de L’Espagne avec l’Ecosse. Publiés par Alexandre Teulet. Tome Deuxième, Correspondances Francaises 1559-1573. Paris 1862. https://archive.org/details/relationspoliti03unkngoog

Relations politiques de la France et de L’Espagne avec l’Ecosse. Publiés par Alexandre Teulet. Tome Troisième, Correspondances Francaises 1574-1585. Paris 1862. https://archive.org/details/relationspoliti00unkngoog

Relations politiques de la France et de L’Espagne avec l’Ecosse. Publiés par Alexandre Teulet. Tome Troisième, Correspondances Francaises 1585-1603. Paris 1862. https://archive.org/details/relationspoliti01unkngoog

Négociations diplomatiques de la France avec la Toscane, par Abe Desjardins (Collection des documents inédits), Paris, 1859-1886, 6 vol. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k29281x.r=N%C3%A9gociations+diplomatiques+de+la+France+avec+la+Toscane+Tome+5.langDE

Strasbourg:

In April 1575 Oxford visited with Johannes Sturm (1507-1589), (also called Sturmius) whose private correspondence is stored in the Archives municipales de Strasbourg. As of even date nobody has studied these letters with the intention of discovering biographical clues concerning Oxford.

In connection with Sturm’s letters one should also look at:

Charles Schmidt: La vie et les travaux de Jean Sturm. Straßburg 1855
(„Les documents cités dans les notes sans indication, se trouvent en manuscrit à Strasbourg aux archives ou à la bibliothèque, soit du Séminaire protestant, soit de la ville.“)
https://archive.org/details/lavieetlestrava00schmgoog

Zürich-Letters. Cambridge 1845
https://archive.org/stream/zurichletterssec00pearrich#page/282/mode/2up

Friedrich von Bezold, Briefe des Pfalzgrafen Johann Casimir I (1882)
http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/ihd/content/search/2439672?query=elisabeth&offset=21

NETHERLANDS:

About Oxford’s activities in Holland, in particular in connection with the siege of Middelburg (1572-1574) - see 7.2.1 Guaras - Lane.

The attack on Oxford’s ship on 12/13 april 1576 is described by Jan Scheffer, Oxford’s Capture by Pirates, 10 April 1576 (de Vere Society newsletter, October 1576)

Are there any documents that comment on the command that was delegated to Oxford for the period between August and October of 1585?

In connection with the above look at:

dbnl · digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse letteren

Relations politiques des Pays-Bas et de l'Angleterre, sous le règne de Philippe II, publiés par [Joseph] Kervyn de Lettenhove, Tome VI, Gouvernement du Duc dʼ Albe (5 octobre 1570 - 29 novembre 1573). Bruxelles 1888. https://archive.org/details/relationspolitiq06nethuoft

Relations politiques des Pays-Bas et de l'Angleterre, sous le règne de Philippe II, publiés par [Joseph] Kervyn de Lettenhove, Tome VII, Gouvernement de Requesens (29 novembre 1573 - 25 octobre 1575). Bruxelles 1888. https://archive.org/details/relationspolitiq07nethuoft

Relations politiques des Pays-Bas et de l'Angleterre, sous le règne de Philippe II, publiés par [Joseph] Kervyn de Lettenhove, Tome VIII, Gouvernement de Requesens (26 octobre 1575 - 1er novembre 1576). Bruxelles 1889. https://archive.org/details/relationspolitiq08nethuoft

Relations politiques des Pays-Bas et de l'Angleterre, sous le règne de Philippe II, publiés par [Joseph] Kervyn de Lettenhove, Tome IX, Gouvernement de Don Juan (3 novembre 1576 - 8 octobre 1577). Bruxelles 1890. https://archive.org/details/relationspolitiq09nethuoft

Relations politiques des Pays-Bas et de l'Angleterre, sous le règne de Philippe II, publiés par [Joseph] Kervyn de Lettenhove, Tome X, Gouvernement de Don Juan (10 octobre 1577 - 1er octobre 1578). Bruxelles 1891. https://archive.org/details/relationspolitiq10nethuoft

Relations politiques des Pays-Bas et de l'Angleterre, sous le règne de Philippe II, continuées par L. Gilliodts-Van Severen, Tome XI, Gouvernement du Duc de Parme (1er octobre 1578 - 31 décenbre 1579). Bruxelles 1900. https://archive.org/details/relationspolitiq11nethuoft

Archives ou correspondance inédite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau (première série). Tome IV 1572-1574 publié par G. Groen van Prinsterer. Leiden 1837 http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/groe009arch04_01/

Archives ou correspondance inédite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau (première série). Tome V 1574-1577 (1838) http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/groe009arch05_01/

Archives ou correspondance inédite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau (première série). Tome VI 1577-1579 (1839) http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/groe009arch06_01/

Archives ou correspondance inédite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau (première série). Tome VII 1579-1581 (1839) http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/groe009arch07_01/

Archives ou correspondance inédite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau (première série). Tome VIII 1581-1584 (1847) http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/groe009arch08_01/

Motley, John Lothrop, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, a History, Vol. I. New York 1856 (1868) https://archive.org/details/1868riseofdutchrep01motl

Motley, John Lothrop , The Rise of the Dutch Republic, a History, Vol. II. New York 1856 https://archive.org/details/1856riseofdutchrep02motl

Motley, John Lothrop, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, a History, Vol. III. New York 1856 https://archive.org/details/1856riseofdutchrep03motl

SCOTLAND:

Are there any biographical clues concerning in hand written letters in Scottish archives?

In connection with the above one should look at:

Calendar of the state papers, relating to Scotland ,[1509-1603] preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Reecord Office. [Edited] by Markham John Thorpe
London, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, 1858 2 v. Storage I45PSS
Contents v. 1. The Scottish series, of the reigns of Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary. Elizabeth. 1509-1589.--v. 2. The Scottish series of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 1589-1603; an appendix to the Scottish series, 1543-1592; and the state papers relating to Mary Queen of Scots during her detention in England, 1568-1587

Calendar of the state papers relating to Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots, 1547-1603 : preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and elsewhere in England Edinburgh : H. M. General Register House, 1898-
Storage I45PSSM v.1-11

Jean Baptiste A. T. Teulet: Relations politiques de la France et de l'Espagne avec l'Ecosse au XVIesiècle (1862)

https://archive.org/details/relationspoliti01teulgoog

ITALY:

Are there any records of the Earl of Oxford’s travels through Italy in the archives of Venice, Mantova, Ferrara, Genoa, Milan or Florence?

In connection with the above one should look at:

Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Vatican Archives, Volume 2, 1572-1578. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1926.

Calendar of State Papers Relating to English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 7 1558-1580. Ed by Rawdon Brown and G. Cavendish Bentinck. London 1890.
Covers the whole period 1558 to 1580.

Eugenio Alberi: Relazioni Degli Ambasciatori Veneti Al Senato. Firenze 1839-63. (This fifteen-volume edition of Venetian ambassadorial reports covers all the significant political events in sixteenth-century Europe.

‘Cocco Orazio’. Archivio di Stato, Venezia, MS Santo Ufizzio, busta 41

Inventaire des Archives Farnesiennes de Naples au point de vue de l'histoire des Pays-Bas catholiques. Publié par Alfred Cauchie. Bruxelles 1911.

https://archive.org/details/inventairedesarc00cauc

SPAIN:

About Oxford’s activities during the siege of Middelburg (1572-1574) see 7.2.1 Oxford and the ships for Spain. – In the Archivo General de Simancas one might find the unabridged letters from Antonio de Guarás to King Philip’s secretary Gabriel de Zayas, and perhaps Bernardino de Mendoza’s comment on Oxford’s “self revelation” to the Queen in December 1580.

Correspondance de Philippe II sur les affaires des Pays-Bas [1558-1577] pub. d'après les originaux conservés dans les archives royales de Simancas, par M. Gachard, tome III, Bruxelles 1858. https://archive.org/details/correspondancede03phil

In connection with the above one should look at:

Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas), Vol. 2, 1568-1579. Martin A. S. Hume (editor) (1894)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/simancas/vol2

https://archive.org/details/calendarofletter02greauoft

Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas), Vol. 3, 1580-1586. Martin A. S. Hume (editor) (1896)

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/simancas/vol3

https://archive.org/details/calendarofletter03greauoft

Relations politiques de la France et de L’Espagne avec l’Ecosse. Publiés par Alexandre Teulet. Tome Cinquième, Correspondances Espagnoles 1562-1588. Paris 1862. https://archive.org/details/relationspoliti04unkngoog

Bernardino de Mendoza, Comentarios de lo sucedido en las guerras de los Paises-Bajos, desde el año de 1567-1577 (1592). Madrid 1853

Bernardino de Mendoza, Commentaires de Bernardino de Mendoça sur les évènements de la guerre des Pays-Bas 1567 - 1577, trad. nouv. par le colonel Guillaume. T. 2, Bruxelles, 1863. http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10272993_00015.html