1 The Letters of Elizabeth of Bohemia: How One Woman Changed the Course of 17th Century European Politics To fulfill the requirements of HIS 4970 Senior Thesis History Honors Program Advisor: Dr. Howard Louthan Completed by: Laurel Marzek April 2012 2 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………..3 Chapter One: From Child to Bride……………………………………….....9 Chapter Two: From Queen to Fugitive…………………………………….21 Chapter Three: From Widow Onward……………………………………..38 Conclusion………………………………………………………………....50 Appendix.………………………………………………………………....52 Bibliography……………………………………………………………....58 3 Introduction The massive stone spires of St. Vitus Cathedral dominated the skyline of Prague as she moved towards the structure, treading over the rich carpets that had been spread on the cobbles of the square. From inside the beautiful Chapel of St. Wenceslas, she listened to the choir sing as her attendants dressed her in coronation robes. She moved to the high altar of the cathedral and her husband Frederick joined her, wearing the crown of his coronation three days prior. The crown of St. Elizabeth was placed on her head and she took the orb and scepter in hand. As she emerged into the sunlight, a cannon salute announced the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia.1 This woman, who improbably rose to become queen of a German kingdom and who many historians simply refer to as Elizabeth of Bohemia, was actually born a Scottish princess by the name of Elizabeth Stuart. As the daughter of James VI of Scotland and James I of England, and later the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate, Elizabeth spent her life surrounded by powerful men. Elizabeth’s brother, Charles I, succeeded his father on the English throne and her grandson, George I, became the first Hanoverian king, the dynasty that still rules the island kingdom. She was courted by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Phillip III of Spain and lived for many years at the court of the Prince of Orange in Holland. Due to the strong male personalities in Elizabeth’s life, many historians have simply ignored Elizabeth as a figure worthy of scholarly research and deny that she had a measurable impact on history. For those scholars who do acknowledge Elizabeth, one common interpretation of her life is to present Elizabeth as a victim of events and as an individual who deferentially 1 For a full description of the coronation of Elizabeth see Mercurius Gallo-Belgicus, 1619, 97-104 as cited in M.A. Everett Green, Elizabeth: Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia (London: Methuen and Co., 1909), 141; Rosalind K. Marshall, The Winter Queen: The Life of Elizabeth of Bohemia 1596-1662 (Scotland: Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland, 1998) 51-52. 4 accepted the decisions made by the men in her life. Mary Green puts forth a version of Elizabeth who was fiscally irresponsible and therefore largely reliant on her father, and later her brother, to keep her from financial ruin.2 Rosalind Marshall echoes this image of Elizabeth stating, “With her mild, affectionate nature she allowed the men in her life to take the lead.”3 Josephine Ross presents an Elizabeth who was always less important than her brothers and who was only influential as long as her interests did not conflict with those of her male relations.4 Even the most forgiving sketches of this version of Elizabeth see her as a well-intended wife who unnecessarily concerns herself with the business of her husband rather than as an actual actor in political events.5 Other scholars take a radically different view. Some compare Elizabeth’s role in the Thirty Years’ War to that of Helen of Troy in ancient times.6 The popular historical tradition of some European countries sees Elizabeth as domineering, arrogant, and meddlesome and deserving of the misfortune she encountered in her life.7 My interpretation of Elizabeth differs from the competing historiographies on Elizabeth that currently exist. Elizabeth was neither the powerless damsel nor the domineering tyrant that historians have described. Rather, she was a woman of great power and influence in a period where the majority of prominent historical figures were male. Due to Elizabeth’s strong intellect and connections, her husband, Frederick, often looked to his wife for advice. During one such 2 M.A. Everett Green, Elizabeth: Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia (London: Methuen and Co., 1909), chapter 1. 3 Rosalind K. Marshall, The Winter Queen: The Life of Elizabeth of Bohemia 1596-1662 (Scotland: Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland, 1998), 46. 4 Josephine Ross, The Winter Queen: The Story of Elizabeth Stuart (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1979), chapter 5. 5 Robert S. Rait, Five Stuart Princesses (Westminster: Archibald Contable and Co. Ltd., 1902), 80. 6 Marshall, 71. 7 See Appendix, Figure 1 and 2 for “The Temptation of the Elector” print, one of many similar popular prints of the time depicting Frederick and Elizabeth, re-produced in Jana Hubková, Fridrich Falcký v zrcadle letákové publicistiky (Prague: Carolinum, 2010), 665. 5 occasion, Elizabeth played a pivotal role in convincing her husband to accept the Bohemian crown, an action that became a landmark decision for the continent and led to the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. Elizabeth continued to counsel Frederick throughout the war and used her sway with her father, James I, to improve the position of her family. Even in her later life, much of which was spent in exile, Elizabeth succeeded in placing her children in various positions of power and social prominence. Throughout her life, Elizabeth influenced the opinions and actions of those around her and used her abilities to control events. Elizabeth was truly a significant historical figure of the period. The body of secondary source work that has been written on the life of Elizabeth is relatively thin. This is surprising given her commanding personality and the integral role she played at the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. Additionally, most of the secondary scholarship that does exist is dated, published in the first half of the twentieth century or earlier. I hope to add to the historiographical record a more modern perspective on Elizabeth. My interpretation of Elizabeth falls somewhere in between the disparate historical portraits that have been painted of her in the past. There is also a geographic and cultural element to my work. Nearly all of the authors who have written studies on Elizabeth’s life share a national heritage with Elizabeth and come from a similar cultural and geographic context. The fact that I do not share this similarity with these authors gives me greater distance from the subject matter and allows me to view the life of Elizabeth through a different cultural lens to bring new perspective to the events. Elizabeth played an important role in shaping the policies and actions of the individuals around her and exercised influence through her patronage and relationships with others. Elizabeth was able to utilize her family connections, control events, and consolidate power through the means available to her, chiefly letters. There is significant source material available 6 on Elizabeth, much of which has not been utilized to its full potential. Previously, the most important collection of Elizabeth’s letters available was published in the early 1950’s.8 The source material on Elizabeth has just increased dramatically with a new publication by Nadine Akkerman of recently edited letters.9 To date, only one volume in the series has been published. However, as the two remaining volumes are released, the ability and opportunity to study Elizabeth will continue to increase as new primary source material becomes available. Likewise, the importance of Elizabeth’s life and her character will become even more apparent as these new sources become accessible to historians. This paper will study the correspondence of Elizabeth and use those letters to consider her power over her family and events in Europe throughout her life. Elizabeth’s influence will be considered in three parts. The first part will evaluate Elizabeth’s role from birth up until her marriage to Frederick at age sixteen. Even as a youth, Elizabeth’s forceful character foreshadowed the powerful and influential woman she would become. As a child, Elizabeth’s exceptional beauty and intelligence led her to play a role of political importance through the numerous marriage proposals she received from many prominent suitors across Europe. Also at a young age, Elizabeth began to exert influence on matters of the court and her retinue, often 8 The Letters of Elizabeth of Bohemia, ed. L.M. Baker (London: The Bodley Head, 1953). This source includes only letters written by Elizabeth, not any returned correspondence. Letter recipients include various diplomats, foreign ministers, her father James I, her brother Charles I, and her children, particularly her eldest son Charles Louis. The collection contains only one letter to Frederick and that is from 1612 before she ever met him in person. The letters span the years 1603 to Elizabeth’s death in 1662 and provide letters from throughout Elizabeth’s life. 9The Correspondence of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia: Volume II, 1632-1642, ed. Nadine Akkerman, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). Akkerman, working with a team from the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters, combined the letters in Baker’s publications with newly discovered correspondence of Elizabeth from the Royal Archive at Windsor Castle. The collection is an improvement in that it contains both letters written by Elizabeth and the answering correspondence written by others. Another improvement is that the collection does contain letters between Elizabeth and Frederick, although the collection starts in 1632, the same year Frederick died, so it contains very few of them.