¹ Sir John Selby amassed considerable properties in north Durham, Northumberland, and Berwick-upon-Tweed. See the Selby family, ODNB.

² Almost certainly the aged soldier Sir William Reade [Kynnerd], who was involved in several military campaigns during Elizabeth's reign and knighted by the earl of Leicester in 1586. Additionally, he was Justice of the Peace for Northumberland and County Durham during the 1570s and 1580s, and elected Member of Parliament for Northumberland in 1593. He died in 1604. ODNB.

³ Sir Harrie (or Henry) Widdrington had been Deputy-Governor under Lord Hunsdon since about 1580. His role in Berwick is noted in Scott, John, Berwick-upon-Tweed: The History of the Town and Guild (London, 1888), 175–185 .

⁴ The current place names of the following itinerary were stops along the Great North Road: Belford, Alnwick, Morpeth, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, Boroughbridge, Wetherby, Ferrybridge, Doncaster, Tuxford, Newark-on-Trent, Grantham, South Witham, Stamford, Stilton, Huntingdon, Caxton, Royston, Ware, Waltham, London.

⁵ Mr John Geddie (or Geddy) was mentioned as the secretary to Skene and Stewart by Robert Bowes in his letter to Burghley from Edinburgh, 9 June 1590, TNA, SP 52/45, fos 59r–60v; Bowes also described the ambassadors’ commission and instructions, the coming to London of Sir John Carmichael on behalf of Skene and Stewart, and other details. Carmichael's instructions dated 10 June, CSPScotland, X, 316–319. Carmichael was the bearer of King James VI's letter to Burghley, 10 June 1590, TNA, SP 52/45, fo. 61r; CSPScotland, X, 320–321.

⁶ The disagreement referred to here might have been between Elizabeth and the Lord Treasurer, Burghley, regarding Thomas Bodley's negotiations with the Dutch States General. Elizabeth and Burghley to Bodley (individually), 18 June 1590, BL, Cotton MS Galba, D. VII, fos 183r, 186r; Burghley's letter seeks to reassure Bodley of his good standing and goes into greater detail regarding Bodley's (misinformed) discussion with the Dutch about the potential for protection from the King of France. Another possible disagreement between Elizabeth and Burghley was Col. Stewart's involvement in the embassy, particularly because Stewart had previous, dubious dealings with Catholic powers in 1586–1587. ODNB. See also David Scott Gehring, Anglo-German Relations and the Protestant Cause: Elizabethan Foreign Policy and Pan-Protestantism (London, 2013), 134, nn. at 207.

⁷ This copy of the instructions dated 9 June 1590, along with the English observations, is BL, Cotton MS Caligula, D. II, fos 1r–4v, 5r–8v, damaged significantly during the Ashburnham House fire of 1731, but the instructions were printed in full prior to the fire in Thomas Rymer (ed.), Foedera, Conventiones, Literae, Et Cujuscunque Generis Acta Publica, Inter Reges Angliae, Et Alios quosvis Imperatores, Reges. . ., 2nd edn (London, 1727), XVI, 68–71. On the instructions, see above, p. 18. Full copy transcribed in Annie I. Cameron (ed.), The Warrender Papers, Vol. II (Edinburgh, 1932), 133–141.

⁸ Jean de la Fin, Sieur de Beauvoir la Nocle, resident ambassador in England for King Henri IV from 1589 to 1595, was then charged with negotiating for succours to be sent to Brittany, e.g. an abstract of Henri to Beauvoir, 4 March 1590, BL, Cotton MS Caligula, E. VII, fo. 401r–v. Beauvoir's residence was in Hackney, whence he had written to Burghley on 3/13 June; CP MS 167/53–54. On 17 June from Greenwich Elizabeth granted Beauvoir a license for exporting various goods free of duty; CP MS 19/23.

⁹ Before Skene and Stewart departed London, the English paid them £500 ‘to the vse of the king of Scottes’. TNA, SP 52/46, fo. 1r.

¹⁰ In margin: ‘24’.

¹¹ i.e. Leigh-on-Sea.

¹² In margin: ‘25’.

¹³ Probably a transcription error by Mylne, as ‘nimber’ or ‘number’ is the obvious reading.

¹⁴ In margin: ‘3’. On 3 July Bowes wrote to Burghley from St Andrews, stating that Col. Stewart was with him there pleading with Bowes to help clear his name with Elizabeth. Clearly the English suspicion of Stewart had not been entirely alleviated in London. Stewart must then have rejoined Skene at a later date. TNA SP 52/46, fo. 3r; dated incorrectly to 4 July in CSPScotland, X, 345.

¹⁵ i.e. Heligoland.

¹⁶ On the move of the English staple from Hamburg to Stade in 1587, see Lloyd, T. H., England and the German Hanse, 1157–1611: A Study of their Trade and Commercial Diplomacy (Cambridge, 1991), 337–344 .

¹⁷ Probably a transcription error by Mylne; ‘wee’ should read ‘wes’.

¹⁸ sic, as in ‘to go across’.

¹⁹ In margin: ‘ye 8^t day wedensday Hamburg 5 Mils.’

²⁰ A variant spelling of ‘fauxbourgh’, i.e. suburb.

²¹ The ‘fl’ preceding ‘fleming’ may simply be a redundancy by Mylne.

²² i.e. the owner of the lodging.

²³ Heinrich (or Henrik) Ramel (b. c.1550, d.1610). DBL (3rd edn), XI, 590–591; online at DSD-DBL. Ramel's role in these negotiations reflects his continued centrality in the Regency government, as described by Daniel Rogers in September 1588. See pp. 146–147.

²⁴ i.e. immediately.

²⁵ Likely transcription error: ‘de lynerit’ should read ‘delyvered’.

²⁶ The letters to Sofie have not been located; cf. James to Christian IV, and to the Regents and Councillors, individually, 8 June 1590, Rigsarkivet, Statens Arkiver, Copenhagen, TKUA, SD, Skotland, AII, 4.

²⁷ i.e. young.

²⁸ This gathering of nobles at Brunswick was intended to greet the new duchess of Brunswick, Elisabeth of Denmark, the late Frederik II's daughter; but it quickly devolved into drunken rivalry and enmity between Christian, Elector of Saxony, and Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick. See William Hunter's report on the meeting to Burghley, 8 July 1590, TNA, SP 82/3, fos 130–132v; analysed in L&A, II, 408. Col. Stewart wrote to King James and the Chancellor, Maitland, that he and Skene would visit the Princes in their own houses at great expense of time and money. Stewart's letters are yet to be located, but see Bowes to Burghley, 2 October 1590, CSPScotland, X, 398–402, letters at 401. The letters (presumably written about 8 July) took longer than usual to reach Edinburgh, as Archibald Douglas received them in London and sent them to Burghley on 9 September, and then Bowes delivered them to their addressees on 22 September. CSPScotland, X, 393, 397.

²⁹ On the herredag in Kolding, and disputes between Sofie and the Council, see Lockhart, Paul Douglas, Frederik II and the Protestant Cause: Denmark's Role in the Wars of Religion, 1559–1596 (Leiden, 2004), 306–307 ; Skene and Stewart's mission at 311–312.

³⁰ A probable transcription error here: ‘Romelius [. . .] forsaides’ reads more easily as ‘Romellius counselled us to come & dyne as ambassadour to the princes forsaides’. NB In the MS, the first instance of ‘with us’ is directly above the second (i.e. on the line above).

³¹ These letters have not been located.

³² Vitus Winshemius (aka Veit Winsheim) the Younger (b.1521, d.1608) had matriculated at Wittenberg on 1 May 1540, and Skene had done so on 16 March 1570. AAVitebergensis, I, 179; II, 170. Next to Winsheim's name in the matriculation list is a note stating that he was a Deacon of Hamburg (and counsellor in Denmark), but his name is not found in the list of Oberalten (the most senior deacons): Buek, Friedrich Georg, Die Hamburgischen Oberalten, ihre bürgerliche Wirksamkeit und ihre Familien (Hamburg, 1857). For a brief discussion of the deacons and Oberalten in Hamburg, see Whaley, Joachim, Religious Toleration and Social Change in Hamburg 1529–1819 (Cambridge, 1985), 14–15 . Daniel Rogers dedicated a poem to Professor Winshemius (and Paul Eberus) in his collection of Latin elegies, HEHL, HM 31188, fo. 181v; cf. another dedicated to Paul Eberus alone, fo. 169v. Thomas Bodley recommended Winsheim as an ‘honest gentleman’ to Walsingham on 28 June 1585, TNA, SP 75/1/55, fo. 4r. Finally, in 1586 Winsheim was strongly recommended to Philip Sidney as ‘an excellent man of great good will’. For the letter and editorial observations on Winsheim, Jacques de Ségur Pardaillan to Sidney, 25 June 1586, The Correspondence of Sir Philip Sidney, ed. Roger Kuin, (Oxford, 2012), I, 1279–1283.

³³ In margin: ‘1’. Christian IV, King of Denmark (b.1577, d.1648). DBL (3rd edn), III, 303–311; online at DSD-DBL.

³⁴ In margin: ‘2’. Friedrich IV, Elector Palatine (b.1574, d.1610). NDB, V (1961), 532–535; online at DB.

³⁵ In margin: ‘3’. The ‘Christianus’ immediately preceding should begin this line. Christian I, Elector of Saxony (b.1560, d.1591). NDB, III (1597), 230–231; online at DB.

³⁶ sic, but read Archimarscallus.

³⁷ In margin: ‘4’.

³⁸ sic, but read Dux.

³⁹ Joachim Friedrich, Administrator of Magdeburg to 1598, afterwards Elector of Brandenburg (b.1546, d.1608). NDB, X (1974), 438–439; online at DB. The full title is repeated below.

⁴⁰ Ludwig III, Duke of Württemberg (b.1554, d.1593). ADB, IXX (1884), 597–598; online at DB.

⁴¹ sic, but read Mompelgardensis, i.e. Montbéliard.

⁴² Phillip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (b.1570, d.1590), son of Adolf I, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (b.1526, d.1586). NDB, I (1953), 86; online at DB; cf. DBL (3rd edn), I, 62–63; online at DSD-DBL.

⁴³ In margin: ‘5’. The following titles are associated with Johann Georg, Elector of Brandenburg (b.1525, d.1598). NDB, X (1974), 474–475; online at DB.

⁴⁴ In margin: ‘6’. Johann Casimir, Count Palatine and Administrator of the Palatinate during the nonage of Christian I (b.1543, d.1592). NDB, X (1974), 510–513; online at DB.

⁴⁵ Joachim Friedrich, Administrator of Magdeburg (b.1546, d.1608). See above, n. 39.

⁴⁶ In margin: ‘7’. Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel (b.1564, d.1613). NDB, VIII (1969), 352–354; online at DB.

⁴⁷ Wilhelm the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b.1535, d.1592). ADB, XLIII (1898), 1–4; online at DB.

⁴⁸ In margin: ‘9’; sic, skipping 8. Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg (b.1527, d.1603). ADB, XXXIX (1895), 225–226; online at DB.

⁴⁹ In margin: ‘10’. Ernst Ludwig, Duke of Pommern-Wolgast (b.1545, d.1592). NDB, IV (1959), 619–620; online at DB.

⁵⁰ In margin: ‘11’; for landgramius, read landgrauius. Wilhelm IV, Landgrave of Hesse (b.1532, d.1592). ADB, XLIII (1898), 32–39; online at DB.

⁵¹ i.e. Zigenhain.

⁵² In margin: ‘12’. Johann the Younger, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (b.1545, d.1622). NDB, X (1974), 534–535; online at DB.

⁵³ In margin: ‘13’. Johann Georg I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (b.1567, d.1618). ADB, XIV (1881), 114–116; online at DB.

⁵⁴ Sigismund III, King of Poland (b.1566, d.1632). Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon, XXXII (parts 156–157, 2003), 160–180; online at http://sok.riksarkivet.se/SBL/Start.aspx

⁵⁵ Jan Zamoyski, Grand Chancellor of Poland (b.1542, d.1605). George J. (Jerzy Jan) Lerski, Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945 (Westport, CT, 1996), 634.

⁵⁶ In margin: ‘Lubeca 10 mill.’; i.e. Lübeck.

⁵⁷ Christopher Parkins had been negotiating with Lübeck and Danish authorities regarding various trade issues. He had left Lübeck on 6 July and arrived in Stettin on 11 July. L&A, II, 406–408, 437–438.

⁵⁸ In margin: ‘11’. In opposite margin: ‘Vismaria 7 mill. called ubricus to qom wee were direct.’; i.e. Wismar.

⁵⁹ In margin: ‘12’. In opposite margin: ‘Gustrow 6 mill.’; i.e. Güstrow.

⁶⁰ ‘Goodser’, ‘goodsir’, and other variants primarily signify ‘grandfather’. Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg (b.1527), was indeed Anne of Denmark's grandfather through his daughter and her mother, Sofie, wife of Frederik II.

⁶¹ This ‘cure’ has a line of abbreviation above it, though it seems ‘ane cure’ should read as ‘answure’.

⁶² In margin: ‘13 day monday’.

⁶³ King James VI had met Ulrich while in Denmark in April 1590, when Ulrich had come for the wedding of Anne of Denmark's sister, Princess Elisabeth, with Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick. James signed his name along with a Latin couplet in Ulrich's album amicorum. Stevenson, David, Scotland's Last Royal Wedding: The Marriage of James VI and Anne of Denmark (Edinburgh, 1997), 53–54 .

⁶⁴ The statement in brackets is clearly out of place in Mylne's transcription; it should follow ‘delyvered ye samen’. Thus, the preceding and subsequent words should read as ‘aster his [i.e. James's] returne He wes occupyed’.

⁶⁵ Line of abbreviation above ‘dung’; read as ‘dragged’.

⁶⁶ ‘be the mouth of ye dooter’ is probably a transcription error by Mylne, repeating ‘ye mouth of ye’ from the earlier line referring to the Thames. A smoother reading omits ‘by the mouth of’ and simply starts a new sentence with ‘Ye doctor’.

⁶⁷ Little is currently known of this Dr Weinhald Sibrand (or Sibrand Weinhald).

⁶⁸ i.e. ‘with the cause, by way of resources, in strategy’.

⁶⁹ This letter has not been located, but Skene and Stewart's instructions named the duke of Mecklenburg as one of the main princes involved.

⁷⁰ i.e. ‘in considering the right of succession that he has in the kingdom of England after this queen who now reigns, minded as she is regarding both secular affairs and the public [cause] of the Christian religion that is in common with others’.

⁷¹ Not exactly true. In Skene and Stewart's instructions, if Philip refused peace in the proposed negotiations, James would ‘sincerely ioyne our selves in a cunter leage, and tymely obviate to his pernitious desseignes and projects, which if it were both offensive and defensive, would be the more for our suertie and his greater harme and grevance’; furthermore, James demanded ‘[l]ett your cheife travell be that a League (at least defensive, yf forder [sic] maie not be obteyned, be firmelie promitted’. Burghley's copy with marginal notes in his hand, BL, Cotton MS Caligula, D. II, fos 3v–4r; where damaged verified in Rymer, Foedera, XVI, 71. See above, pp. 18, 153.

⁷² i.e. either.

⁷³ Brandenburg was a margraviate, not a duchy, though Johann Georg, Elector of Brandenburg, included Duke of Prussia among his titles.

⁷⁴ In margin: ‘15. Rostochin 4 mill.’; i.e. Rostock.

⁷⁵ Probably a transcription error for ‘fuir’, i.e. transport. Otherwise ‘buir’ would signify ‘a coarse wollen stuff’.

⁷⁶ ‘for our servants & grayt frae [. . .] alen arlie’ contains a slight transcription error. Literally, it would be ‘for our servants and great from the duke that day only’, but ‘grayt’ is probably supposed to be ‘granyt’ or ‘granted’. NB ‘alen arlie’ is a split form of ‘alanerly’, i.e. only or solely.

⁷⁷ In margin: ‘17’; this is an error, as the 16th was a Thursday.

⁷⁸ In margin: ‘4 mill.’; i.e. Wismar.

⁷⁹ In margin: ‘Luboca. 7 mill.’; i.e. Lübeck.

⁸⁰ i.e. the owner of the lodging.

⁸¹ ‘backin of black velvit freniched with reid and whyte’ reads as ‘blanket of black velvit finished with red and white’.

⁸² Lübeck's coat of arms included an imperial double eagle with a shield of red and white on its breast.

⁸³ i.e. drinking vessels, like tankards or flagons.

⁸⁴ Little more is known regarding Dr Cruwsall despite searches for multiple variants of the name.

⁸⁵ i.e. host.

⁸⁶ Along with Philipp von Fornrode and Heinrich Plönnies, Joachim von Brandenstein had previously corresponded during the early 1580s on behalf of the city of Lübeck with Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon, regarding protection for the Hanse. The correspondence survives in the Archiv der Hansestadt Lübeck, Altes Senatsarchiv (ASA) Externa, Hanseatica, sig. 276.

⁸⁷ i.e. Bad Segeberg. In margin: ‘Sigeberga 4’.

⁸⁸ Heinrich (or Henrik) Rantzau, Frederik II's Statthalter in the Duchies (b.1526, d.1598), amassed a considerable library of books, incunabula, and MSS, principally from Segeberg Abbey. DBL, (3rd edn), XI, 622–627; online at DSD-DBL. Cf. ADB, XXVII (1888), 278–279; online at DB.

⁸⁹ i.e. sluice(s) or sluice gate(s).

⁹⁰ Breide Rantzau (b.1556, d.1618). DBL (3rd edn), XI, 604–606; online at DSD-DBL.

⁹¹ On the ‘homecoming’, see Meikle, Maureen M., ‘Anna of Denmark's coronation and entry into Edinburgh, 1590: Cultural, religious and diplomatic perspectives’, in Goodare, Julian and MacDonald, Alisdair A. (eds), Sixteenth-Century Scotland: Essays in Honour of Michael Lynch (Leiden, 2008), 277–294 .

⁹² If Breide Rantzau did publish any printed works, they do not appear to have survived, though his father Heinrich (or Henrik) authored several dozen.

⁹³ In margin: ‘3 mil.’; i.e. Neumünster.

⁹⁴ In margin: ‘21’.

⁹⁵ Hans Rantzau (b.?, d.1608), DBLexicon, XIII, 436; online at DBLexicon (no entry in DBL (2nd edn or 3rd edn)).

⁹⁶ In margin: ‘5 mill.’

⁹⁷ In margin: ‘22’.

⁹⁸ ‘bigged be vmgll’ signifies ‘built by the former (or deceased)’. ‘Vmgll’ is a variant of ‘umquhile’ abbreviated here and in the next sentence. Adolf, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, had died in 1586, and King Frederik II had died in 1588. Adolf I (b.1526, d.1586), NDB, I (1953), 86; online at DB.

⁹⁹ Mylne's transcription looks more like ‘sad’ than ‘sae’, but the internal ‘ae’ should simply be read as ‘e’, thus se aeum or better still, se eum. The full Latin phrase reads ‘he himself [possessing] that right of Kronborg Castle’. There had been a fire in the castle at Gottorf (or Gottorp in Danish) on New Year's Eve in 1564, though Adolf had it rebuilt as a fortress.

¹⁰⁰ Adolf was a son of Frederik I, King of Denmark, and thus an uncle to Frederik II. In 1564 he married Christine, daughter of Philip, Landgrave of Hesse. Among his ten children in total, the three mentioned here are Philip (b.1570, and so 20 years old when he died later in 1590), Johann Adolf (b.1575 and prince-bishop of Bremen from 1585), and Johann Friedrich (b.1579, but his position at 11 years old in Lübeck remains unclear).

¹⁰¹ Gert (or Gerhard) Rantzau (b.1558, d.1627), son of Heinrich, had arrived in Flensburg earlier in 1590. DBL (3rd edn), XI, 618–621; online at DSD-DBL. ADB, XXVII (1888), 278; online at DB. In margin, three separate and apparently unrelated notes: ‘1632’, ‘antae’, ‘7 mil.’ Mylne seems to have been thinking of a subsequent event here.

¹⁰² i.e. Haderslev.

¹⁰³ Hans Blome (b.1530, d.1599), DBL, (3rd edn), II, 266; online at DSD-DBL.

¹⁰⁴ In margin: ‘7 mil.’

¹⁰⁵ In margin: ‘4 mil. Coldinga’.

¹⁰⁶ Niels Kaas (b.1534, d.1594). DBL (3rd edn), VIII, 430–432; online at DSD-DBL.

¹⁰⁷ Alexander Papingham[e] and his colleague are yet to be identified.

¹⁰⁸ Two days later on 27 July, Douglas wrote to Burghley expressing goodwill and beseeching the Treasurer to urge Queen Elizabeth to consider Douglas's ‘present state and case’, but he did not include his location. TNA, SP 52/46, fo. 20r. Douglas had been one of Walsingham's paid agents from mid 1583, and he acted as King James's official ambassador to England (and unofficial conduit of information) during much of the 1580s and 1590s. Douglas's business in Denmark at this time remains unclear. ODNB.

¹⁰⁹ Steen Brahe (b.1547, d.1620). DBL (3rd edn), II, 428–429; online at DSD-DBL.

¹¹⁰ Jacob Trolle (d.1601), DBLexicon, XVII, 542–543; online at DBLexicon (no entry in DBL (2nd edn and 3rd edn)).

¹¹¹ Little is known of this Corfitz Grubbe, but he was probably related to Sivert Grubbe (b.1566, d.1636), who served as a government official and diplomat. DBL (3rd edn), V, 310–311; online at DSD-DBL.

¹¹² Paul Knibbe had previously been an ally of Daniel Rogers in 1588 and subsequently maintained a correspondence with him. Lockhart, Frederik II, 310. Knibbe had also corresponded with Walsingham in June–July 1588; TNA, SP 84/24, fos 115r–116r; SP 84/25, fos 110r–111r.

¹¹³ i.e. joyous, happy, pleased. In margin: ‘blithe’ written in a different hand.

¹¹⁴ Peder Gyldenstierne (b.1533, d.1594). DBL (3rd edn), V, 424; online at DSD-DBL. Peder Munk (b.1534, d.1623). DBL (3rd edn), X, 126–127; online at DSD-DBL. Steen Brahe (b.1547, d.1620). DBL (3rd edn), II, 428–429; online at DSD-DBL. Hak Holgersen Ulfstand (b.1535, d.1594). DBL (3rd edn), XV, 154–155; online at DSD-DBL. Henrik (or Heinrich) Below (b.1540, d.1606), DBL (3rd edn), I, 551; online at DSD-DBL. Breide Rantzau (b.1556, d.1618), DBL (3rd edn), XI, 604–606; online at DSD-DBL.

¹¹⁵ i.e. menaced and beaten.

¹¹⁶ Mylne's ‘manor ye Imperior’ is clear in the text, but its meaning is uncertain.

¹¹⁷ See a copy of the full, official answer from Christian IV to Skene and Stewart, 29 July 1590, TNA, SP 52/46, fo. 21r–v; separate copy printed in Rymer, Foedera, XVI, 81–82; contrary to the English copyists’ errors in both versions, the four signatories were Niels Kaas, Peder Munk, Jørgen Rosenkrantz, and Christoffer Valkendorf. Cf. Summary of the legation, 27 July 1590, Rigsarkivet, Statens Arkiver, Copenhagen, TKUA, SD, Skotland, AII, 4. Danish Council and Christian to James, individually, 28 July; Kaas to James, 29 July; Christian's copy of his response to the ambassadors, 29 July 1590, Rigsarkivet, Statens Arkiver, Copenhagen, TKUA, AD, Kopibog Latina, vol. 8, fos 183r–188v. Kaas to James, 30 July 1590, Cameron, Warrender, 142–144.

¹¹⁸ i.e. ‘the first inconvenience is of danger in delay’.

¹¹⁹ On English panic over the Spanish fleet at El Ferrol in 1590, see Wernham, R.B., After the Armada: Elizabethan England and the Struggle for Western Europe, 1588–1595 (Oxford, 1984), 239–243 ; at 240 Wernham notes the ‘richly comical’ nature of the English fear of invasion, thinking that fear groundless. In August 1590, the Spanish Council of War was, however, planning for a return of the armada in 1591. Goodman, David, Spanish Naval Power, 1589–1665: Reconstruction and Defeat (Cambridge, 1997), 43 .

¹²⁰ sic; Mylne's transcription error of ‘almaigne’.

¹²¹ i.e. truce.

¹²² i.e. ‘because these [men] have the most influence, and rightly desire a discussion of religion’.

¹²³ John II, Duke of Sønderborg (b.1545, d.1622). Hans (den Yngre), DBL (3rd edn), V, 549–550; online at DSD-DBL; Johann der Jüngere, NDB, X (1974), 534–535; online at DB.

¹²⁴ i.e. Johann Adolf.

¹²⁵ i.e. Anhalt.

¹²⁶ i.e. much or great.

¹²⁷ sic, but ‘night afternoon’ seems illogical.

¹²⁸ Knibbe was a doctor having taught at the Collegium Sapientiae in Heidelberg, not a duke.

¹²⁹ In margin: ‘Geddie’. On Geddie, see above, p. 152 n. 5. Little is known of Skene's servant, John Makie (or Mackie, or Mackay).

¹³⁰ Skene and Stewart's letters to King James, the Chancellor, Maitland, the Ambassador, Bowes, and Skene's wife are yet to be located.

¹³¹ In margin: ‘4 mil.’

¹³² i.e. cook and others.

¹³³ i.e. Bolderslev, which is about halfway between Haderslev and Flensburg.

¹³⁴ In margin: ‘7 mile’.

¹³⁵ i.e. Rendsburg. In margin: ‘7 mile’.

¹³⁶ In margin: ‘7 mile’.

¹³⁷ During the late 1580s and 1590, Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, was suspected of Spanish and Catholic sympathies. Despite his brief return to favour about the time of Anne of Denmark's coronation in Edinburgh, the earl again fell into disrepute and, ultimately, was accused of treason and associated with those accused of witchcraft in November 1590. For an overview, ODNB; for convenient sources, CSPScotland, X, passim.

¹³⁸ i.e. Bergedorf. In margin: ‘Bergerdorp 8 mill’.

¹³⁹ The administration of Bergedorf was shared by Hamburg and Lübeck, with officials from one city ruling Bergedorf for a period of six (not seven) years ‘by turns’, as the Latin ‘per vices’ notes. The abbreviated ‘ali[um]’ or ‘ali[am]’ and ‘nat[um]’ or ‘nat[im]’ is not clear in the MS, but it suggests ‘another age’ or, more strangely, ‘another rump’. On Bergedorf, see Hams, Hans and Schubert, Dirk, Wohnen in Hamburg: Ein Stadtführer zu 111 ausgewählten Beispielen (Hamburg, 1989), 345–349 ; on Hamburg and the region more generally, Territorien des Reichs, II, 140–164.

¹⁴⁰ In margin: ‘Albis Peregill’.

¹⁴¹ Mylne clearly records a ‘w’ after the second ‘p’, but, more likely, this word was doubly abbreviated, as in ‘pp’ (with a curled line extending from above and bisecting the first descender, and a straight perpendicular line bisecting the second descender). Cf. the fully expanded ‘proper’ a few lines later.

¹⁴² Wilhelm the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b.1535, d.1592). ADB, XLIII (1898), 1–4; online at DB. The town is Winsen an der Luhe, north-west of Lüneburg.

¹⁴³ i.e. meddle.

¹⁴⁴ In margin: ‘Luneberg 5 mill.’

¹⁴⁵ This Chuden from Lüneburg was probably related to another group of Chudens ‘Soltwedelenses’ (i.e. Hansestadt Salzwedel, south-east of Lüneburg). Erasmus and Christopher matriculated at Wittenberg on 7 June 1571, while Balthasar did so on 15 July 1571. AAVitebergensis, II, 197. Another potential but more distant relative, Johannes Chuden, de Saltzwedel, had matriculated in summer 1516. AAVitebergensis, I, 62.

¹⁴⁶ i.e. Uelzen. In margin: ‘Wlsen 5 myle.’

¹⁴⁷ In margin: ‘Henrie Bock.’ Later in 1592 Heinrich Bock wrote a funerary poem honouring the deceased Wilhelm, Duke, Epicedion Illvstrissimo et Generosissimo Principi ac Domino, Domino Gvlielmo Dvci Brvnovicensi ac Lvnaebvrgensi, beatae ac felicis recordationis; qui vicesimo die Augusti anni huius 1592, circiter nocturnam horam secundam, Cellae in arce sua, placide & pie obdormiit (Uelzen, 1592) (VD16 B 5999).

¹⁴⁸ i.e. Hankensbüttel.

¹⁴⁹ i.e. Gifhorn Castle.

¹⁵⁰ i.e. Brunswick (or Braunschweig). In margin: ‘Brunswiga 8 myl.’

¹⁵¹ i.e. Wolfenbüttel. In margin: ‘wolfenbuttel i myl.’

¹⁵² i.e. host or owner of the lodging.

¹⁵³ Peter von Götzen (or Götz) was a canon in Halberstadt and the father of the more famous Johann von Götzen (b.1599, d.1645); ADB, IX (1879), 510–511; online at DB. Zedler, XI, 63, col. 91.

¹⁵⁴ i.e. until.

¹⁵⁵ In margin: ‘Franks von Reden’. Franz von Reden is mentioned as one of two Hofmarschälle under Heinrich Julius in Eduard Vehse, Geschichte der deutschen Höfe seit der Reformation. Dritte Abtheilung: Geschichte der Höfe des Hauses Braunschweig in Deutschland und England. Die Hofhaltungen zu Hannover, London und Braunschweig (Hamburg, 1853), V, 149. On the noble family of Reden (or Rheden, Rhäden, Rhoden, Rhoeden, or Räden), see Zedler, XXXI, 556, col. 1086–560, col. 1093.

¹⁵⁶ The historic centre of Wolfenbüttel was known as ‘Heinrichstadt’ in honour of Heinrich Julius's grandfather, Duke Heinrich II, while a separate section outside the centre recognized as ‘Juliusstadt’ had been developed by Heinrich Julius's father, Duke Julius. For a brief treatment of Heinrich's and Julius's building and gardening projects, see Thomas Scheliga, ‘A Renaissance garden in Wolfenbüttel, north Germany’, Garden History, XXV (1997), 1–27. For a more complete examination of his religious policies, Mager, Inge, Die Konkordienformel im Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel: Entstehungsbeitrag – Rezeption – Geltung (Göttingen, 1993). Mistranscription resembling either ‘ms’ or ‘wch’; preceding antae or ante (‘previously’); context implies ‘now’.

¹⁵⁷ Gotteslager was part of Julius's building project on the east side of central Wolfenbüttel, and thus a ‘fauxburge’ (i.e. suburb).

¹⁵⁸ Nikolaus Selnecker (b.1530, d.1592) in 1577 had been one of the six composers of the Formula of Concord, which condemned all those Protestants outside a narrow Lutheran spectrum, but he was also known for his more moderate views and humanist interests, such as music and hymns. Mager, Die Konkordienformel, passim. ADB, XXXIII (1891), 687–692; online at DB.

¹⁵⁹ i.e. gardens.

¹⁶⁰ Wolfenbüttel's gardens did indeed include all sorts of exotic fruit, including peaches, lemons, pomegranates, and apricots. Although Mylne's ‘myllor’ may be a transcription error for ‘myllon’ (i.e. melon), it remains unclear whether the gardens produced any. Scheliga, ‘A Renaissance garden’, 10.

¹⁶¹ i.e. banquet.

¹⁶² i.e. vineyard.

¹⁶³ i.e. gate.

¹⁶⁴ i.e. only or solely.

¹⁶⁵ James to Heinrich Julius, 8 June 1590, Hauptstaatsarchiv Hannover, Cal. Br. 21, Nr 3460.

¹⁶⁶ ‘And sh and shew’ seems a repetitive transcription error by Mylne. More probable would simply be ‘and shew’.

¹⁶⁷ i.e. regarding which.

¹⁶⁸ i.e. wife. In April 1590 Heinrich Julius had married Elisabeth of Denmark (b.1573, d.1625), the older sister of Anne of Denmark. Elisabeth was, therefore, King James's sister-in-law, just as Heinrich Julius was his brother-in-law. That Skene and Stewart had no letter for her from James or Anne must indeed have been rather embarassing.

¹⁶⁹ Johann von Jagemann (b.1552, d.1604) was Heinrich Julius's Chancellor for Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1588, after having served as Vice Chancellor in support of the increasingly ill Chancellor, Franz Mützeltin (b.1518 or 1519, d.1594). Jagemann, NDB, X (1974), 296; Mützeltin, ADB, XXIII (1886), 118–119; online at DB.

¹⁷⁰ Otto von Hoym (or Hoim) also later served as Vice Chancellor. Vehse, Geschichte der deutschen Höfe, V, 148.

¹⁷¹ i.e. Duke Heinrich Julius, his mother Hedwig, his wife Elisabeth, his youngest sister-in-law Hedwig; the two sisters remain unclear because Heinrich Julius had seven sisters, not all of whom reached maturity.

¹⁷² i.e. friendly or familiar.

¹⁷³ sic, but read simply ‘brother’, omitting ‘father’; the bastard remains unclear.

¹⁷⁴ The colonel named ‘Witzlewin’ here was probably one of the Witzlebens, a noble family of Reichsritter. Köbler, 800.

¹⁷⁵ In margin: ‘presents.’

¹⁷⁶ i.e. each.

¹⁷⁷ In margin: ‘Da: Barcklay. w worm mr Tho: Nicolson’. On Barclay, see below, p. 189 n. 307. The David Barclay here may be the same David Barclay later recommended by James VI as a courier to the Dutch Republic on 26 September 1600. Ferguson, James (ed.), Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the Service of the United Netherlands 1572–1782 (Edinburgh, 1899), I (1572–1697), 181–182; cf. 216–217 for a certain Thomas Nicholles among a company of Scots seeking payment past due from the city of Zwolle in 1608. Little is known of Wiliam Orm (or Worm).

¹⁷⁸ In margin: ‘George’; i.e. Georg Engelhard von Löhneisen, Stallmeister and Bergmeister, as noted in Vehse, Geschichte der deutschen Höfe, V, 148.

¹⁷⁹ Again to the effect of ‘former’ or ‘deceased’.

¹⁸⁰ The embassy sent from multiple Protestant princes of Germany to Henri III in 1586 coincided with Horatio Palavicino's negotiations in Germany for contributions to an army for Henri of Navarre. The embassy left Heidelberg on 9 July and returned on 18 October. See the ambassadors’ relation and itemization of costs, HStA Dresden, GR, Loc. 9304/8, fols 119r–125v, 205r–228v (orig.); cf. HStA Hannover, Cal. Br. 21 Nr 3146. For discussion, Gehring, Anglo-German Relations, 107–109, nn. on 198–199. On Palavicino, see below, p. 212 n. 469; p. 214 n. 484.

¹⁸¹ See also Heinrich Julius to James, 13 August 1590, TNA, SP 81/6, fo. 63r; cf. L&A, II, 412.

¹⁸² Heinrich Julius to Christian of Saxony, with response to James, 13 August 1590, Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, GR, Loc. 10370/1, fos 7r–8r, 50r–v. Heinrich Julius to Ludwig of Württemberg, 13 August 1590, Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, Bestand A 114, Bü. 10, fo. 1r–v. Heinrich Julius and his Chancellor and Council to Duke Wilhelm the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg, individually, 13 and 15 August 1590, Hauptstaatsarchiv Hannover, Celle Br. 16, Nr 130.

¹⁸³ i.e. exceedingly or very.

¹⁸⁴ i.e. tails and manes dyed.

¹⁸⁵ sic, but read ‘Brunswige’.

¹⁸⁶ i.e. transported.

¹⁸⁷ In margin: ‘Buntyn. 4 myle’; i.e. Buntenbock.

¹⁸⁸ The repetiting of ‘qrof’ from the end of one line to the beginning of the next line is another transcription error by Mylne.

¹⁸⁹ Brocken (or The Brocken) is the highest peak in the Harz Mountains.

¹⁹⁰ Mylne's ‘Anceps’ is clear in the MS, but the person referred to is Henricus Auceps, or Heinrich der Vogler, Henry the Fowler (b. c.875, d.936), who appears to have had some contact with an early residence in this spot. der Ältere, Matthaeus Merian and Zeiller, Martin, Topographia vnd Eigentliche Beschreibung der Vornembsten Stäte, Schlösser auch anderer Plätze vnd Örter in denen Herzogthümern Braunschweig vnd Lüneburg, vnd denen dazu gehörenden Grafschafften Herrschafften vnd Landen (Frankfurt, 1654) (VD17 1:086203T), 104–105. In fact, however, Harzburg was built during the reign of Heinrich IV (b.1050, d.1106). NDB, VIII (1969), 307–310, 315–320; online at DB.

¹⁹¹ The blank space can be filled simply with ‘esse’; thus, ‘ghosts are said to be there’. The Brocken spectre is an atmospheric phenomenon due to shadows and fog.

¹⁹² See above, p. 170 n. 153.

¹⁹³ This word is obscure, but context suggests ‘assistant’, ‘host’, or ‘servant’.

¹⁹⁴ The editor has been unable to identify a location in the region roughly named Dischuten, but it is possible that intended here was ‘die Schutten’, signifying an area of slopes or waterfalls, of which there are many in the Harz.

¹⁹⁵ A variant form of ‘disjoned’, or ‘breakfasted’.

¹⁹⁶ i.e. Goslar. In margin: ‘i myl.’

¹⁹⁷ sic, but ‘where’ is the more likely reading.

¹⁹⁸ In margin: ‘Sander.’ Christoph Sander the Elder (b.1518, d.1598). On mining in the Harz, see the convenient if dated discussion in Helen Boyce, The Mines of the Upper Harz from 1514 to 1589, PhD thesis, University of Chicago, (Menasha, WI, 1920); Sander's roles at 62–77. A more recent overview is provided in Kaufhold, Karl Heinrich, ‘Neuere Forschungen zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte des Berg- und Hüttenwesens im westlichen Harz in der vorindustriellen Zeit: Ein Überblick unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der wirtschaftlichen Wechsellagen’, in Bartels, Christoph and Denzel, Markus A. (eds), Konjunkturen im europäischen Bergbau in vorindustrieller Zeit: Festschrift für Ekkehard Westermann zum 60. Geburtstag (Stuttgart, 2000), 47–72 , Sander at 52; cf. Henschke, Ekkehard, Landesherrschaft und Bergbauwirtschaft: Zur Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungsgeschichte des Oberharzer Bergbaugebietes im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert (Berlin, 1974).

¹⁹⁹ In margin: ‘Silberfelt 2 Myle’. Because silver was mined throughout the Harz, identifying the village, Silberfeld, proves difficult. Whatever the current name of the village, it should not be confused with the Silberfeld west of Zwickau and the Erzgebirge.

²⁰⁰ Christoph Sander the Younger, about whom little is known.

²⁰¹ In margin: ‘Dichuten. 2 myle’. See above, p. 174 n. 194.

²⁰² On Stauffenburg Castle and Henricus Auceps, see Merian and Zeiller, Topographia, 188–189.

²⁰³ i.e. child or offspring.

²⁰⁴ Skene appears to have been a little confused here. The relationship between the abbess of Gandersheim, Margarethe von Warberg, with her custodian, Heinrich Schramme, who escaped to Italy (or Malta as referred to here), is noted in Merian and Zeiller, Topographia, 189. The Latin reads that the baron of Warbeck ‘had been condemned to everlasting imprisonment by Duke Julius of Brunswick on account of fornication, for whom the queen of Denmark (in the neighbouring county of Wolfenbüttel) refused to intervene’. The per quo in the MS is clear, though pro quo reads more accurately.

²⁰⁵ In margin: ‘Hest 4 Myl.’ The ‘Nortoun’ in question is now Nörten-Hardenberg, and ‘Hest’ is now recognized as Harste.

²⁰⁶ i.e. Hannoversch (or Hann.) Münden, located where the Fulda and Werra rivers combine to begin the Weser, which does indeed run to the North Sea via Bremen. In margin: ‘Munden 3 myle’.

²⁰⁷ i.e. Kassel, the principal seat of Wilhelm IV, Landgrave of Hesse (b.1532, d.1592). In margin: ‘Cassell 2 Myle.’

²⁰⁸ As in other instances, ‘duke’ is here understood in the general sense of a male ruler of an independent territory. Wilhelm IV was landgrave of Hesse and count of Katzenelnbogen, Diez, Ziegenhain, and Nidda, but he was not a ‘duke’ in the English sense of nobility.

²⁰⁹ i.e. Melsungen; the castle had been built during the 1550s by Wilhelm as a hunting lodge for his father, Philip the Magnanimous.

²¹⁰ The first letter of Bernard's surname is obscured by the fact that Mylne appears first to have written ‘Ko’ but then ‘C’ on top. Little more is known of this captain.

²¹¹ i.e. Rotenburg, just south-east of Kassel, not Rothenburg, west of Nuremberg.

²¹² ‘ad [. . .] gayd’ seems a transcription error by Mylne, but context suggests ‘attached themselves to our guard’.

²¹³ i.e. Georg, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein, Bernhard von Keudell or Keudel (zu Schwebda), and the Chancellor, Dr Heinrich Hund; NB Mylne's considerable transcription error turning ‘Hund’ into ‘Cams’. For a discussion of these men and their involvement in Hessian foreign policy, see Gräf, Holger Thomas, Konfession und internationales System: Die Außenpolitik Hessen-Kassels im konfessionellen Zeitalter (Darmstadt, 1993), 129 n. 101 (on Keudel), 399 et passim (on Hund). Noble families noted in Köbler, 333 (on Keudell), 615 (on Sayn-Wittgenstein); cf. Zedler, XV, 283, col. 544 (on Keudel); XXXIV, 244, col. 461 (on ‘Sayn u[nd] Witgenstein’). Daniel Rogers dedicated a poem to Keudel and another councillor, Just[us] Didamar[us] in HEHL, HM 31188, fo. 363r–v; cf. poems to the Landgrave Wilhelm himself at fos 217v, 218v.

²¹⁴ i.e. ‘on his behalf’; or, more literally, ‘in the health [or greeting] of himself’.

²¹⁵ Here ‘meikle’ is used in the sense of ‘notable’ or ‘significant’.

²¹⁶ Unclear in the MS; could be ‘of ane’ or ‘ofare’, but context suggests ‘offer’.

²¹⁷ Moritz the Learned (b.1572, d.1632) had turned 18 years old on 25 May 1590. NDB, XVIII (1997), 136–139; online at DB.

²¹⁸ A duke of Hoostruche and Lüneburg remains elusive, but the Duke of Brunswick (or Braunschweig) Lüneburg in 1590 was Wilhelm the Younger, who was hardly young in 1590 (b.1535). A more likely candidate here is Philipp Ernst (b.1584, d.1628), a young prince of Hohenlohe who would later become count of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. See the article on the family in NDB, IX (1972), 484–486; online at DB; cf. Zedler, XIII, 283, col. 539–289, col. 551.

²¹⁹ A full-blown Reichstag was considered in 1590 to discuss funding the war against the Turk, but due to the unease among the Protestant princes, it was deemed ‘most unwise’. Joachim Whaley, Germany and the Holy Roman Empire, I: From Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia 1493–1648 (Oxford, 2012), 410. A smaller-scale Deputationstag in Frankfurt was, however, held; cf. the instructions for Johann Casimir's ambassadors, 5 September 1590, von Bezold, Friedrich (ed.), Briefe des Pfalzgrafen Johann Casimir mit verwandten Schriftstücken (Munich, 1903), III, 377.

²²⁰ These letters to Johann Casimir have not been located in the original or in Bezold, Briefe des Pfalzgrafen Johann Casimir. Other materials relative to Wilhelm, however, have. Oration before Wilhelm, with response and letter to Christian of Saxony, 21 and 22 August 1590, Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, GR, Loc. 10370/1, fos 25r–32v, 4r–5v. Wilhelm to Ludwig of Württemberg, 25 August 1590, Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, Bestand A 114, Bü. 10, fos 2r–4v. Burghley's copy of Wilhelm's response, 22 August 1590, TNA, SP 52/46, fos 33r–34r.

²²¹ Born on 24 June 1532, the Landgrave Wilhelm was actually 58 years old on 22 August 1590.

²²² ‘observing from ye filthier & comon were of drynking’ seems a transcription error. More plausible is ‘abstaining from ye filthier & comon waye of drynking’.

²²³ In margin: ‘Thuringia Bergem. 3 Myle.’ It seems likely that the town of Berka/Werra (or an der Werra) is intended here.

²²⁴ i.e. Eisenach.

²²⁵ i.e. Erfurt. In margin: ‘Erfurd 8 Myle.’

²²⁶ The text struckthrough and then repeated in the correct place is an example of Mylne catching his own transcription error.

²²⁷ ‘fair lodging having [. . .] wes bestowed on ws’ seems to contain at least one transcription error, but it suggests that Skene and Stewart's accommodation in Erfurt was paid for by another person, probably an attorney appointed to conduct their business transactions.

²²⁸ i.e. Buttelstedt.

²²⁹ See the recent history of Gotha and ducal-electoral rivalry in Saxony in ‘The state of Germany’, pp. 79–85. The two sons of Johann Friedrich II (b.1529, d.1595) were indeed Johann Casimir (b.1564, d.1633, married to Anna) and Johann Ernst (b.1566, d.1638). NDB, X (1974), 530–532; ADB, XIV (1881), 364–365; online at DB. The Johann Casimir, Duke of Saxony-Coburg, here is not to be confused with Johann Casimir, Count Palatine and Administrator of the Palatinate (b.1543, d.1592). See above, p. 157 n. 44.

²³⁰ Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxony-Weimar (b.1530, d.1573). Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Saxony-Weimar (b.1562, d.1602). Johann, Duke of Saxony-Weimar (b.1570, d.1605). NDB, X (1974), 530–531; ADB, VII (1878), 791–792; ADB, XIV (1881), 350–352; online at DB.

²³¹ The two sisters were Elisabeth (b.1540, d.1594, married to Johann Friedrich II) and Dorothea Susanna (b.1544, d.1592, married to Johann Wilhelm), daughters of Friedrich III, Elector Palatine (b.1515, d.1576). NDB, V (1961), 530–532; online at DB.

²³² In margin: ‘Naumburg 7 Myle.’

²³³ i.e. Merseburg.

²³⁴ In margin: ‘Hall.’ NB More likely reading: ‘space of fyve myle’.

²³⁵ i.e. Schkeuditz. In margin: ‘Schaditz 3 Myle.’ The Chancellor in Halle of Joachim Friedrich, Administrator of Magdeburg (b.1546, d.1608), was Wilhelm Rudolf von Meckbach (b.1543, d.1603). NDB, X (1974), 438–439; ADB, XXI (1885), 158–159; online at DB.

²³⁶ i.e. Leipzig. In margin: ‘Lipsia.’

²³⁷ i.e. clothes or garments.

²³⁸ In margin: ‘7 Myle.’

²³⁹ i.e. Dresden. In margin: ‘Dresda. 8 Myle’.

²⁴⁰ Christian I, Elector of Saxony (b.1560, d.1591). NDB, III (1957), 230–231; online at DB.

²⁴¹ Nikolaus Crell (or Krell) (b.1550, d.1601). NDB, III (1957), 407–408; online at DB.

²⁴² Johann Badehorn (b.1554, d.1610) was a jurist and member of the elector's council. Noted in Klein, Thomas, Der Kampf um die zweite Reformation in Kursachsen 1586–1591 (Cologne, 1962), 32; as son of Leonhard Badehorn, NDB, I (1953), 509–510; online at DB.

²⁴³ Most likely Fabian von Dohna (b.1550, d.1621), who had been the primary commander during the unfortunate military operations in 1587 in support of Henri of Navarre. NDB, IV (1959), 49–50; online at DB. Fabian von Dohna was an Imperial Burggraf, not a ‘baron’ in the literal sense of ‘Freiherr’. See the family's noble history in Köbler, 144. Not the only ‘baron of Dohna’, Fabian mentioned his several brothers in his own autobiography, published as Christian Krollmann (ed.), Die Selbstbiographie des Burggrafen Fabian zu Dohna (*1550–†1621) (Leipzig, 1905).

²⁴⁴ Christian, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (b.1568, d.1630). NDB, III (1957), 221–225; online at DB.

²⁴⁵ Abraham Bock, ‘von Polacz silesius’, matriculated on 12 October 1554, while Johannes a Seidlitz, nobilis Silesius, matriculated on 5 June 1571. AAVitebergensis, I, 298; II, 196. On Vitus Winshemius (Veit Winsheim) the Younger, see above, p. 156 n. 32.

²⁴⁶ ‘Baikin of blak welnes’, i.e. a richly embroidered cloth of black velvet.

²⁴⁷ i.e. cushion. In margin: ‘Cushine’.

²⁴⁸ i.e. the parable of the Pharisee and Publican, Luke 18:9–14.

²⁴⁹ On the push for further reformation in Saxony under Crell and Christian, see Klein, Der Kampf.

²⁵⁰ Wolfgang Zündelin (or Zundelinus), had previously been a news agent in Venice and other places between 1573 and 1589, but he had also just returned from Italy on behalf of the Elector Christian. He corresponded with a wide range of intellectuals including Joachim Camerarius, Carolus Clusius, and Sir Henry Savile. Friedrich von Bezold, ‘Wolfgang Zündelin als protestantischer Zeitungsschreiber und Diplomat in Italien, 1573–1590’, Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-philologischen und historischen Classe der k. b. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München (Munich, 1882), II, 139–174, with newsletters to Camerarius at 167–174. Examples of letters to Clusius, 7 March 1592, Leiden University Library, MS VUL 101 / Zundelinus, W_001 (available at https://socrates.leidenuniv.nl/); and to Savile, 20 April 1582, BL, Harley MS 6993, art. 12. On Zündelin's role in Christian's court, Klein, Der Kampf.

²⁵¹ i.e. a laughing or cheerful facial expression.

²⁵² James to the Elector Christian, 8 June 1590, Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, GR, Loc. 10370/1, fo. 11r. Letters from Christian IV (28 July), Heinrich Julius (13 August) and Wilhelm (22 August) to Christian, received 30 August 1590, the same date as the Elector's response to the ambassadors. Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, GR, Loc. 10370/1, fos 1r–8r.

²⁵³ Wolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (b.1531, d.1595), was 59 years old in August 1590. On the family's history, see Köbler, 89; Zimmerman, Paul, Das Haus Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (Wolfenbüttel, 1911).

²⁵⁴ i.e. on intimate or friendly terms, familiar, at home.

²⁵⁵ Malvasian wine is native to Greece, not Germany. Christian's preference for imported wine over Rhenish here was probably an instance of displaying his wealth and tastes before foreign ambassadors.

²⁵⁶ Henri IV, King of France, did not claim England among his titles. ‘Queen’ should be inferred before ‘of Ingland’, though no empty space was left in the MS.

²⁵⁷ i.e. the aforesaid duke, Wolfgang.

²⁵⁸ i.e. game of cards.

²⁵⁹ i.e. short swords.

²⁶⁰ On the Elector of Saxony's armoury, see ‘The state of Germany’, pp. 74–76.

²⁶¹ The ‘ii’ is clear in the MS but it is likely that Mylne mistranscribed ‘ü’.

²⁶² See the fuller answer in Christian to James, 30 August 1590, TNA, SP 52/46, fo. 36r–v (Burghley's copy); abstract with note on the embassy, Bezold, Briefe des Pfalzgrafen Johann Casimir, III, 371–372.

²⁶³ i.e. ‘too lightweight a remedy with regard to the most deep wound[s] to the Protestant International’.

²⁶⁴ i.e. ‘the danger is in delay, and the need is for a prompt remedy instead’.

²⁶⁵ i.e. ‘especially as it concerns the affairs of others’.

²⁶⁶ i.e. If.

²⁶⁷ i.e. we need.

²⁶⁸ i.e. alliance.

²⁶⁹ ‘rayer be deid nor word’ reads as ‘rather by deed than word’.

²⁷⁰ i.e. ‘The Spaniard [Philip] will not suffer, if he is able to impede it, the realm of England to be associated with his own realm [sic, but probably a transcription error by Mylne; most likely intended here is ‘the realm of Scotland’] but for this affair, the princes of the Empire in the region not deserting our king. 2. It would cause the Spaniard to desire peace indirectly by means of the Elector of Cologne, but it would appear not in good faith, and meanwhile it is to be feared lest his dealing with England be understood as peace by other observers. For Spanish deceits are to be notable. 3. A legation, if any one were resolved upon, would be held in contempt by the Spaniard, and surely he knew the Spaniard to be averse to peace. 4. No treaty can be created among professors of the true religion, for it is incompatible with agreements made with papists long ago. 5. Such a treaty could be created without full faith, but in any case it would not enable the Elector by any means to ratify it, or even to wish to for a long time, and this forces him [merely] to watch the menacing growth of Spanish power. Finally, friendship with him being both established and promised to me, I asked whether any one, both with honour and a willing desire of spirit towards the Religion, might urge the cause of Christ and with good men advance the cause on account of obligations of friendship, as one bestowed upon the other. And he, having been summoned by the prince [via a nobleman], departed.’ Mylne's convinere is a mistranscription of convenire, and his transcription of Latin abbreviations poses only one problem, that of per before nobilem. The MS clearly uses a prae abbreviation, but prae demands an ablative nobile, whereas per takes the accusative, nobilem, and makes sense given the context of the sentence.

²⁷¹ In margin: ‘Misina 3 Myle.’

²⁷² i.e. Grossenhain.

²⁷³ i.e. Bad Liebenwerda.

²⁷⁴ i.e. Stoltzenhain an der Röder. Skene probably confused the order of Bad Liebenwerda and Stoltzenhain an der Röder; because the latter is south of the former, and between Grossenhain and Bad Liebenwerda, he would have encountered it first.

²⁷⁵ The von Schleinitz family were nobles well connected not only within Saxony but also in Prague. NDB, XXIII (2007), 57–58; online at DB.

²⁷⁶ In margin: ‘Schlieben 8 Myle’.

²⁷⁷ i.e. Baruth/Mark.

²⁷⁸ i.e. Zossen. In margin: ‘Zossen 6 Myle’.

²⁷⁹ In margin: ‘Berlin 4 Myle.’

²⁸⁰ Georg, Johann, Elector of Brandenburg (b.1525, d.1598). NDB, X (1974), 474–475 ; online at DB.

²⁸¹ i.e. the Altmark, in northern Saxony-Anhalt.

²⁸² i.e. 1st or first.

²⁸³ i.e. ‘The first [Sophie] from the family of Liegnitz[,] who for him gave birth to Johann Friedrich, administrator of Magdeburg. 2. From the family of Ansbach, [Sabine,] mother to the duchess of Saxony. 3. Who yet lives of Anhalt, [Elisabeth,] who for him gave birth to three surviving sons.’

²⁸⁴ Distelmeyer, Christian, Chancellor of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (b.1556, d.1612), son of the preceeding Chancellor, Lampert (b.1522, d.1588). NDB, III (1957), 744–745 ; online at DB.

²⁸⁵ i.e. told or revealed to.

²⁸⁶ Mylne's ‘gantib’ is clear in the MS, but it should be read as gentibus; thus, the full phrase reads ‘for a threatening winter now approaching the nation’.

²⁸⁷ i.e. Joachim Friedrich. In margin: ‘Joachimus’. On Joachim Friedrich's role as administrator of Magdeburg, see Nischan, Bodo, Prince, People and Confession: The Second Reformation in Brandenburg (Philadelphia, PA, 1994), 56–63 .

²⁸⁸ i.e. Potsdam. In margin: ‘postdanib.’

²⁸⁹ In margin: ‘postdamb 4 Myle’.

²⁹⁰ Mylne's ‘found’ is probably a mistranscription of ‘sound’.

²⁹¹ i.e. the noun ‘solicitude’ or the verb ‘solicited’.

²⁹² King James's great-grandfather, James IV, was the son of James III and Margaret of Denmark, who was a daughter of Christian I, King of Denmark and Dorothea of Brandenburg.

²⁹³ The precise meaning of ‘no offici [. . .] plenishing’ is obscure due to the gap in the MS, but a suggested reading is ‘no [examples] of kindness, nor accoutrements’.

²⁹⁴ The ‘ye’ following ‘Chancellour’ should be ‘and’ or ‘&’, because the chancellor referred to here is still Christian Distelmeyer. Joachim Friedrich's Chancellor in Halle was Wilhelm Rudolf von Meckbach, while Hieronymus von Schlick, Earl (or Graf) of Bassano and Weisskirchen, was a member of his court. Nischan, Prince, People and Confession, 62.

²⁹⁵ See Burghley's copy, Joachim Friedrich to King James, 5 September 1590, CP, MS 167, fo. 88r.

²⁹⁶ i.e. Lehnin Abbey, disolved during the Reformation. Little is known of its ‘capitane’ or his wife.

²⁹⁷ i.e. Querfurt, south-west of Halle.

²⁹⁸ In margin: ‘Brandenburg, 6 Myle.’ Brandenburg an der Havel is also known simply as Brandenburg City.

²⁹⁹ i.e. Tangermünde, on the Elbe. In margin: ‘Tanger monde 6 Myle.’.

³⁰⁰ i.e. Stendal.

³⁰¹ i.e. Hansestadt Salzwedel. In margin: ‘Salt wedill 8 Myle.’

³⁰² i.e. Uelzen. In margin: ‘vlsen 6 Myle.’

³⁰³ In margin: ‘Luneburg 5 Myle.’

³⁰⁴ i.e. 11.

³⁰⁵ Unclear in the MS, but the sense is ‘joined’ or ‘came to’.

³⁰⁶ In margin: ‘Hamburg 7 Myle.’

³⁰⁷ Stewart and Skene to Kaas and the Councillors, and Christian IV, individually, 14 September 1590, Rigsarkivet, Statens Arkiver, Copenhagen, TKUA, SD, Skotland, AII, 4; cf. Stewart and Skene to Heinrich Julius, 10 September 1590, Bezold, Briefe des Pfalzgrafen Johann Casimir, III, 380. See also the responses of the Danish Councillors and Christian IV to Skene and Stewart, 26 and 29 September 1590, NLS, Adv. MS 33.1.11, items 18 and 45; NB This volume contains a wealth of correspondence to Stewart between 1576 and 1604. David Barclay became Laird of Ladyland when his brother, Hew (or Hugh), who had a history of conspiring with Catholics and drowned when discovered by Protestant authorities in 1597, gave his lands and estate to David. Robertson, George, A Genealogical Account of the Principal Families in Ayrshire, More Particularly in Cunningham (Irvine, 1823), I, 72–73.

³⁰⁸ 18th-century copy of the commission, misdated to 3 December, rather than the more likely 3 September, in NLS, Adv. MS 31.2.16, fo. 1v.

³⁰⁹ The 2 ‘C's on both sides of ‘Coronell’ appear slightly decorative but do not suggest anything otherwise.

³¹⁰ Stewart sought payment of arrears owed to him and his regiment for service in the Netherlands between 1578 and 1582. In 1588 King James had threatened to grant Stewart a letter of marque to attack Dutch merchants if payment were not forthcoming. The issue was finally settled in 1593 when Stewart received payment of 56,000 florins in return for his surrender of the letter of marque. See the brief discussion in Hugh Dunthorne's article on Sir William Stewart, ODNB; cf. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 115–148.

³¹¹ In margin: ‘16: wedinsday’.

³¹² Duke Heinrich Julius's sister, Elisabeth (d.1618), was married to Adolf XIII, Count of Holstein-Schauenburg (d.1601). See the entry for Elisabeth's father, Duke Julius, NDB, X (1974), 654–655; online at DB.

³¹³ i.e. Wedel.

³¹⁴ i.e. wet or rainy.

³¹⁵ i.e. each.

³¹⁶ Skene's arithmetic is off; the total is 73.

³¹⁷ i.e. ‘From Campfeir by sea to the mouth of the River Thames 70 English miles. Thence to London.’ On the city of Campvere (or Veere), see Skene's discussion of the place name below, pp. 210–11.

³¹⁸ Jacob Valcke, Treasurer General of Zeeland (d.1623), had played an important role during the 1580s during and after the tenure of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, as Governor-General of the United Provinces. As a prominent statesman and treasurer, Valcke was a primary figure with whom Skene was to negotiate regarding the debts owed to Col. Stewart. Compare his full address here with those above for the princes to whom Skene and Stewart were sent. ADB, XXXIX (1895), 457–458; online at DB. Several examples of Valcke's correspondence with Walsingham, along with other relevant materials between 1585 and 1590, are available in CSPF, XX–XXIII; L&A, I.

³¹⁹ i.e. ‘To the States General of the United Provinces in the Netherlands, 20 September 1590.’

³²⁰ i.e. ‘in the diocese of Bremen’.

³²¹ i.e. ‘old style’. Skene here specified the older form of dating because much of the Netherlands had adopted the new, Gregorian calendar, while Scotland, Denmark, and other Protestant territories in Germany still used the Julian calendar.

³²² i.e. ship or barge.

³²³ Mylne's ‘flee’ is clear in the MS, and it may signify the ‘Vlie’, the sea passage between Vlieland and Terschelling in West Friesland, though ‘flee’ may also be a transcription error of ‘Held’, as ‘the Held’ (or Den Helder) was a strategic maritime location on the northernmost point of North Holland.

³²⁴ In margin: ‘Tuesday.’

³²⁵ i.e. Leiden.

³²⁶ i.e. The Hague (or Den Haag).

³²⁷ The presidency of the States General revolved weekly among the leading figures of the provincial delegations, but as Jonathan Israel has pointed out, by 1590 Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, ‘as he was Holland's main spokesman, and controlled the flow of diplomatic correspondence in and out of the States General's offices, [. . .] enjoyed an unchallengeable ascendancy over what went on in the federal assembly’. Israel, Jonathan, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806 (Oxford, 1995), 276–306 , esp. 293 on the institutions of the Republic and, 239 on Oldenbarnevelt.

³²⁸ The present John Young may have been related to the more famous Peter Young (b.1544, d.1628), who had been a royal tutor (along with George Buchanan) to James VI and served as a diplomat to Denmark during the 1580s. ODNB.

³²⁹ Nicasius de Sille (1543–1600), pensionary of Amsterdam and representative of Holland in the States General, was a good friend of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and had been part of an embassy to Denmark and Germany in 1588. Tex, Jan den, Oldenbarnevelt (Cambridge, 1973), I (1547–606), 242–243. Instructions for the ambassadors, 14/24 June 1588, CSPF, XXI, Part IV, 484. Jan van de Warcke (b. c.1545, d.1615), pensionary of Middelburg, had been sent to England in 1588 regarding the seizure of Dutch ships, and again in 1598 regarding the Triple Alliance. Van de Warcke and Ortel to the Privy Council, 11 August 1588, CSPF, XXII, 130. Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, I, 261. Cf. Bodley's observation to Burghley on 3 November 1590 regarding ‘Silla pensioner of Amsterdam and Vanderwerck pensyonner of Middelburgh, two of those that beare the greatest stroake in the meeting of the states, & will take any paines to crosse her Majestyes proceedinges’. BL, Cotton MS Galba, D. VII, fo. 312r–v.

³³⁰ A transcription error by Mylne, as ‘3’ should be ‘1’; 1 October was a Thursday, 2 October a Friday.

³³¹ i.e. remaining members.

³³² i.e. adjacent.

³³³ i.e. reign.

³³⁴ See the lengthy report (noting Skene's significant involvement) by Leonard de Voocht and Jan van der Warck after their return from Scotland, presented to the States General on 11 August 1590. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 132–141. De Voocht had been one of the ambassadors sent to England in 1588 in response to King James's defence of Col. Stewart. See the letters to Walsingham and Burghley, 28 and 30 October 1588, CSPF, XXII, 285–286, 289. In 1593 the United Provinces appointed Adrian Damman to found a more permanent ambassadorial office. Katrien A.L. Daemen-de Gelder, ‘The letters of Adriaan Damman (†1605), Dutch ambassador at the court of James VI and I’, Lias 31 (2004), 239–248, mission of 1589 at 241.

³³⁵ i.e. ‘give their own response’ (literally ‘make their own voices’).

³³⁶ These letters of John Maitland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (1543–1595), have not been located.

³³⁷ i.e. ask for, claim, or crave in a court of law.

³³⁸ Stewart's close relationship with the Danes is evident in their correspondence extending back to 1576. Several examples in NLS, Adv. MS 33.1.11.

³³⁹ i.e. if.

³⁴⁰ i.e. theirs.

³⁴¹ Johann Casimir, Count Palatine and Administrator of the Palatinate between 1583 and 1592 (b.1543, d.1592), had played a large role in organizing and leading armies into France and, in 1578, the Netherlands. Along with his officers, he was still owed payment. See p. 157 n. 44. The following ‘Colnoreis & vyeris’ seems a transcription error.

³⁴² i.e. whereby.

³⁴³ i.e. they.

³⁴⁴ i.e. ‘debtors and obliged defendants in the suit’.

³⁴⁵ i.e. their.

³⁴⁶ i.e. ‘a settled matter and of indisputable right because they were legally obliged regarding money’. Mylne's in solidi is clear in the MS, but the correct reading is in solidum, as subsequent phrases illustrate.

³⁴⁷ i.e. ‘collectively and separately[,] and therefore to pinch from the masters who handle financial matters’.

³⁴⁸ i.e. ‘by law and on account of the nature of the contract’.

³⁴⁹ i.e. ‘in which whatever regards money is handled’. Mylne's tenentur is clear in the MS but should read tenetur to agree with quodlibet.

³⁵⁰ i.e. if.

³⁵¹ i.e. ‘whatever was confirmed according to kind[,] likewise also it was confirmed according to whatever of the same value’. Mylne's illegible word before quicquid is clearly a mistranscription, but it appears to be dieilectulae, which may be a stretch from dialectus (i.e. ‘dialect or manner of speaking’).

³⁵² i.e. alleged or asserted.

³⁵³ i.e. Delft.

³⁵⁴ i.e. ‘by means of written documents’.

³⁵⁵ Mylne's abbreviation here is obscure, but context suggests ‘recorded’.

³⁵⁶ i.e. ‘definitely adjudicated sentences and have the force of law’. Mylne's vnis seems a corruption of vis.

³⁵⁷ The first part of this phrase (in aeum erat Judicum nulla bis eam) seems to contain at least one transcription error, but the second part reads ‘for something having been determined or finished is to be done by a definitive judgement’.

³⁵⁸ i.e. ‘with respect to that position it brings no obligation’.

³⁵⁹ i.e. ‘an opinion (of a military affair) that has so great force and effect, it ought to be a great and broad opinion concerning any affair [pagamica]’. Mylne's quantam and pagamica are clear, but they are probably mistranscriptions of quanta and another word as yet elusive.

³⁶⁰ ‘Eir’ clear in the MS but understood as ‘yeir’ or ‘their’.

³⁶¹ i.e. they.

³⁶² i.e. their.

³⁶³ i.e. their.

³⁶⁴ i.e. shed his own blood.

³⁶⁵ Corroborating evidence of a formal peace about this time between Henri IV and Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, remains elusive. Henri followed up his decisive victory at Ivry on 14 March 1590 with the siege of Paris during the spring and late summer of 1590. It was only with the coming of the duke of Parma, Alessandro Farnese, from the Netherlands that Paris was relieved, with the result that Mayenne (whose prestige had been badly damaged after Henri IV defeated his Leaguer forces at Arques in September 1589) and the Catholic League were largely discredited and Philip II of Spain seen as the saviour of Catholic Paris. Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629, 2nd edn (Cambridge, 2005), 140–141. To avoid a long-term Spanish presence in France, Henri and the League eventually began negotiations regarding his conversion to Catholicism.

³⁶⁶ sic; ‘with’ repeated twice, once at the end of the line and again at the beginning of the next line; clearly a transcription error by Mylne.

³⁶⁷ Alexander Wishart received his commission as cavalry captain in March 1586 and served until 1615 or 1616. Along with Skene, he was involved to some extent in the negotiations on Col. Stewart's behalf. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, xii–xiii, 151, commission granted by the earl of Leicester in 1586 at 81–82. See also the States General to James VI, 12 November 1590, BL, Cotton MS Galba D. V, fos 180r–181r; CSPScotland, X, 416–417.

³⁶⁸ Leonard de Voocht (d.1613), councilor and pensionary of Delft, was ambassador to Scotland with Jan van de Warcke. See above, p. 194 n. 334. Mylne appears to have been unsure in his transcription of the surname.

³⁶⁹ John Balfour, brother of David Balfour of Bandon, similarly received his commission from the earl of Leicester in 1586 and was active in the Netherlands well into the 1590s. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 50–51 n. 6, commission at 79–81.

³⁷⁰ William Waddel began his service in the Netherlands in 1586 and died in service 1597. He received his commission from the earl of Leicester in 1588. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 49 n. 3, 54 n. 4; commission at 82–83.

³⁷¹ i.e. wine jugs (or simply the stoppers).

³⁷² i.e. ‘only’ or ‘solely’ for ‘all anerlie’, which is simply a variation of ‘allanerlie’.

³⁷³ More likely ‘drink’.

³⁷⁴ Given Skene's previous comments on drinking, it is unlikely that he took full advantage of this custom.

³⁷⁵ i.e. local officers.

³⁷⁶ i.e. lose their jobs.

³⁷⁷ i.e. seigniories or feudal lords.

³⁷⁸ William of Orange died in the Prinsenhof after being shot by Balthasar Gérard on 10 July 1584. He was subsequently entombed in the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk) in the centre of Delft. For a treatment with far-reaching implications, see Jardine, Lisa, The Aweful End of Prince William the Silent (London, 2005).

³⁷⁹ Illegible due to Mylne's writing over the original word (‘asforir’?), but to the effect of ‘as afore said’.

³⁸⁰ Mylne's ‘I’ is probably a transcription error for ‘&’, as context suggests.

³⁸¹ ‘him yt had served him so long & soe weik’ reads as ‘him that had served them so long and of so little means’.

³⁸² i.e. accounts.

³⁸³ Mylne's ‘parafis’ is clear but may be a corruption of ‘paraseid’ (parricide), which would fit the context of compensation to the heirs of fallen Scottish captains.

³⁸⁴ Skene's demands on behalf of widows and children were reasonable in this context. Pension lists of 1595, 1599, and 1607 include such payments. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 56–58, 62, 72–75.

³⁸⁵ Probably a transcription error of ‘iust’ or ‘just’ by Mylne.

³⁸⁶ i.e. owed.

³⁸⁷ More likely intended here is ‘than’ or ‘for’, as ‘nor’ seems a transcription error by Mylne.

³⁸⁸ William Renton appears in the regiment list of Col. Stewart in 1579, and his service continued until at least 1586. His son, Andrew, eventually drew a pension in 1595, 1598, 1599, and as late as 1620. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 46–47 n. 1, 50, 56, 58, 62, 233.

³⁸⁹ Jacques (or Jakob) Lect (b.1556?, d.1611) was a collaborator of Theodore Beza and served as a jurist and city official in Geneva. See, e.g., his contribution to Beza's paraphrases, Ecclesiastes: Solomonis Concio ad Populum habita, de vita sic instituenda, vt ad veram aeternamque felicitatem perueniatur (Geneva, 1588).

³⁹⁰ i.e. ‘apart from the attendants of the Colonel’.

³⁹¹ On Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (b.1547, d.1619), see the definitive biography, Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt.

³⁹² i.e. ‘Hollanders and Zeelanders’.

³⁹³ Either Skene deliberately combined Latin and English here, or (which is more likely) Mylne has mistranscribed. Either way, the sense is ‘based on the contract, and the confirmation of the same, by the present delegates and so on’.

³⁹⁴ On the Pacification of Ghent in 1576, see Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt, revised edn (Harmondsworth, 1985), 176–187.

³⁹⁵ On 23 January 1579 deputies from Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Gelderland and the Ommelanden (excluding the city of Groningen) signed the Union of Utrecht, which was formed in opposition to the Union of Arras, and as Parker states, ‘[i]ts spirit was contrary to that of the Pacification of Ghent: it made virtually no mention of the king's authority or the maintenance of the Catholic faith, and it did not envisage reconciliation with Spain. The provinces which subscribed to the Union of Utrecht thus endorsed the uncompromising position of the rebels of 1572. Henceforth they were committed to fight for total victory.’ The Dutch Revolt, 194–195, quotation at 194. Other territories did come to join the union ‘expressly’ or ‘explicitly’ in due course, and it was printed in both Dutch and French. See for examples, Verhandelinghe vande Vnie, Eeuvvich Verbondt ende Eendracht. Tusschen die Landen, Provincien, Steden ende Leden van dien hier naer benoempt, Binnen die Stadt Vtrecht gheslooten, ende ghepublicert vanden Stadt-buyse den xxix Ianuarij, Anno M.D.LXXIX (Utrecht, 1579), USTC 421875; Remaniment de Traicte de perpetuele vnion, ligue & confederation, Entre les pays, prouinces, villes & membres d'icelles cy apres declairez, arreste en la maison de ville d'Vtrecht & publié le xxix de Ianuier, Anno M.D.Lxxix (Utrecht, 1579), USTC 13170.

³⁹⁶ The difficulty Skene faced here was that not all 17 provinces (or even the 7 provinces who eventually signed the Act of Abjuration in 1581) had ratified the Union of Utrecht by 9 March.

³⁹⁷ Thomas Bodley (b.1545, d.1613) served as a member of the Council of State and was resident at The Hague from December 1588 until 1597. ODNB. Burghley's two letters of 8 and 9 October 1590, BL, Cotton MS Galba, D. VII, fos 285r, 286r–v. Letters from Stewart and Douglas are yet to be located, but see Bodley's reply to Douglas, 19 November 1590, CP MS 19/57. Bodley mentions his collaboration with Skene on Stewart's behalf, and that the Dutch ‘haue made a better offer, then I did looke for at their handes’. He notes also that he would have also written directly to Stewart if he had known ‘whether to addresse my letter. But if his aboade be there with yow, I shall request yow very hartely to salute him from me, and to assure him of any thing, wherin I shall be able, to doe him any pleasure.’

³⁹⁸ Variant abbreviation for ‘quhill’, which in this instance means ‘until’.

³⁹⁹ Francis Vere [de Vere] (b.1560 or 1561, d.1609) was appointed sergeant-major-general and was in charge of the English army in the Netherlands from 1589; he remained there for most of the 1590s. ODNB.

⁴⁰⁰ Noël de Caron, Lord of Schoonewalle (d.1624), was a Flemish nobleman who succeeded Joachim Ortel as agent in London for the States General after Ortel died in 1590. Caron continued to serve as agent and later as ambassador until his own death. Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, I, 234–236.

⁴⁰¹ Maurice, Count of Nassau (b.1567, d.1625), was stadtholder of Holland, Gelderland, Zeeland, Utrecht, and Overijssel before becoming prince of Orange in 1618. Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, passim. On the unsuccessful attempt on Dunkirk, see Bodley's letter to Burghley from The Hague, 28 October 1590, BL, Cotton MS Galba D. VII, fos 305r–306v.

⁴⁰² Alexander Murray commanded companies during the 1580s and became colonel of the Scottish regiment in 1594. He received his commission from the States General after the departure of his brother in 1588. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 50, commission at 89–90.

⁴⁰³ Herman Wittenhorst van Sonsfeld was a son of Johan van Wittenhorst (d.1569). NNBW, VII (1927), cols 1332–1333.

⁴⁰⁴ Ludovick Stuart [Stewart], 2nd Duke of Lennox (b.1574, d.1624), was probably writing on Col. Stewart's behalf because the colonel had (from 1570) been servant to Esmé, Ludovick's father. ODNB. These letters are yet to be located.

⁴⁰⁵ Bodley's letter of 28 October to Burghley noted the following: ‘The demand of Coronell Stuart, which her Majesty recommendeth by your Lordships severall lettres is sollicited heer by one Master John Skeyn a scottish gentleman, whom the King had very lately employed into Denmarke & hath charged going home to deale with the states in that cause. The first of your Lordships letters astouching Master Stewart was delivered to mee 3 daies past by Master Skeyne him self, to whom in respect of my particular endevours, I will not faile to give good satisfaction, & yet remember withall what your Lordship doth advise yn your next letter after, I have already recommended the suit in her Majesties name to the states, whom I find very greatly parplexed by reason of the letters of Mart. Howbeyt for ought I can parceave they will never yeeld to such a president as to paie the debte of other provinces.’ BL, Cotton MS Galba D. VII, fo. 306v. Burghley's second letter instructed Bodley to try securing payments for Stewart only within reason, as the total demanded by Stewart was so great and because ‘a great nombre of soldiors [. . .] did revolt to ye enemy’. BL, Cotton MS Galba D. VII, fo. 286r. See above, p. 203 n. 397. Three days later on 31 October, Bodley supplied Skene with a letter of protection to ‘all Maiors, Sheriffes [. . .] and all other her majesties officers and subiectes’ for his journey towards London. NLS, Adv. MS 29.2.10, fo. 1r, printed with slight transcription errors in Analecta Scotica: Collections Illustrative of the Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of Scotland, 1st ser. (Edinburgh, 1834), 51–52.

⁴⁰⁶ Joost Menijn (or Josse de Menin), pensionary of Dordrecht (b. c.1540, d.1600?), had been the spokesman of the Dutch representatives negotiating the Treaty of Nonsuch in 1585. Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, I, 37–38.

⁴⁰⁷ Mylne's blank space and ‘Loys’ may be errors for Paulus Buys (b.1531, d.1594), who served as curator of the University of Leiden. His role in political affairs with the English during the 1580s was considerable, though he still served as an informant for Bodley in 1590. See, e.g., Bodley to Burghley, 14 July 1590, BL, Cotton MS Galba D. VII, fos 202r–203v. Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, I, passim, his role at Leiden 244–245.

⁴⁰⁸ Presumably Skene would have written ‘her majestie’, as Bodley would have sworn allegiance to Elizabeth before James.

⁴⁰⁹ i.e. For these and other causes.

⁴¹⁰ Carel Roorda (b.1539, d.1601), statesman and member of the States General, had been a fiercely patriotic Frieslander and opponent of Leicester during the 1580s, though he remained central to war planning early in 1590. Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, I, 194, 239.

⁴¹¹ i.e. showed or displayed.

⁴¹² Anna of Saxony (b.1544, d.1577), daughter of Moritz, Elector of Saxony. Anna's entry, NDB, I (1953), 302; online at DB.

⁴¹³ Countess Maria of Nassau (b.1556, d.1616), eldest surviving daughter of Anna von Egmont and Büren, daughter of Maximilian von Egmont. Maximilian's entry, NDB, IV (1959), 340–341; online at DB.

⁴¹⁴ i.e. on the one side.

⁴¹⁵ Countess Emilia of Nassau (b.1569, d.1629), daughter of Anna of Saxony. Mylne's ‘Madame Mosall’ here and below should be read simply as ‘Mademoiselle’.

⁴¹⁶ The wife of Herman Wittenhorst van Sonsfeld is yet to be identified.

⁴¹⁷ Justinus of Nassau (b.1559, d.1631). ADB, XIV (1881), 759; online at DB.

⁴¹⁸ Monsieur de Grise was mentioned as a member of the States General's Council of War in 1589 (in violation of the Treaty of Nonsuch), and Bodley later noted that de Grise was Commissary General of the Victuals. Contraventions of the Treaty by the States, [27 April] 1589, CSPF, XXIII, 237–238. Bodley to Burghley, 19 August 1591, TNA, SP 84/42, fos 296r–300v.

⁴¹⁹ Sir John Burgh (b.1561/2, d.1594) was knighted by Leicester in 1586 and deputized for his brother as governor of Brill in 1588. By this point in 1590, Lord Burgh was governor in his own right. ODNB.

⁴²⁰ Willem van Dorp (b.1549?, d.1592), was a colonel in the Dutch army. Den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, I, 148, 339. See also his deposition dated 3/13 December 1588, CSPF, XXII, 362.

⁴²¹ Margaretha van Mechelen (b. c.1581, d.1662) was the mistress of Maurice. Biography and relevant bibliography online at NNBW.

⁴²² i.e. Tullibardine.

⁴²³ Jacob (b. c.1562–1565, d.1599), son of Philip of Marnix van St Aldegonde, burgomaster of Antwerp and biblical translator. Along with Justinus of Nassau, Jacob had studied in Leiden during the 1570s. NNBW, I (1911), cols 1306–1307. Den Tex has noted that among the leaders of the Dutch Revolt, Philip of Marnix was the only staunch Calvinist, the others being rather Libertarians. Oldenbarnevelt, II, 555. See also, Weis, Monique, ‘Philip of Marnix and “international Protestantism”: The fears and hopes of a Dutch refugee in the 1570s’, Renaissance and Reformation Review, 11 (2009), 203–220.

⁴²⁴ In margin and corresponding to caret: ‘& Mosall Jo, Madam: Hay.’ Paulus Buys's wife was Maria van der Mersch. See his entry, NNBW, I (1911), cols 519–523 . The other woman might be Margriete van Zeventer, wife of Jean de la Haye (d.1618). NNBW, VI (1924), col. 734.

⁴²⁵ Joost Menijn (or Josse de Menin). See above, p. 205 n. 406.

⁴²⁶ i.e. their. As before in other instances, ‘your’ is probably a transcription error; ‘yr’ or ‘yer’ are more logical original readings.

⁴²⁷ ‘the Gripher with ye vscher’ may signify a ‘gripher/griffer’ (from ‘griffer’, the verb to catch or lay hold on with claws) along with an usher; or, it may be a transcription error by Mylne.

⁴²⁸ i.e. their.

⁴²⁹ Only slightly legible, as Mylne appears first to have written ‘desyred’ and then changed it to ‘Ansered’.

⁴³⁰ i.e. each.

⁴³¹ Letters from the States General in early November are yet to be located, but see a copy of theirs to James dated 12 November 1590, BL, Cotton MS Galba D. V, fos 180r–181r; cf. a copy of Skene's in response at fos 182r–183r.

⁴³² ‘lucy ley hinging sattin’ is an obvious transcription error. Probably intended here is ‘Leiden hanging therin’. After the relief of the siege of Leiden in 1574, described as ‘the costliest, hardest faught, and most decisive, as well as the most epic of the great sieges of the Revolt’, medals were struck to commemorate God's intervention on the side of the Protestants. On the siege generally, Israel, The Dutch Republic, 180–182, quotation at 181. A fine example of the medal is in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, with an image at www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/NG-VG-1-407.

⁴³³ On Murray, see p. 204 n. 402; Waddel, p. 199 n. 370. On Capt. David Cant, who was related by marriage to the Balfours, see Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 43 n. 1; 49 n. 2. Capt. William Nisbet received his captain's commission in 1581, and his children appear in a pension list of 1607. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 50 n. 3; commission at 76–77.

⁴³⁴ On Balfour, see p. 199 n. 369. For ‘hagbutt’ read ‘harquebus’.

⁴³⁵ Capt. William Brog also received a sergeant-major's commission in 1588, subsequently rose to colonel, and was active in the Netherlands until 1636. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade, 54 n. 3; commission at 87–89.

⁴³⁶ The original statue of Erasmus in Rotterdam stood on the Grote Marktbrug but was thrown into the harbour or canal below (the Steigergracht) in 1572. Another made of wood was commissioned, but that seen by Skene was made of masonry (Scots ‘stane’). The statue today is of bronze and was commissioned in 1618. See the brief history in Jan van Adrichem, Jelle Bouwhuis, and Marriette Dölle (eds), Sculpture in Rotterdam (Rotterdam, 2002), 140–141.

⁴³⁷ i.e. Dordrecht.

⁴³⁸ Various members of the Chisholm family turn up in Scotland at this time, though no records of Matthew or a connection with Campvere (or Veere) have yet been found.

⁴³⁹ A transcription error by Mylne, as 10 November was a Tuesday.

⁴⁴⁰ Again, ‘Tuesday’.

⁴⁴¹ Jasper van Kinschot (b.1552, d.1603) was treasurer to Prince Maurice. NNBW, X (1937), cols 461–462.

⁴⁴² The wavy lines may reflect damage in the manscript from which Mylne was working. In other places, probably where the original word was illegible, he simply leaves the space blank.

⁴⁴³ Jacob Barnis, Burgermeester or Burgomaster of Veere, remains elusive.

⁴⁴⁴ ‘Reger Vterch’ is a corruption of ‘Regensbergh’. Pieter Regensbergh was one of the original signatories of the agreement in 1578 between the city of Veere and the Scottish for their staple in the city. Davidson, John and Gray, Alexander, The Scottish Staple at Veere: A Study in the Economic History of Scotland (London, 1909), 420–424 . See also the more accurate reproduction of the signatures in J. W. Perrels, Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis van den Schotschen Stapel te Vere (The Hague, 1903; repr. from the proceedings of the Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen, Middelburg, 1903), I, 28–35; at 35 Pieter's surname is reproduced as ‘Reyghersberg’.

⁴⁴⁵ Cornelius may be related to the ‘Jacob Adriansen’ (‘Jacop Adryaenzen’ in Perrels, Bijdragen, 35) who, along with Regensbergh and others, signed the agreement of 1578. Cornelius otherwise remains elusive.

⁴⁴⁶ Joannes Peterson von Hessen remains elusive.

⁴⁴⁷ Jacques de Malderé (or Malleré) was appointed bailiff of Veere in 1585. NNBW, V (1921), cols 335–336.

⁴⁴⁸ This Adrianus may be the same ‘Ad. Volsius’ (or ‘A.D. Vossius’ in Perrels, Bijdragen, 35) who, along with Regensbergh and others, signed the agreement of 1578. He otherwise remains elusive.

⁴⁴⁹ The Rentmaster (i.e. steward) to the prince of Orange in his dominions in Zeeland remains elusive.

⁴⁵⁰ Peter de Vosse (or Vesse), Secretary of Veere and brother of Adrian, remains elusive.

⁴⁵¹ George Kincaid was a merchant of the Scottish staple at Veere, though he was also involved in raising Scottish troops as early as 1573. Davidson and Gray, The Scottish Staple at Veere, 178 n. 1. Although Davidson and Gray's list of Scottish signatories to the agreement of 1578 does not include Kincaid, Perrels, Bijdragen, 35 does.

⁴⁵² i.e. ‘Why the city is called Campver, or Campfeir.’

⁴⁵³ In margin: ‘Campferre’.

⁴⁵⁴ A transcription error by Mylne, as Germani or Germanj agrees with the subsequent pronunciant.

⁴⁵⁵ i.e. ‘The Germans pronounce the simple word [correctly] as if “Camp vere”, we “Campferre” and for that “vere” whence the slightly corrupted term “ferrie”.’ Skene exercised a play on words by adding ‘vere’ (‘correctly’) after ‘Camp’ to reflect the accuracy of the German pronunciation and the derivation of the Scots/English understanding. Mylne's pantutum is clear in the MS but is a transcription error for paululum (‘slightly’ or ‘to a small extent’).

⁴⁵⁶ This Daniel remains elusive.

⁴⁵⁷ Mylne's ‘henrib.’ is clear in the MS, but more probably ‘houres’ was written by Skene; cf. the ‘houres’ a few lines later.

⁴⁵⁸ i.e. a side wind.

⁴⁵⁹ i.e. the Thames.

⁴⁶⁰ i.e. ‘by numerous sailings’. Mylne's volificationibus is clear in the MS, but the editor is grateful to Professor Julia Barrow of the University of Leeds for her very correct suggestion of velificationibus.

⁴⁶¹ In margin: ‘London’.

⁴⁶² Several inns were located on Gracious (or Gracechurch) Street, which ran north–south from Cornhill Street (near Leadenhall Market) to the bridge (where it was called ‘New Fish Street’). Inns on this street included the Cross Keys, the Spread Eagle, the Saracen's Head, and the Tabbard, which was referred to as ‘the ‘at the signe of the Tabbard’ in Taylor's, John The Carriers Cosmographie. or A Briefe Relation, of the Innes, Ordinaries, Hosteries, and other lodgings in, and neere London (London, 1637) (STC 23740), sig. [A4r]. See also the excellent online resource at http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/index.htm.

⁴⁶³ James Hudson frequently corresponded with Walsingham regarding Scottish affairs and served as an English agent in Scotland. See CSPScotland, X, passim.

⁴⁶⁴ Transcription error in ‘my’; Mylne rendered it with one too many minims, as in ‘nny’.

⁴⁶⁵ ‘morne yraster in ye morning’ signifies ‘tomorrow morning’.

⁴⁶⁶ William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Lord Treasurer (b.1520/21, d.1598), suffered from gout during his later years. ODNB. See also, Alford, Stephen, Burghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I (New Haven, CT, 2008).

⁴⁶⁷ Probably a transcription error by Mylne, as ‘Germany’ makes more sense than ‘befoir many’ due to the series of places where Skene negotiated.

⁴⁶⁸ Abbreviation of ‘quhill’, signifying ‘until’.

⁴⁶⁹ On this date, 25 November, a warrant was issued to the Exchequer to pay certain allowances to Horatio Palavicino during his upcoming mission to Germany. Burghley's conversations with Skene the previous day regarding his progress in Germany clearly increased the sense of necessity of getting Palavicino into the field sooner rather than later. Docket noted in Lemon, Robert (ed.), Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1581–90 (London, 1865), 700 .

⁴⁷⁰ Mylne's ‘his’ is clear in the MS, but ‘her’ was more likely intended.

⁴⁷¹ That Skene thought his and Stewart's mission was ineffectual in the short term is significant, but see the longer-term interpretation in Gehring, Anglo-German Relations, 144–145.

⁴⁷² The younger brother of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (b.1565, d.1601), was named Walter. ODNB.

⁴⁷³ Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (b.1550, d.1604), squandered ‘virtually his entire patrimony on personal extravagance’ and was ‘eternally short of funds’. ODNB.

⁴⁷⁴ George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon (b.1548, d.1603), was captain of the Isle of Wight from 1583 and was involved in naval operations during the mid and later 1580s. ODNB.

⁴⁷⁵ A seemingly odd statement here at first but probably a transcription error by Mylne. A likely reading would be ‘in complexion he is fair & fatt, & [his brothers] are of darker complexion, representing their mother, whom I likewise saw in court’. George Carey's brothers included John, 3rd Baron Hunsdon (d.1617), Robert, 1st Earl of Monmouth (b.1560, d.1639), and Edmund (d.1637). For John and Robert, ODNB. For Edmund (the sixth son among a total of Henry's nine sons and three daughters) and other brothers, P. W. Hasler (ed.), The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1558–1603 (Woodbridge, 1981); available online at www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Henry Carey's wife was Anne Morgan, but he also fathered at least one illegitimate child, Valentine Carey (d.1626).

⁴⁷⁶ Charles Howard, Lord Admiral (b.1536, d.1624), oversaw all naval operations under Elizabeth from 1585. ODNB.

⁴⁷⁷ The letter from James to Howard mentioned here may be related to the king's letters to Burghley, Howard, and the Lord Chamberlain, Carey. The letters are mentioned in Bowes to Burghley, 18 December 1590, CSPScotland, X, 434–440, at 436. Shortly before her death, Queen Elizabeth confirmed her successor, James, to Howard, thereby ‘enabling her old friend to continue the family tradition of cultivating a new sovereign's gratitude’. ODNB (entry for Howard).

⁴⁷⁸ i.e. would like to do.

⁴⁷⁹ Skipper Gray is as yet unidentified, but the issue of English piracy and complaints by William Cockburn was central to James's letters to Burghley, Howard, and Carey. See above, n. 477.

⁴⁸⁰ i.e. tell.

⁴⁸¹ i.e. need.

⁴⁸² Henri de la Tour, Viscount of Turenne (b.1555, d.1623), had previously served Henri of Navarre and in 1590 was in England for Henri IV to raise money for the German army. See Turenne's correspondence and activities during the 1580s in CSPF and L&A.

⁴⁸³ The Monsieur de Beauvais, or Jean de la Fin, Sieur de Beauvoir la Nocle, came to England in August 1589 seeking assistance for Navarre, and as Walsingham noted at the time, ‘Her majesti[e] seemeth verie forward to yeald him the same, but her means to performe yt I doubt will not be aunswearable to [w]hat the world expecteth at her hands.’ Walsingham to Asheby, 27 August 1589, CSPScotland, X, 148. See above, p. 153 n. 8.

⁴⁸⁴ Mylne transcription error; i.e. Horatio Palavicino (b. c.1540, d.1600), who led two embassies in 1590. Turenne joined Palavicino for the latter during the winter of 1590–1591. ODNB. Gehring, Anglo-German Relations, 138–141, nn. on 208–210. See above, p. 173 n. 180, p. 213 n. 469.

⁴⁸⁵ Mylne wrote ‘16’, but in the margin, in modern pencil: ‘[?26]’, which is correct. 16 November was a Monday and does not make sense given the chronology of the account.

⁴⁸⁶ Robert Bowes (d.1597) was Elizabeth's ambassador to James VI and Burghley's primary contact in Edinburgh. Bowes’s lengthy correspondence with Burghley is well documented in CSPScotland, X, and II Appendix. A letter from Burghley in late November 1590 is yet to be located, but see Bowes's letters dated 7 December 1590 to Burghley, acknowledging the latter's of 23 November, TNA, SP 52/46/69–71. See also ODNB.

⁴⁸⁷ Either Skene's recollection was incorrect or Mylne transcribed incorrectly: 10 days after Friday, 27 November, was 8 December, a Tuesday. Possible Sundays were 6 and 13 December (8 and 15 days after 27 November); 10 December, a Thursday, was 12 days after 27 November. Regardless of whether he arrived on 6, 8, 10, or 13 December, the dating of his commission dated ‘Upsalie norvegori 3 Decem’ is clearly wrong in NLS, Adv. MS 31.2.16, fo. 1v.

⁴⁸⁸ The meaning of ‘lysmeries’ is unclear, though it may be a transcription error by Mylne.

⁴⁸⁹ i.e. ‘Thus signed’.

⁴⁹⁰ See above, p. 158 n. 50.

⁴⁹¹ Johann VII (von Schönenberg), Archbishop-Elector of Trier (d.1599). ADB, XIV (1881), 427–428; online at DB.

⁴⁹² For Maguntinensi read Moguntinensi. Wolfgang von Dalberg, Archbishop-Elector of Mainz (b.1537, d.1601). NDB, III (1957), 490; online at DB.

⁴⁹³ Ernst, Duke of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne (b.1554, d.1612). NDB, IV (1959), 614–615; online at DB.

⁴⁹⁴ Wilhelm V, Duke of Jülich-Kleve-Berg (b.1516, d.1592). ADB, XLIII (1898), 106–113; online at DB.

⁴⁹⁵ sic, but read ‘Ravenstein’.

⁴⁹⁶ See above, p. 157 n. 44.

⁴⁹⁷ See above, p. 204 n. 401.

⁴⁹⁸ Alexander (or Alessandro) Farnese, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (b.1545, d.1592). NNBW, II (1912), cols 1067–1073.

⁴⁹⁹ In margin: ‘x’.

⁵⁰⁰ For nonae read nouae; nouae aquilae was the Latin form of Neuenahr, with ‘Aar’ being a poetic term for an eagle. Adolf, Count of Neuenahr (b.1545, d.1589), had died in an explosion at Arnhem in October 1589, essentially ending the Cologne War. NDB, IXX (1999), 109–110; online at DB.

⁵⁰¹ i.e. ‘The Cathedral Chapter of Mainz’.

⁵⁰² i.e. ‘The Cathedral Chapter of Cologne’.

⁵⁰³ For pronuncarum (and pronuciarum below) read provinciarum, i.e. ‘The States (General) of the United Provinces of lower Germany’ (i.e. the Dutch Republic).

⁵⁰⁴ For ducatius read ducatus, i.e. ‘The States of the Duchy of Gelderland’.

⁵⁰⁵ Added to the end of Skene's list of German and Dutch titles are two unrelated items. The first is a rough paraphrase of Holinshed, Raphael, The Firste volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande (London, 1577) (STC 13568b), 312. The second addresses New Style dating and the difference of 10 days.

⁵⁰⁶ In margin: contra william Lambertoun de priscis.

⁵⁰⁷ Skene later defined this term as follows: ‘Particata, vel perticata terra. From the French word Perche, meikle vsed in the English lawes, ane ruid of land.’ See his rather lengthy explanation in De verborum significatione[:] The Exposition of the Termes and Difficill Wordes, Conteined in the Fovre Bvikes of Regiam Majestatem (Edinburgh, 1599) (included in STC 21877.5), sigs [O5v–O6v].