I am Elizabeth
Elizabeth's Coronation Procession
Prayers or Meditations
Written by Katherine Parr, Translated by Elizabeth and presented to Henry VIII, 1545
On 30 December 1545, I presented my father, the king, with a translation of his Queen's book, Prayers or Meditations. My translation was not just into one language, but three. As a preface to his reading my gift, I wrote a letter explaining how I came to determine this gift as being appropriate.
The image (Marcus, 8) to the left is my Latin inscription for this work; I will translate it to English here.
"To the most illustrious and most mighty King Henry the Eighth, king of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and second to Christ, supreme head of the English and Irish Church, Elizabeth, his majesty's most humble daughter, wishes all happiness, and begs his blessing." (Marcus, 9)
My further preface, reproduced below, begs the indulgence of my renowned father towards the gift I humbly presented him. I considered the translation of this good and pious work of my esteemed step-mother a labor of the soul, not the body, and, as such, an entirely suitable gift. Looking back from my perch of old age, I see that I begged my father for his approval as I wrote, "I do not doubt that your fatherly goodness and royal prudence will esteem this inward labor of my soul not less than any other mark of honor and will regard this divine work as more to be esteemed because it has been composed by the most serene queen, your spouse, and it to be held in slightly greater worth because it has been translated by your daughter." (Marcus, 10) After all the letters I wrote to my esteemed father, this is the only one to have survived.
"To the most illustrious and most mighty King Henry the Eighth, king of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and second to Christ, supreme head of the English and Irish Church, Elizabeth, his majesty's most humbe daughter, wishes all happiness, and begs his blessing.
"As an immortal soul is superior to a mortal body, so whoever is wise judges things done by the soul more to be esteemed and worthy of greater praise than any act of the body. And thus, as your majesty is of such excellence that none or few are to be compared wtih you in royal and ample marks of honor, and I am bound unto you as lord by the law of royal authority, as lord and father by the law of nature, and as greatest lord and matchless and most benevolent father by the divine law, and by all laws and duties I am bound unto your majesty in vaious and manifold ways, so I gladly asked (which it was my duty to do) by what means I might offer to your greatness the most excellent tribute that my capacity and diligence could discover. In the which I only fear lest slight and unfinished studies and childish ripeness of mind diminish the praise of this undertaking and the commendation which accomplished talents draw from a most divine subject. For nothing ought to be more acceptable to a king, whom philosophers regard as a god on earth, than this labor of the soul, which raises us up to heaven and on earth makes us heavenly and divine in the flesh; and while we may be enveloped by continual and infinite miseries, even then it renders us blessed and happy.
"Which work, since it is so pious, and by the pious exertion and great diligence of a most illustrious queen has been composed in English, and on that account may be more desirable to all and held in greater value by your majesty, it was thought by me a most suitable thing that this work, which is most worhy because it was indeed a composition by a queen as a subject for her king, be translated into other languages by me, your daughter. May I, by this means, be indebted to you not as an imitator of your virtues but indeed as an inheritor of them. In the work, whatever is not mine is worthy of the greatest praise, as the whole book is at once pious in its subject, ingeniously composed, and arranged in the most appropriate order. Whatever is truly mine, if there is any mistake in it, deserves indulgence on account of ignorance, yuoth, short time of study, and goodwill. And if it is mediocre, even if it is worthy of no praise at all, nevertheless if it is well received, it will incite me earnestly so that, however much I grow in years, so much will I grow in knowledge and the fear of God and thus devote myself to Him more religiously and respect your majesty more dutifully. Wherefore I do not doubt that your fatherly goodness and royal prudence will esteem this inward labor of my soul not less than any other mark of honor and will regard this divine work as more to be esteemed because it has been composed by the most serene queen, your spouse, and is to be held in slightly greater worth because it has been translated by your daughter. May He who is King of kings, in whose hand are the hearts of kings, so govern your sould and protect your life that in true piety and religion we may live long under your majesty's dominion. From Herford, the 30 day of December 1545." (Marcus, pp 9-10)
The image (Marcus, 8) to the left is my Latin inscription for this work; I will translate it to English here.
"To the most illustrious and most mighty King Henry the Eighth, king of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and second to Christ, supreme head of the English and Irish Church, Elizabeth, his majesty's most humble daughter, wishes all happiness, and begs his blessing." (Marcus, 9)
My further preface, reproduced below, begs the indulgence of my renowned father towards the gift I humbly presented him. I considered the translation of this good and pious work of my esteemed step-mother a labor of the soul, not the body, and, as such, an entirely suitable gift. Looking back from my perch of old age, I see that I begged my father for his approval as I wrote, "I do not doubt that your fatherly goodness and royal prudence will esteem this inward labor of my soul not less than any other mark of honor and will regard this divine work as more to be esteemed because it has been composed by the most serene queen, your spouse, and it to be held in slightly greater worth because it has been translated by your daughter." (Marcus, 10) After all the letters I wrote to my esteemed father, this is the only one to have survived.
"To the most illustrious and most mighty King Henry the Eighth, king of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and second to Christ, supreme head of the English and Irish Church, Elizabeth, his majesty's most humbe daughter, wishes all happiness, and begs his blessing.
"As an immortal soul is superior to a mortal body, so whoever is wise judges things done by the soul more to be esteemed and worthy of greater praise than any act of the body. And thus, as your majesty is of such excellence that none or few are to be compared wtih you in royal and ample marks of honor, and I am bound unto you as lord by the law of royal authority, as lord and father by the law of nature, and as greatest lord and matchless and most benevolent father by the divine law, and by all laws and duties I am bound unto your majesty in vaious and manifold ways, so I gladly asked (which it was my duty to do) by what means I might offer to your greatness the most excellent tribute that my capacity and diligence could discover. In the which I only fear lest slight and unfinished studies and childish ripeness of mind diminish the praise of this undertaking and the commendation which accomplished talents draw from a most divine subject. For nothing ought to be more acceptable to a king, whom philosophers regard as a god on earth, than this labor of the soul, which raises us up to heaven and on earth makes us heavenly and divine in the flesh; and while we may be enveloped by continual and infinite miseries, even then it renders us blessed and happy.
"Which work, since it is so pious, and by the pious exertion and great diligence of a most illustrious queen has been composed in English, and on that account may be more desirable to all and held in greater value by your majesty, it was thought by me a most suitable thing that this work, which is most worhy because it was indeed a composition by a queen as a subject for her king, be translated into other languages by me, your daughter. May I, by this means, be indebted to you not as an imitator of your virtues but indeed as an inheritor of them. In the work, whatever is not mine is worthy of the greatest praise, as the whole book is at once pious in its subject, ingeniously composed, and arranged in the most appropriate order. Whatever is truly mine, if there is any mistake in it, deserves indulgence on account of ignorance, yuoth, short time of study, and goodwill. And if it is mediocre, even if it is worthy of no praise at all, nevertheless if it is well received, it will incite me earnestly so that, however much I grow in years, so much will I grow in knowledge and the fear of God and thus devote myself to Him more religiously and respect your majesty more dutifully. Wherefore I do not doubt that your fatherly goodness and royal prudence will esteem this inward labor of my soul not less than any other mark of honor and will regard this divine work as more to be esteemed because it has been composed by the most serene queen, your spouse, and is to be held in slightly greater worth because it has been translated by your daughter. May He who is King of kings, in whose hand are the hearts of kings, so govern your sould and protect your life that in true piety and religion we may live long under your majesty's dominion. From Herford, the 30 day of December 1545." (Marcus, pp 9-10)
© 2011 Karen S. Palmer
Template design by Andreas Viklund
Template design by Andreas Viklund
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