Young Lord Hastings

Abstract

So Sir Francis Hastings unashamedly wrote in a panegyric upon his beloved eldest brother, Henry, the third Earl of Huntingdon a few months after he had died in December 1595 and the circle of his godly friends echoed his sentiments. Even when a more impartial audience reads this outpouring of fraternal affection, Huntingdon still seems something of a paragon among the Elizabethan aristocracy. His Protestant enthusiasm, as his brother knew from experience, had informed all his actions as much in his private life as in his public career. This study aims at showing how such a man could appear at such a time and how his beliefs affected all he undertook.