Sovereign Council or Counseled Sovereign: The Marian Conciliar Compromise

Abstract

The period from the end of the Wars of the Roses to the beginning of the English Civil War has been defined as a “conciliar period” in England, in which a “monarchy of counsel” defined the parameters of rule and the “problem of counsel” as the parameters of civic engagement.¹ Such theories, as we shall see, were defined in turn by an assumption of the primacy of masculine rationality—women had no place in such relationships, and could serve only as corruptive, imprudent Jezebels.²

Appendix 1: Select Council Sources

Date	Notes	Source
Before 29 Aug 1555	Philip and Pole meet to discuss the Select Council (SC)	VSP, 178
29 Aug 1555	Philip meets with the councillors to institute the SC Philip leaves instructions for the SC	VSP, 178; BL Cotton MS Titus B II, fol. 160; VSP, 178
31 Aug 1555	SC meets to discuss agenda given by Philip (morning?) SC meets with Mary to discuss points decided in earlier meeting (afternoon)	SP 11/6 fol. 25; BL Cotton MS Titus BII fol. 162; VSP, 176
1 Sept 1555	SC informs Privy Council of its decision regarding calling of Parliament on 21 Oct	SP 11/6 fol. 25
? Sept 1555	SC to Philip	SP 11/6 fol. 26
? 1555	SC to Philip	SP 11/6 fol. 27
? 1555	SC to Philip	SP 11/6 fol. 28
? 1555	SC to Philip	SP 11/6 fol. 29
? [Sept] 1555	SC to Philip	SP 11/6 fol. 30a
15 Oct 1555	Philip to SC	SP 11/6 fol. 62
27 Oct 1555	SC to Philip	SP 11/14b
13 Nov 1555	Philip to SC	SP 11/6 fol. 86
18 Dec 1555	SC to Philip	SP 11/6 fol. 123
29–31 Dec 1555	SC to Philip	(various drafts) SP 11/6 fol. 128-30
25 Jan 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/7 fol. 13c
2 Feb 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/7 fol. 13
23 Feb 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/7 fol. 23
16 Mar 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/7 fol. 43
23 Apr 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/8 fol. 34
28 Apr 1556	SC to Philip—concession re titles	SP 11/8 fol. 72
29 Apr 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/8 fol. 121
7 May 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/8 fol. 85
13 May 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/8 fol. 119
? June 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/9 fol. 28
14 June 1556	Members of the Select Council except Arundel put in charge of coinage	APC, 284
15 June 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/9 fol. 16d
21 June 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/9 fol. 16
14 July 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/9 fol. 25e
? July 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/9 fol. 25
? Sept 1556	SC to Philip	CSP, 87
10 Sept 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/9 fol. 60
13 Sept 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/9 fol. 64
16 Sept 1556	SC to Philip	(draft and fair copy) SP 11/9 fol. 66-8
30 Sept 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/9 fol. 71
8 Oct 1556	Nicholas Wotton (with Philip) to SC	SPF, 261-3
19 Oct 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/9 fol. 83
? Oct 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/9 fol. 89
1 Nov 1556	Philip to SC	Cotton Titus II fol. 114
2 Nov 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/9 fol. 91
22 Nov 1556	SC to Philip	SP 11/9 fol. 94 (draft fol. 98)
1 Dec 1556	Philip to SC	SP 11/9 fol. 104
10 Jan 1558	Pole to Philip, SC will inform him of affairs in England	VSP, 192
24 Jan 1558	SC to Philip	CSPS, 348f
28 Jan 1558	Feria and Figueroa meet with SC	CSPS, 349
31 Jan 1558	Philip to SC	CSPS, 348
12 Feb 1558	Feria to Philip re SCg	CSPS, 355
15 Feb 1558	Philip to Feria re SC	CSPS, 357
18 Feb 1558	Philip to Feria re SC	CSPS, 360
22 Feb 1558	Paget composing letter to Philip	CSPS, 362
26 Feb 1558	Philip to Feria re SC	CSPS, 363
10 Mar 1558	Feria to Philip with 2 memoranda of SC (lost)	CSPS, 367
6 Apr 1558	Philip to SC	SP 11/12 fol. 121
6 Apr 1558	Feria to Philip, SC writing to him	CSPS, 376
1 May 1558	SC to Philip	CSPS, 381h
5 May 1558	SC to Philip	CSPS, 380
7 May 1558	Philip to SC	CSPS, 381
7 May 1558	Philip to Feria re SC	CSPS, 382
7 May 1558	SC to Philip	CSPS, 387i
17 May 1558	SC to Philip	CSPS, 384-5
18 May 1558	Feria to Philip re SC	CSPS, 385
27 May 1558	Philip to SC	CSPS, 389
27 May 1558	Philip to Feria re SC	CSPS, 390
27 May 1558	Philip to Feria re SC	CSPS, 391
6 June 1558	Feria to Philip re SC	CSPS, 394
19 June 1558	Philip to Feria re SC	CSPS, 398
23 June 1558	Feria to Philip re SC	CSPS, 399
5 July 1558	Feria to Philip re SC	CSPS, 402-3
22 Oct 1558	Philip to SC	SP 11/14 fol. 4
27 Oct 1558	SC to Philip	CSP, 108

1. ^aRedworth, Male and Female Monarchy, 603 dates this letter to 26 September 1555
2. ^bNo folio number given
3. ^cThe letter is mentioned, but is not extant
4. ^dThe letter is mentioned, but is not extant
5. ^eThe letter is mentioned, but is not extant
6. ^fThe letter is mentioned, but is not extant
7. ^gThis is given as “Privy Council” in the translation, but almost certainly refers to the Select Council
8. ^hThe letter is mentioned, but is not extant
9. ⁱThe letter is mentioned, but is not extant