hilliard miniature - The Anne Boleyn Files

DISCOVER THE
T
HILLIARD
MINIATURE
he miniature portrait of an Unknown
Young Man with the motto “Attici Amoris
Ergo”, dated 1588, has fascinated me since
childhood. Who is he, why the apparently
gibberish motto that translates as “by, with,
from or through the love of Atticus”; and the
date – 1588, coincidentally the same as the
defeat of the Spanish Armada. The portrait
was painted by Elizabeth I's painter 'in little',
Nicholas Hilliard.
of Goldsmiths in 1569 and in 1576 he married
Alice Brandon, daughter of Robert Brandon.
We do not know for certain who trained him
in the art of painting in watercolour on vellum,
but the most likely candidate is the woman
artist, Levina Teerlinc, who was first recruited by
Henry VIII then served Edward VI, Mary I and
Elizabeth as limner to the Court.
Hilliard’s talent for portrait painting is more
famous than his goldsmithing even though
we know from the records in the Goldsmith's
Company that he took on apprentice
Nicholas Hilliard was born in Exeter in or about goldsmiths. He probably designed and made
the year 1547 and in 1555 he is sent to Europe
the lockets for many of his portraits, such as the
with the Bodley family eventually ending up in
Drake and Lyte jewels and we know he designed
Geneva with various other English Protestant
Elizabeth’s second Great Seal and the Great
exiles including the Knollys family. The Bodley Seal of Ireland even though this Seal was never
family returned to England in 1559 after the
struck.
accession of Elizabeth I, but it is not known
whether Hilliard returned to his family in Exeter In 1572 Hilliard comes to prominence with his
first known miniature portrait of Elizabeth I
or remained with the Bodleys in London. We
and, as a result of royal patronage, these portraits
do know that Hilliard was apprenticed to the
became fashionable with the members of the
London goldsmith, Robert Brandon, in 1562,
Elizabethan Court and aspirational members of
became a freeman of the Worshipful Company
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society. The average cost of having your
portrait painted by Hilliard was £3 to £4
and each miniature took an average of
three sittings. To put this into context,
at the end of the 16th century the annual
rent for the lease on his property on
Gutter Lane in the City of London was
£30. In today's money it would have cost
you about £1500 to £2000.
We also know from various documents
that he had close connections with Sir
Francis Walsingham and Lord Burghley
and there are various portraits by him of
Sir Robert Dudley.
Therefore we know that our artist has
close connections with Elizabeth and
her circle, he is famous for capturing
his sitter's likeness, and there are many
examples of his work with symbols and
messages. In his draft Treatise dated 1598
he stresses that to be a portrait painter
such as he, one must be discreet as often
secrets are told to him. We will have to
assume that this was in order to create the
visual messages in his images. The most
famous of which is Young Man Amongst
Roses who Dr Roy Strong has identified
this sitter as Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl
of Essex.
What do we know about the Unknown Young
Man who clasps an unseen lady’s hand that
comes from a cloud? Absolutely nothing except
what we can take from the portrait itself. There
are apparently two versions of this portrait,
both painted by Hilliard, and this one is in our
national collection at the Victoria & Albert
Museum, South Kensington, London. To be
able to afford to have Hilliard paint his portrait
tells us immediately that this is a young man of
means. Clearly he is making a statement because
why else go to the trouble of devising a complex
motto, let alone introducing another individual
in the form of a hand. In this case, instead of
showing the age of the sitter and the year their
portrait was painted, we only have the year.
The young man appears to be in his twenties, has
sandy hair and beard, is dressed in black with
a white lace collar, wears a grey hat with what
appears to be jewel trim and a white feather
and he holds a lady’s hand that comes from a
cloud. The words Attici Amoris Ergo are written
between him and the unknown woman’s hand
as if to underline the connection between him,
her and Atticus and on the other side are the
words Anno Domini 1588 which indicates that
the date is important, but unlike other portraits
there is no indication of the age of the young
man. There is some damage to the face, but this
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is not so bad that it prevents us from examining
his features.
Hilliard was famous for capturing the likeness
of his patrons and in much demand because
they were painted from life which meant many
of these have a fleeting smile or a twinkle in the
eye. Hilliard shows a pensive young man, lost
in thought. His beard is neatly trimmed and his
sandy hair curls over his ears and collar.
message; so much thought would have been
given to how this hand was to be shown. Is the
hand that of a married lover which is why she is
hidden behind a cloud? If it is of his lover, why
is she not responding to his touch as her fingers
appear to rest inert within his? The colouring
of the lace may, or may not, be deliberate; if so,
why and this may be the only external clue to her
identity?
The only other clue to our sitter's identity is
The pose is carefully constructed and our young the apparently incomprehensible motto, Attici
man clasps a feminine hand whose lace on
Amoris Ergo, which translates literally as
her cuffs is coloured black and white; is this a
'Therefore by, with, from or through, the love of
fashion statement? Might this be artistic licence Atticus'.
in order to balance the portrait? Both are
In his book, ‘The Secret Life of Elizabeth I’, Dr
feasible suggestions. However, symbolism and
imagery were often used to convey an unspoken Paul Doherty put forward the documentary
evidence he had unearthed in Madrid, of a
young man at the Court of Philip II of Spain
calling himself Arthur Dudley and claiming
to be the illegitimate son of Elizabeth, Queen
of England and her favourite courtier, Robert
Dudley. Walsingham and Lord Burghley had
the best spy network in Europe and there were
spies embedded within the Spanish Court just
as Philip had his spies in London.
When Elizabeth had first come to the throne,
there had been gossip regarding her and
Dudley’s behaviour and rumours that she had
carried his child. Their behaviour was such
that the Spanish Ambassador had reported
their scandalous behaviour to his master. That
September, when Dudley was with the queen at
Windsor celebrating her birthday, his wife had
a convenient accident and died. The inquest
finds Dudley innocent of being implicated in a
murder plot, but his reputation is sullied to the
point that he can never be anything more than
a close friend to the Queen. The story of the
death of Amy Dudley (nee Robsart) is cloaked
in mystery and the subject of many conspiracy
theories, but it does seem to happen at a very
convenient time.
During my researches into the life and work
of Levina Teerlinc I researched the various Ps
on the front sheet of the Coram Rege rolls
which were the recording of the proceedings
of the Queen’s Bench and always showed an
image of the monarch as God’s purveyor of
justice and mercy. For the Michelmas Law term
of 1560, the anonymous illuminator has taken
the trouble to show the Queen’s expression.
She appears concerned and perhaps worried.
It appears the illuminator is portraying the
state of mind of the monarch at this crisis. The
Michelmas Law term runs from October to
December, which in 1560 is the term where the
very monarchy is threatened by the scandal of
Lady Dudley's death and the international gossip
regarding Elizabeth and Dudley's scandalous
behaviour.
It is probable that one of Teerlinc’s duties was
to create the image of the monarch within the
P on these Rolls. My question is why make the
queen’s expression anything other than usual.
Why make a very specific expression at all?
Perhaps it is a comment on Elizabeth’s concern
for Dudley? Or is it because Teerlinc knows of
a darker, more personal, crisis and is taking the
opportunity to record Elizabeth's anxiety on this
P?
Over the centuries the debate about a possible
royal bastard has continued and it seems
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unbelievable that the Queen of England might
have hidden a pregnancy from the Court. If
she had, this would have required the absolute
loyalty of those close to her. Lord Burghley had
always been loyal to the Protestant Elizabeth
and her first appointment on becoming queen
had been to appoint him her Secretary of State.
Kat Ashley, whom Elizabeth had known
since childhood, was appointed as her first
lady of the bedchamber and as loyal to her
as anyone could be. Kat was married to Sir
John Ashley and Elizabeth awarded him
the stewardship of her hunting lodge at
Enfield.
Elizabeth’s image changes from
what it had been since the
beginning of her reign. No
longer is she shown as the Virgin
Queen with her hair flowing
over her shoulders, but with
her hair now hidden as if she
were a married woman. Her
expression is concerned, but no
longer worried. Has Teerlinc
recorded the fact that the queen
is pregnant by changing her hair
style to that of a married woman?
If so is it because the queen is
pregnant and not because she
is married? The Trinity term P
shows a very smug Queen. This expression makes
you wonder what the queen is smug about and
why has the illuminator chosen to portray here
thus? Where is there a better place to record
such an explosive secret than where the monarch
is shown as God’s representative and who sits
During 1561 it was observed Elizabeth
suffered from dropsy and swelled and was
evidently unwell during this year. Elizabeth
was recorded as suffering from all sorts of
complaints which, for me, conflicts with
other observations of her being a good and
enthusiastic horsewoman who enjoyed
the hunt as demonstrated in the woodcuts
illustrating a book on hunting showing
the queen being at a kill. This suggests she
was anything but sickly by the time this
woodcut were executed.
The next law term was the Hilary term
starting in January 1561 and here
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on the throne by divine right? These rolls
have a formulaic front detailing who is on
the throne, what law term it is and are usually
only looked at by lawyers, so the content
of the roll is what would be of interest to
them, not the front sheet. If Elizabeth were
pregnant, there is no better place to make
such a statement. The only suggestion I can
make as to why someone might have even
thought about making these visual statements
is that human nature being as it is, when
someone knows a secret of such importance
they had to let it out somewhere. Perhaps it
was even ordered that the event be recorded
here. Walsingham and Lord Burghley would
both have known about the Coram Rege
Rolls and the image of the sovereign in these
Ps, knowing that the content rather than
the formulaic front sheet would be the main
interest to those who consulted them.
It is also now that she appoints
William Cecil as Chancellor
of the Court of Wards. Is this
another coincidence or is it
because Elizabeth shows she
may well have reason to use
the Court of Wards herself ?
You may ask if there is
precedence for this type
of image change. Again,
call it coincidence, but a
similar device is used in the
Michelmas term of 1554 when
Mary I marries Philip II of
Spain. A virginal Mary sits on
a throne next to her husband.
In the next P for the Hilary
Term of 1555 Mary is shown
with her hair hidden under
her familiar head-dress. In the
November of 1554 Mary had
announced she was pregnant.
What better way to declare that the first English
queen regnant is carrying an heir than to portray
her as no longer a virgin by the way she wears
her hair? There was no precedence as to how to
show this, so perhaps the illuminator used the
device of how a married woman was portrayed
as a way of recording the forthcoming event. It
is subtle and should, as was often the case, there
be a miscarriage, then it was unlikely anyone
would make a comment. Mary was married and
therefore considered to be no longer a virgin.
Since Elizabeth never married why change her
image on the front of these documents and why
portray specific expressions on her face?
accession. After appointing William Cecil her
Secretary of State, Elizabeth appointed Robert
Dudley her Master of Horse. Is our young man
making a statement of who his parents are in an
arcane and subtle way?
What of the lady’s hand from the cloud? Is the
black and white lace a clue as to her identity? Is
the hidden woman really his mother rather than
a lover? If it is a reference to his mother then
this would explain the black and white lace as
these were the colours of Elizabeth’s livery which
would be a subtle way of identifying her.
And what about the date of 1588? Dr Doherty's
book references letters from one of Walsingham's
Let us return to our portrait and the Latin
motto – Attici Amoris Ergo. Why put apparent spies that a young man calling himself Arthur
Dudley was at the Spanish Court until 1588.
Latin gibberish on an expensive portrait
He had been shipwrecked on the northern coast
miniature? Perhaps it was a code between the
youth and his lady and by inclusion of the name, of Spain and when arrested, claimed he was
Arthur Dudley, son of Elizabeth I of England
the code must therefore relate to the Roman
and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. It appears
citizen, Atticus. This piqued my curiosity as
that Philip II believed his story and paid Arthur
to what it was that was ‘therefore by, with, from’
a stipend even though, in effect, Arthur was a
or even ‘through’ the love of Atticus. Perhaps
the young man and the lady shared a friendship prisoner. Philip had known both Elizabeth and
Dudley from his time in England married to
in a similar way to that between Cicero and
Mary I and Dudley had served in Philip's armies
Atticus as declared in Cicero’s famous writing
after he was released from the Tower. In the
on friendship? If so, why hide the woman’s
autumn of 1588 it is reported by Walsingham's
identity and it still does not explain why their
spies that this young man, Arthur, dies. For the
relationship is “therefore, by, with, from or
full story of this evidence you need to read The
through” this friendship.
Secret Life of Elizabeth I by Dr Doherty where
Perhaps the meaning is metaphorical rather than he cites all his sources at the end of each chapter.
a literal translation?
So we have a young man at the Spanish Court
who is accepted by the King of Spain as being
This led me to widen my research to explore
Arthur Dudley. In August 1588 the English
the relationship between Cicero and Atticus
navy defeat the Spanish Armada so what better
and still this motto was meaningless until I
way to wreak vengeance on your enemy than
discovered that Atticus was a Roman citizen
holding the rank of an equestrian knight. Here to murder the only son (albeit illegitimate)
we might re-examine the meaning of this motto and possible heir to the English throne, of the
for another interpretation – therefore, by, with, Elizabeth, Queen of England and the Earl of
Leicester, whom you have in your grasp?
from or through the love of a man who is of
equestrian rank.
In early September 1588 we know from
documentary evidence that Elizabeth was
At this point we return to 1558 and Elizabeth’s
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celebrating the defeat of the Spanish Armada
when she received the news that her beloved
Dudley had died on his way to Buxton. We
know that she locked herself in her room
consumed with inconsolable grief until the door
was forced. This is pure conjecture, but what
if there had also been news from Spain
that the young man calling himself
Arthur Dudley was also dead? How
could she have functioned having
lost both her adored Robin
and her child; a child the
world did not know
existed. A child who
perhaps was supposed
to rise from the ashes
of her death, like a
phoenix (another of
Elizabeth's emblems)
and claim the English
throne to become
King Arthur, who,
according to legend, will
be England’s once and
future king - Rex Quondam,
Rex Futuris. It was a legend that was
already linked with the Tudor dynasty and one
that Elizabeth loved.
eye.
We all look at family
photographs and see
family resemblances in
each generation so perhaps
we should compare our
Unknown Youth with the
1572 miniature portrait of
Elizabeth I and a 1576 portrait of
Robert Dudley. All three portraits
are by Hilliard so each is seen with the same
Is this Unknown Young Man a portrait of
Arthur Dudley, the illegitimate heir to the
throne of England?
If so, did Hilliard know this and paint a second
portrait? Did he paint the date of Arthur’s
death, 1588? Perhaps Hilliard had been let
into the secret, but by whom? It is unlikely to
have been Elizabeth or Dudley. Perhaps he had
guessed, or maybe the young man told him.
Perhaps it is all just a coincidence?
I only suggest an identity for Hilliard's
Unknown Young Man; you will have to examine
these three portraits for family resemblances,
study the evidence, consider my theory regarding
the meaning behind the Latin motto and draw
your own conclusions. MELANIE.
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