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| William Herbert & Mary Fitton |
- William, Lord Herbert, from Heir to Earl
- Young William, Lord Herbert, samples the pleasures.
William's father approved his request to reside in London sometime during or shortly after 1598. By July of 1600, at least, he was young Anne Russell's escort to her London wedding. This is the wedding of the famous painting of Queen Elizabeth being born upon a sedan chair to Lord Cobham's house where she remained until she attended the ceremony the next day at Blackfriars.
It is an important point that, when in London, William would all his life reside at the family's palatial Baynard's Castle. He would have found this convenient, in the instance of young Lady Russell's wedding, as it immediately bordered the Blackfriars.
Among the young women of Elizabeth's Court that danced in the masque that followed might also have found it convenient. Her name was Mary Fitton. Rowland Whyte, who resided at Baynard's Castle, at the invitation of William Herbert, apparently observed the ladies rehearse their masque.
There is to be a memorable Maske of 8 Ladies; they have a straunge Dawnce newly invented; their Attire is this: Each hath a Skirt of Cloth of Silver, a rich Wastcoat wrought with Silkes, and Gold and Silver, a Mantell of Carnacion Taffete cast under the Arme, and there Haire loose about their Shoulders, curiously knotted and interlaced. These are the Maskers. My Lady Doritye, Mrs. Fitton, Mrs. Carey, Mrs. Oaslow, Mrs. South-well, Mrs. Bes Russell, Mrs. Darcy, and my Lady Blanche Somersett. These 8 dawnce to the Musiq Apollo bringes, and there is a fine Speach that makes mention of a Nintth, much to her Honor and Praise.2
Whyte made it his business to attend all affairs of the Court and to report back to Sir Robert Sidney. The result is an historical treasure.
Sir Robert was the English governor of Flushing, in the Netherlands, brother to the famous poet Sir Philip Sidney (d. 1586), and maternal uncle to young William. His personal career depended heavily upon having such a knowledgeable and dependable agent as Whyte to represent him at Court.
After Supper the Maske came in, as I Writ in my last, and delicate it was, to see 8 Ladies soe pretily and richly attired. Mrs. Fitton leade, and after they had donne all their own Ceremonies, these 8 Ladys Maskers choose 8 Ladies more to dawnce the Measures. Mrs. Fitton went to the Queen, and woed her to dawnce; her Majesie asked what she was; Affection, she said. Affection! said the Queen, Affection is false.3
For our part, we have been bequeathed a gratifying amount of detail about anything in which Whyte thought his boss might be interested.
Mary would very shortly be discovered to be pregnant. Some detail on the matter has been preserved, not the least of which is a letter from Sir Robert Cecil to Sir George Carew.
We have no newes but that there is a misfortune befallen Mistris Fitton, for she is proved with chyld, and the E. of Pembroke beinge examyned confesseth a fact, but utterly renounceth all marriage. I feare they will both dwell in the Tower awhyle, for the Queen hath vowed to send them thether.4
The letter is dated February 5, 1600 (1601 N.S.). Mary Fitton was pregnant, and almost certainly quite aware of the fact, as she danced in the masque. The Queen had been right when Fitton approached her to join her in the dance. “Affection” was indeed false.
A transcription in the State Paper records of the result of intelligence from London informants, some months later in the year, provides a now long famous quote about Fitton's boldness in pursuing her relationship with Herbert.
Mrs. Martin, near Ludgate, said she had seen priests at Court, when Mrs. [F]ytton was in favour and a maid of honour, and when the Earl of Pembroke favoured her, she would tuck up her clothes, put on a white cloak, and march out of Court like a man, to meet him.5
To know the life of the Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth is to suspect that Mrs. Martin was only practicing her skills in titillating gossip. A Lady could not go missing for long without it being noticed. At the very least, her absence would have immediately become the subject of the alarm
William spent perhaps a month in prison for his offense. Presumably he could have been spared even that if he would have agreed to marry Miss Fitton but he adamantly refused. Fitton was placed under the care of one "Lady Hawkyns " during her confinement. Her child died immediately after birth. Her father managed to spirit her away before the question of imprisonment might be considered.
As for William, he had not yet been Earl of Pembroke for a month and he was already exiled from Court. He would remain so until the change of monarchs.
As for the masque in which Fitton danced, by the description we have, it did not meet the definition of a masque we have taken from Felix Schelling [link] in order to be consistent in our terms. By virtue of its allegorical format, it was actually a pageant which included dancing (probably because the Queen dearly loved dancing). Of importance for the question of the masque in the 4th act of Shakespeare's The Tempest, there is no indication that it was Hymeneal
1 Hyde, Edward. Lord Clarendon. History of the Rebellion and the Civil Wars in England (1721). “To Women, whether out of his natural constitution, or for want of his domestick content and delight, ( in which he was most unhappy, for he paid much too dear for his Wife's Fortune, by taking her Person into the bargain ) he was immoderately given up.”
2 Letters and Memorials of State... 201. Rowland Whyte to Sir Robert Sidney, June 14, 1600.
3 Letters and Memorials of State... 203. Rowland Whyte to Sir Robert Sidney, June 23, 1600.
4 Letters from Sir Robert Cecil to Sir George Carew (1864). 65.
5 Domestic Series, of the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I, Addenda, 1580-1625 (1872). 411.
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
1 comment:
I have an unsupported suspicion Fitton had contracted syphilis before becoming involved with Herbert. There is an extent manuscript that suggests Herbert leaned that Oxford had her first. If Herbert contracted the disease from Mary Fitton it would account for his refusing her and subsequent failure to father a child and heir with his wife Mary Talbot and also the apparent conflict in their marriage. Her child by Herbert was stillborn, consistent with early stage syphilis. Herbert is believed to have fathered two children after 1623 with his cousin Mary Sidney Wroth, according to family records, but I have recently learned that this is not unlikely once the initial infection has become dormant, and that the frequent epidemic fevers of the early seventeenth century may even have cured syphilis or at least substantially mitigated the effects.
I believe there is much to be learned by tracing the effects of syphilis infection in the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts.
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