Giovanni Carlo Scaramelli (1550-1608) was a Venetian diplomat based in London at the end of the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and the beginning of the reign of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. Scaramelli was a secretary rather than an ambassador. His insightful letters describing the court in London and politics are held by the Archives of Venice. He was lodged in a new house near the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

which had an Italian-style garden, made by the owner, a merchant from Lucca. Scaramelli had his first and only audience with Queen Elizabeth on 10 February 1603 at

Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which w ...

. She was dressed in silver and white and white taffeta embroidered with gold. She wore necklaces of pearls and rubies and pearl bracelets, and other gems pinned and embroidered to her costume. Her skirts were more voluminous than the French fashion, presumably supported with a

farthingale A farthingale is one of several structures used under Western European women's clothing in the 16th and 17th centuries to support the skirts in the desired shape and enlarge the lower half of the body. It originated in Spain in the fifteenth c ...

. Her hair or wig was a light colour "never made by nature", dressed with great pearls at her forehead. She wore an imperial crown, a crown with arches. Scaramelli gained a favourable impression of

Arbella Stuart Lady Arbella Stuart (also Arabella, or Stewart; 1575 – 25 September 1615) was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. During the reign of King James VI and I (her first cousin), she marrie ...

and her learning, although she was far from court at

Hardwick Hall Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire is an architecturally significant country house from the Elizabethan era, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. Built between 1590 and 1597 for Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect Ro ...

, which he thought was 50 miles from London. He wrote of the body of Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Palace in April 1603, still attended by her Privy Council although she was wrapped in cere-cloth and in her coffin encased in lead. Scaramelli claimed that portraits of Elizabeth were put aside in favour of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, now said to have been executed for her religion. King James crossed the border, intending to call himself King of Great Britain, like the ancient

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. Scaramelli thought Elizabeth's wooden funeral effigy seemed almost alive. In June 1603 he brought a letter from the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...

to King James. With a smile, James recalled previously receiving letters from the Doge which he could not open without breaking the seal. Scaramelli opened the letter for him. The practice of intricately folding and sealing letters is now known as

letterlocking Letterlocking is the act of folding and securing a written message (such as a letter) on papyrus, parchment, or paper, without requiring it to be contained in an envelope or packet. It is a traditional method of document security that utilizes fol ...

. Six great ladies of the court escorted by 200 horsemen set out to welcome

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. Scaramelli heard that she had tailors alter Elizabeth's costly and gorgeous robes to fit her. He believed that Anne of Denmark was a Catholic and refused to take the Protestant sacrament on the morning of her coronation, despite the insistence of the Archbishops. In this report he constructed and shaped a narrative of heroic resistance that would please his Catholic sponsors. According to Scaramelli, King James gave Anne of Denmark valuable jewels and

Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Borough ...

. In August 1603 Scaramelli visited Princess Elizabeth and

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

at Oatlands. Henry, using an interpreter, told him about his interests in dancing, tennis, and hunting. They both intended to learn Italian. Scaramelli described appointments made by King James in his letter to the

Doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

Marino Grimani Marino Grimani (c.1489–1546) was an Italian Cardinal and papal legate. He was from an aristocratic Venetian family. He was elected bishop of Ceneda in 1508, when he was under age. He was patriarch of Aquileia in 1517. He was created Cardin ...

of 22 May 1603. A number of high offices were given to Scottish courtiers. English courtiers found it more difficult to access the king's Privy Chamber. The court moved west during a plague epidemic in the autumn. Scaramelli went to Oxford while the King was at

Woodstock Palace Woodstock Palace was a royal residence in the English town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Henry I of England built a hunting lodge here and in 1129 he built of walls to create the first enclosed park, where lions and leopards were kept. The lodge b ...

, then Winchester. Visitors to the court needed a passport or ticket certifying they were not from an infected area. Scaramelli discussed with James the issue of English pirates operating near

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

. He met the new Venetian ambassador

Nicolò Molin Nicolò Molin (1562-1608) was a Venetian noble and ambassador to England. The main residence of the Molin family in Venice was the Palazzo Molin del Cuoridoro. He commissioned the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi to build the Villa Molin near Padua ...

at Southampton on 9 November 1603. Scaramelli escorted Prince Henry from

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution o ...

to the ambassador's lodging in Salisbury for dinner on 8 December. Scaramelli left England for Holland on 26 December 1603, and was in Brussels on 7 January 1603. He observed the fortifications and siege-works at

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

on his way. His sons Francesco Scaramelli and Moderante Scaramelli were diplomats in Istanbul.E. Natalie Rothman, ''Brokering Empire: Trans-Imperial Subjects between Venice and Istanbul'' (Cornell UP, 2012), p. 178.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scaramelli, Giovanni Carlo 1550 births 1608 deaths Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to England