"The First History of Elizabethan England: The Making of William Camden's Annals"

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William Camden's Annals has often been described as the single most important source in shaping the positive legacy of Elizabeth I and her reign since its publication in the seventeenth century. Printed initially in Latin in 1615 and 1625, it became popular after Robert Norton's English translation was published in 1630, where it was celebrated by Camden's contemporaries for improving English historiographical practices due to its insistent use of primary sources. In fact, its reputation has only grown with time, since many modern-day scholars have still referred to the Annals as an impeccably researched history, written by Camden, having been influenced by his patron, William Burghley, as well as the ancient historians, Tacitus and Polybius. However, despite ample material evidence being available from the period regarding the work's creation - namely Camden's drafts of the Annals and his correspondence - not one of the aforementioned scholars has studied it in depth to substantiate their claims on the history. There has also been insufficient literary research done in terms of how secondary sources such as Tacitus' Annals and Polybius' Histories have been used in Camden's work. This has consequently left many questions unanswered about Camden's history: who exactly helped to create the work, what specific sources were used to do so, how they were used and why. It is therefore the aim of this project to research the four above-mentioned areas to produce the first comprehensive study of the authorship of Camden's Annals and to provide much needed insights into the authors' sources and intentions, so that we may have a better understanding of the Elizabethan period overall.The first part of the project will therefore begin with a palaeographical analysis of the two largely completed drafts of the Annals kept at the British Library to highlight how more than one author helped to produce the work. After all, the hand of Sir Robert Cotton has already been recognised within the drafts by past palaeographical research, but scholars have noted that other hands are yet to be identified. So, by studying Camden's correspondence, held at the Bodleian Library and elsewhere, the aim is to discover who, aside from Camden and Cotton, co-authored the Annals. Next, all these documents will be analysed to try to compile a catalogue of the ancient and contemporary sources used within the history. This catalogue will then be crucial for the final stage of the project - a literary analysis of the Annals in relation to these sources, in particular, to Tacitus' and Polybius' works - since Camden mentions his indebtedness to these historians in the preface of the Elizabethan work.As a result, the transmission of Tacitus' and Polybius' works up to the seventeenth century will be looked at, alongside the nature of classical education during this time, to determine how closely the Annals' author(s) followed ancient historiographical traditions. After all, as evidenced by many leading scholars in the field of reception studies, it is only in studying material evidence regarding the accessibility of ancient texts during a given time period that a fruitful intertextual analysis of classical and later linked works can follow. It is also widely acknowledged that each generation of readers bring new interpretations to a particular text, so it will be important to consider both the classical and early-modern viewpoints surrounding Tacitus and Polybius to make valuable conclusions as to what Camden's (and his co-authors') intentions were by following in the footsteps of these ancient writers.Ultimately then, by taking a fresh look at all the material, literary and cultural evidence available regarding the Annals, this project will produce a greater understanding of early-modern historiographical practices, of English antiquarian education, of William Camden and his associates and finally, of contemporary attitudes towards Elizabeth I and her reign itself