The Fall of Sir Thomas Overbury and the Embassy to Russia in 1613
In 1613 Thomas Overbury, the close friend and principal adviser of King James I's favorite, Robert Carr, was arrested for refusing to undertake a diplomatic mission. In what became a major scandal, Overbury was later poisoned to death in the Tower of London and the King's favorite was subs...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1991
|
| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1991, Volume: 22, Issue: 4, Pages: 695-704 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
Non-electronic |
| Summary: | In 1613 Thomas Overbury, the close friend and principal adviser of King James I's favorite, Robert Carr, was arrested for refusing to undertake a diplomatic mission. In what became a major scandal, Overbury was later poisoned to death in the Tower of London and the King's favorite was subsequently tried and convicted of complicity in the murder. The "Overbury affair" contributed to the erosion of popular support for the Stuarts and has been the subject of many popular and scholarly studies. However, because Overbury has usually been written off as a frivolous dandy, until now no one has focused on the link between his fall and the diplomatic mission he declined. That embassy was actually intended to establish an English protectorate over beleaguered North Russia. Overbury himself had been involved in planning English intervention in Russia, partly as a means to check the spread of Catholicism in Eastern Europe. His efforts to maintain a strong pro-Protestant foreign policy failed, however, when he fell victim to a plot hatched by the pro-Spanish faction at court. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2542372 |