William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 1520 – 4 August 1598), was an English politician, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign (17 November 1558–24 March 1603), and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. william cecil 1st baron burghley painted by marcus gheeraerts the youger or john de critz the elder This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... william cecil 1st baron burghley painted by marcus gheeraerts the youger or john de critz the elder This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... mary elline m. ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England, Queen of France (in name only), and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... A Reign is a period of time a person serves as a monarch or pope. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Events January 7 - French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of England July 13 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines. ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in leap years). ... King James I of England/VII of Scotland, the first monarch to rule the Kingdoms of England and Scotland at the same time Events March - Samuel de Champlain, French explorer, sails to Canada March 24 - Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by her cousin King James I of... The Lord High Treasurer bears a white staff as his symbol of office. ... January 16 - Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. ...

Early life

Cecil was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire in 1520, the son of Richard Cecil, owner of the Burghley estate (then in Northamptonshire, now in Cambridgeshire), and his wife Jane Heckington. The estate is today open to the public and is the setting for a popular equestrian event, the Burghley Horse Trials. Location within the British Isles Bourne is a town in southern Lincolnshire, England. ... Richard Cecil (d. ... Burghley House in 2004 Burghley House is a grand 16th-century country house near the town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. ... An Estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. ... Northamptonshire (abbreviated Northants or Nhants) is a landlocked county in central England with a population of 629,676 (2001 census). ... Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. ... A young rider at a horse show in Australia. ... A competitor in the 2004 Horse Trials shows good form over one the early cross-country fences The Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. ...

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Burghley, William Cecil, Baron

Pedigrees, elaborated by Cecil himself with the help of William Camden, the antiquary, associated him with the Cecils or Sitsyllts of Altyrennes in Herefordshire, and traced his descent from an Owen of the time of King Harold and a Sitsyllt of the reign of King William Rufus. The connection with the Herefordshire family is not so impossible as the descent from Sitsyllt; but the earliest known authentic ancestor of the Lord Treasurer is his grandfather, David, who, according to Burghley's enemies, kept the best inn in Stamford, Lincolnshire. David somehow secured the favour of Henry VII, to whom he seems to have been Yeoman of the Guard. He was Sergeant-of-Arms to King Henry VIII in 1526, Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1532, and a Justice of the Peace for Rutland. His eldest son, Richard, Yeoman of the Wardrobe (d. 1554), married Jane, daughter of William Heckington of Bourne, and was father of three daughters and Lord Burghley. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... A pedigree is a list of ancestors (usually implying distinguished), a list of ancestors of the same breed (usually in the case of animals), the purity of a breed, individual, or strain, or a document proving any of these things. ... William Camden William Camden (May 2, 1551 - November 9, 1623) was an English antiquarian and historian. ... An antiquarian is one concerned with antiquities or things of the past. ... Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county and unitary district (known as County of Herefordshire) in the West Midlands region of England. ... King Harold of England may refer to King Harold I (Harold Harefoot); son of Canute. ... William II (called Rufus, perhaps because of his red-faced appearance, or maybe his bloody reign) (c. ... Inns are establishments where travellers can procure food, drink, and lodging. ... Stamford is a town on the River Welland in Lincolnshire, England. ... Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), was the founder and first patriarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... Yeomen of the Guard in the procession to the annual service of the Order of the Garter at Windsor Castle For the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, see The Yeomen of the Guard The Queens Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard are a bodyguard of the British Monarch. ... A Serjeant at Arms (also spelt Sergeant at Arms, and sometimes Serjeant-at-Arms) is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. ... Silver groat of Henry VIII, minted c. ... The High Sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement position in Anglosphere countries. ... A Justice of the Peace (JP) is a puisne judicial officer appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. ... Oakham Castle Rutland is traditionally Englands smallest county and is bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by Northamptonshire. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

William, the only son, was put to school first at Grantham and then at Stamford School, which he later saved and endowed. In May of 1535, at the age of fourteen, he went up to St John's College, Cambridge, where he was brought into contact with the foremost educationists of the time, Roger Ascham and John Cheke, and acquired an unusual knowledge of Greek. He also acquired the affections of Cheke's sister, Mary, and was in 1541 removed by his father to Gray's Inn, without, after six years' residence at Cambridge, having taken a degree. The precaution proved useless and four months later Cecil committed one of the rare rash acts of his life in marrying Mary Cheke. The only child of this marriage, Thomas, the future earl of Exeter, was born in May 1542, and in February 1543 Cecil's first wife died. Three years later he married (December 21, 1546) Mildred, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, who was ranked by Ascham with Lady Jane Grey as one of the two most learned ladies in the kingdom, and whose sister, Anne, became the wife of Sir Nicholas (and the mother of Sir Francis) Bacon. Grantham aka G-Town is a small market town in Lincolnshire, England with about 38,000 inhabitants. ... Stamford School is an English public school in the market town of Stamford, Lincolnshire. ... Full name The College of Saint John the Evangelist of the University of Cambridge Motto Souvent me Souvient I Often Remember Named after The Hospital of Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge, named after John the Evangelist Previous names Incorporates part of what was Merton Hall which no longer exists Established... A kindergarten classroom in Afghanistan. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sir John Cheke (16 June 1514 - 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman, notable as the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge. ... Entrance to Grays Inn Grays Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in around the Royal Courts of Justice in London, England to which barristers belong and where they are called to the bar. ... It has been suggested that Professional degree be merged into this article or section. ... Thomas Cecil (May 5, 1546-February 8, 1623), eldest son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, was created 1st Earl of Exeter on May 4, 1605, the same day his half-brother Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cranborne was created 1st Earl of Salisbury. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this articles infobox may require cleanup. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events Spanish conquest of Yucatan Peace between England and France Foundation of Trinity College, Cambridge by Henry VIII of England Katharina von Bora flees to Magdeburg Science Architecture Michelangelo Buonarroti is made chief architect of St. ... Sir Anthony Cooke (c. ... Lady Jane Grey (1537 – February 12, 1554), a great-grand-daughter of Henry VII of England, reigned as uncrowned queen regnant of the Kingdom of England for nine days in 1553. ... Sir Nicholas Bacon (1509 - February 20, 1579) was an English politician during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. ... Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans (January 22, 1561 - April 9, 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and essayist. ...

Early career

William Cecil's early career was spent in the service of the Duke of Somerset (a brother of the late queen, Jane Seymour, who was Lord Protector during the early years of the reign of his nephew, the young King Edward VI). Cecil accompanied Somerset on his Pinkie campaign, being one of the two Judges of the Marshalsea, i.e. in the courts-martial. The other was William Patten, who states that both he and Cecil began to write independent accounts of the campaign, and that Cecil generously communicated his notes for Patten's narrative, which has been reprinted more than once. Edward Seymour Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. ... Jane Seymour was strict and formal compared to her flamboyant predecessor, Anne Boleyn. ... Lord Protector is a particular English title for Heads of State, with two meanings (and full styles) at different periods of history. ... Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) became King of England, King of France (in practice only the town and surrounding district of Calais) and Ireland on 28 January 1547, and crowned on 20 February, at just nine years of age. ... Combatants Scots English Commanders Earl of Arran Duke of Somerset Strength Between 23000 and 36000 17000 30 warships Casualties 5000 killed 1500 prisoners 500 killed The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, along the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ...

Cecil, according to his autobiographical notes, sat in Parliament in 1543; but his name does not occur in the imperfect parliamentary returns until 1547, when he was elected for the family borough of Stamford. Cover of An autobiography, from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write, is a biography written by the subject or composed conjointly with a collaborative writer (styled as told to or with). The term dates from the late eighteenth century, but the form is much older. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... Year 1547 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... A borough is an administrative division used in various countries. ...

In 1548, he is described as the Protector's Master of Requests, which apparently means that he was clerk or registrar of the court of requests which the Protector, possibly at Hugh Latimer's instigation, illegally set up in Somerset House to hear poor men's complaints. He also seems to have acted as private secretary to the Protector, and was in some danger at the time of the Protector's fall in October 1549. The lords opposed to Somerset ordered his detention on 10 October, and in November he was in the Tower. Events Mary I of Scotland sent to France Births September 2 - Vincenzo Scamozzi, Italian architect (died 1616) September 29 - William V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1626) Francesco Andreini, Italian actor (died 1624) Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher, astronomer, and occultist (burned at the stake) 1600 (died 1600) Honda Tadakatsu, Japanese general... Registrar may refer to: In education, a registrar or registry is an official in an academic institution (a college, university, or secondary school) who handles student records. ... Hugh Latimer (d. ... The central courtyard of Somerset House in London. ... Events July - Ketts Rebellion Francis Xavier arrives in Japan. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress The Tower of London, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic monument in central London on the north bank of the River Thames. ...

Cecil ingratiated himself with Warwick, and on 15 September 1550 he was sworn in as one of King Edward's two secretaries. He was knighted on 11 October 1551, on the eve of Somerset's second fall, and was congratulated on his success in escaping his benefactor's fate. John Dudley John Dudley (1501 – August 22/23, 1553) was a Tudor nobleman and politician, executed for high treason by Queen Mary I of England. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... A secretary is an administrative support position. ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1551 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... A benefactor is a person or other entity providing money or other benefits to another; the person receiving them is called a beneficiary. ...

In April 1551, Cecil became Chancellor of the Order of the Garter. But service under Warwick (by now the Duke of Northumberland) was no bed of roses, and in his diary Cecil recorded his release in the phrase ec niisero aulicofacius liber et lneijuris. His responsibility for Edward's illegal devises of the crown (a document which barred both Elizabeth and Mary, the remaining children of Henry VIII, from the throne, in favour of Lady Jane Grey) has been studiously minimized by Cecil himself and by his biographers. Years afterwards, he pretended that he had only signed the devise as a witness, but in his apology to Queen Mary I, he did not venture to allege so flimsy an excuse; he preferred to lay stress on the extent to which he succeeded in shifting the responsibility on to the shoulders of his brother-in-law, Sir John Cheke, and other friends, and on his intrigues to frustrate the Queen to whom he had sworn allegiance. For other uses, see Chancellor (disambiguation). ... The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ... Silver groat of Henry VIII, minted c. ... Lady Jane Grey (1537 – February 12, 1554), a great-grand-daughter of Henry VII of England, reigned as uncrowned queen regnant of the Kingdom of England for nine days in 1553. ... This is an article on biographies. ... Queen Mary I of England (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 6 July 1553 (de facto) or 19 July 1553 (de jure) until her death. ...

There is no doubt that Cecil saw which way the wind was blowing, and disliked Northumberland's scheme; but he had not the courage to resist the duke to his face. As soon, however, as the duke had set out to meet Mary, Cecil became the most active intriguer against him, and to these efforts, of which he laid a full account before Queen Mary, he mainly owed his immunity. He had, moreover, had no part in the divorce of Catherine or in the humiliation of Mary in Henry's reign, and he made no scruple about conforming to the religious reaction. He went to Mass, confessed, and out of sheer zeal and in no official capacity went to meet Cardinal Pole on his pious mission to England in December 1554, again accompanying him to Calais in May 1555. Queen Catherine of England Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: Catalina de Aragón y Castilla) (December 16, 1485–January 7, 1536) was queen consort of England as Henry VIII of Englands first wife. ... A Medieval Low Mass by a bishop. ... Confession of sins is an integral part of the Christian faith and practice. ... Reginald Pole, cardinal Reginald Pole (1500 – November 17, 1558) was an English prelate, Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Events January 5 - Great fire in Eindhoven, Netherlands. ... Calais is a town in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... Events Russia breaks 60 year old truce with Sweden by attacking Finland February 2 - Diet of Augsburg begins February 4 - John Rogers becomes first Protestant martyr in England February 9 - Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake May 23 - Paul IV becomes Pope. ...

It was rumored in December 1554 that Cecil would succeed Sir William Petre as Secretary of State, an office which, with his chancellorship of the Garter, he had lost on Mary's accession to the throne. Probably the Queen had more to do with the falsification of this rumor than Cecil, though he is said to have opposed, in the parliament of 1555 (in which he represented Lincolnshire), a bill for the confiscation of the estates of the Protestant refugees. But the story, even as told by his biographer (Peck, Desiderata Curiosa, 1732–1735, i. 11), does not represent Cecil's conduct as having been very courageous; and it is more to his credit that he found no seat in the parliament of 1558, for which Mary had directed the return of discreet and good Catholic members. William Petre was born in 1505 and educated at Exeter College, Oxford. ... In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ... Accession (from Lat. ... Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. ... Confiscation, from the Latin confiscato join to the fiscus, i. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Antiquary Francis Peck (1692–1743) was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, and educated at Stamford School. ... Events February 23 - First performance of Handels Orlando, in London June 9 - James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia. ... Events April 16 - The London premiere of Alcina by George Frideric Handel, his first the first Italian opera for the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. ... Events January 7 - French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of England July 13 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ...

Reign of Elizabeth I of England

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By that time Cecil had begun to trim his sails to a different breeze. He was in secret communication with the future Elizabeth I before Mary died, and from the first the new Queen relied on Cecil as she relied on no one else. Her confidence was not misplaced; Cecil was exactly the kind of minister England then required. Personal experience had ripened his rare natural gift for avoiding dangers. It was no time for brilliant initiative or adventurous politics; the need was to avoid Scylla and Charybdis, and a via media (middle way) had to be found in Church and State, at home and abroad. Cecil was not a political genius; no great ideas emanated from his brain. But he was eminently a safe man, not an original thinker, but a counsellor of unrivalled wisdom. Caution was his supreme characteristic; he saw that above all things England required time. He restored the fortunes of his country by deliberation. He averted open rupture until England was strong enough to stand the shock. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England, Queen of France (in name only), and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who heads a government ministry or department (e. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Scylla and Charybdis are two sea monsters of Greek mythology situated on opposite sides of a narrow channel of water, so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis will pass too close to Scylla and vice versa. ...

Cecil was not a religious zealot; he aided the Huguenots and the Dutch just enough to keep them going in the struggles which warded danger off from England's shores. But Cecil never developed that passionate aversion from decided measures which became a second nature to his mistress. His intervention in Scotland in 1559–1560 showed that he could strike on occasion; and his action over the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, proved that he was willing to take responsibility from which Elizabeth shrank. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. ... Mary I (Mary Stuart, popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots); (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587) was Queen of Scots (the monarch of the Kingdom of Scotland) from December 14, 1542 to July 24, 1567. ...

Generally he was in favour of more decided intervention on behalf of continental Protestants than Elizabeth would admit, but it is not always easy to ascertain the advice he gave. He has left endless memoranda lucidly setting forth the pros and cons of every course of action; but there are few indications of the line which he actually recommended when it came to a decision. How far he was personally responsible for the Anglican Settlement, the Poor Laws, and the foreign policy of the reign, how far he was thwarted by the baleful influence of Leicester and the caprices of the Queen, remains to a large extent a matter of conjecture. A memorandum or memo is a written form of communication most often employed in business environments. ... The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was Elizabeth I’s response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.This response was set out in two acts of parliament. ... Former workhouse at Nantwich, dating from 1780 The Poor Law was the system for the provision of social security in operation in England and the rest of the United Kingdom from the 16th century until the establishment of the Welfare State in the 20th century. ... A foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with the other countries of the world. ... Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester painted by Steven van der Meulen. ... Caprice can mean: Caprice Bourret American supermodel and actress. ...

His share in the religious Settlement of 1559 was considerable, and it coincided fairly with his own somewhat indeterminate religious views. Like the mass of the nation, he grew more Protestant as time wore on; he was readier to persecute Papists than Puritans; he had no love for ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and he warmly remonstrated with John Whitgift over his persecuting Articles of 1583. The finest encomium was passed on him by the queen herself, when she said, "This judgment I have of you, that you will not be corrupted with any manner of gifts, and that you will be faithful to the state." The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was Elizabeth I’s response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.This response was set out in two acts of parliament. ... Papist is a term, usually disparaging, referring to a member of the Roman Catholic Church. ... A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking purity of worship and doctrine, especially the parties that rejected the Laudian reform of the Church of England. ... John Whitgift (c. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Encomium is a Greek word which, in a general sense, means the praise of a person or thing. ...

Later years

From 1558 for forty years, the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England. When she came to the throne in 1558, she appointed him Secretary of State. Of personal incident, apart from his mission to Scotland in 1560, there is little. He represented Lincolnshire in the Parliament of 1559, and Northamptonshire in that of 1563, and he took an active part in the proceedings of the House of Commons until his elevation to the peerage; but there seems no good evidence for the story that he was proposed as Speaker in 1563. In January 1561, he was given the lucrative office of Master of the Court of Wards in succession to Sir Thomas Parry, and he did something to reform that instrument of tyranny and abuse. In February 1559, he was elected Chancellor of Cambridge University in succession to Cardinal Pole; he was created M.A. of that university on the occasion of Elizabeth's visit in 1564, and M.A. of Oxford on a similar occasion in 1566. Events January 7 - French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of England July 13 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines. ... In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ... Northamptonshire (abbreviated Northants or Nhants) is a landlocked county in central England with a population of 629,676 (2001 census). ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. ... A Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic masters degree awarded by universities in North America and the United Kingdom (excluding the ancient universities of Scotland and Oxbridge. ...

He was the first Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin between 1592 and 1598. The University of Dublin, corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin located in Dublin, Ireland, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, making it Irelands oldest university. ... Events January 30 - The death of Pope Innocent IX during the previous year had left the Papal throne vacant. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ...

On 25 February 1571, in anticipation of the impending marriage between Cecil's daughter Anne (b. 1556) to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, Queen Elizabeth created him Baron Burghley. The fact that he continued to act as Secretary of State after his elevation illustrates the growing importance of that office, which under his son became a secretary of the ship of state. In 1572, however, Lord Winchester, who had been Lord High Treasurer under Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, died, and Burghley succeeded to his post. It was a signal triumph over Leicester; and, although Burghley had still to reckon with cabals in the council and at court, his hold over the queen strengthened with the lapse of years. He collapsed (possibly from a stroke or heart attack) in 1592. Before he died, Robert, his only surviving son by his second wife, was ready to step into his shoes as the Queen's principal adviser. Having survived all his rivals, and all his children except Robert and Thomas, Burghley died at his London residence on 4 August 1598, and was buried in St. Martin's church, Stamford. February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 11 - Austrian nobility is granted Freedom of religion. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sir William Paulet (c. ... The Lord High Treasurer bears a white staff as his symbol of office. ... A cabal is a number of persons united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a church, state, or other community by intrigue. ... Cecil House refers to two historical mansions on the Strand, London. ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ...

His younger son, Sir Robert Cecil (later created Baron Cecil, Viscount Cranborne and finally Earl of Salisbury), inherited his political mantle, taking on the role of chief minister and arranging a smooth transfer of power to the Stuart administration under King James I. His elder son, Sir Thomas Cecil, who inherited the Barony of Burghley on his death, was later created Earl of Exeter. ] The Right Honourable Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC (1 June 1563–24 May 1612), son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and half-brother of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, statesman, spymaster and minister to Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Lord Salisbury is the... The title Marquess of Salisbury is a British title of Peerage, created in 1789 for James Cecil, 7th Earl of Salisbury. ... The title Marquess of Salisbury is a British title of Peerage, created in 1789 for James Cecil, 7th Earl of Salisbury. ... The title Marquess of Salisbury is a British title of Peerage, created in 1789 for James Cecil, 7th Earl of Salisbury. ... The Coat of Arms of King James I, the first British monarch of the House of Stuart The House of Stuart or Stewart was a royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later of the Kingdom of England, and finally of the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... James VI and I (James Stuart) (June 19, 1566 – March 27, 1625) was King of Scots, King of England, and King of Ireland. ... Thomas Cecil (May 5, 1546-February 8, 1623), eldest son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, was created 1st Earl of Exeter on May 4, 1605, the same day his half-brother Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cranborne was created 1st Earl of Salisbury. ... The title of Marquess of Exeter was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for the Earl of Exeter. ... The title of Marquess of Exeter was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for the Earl of Exeter. ...

Private life

Burghley's private life was singularly virtuous; he was a faithful husband, a careful father and a considerate master. A book-lover and antiquary, he made a special hobby of heraldry and genealogy. It was the conscious and unconscious aim of the age to reconstruct a new landed aristocracy on the ruins of the old, and Burghley was a great builder and planter. All the arts of architecture and horticulture were lavished on Burghley House and Theobalds House, which his son exchanged for Hatfield House. His public conduct does not present itself in quite so amiable a light. As the Marquess of Winchester (Burghley's predecessor as Lord High Treasurer) had said of himself, Burghley was "sprung from the willow rather than the oak" (in other words, flexible rather than unbending) and he was not the man to suffer for convictions. The interest of the State was the supreme consideration and to it he had no hesitation in sacrificing individual consciences. He frankly disbelieved in toleration; that State, he said, could never be in safety where there was a toleration of two religions. "For there is no enmity so great as that for religion; and therefore they that differ in the service of their God can never agree in the service of their country." With a maxim such as this, it was easy for him to maintain that Elizabeth's coercive measures were political and not religious. To say that he was Machiavellian is meaningless, for every statesman is so, more or less; especially in the 16th century men preferred efficiency to principle. On the other hand, Burghley may have felt that principles are valueless without law and order; and that his craft and subtlety prepared a security in which principles might find some scope. A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ... Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy originally meant a system of government with rule by the best. The word is derived from two words, aristos meaning the best and kratein to rule. Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies (see below), where a sense of historical gravitas and noblesse oblige demands... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Latin words hortus (garden plant) and cultura (culture) together form horticulture, classically defined as the culture or growing of garden plants. ... Burghley House in 2004 Burghley House is a grand 16th-century country house near the town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. ... Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace), located in Theobalds Park, just outside Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a prominent stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. ... The great hall. ... Sir William Paulet (c. ... Look up maxim in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Detail of the portrait of Machiavelli, ca 1500, in the robes of a Florentine public official Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469—June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher during the Renaissance. ... The term statesman is a respectful term used to refer to diplomats, politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... In politics, law and order refers to a political platform which supports a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent crime and property crimes, through harsher criminal penalties. ...

Nicholas White

The most prolonged of Cecil's surviving personal correspondences is with an Irish judge, Nicholas White, lasting from 1566 until 1590; it is contained in the State Papers Ireland 63 and Lansdowne MS 102, but receives hardly a mention in the literature on Cecil. Correspondence may refer to: In the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, correspondence is the relationship between spiritual and physical realities. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

White had been a tutor to Cecil's children during his student days in London, and the correspondence suggests that he was held in lasting affection by the family. In the end, White fell into a Dublin controversy over the confessions of an intriguing priest, which threatened the authority of the Queen's deputised government in Ireland; out of caution Cecil withdrew his longstanding protection, and the judge was imprisoned in London and died soon after. // In English and Irish Secondary Schools the Form Tutor is similar to an American Home Room Teacher. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...

White's most remarked-upon service for Cecil is his report on his visit with Mary, Queen of Scots in 1569, during the early years of her imprisonment by Queen Elizabeth. He may have published an English translation of the Argonautica in the 1560s, but no copy has survived. Mary I (Mary Stuart, popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots); (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587) was Queen of Scots (the monarch of the Kingdom of Scotland) from December 14, 1542 to July 24, 1567. ... Events January 11 - First recorded lottery in England. ... Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language—the source text—and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language—the target text, also called the translation. ... The Argonautica (Greek: ) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis. ... William Shakespeare is born. ...

Trivia

• William Cecil had ties to many of the proposed alternative authors of Shakespeare. He was uncle to Francis Bacon, his daughter married Edward de Vere, and Christopher Marlowe attended Cambridge University while he was chancellor there.
• Cecil is a major character in the play Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller. Though the play contains many historical inaccuracies, its portrayal of Cecil as a rival of Dudley and a supporter of Mary’s execution is correct.

The frontispiece of the First Folio (1623), the first collected edition of Shakespeares plays From 1593 to 1637, a number of plays and poems were published under the name William Shakespeare or, in many cases, hyphenated as Shake-Speare. The company that performed most of these plays, the Lord... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Sir Francis Bacon is often cited as a possible author of Shakespeares plays. ... This image, known as the Ashbourne Portrait, was once believed to depict William Shakespeare. ... The Marlovian theory of Shakespearean authorship holds that the plays conventionally ascribed to William Shakespeare were in fact written by the playwright Christopher Marlowe. ... Mary Stuart is a play by Friedrich Schiller based on the life of Mary I of Scotland. ... Friedrich Schiller Schiller redirects here. ...

Reference

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.