(Not the 2019 reprint, but the 1784 edition!)
Robert Laneham’s Letter : whearin part of the entertainment untoo the Queenz Majesty at Killingworth castl, in Warwik sheer in this soomerz progress, 1575, is signified, from a freend officer attendant in the court, unto hiz freend, a citizen and merchaunt of London.
pp. 90 Quarter Leather and cloth library binding, County library stamp on fpd. #250422 Very sound copy
“Elizabeth I’s visit to Kenilworth in 1575. We are lucky enough that two (albeit differing) accounts survive; Langham’s Letter… and Gascoigne’s Princely Pleasures at the Court at Kenilworth. The latter recounts how when Elizabeth enters the gate she is greeted by the Lady of the Lake; it is only Elizabeth’s arrival on this day that has reassured the Lady that it is safe to reappear.
The length of the visit, and extravagance of the entertainments shows an attempt to assert Elizabeth’s status. This particular period of her reign is a time when it is especially important to show a dynastic link back to the timelessness of myth, to authenticate Elizabeth’s power as monarch. Only five years before her visit to Kenilworth, the pope had declared her illegitimate, casting doubt on her reign, and her ability to quell dissent and win the backing of her people. “