| dc.description.abstract | The unpublished letters of William Herle, diplomat and intelligencer to the
court of Elizabeth I reveal startling insights into the role of such agents in
political affairs. As well as their more obvious content of sensitive
information, Herle's letters expose his primary impetus behind the pursuit
of intelligence; of the construction and maintenance of a patronage
alliance based upon the judicious exchange and release of knowledge at
politically sensitive moments. This epistolary aspect of intelligence letters
- overlooked by much scholarship - reveals the complex strategies Herle
implements to circumvent the disruption of social hierarchy at the moment
of counsel, the private transfer of knowledge in a medium often subject to
broadcast, and the uncomfortable union of potent intelligence and familiar
affect. This dissertation investigates the world of Elizabethan intelligence
operations as experienced by William Herle, focusing on the topics of
religion, early modern diplomacy, imprisonment, secret communication
and patronage relationships based upon intelligence-exchange. The letters
are an invaluable resource for scholars of early modern history and
sixteenth-century letter writing, documenting the lengths to which a client
would go to secure and maintain patronage in this period, encompassing
the giving of gifts, the transmitting of books, and the strategic deployment
of potent information. Scrutinizing intelligence operations from a social
and textual standpoint offers the scholar a wider picture of the agent's
position and relation to the political landscape. This dissertation examines
Herle's evolving status of common informant, prison spy, diplomatic envoy,
and special ambassador, surmounting obstacles of social hierarchy whilst
maintaining a marginal, secret status. By identifying the epistolary and
social minutiae of Herle's letters, this study relocates the position of the
Elizabethan intelligencer, departing from the typical notion of skulking spy
and instead positioning the agent directly in contact, both textual and
physical, with the political power-base. | en_US |
