Certain literate and, sometimes, witty, middling individuals wrote and distributed libels, usually out of political or social intent or discontent. A libel is a written or published statement intended to damage a person or group’s reputation. This (typically anonymous) example describes corrupt and decaying England under the late Queen Elizabeth. It was thrown to the newly crowned King James when he was at the cockpit (possibly the one in Whitehall or possibly a regional one, as James was fond of visiting such animal sports arenas). Although this libel takes aim at the nation as a whole, many disputes within the middling occurred at the local level, where accusations of bias in town government, for instance, or accusing authority figures of drunkenness, were taken very seriously.<br /> <br /> At a time when people bought and traded goods on a system of credit, reputation and trust were important to your financial status. If you had a bad reputation, people were less likely to lend you money or do business with you. Libels were therefore policed and investigated by the middling—including in lengthy detective cases to discover the culprit, such as in Ipswich in the 1580s. They promised £40 to anybody who would “prove” the identity of libellers attacking the town preachers and councillors. The perpetrator was a councillor himself who had held one of the highest offices in the town: Edmund Goodynges.<br /> <br /> Fifteen years later, the governor of the local hospital, William Gilbert, “spread abroad” libellous notes. He was stripped of his role in public office. The very status of individuals as ‘middling’, and any ambitions at social advancement, depended on a good name. Accordingly, words really could hurt.<br /> <br /> Full Transcript:<br /> The state of the lande as it was on the latter end of o{u}r Late Quenes gou{er}nement/<br /> The Lordes craved all<br /> The Quene gave all<br /> The parlament passed all<br /> The keper sealed all<br /> The Ladyes of Honor raled all<br /> He that was, sett him selfe against all<br /> Mounsor Bye-roome marde all<br /> The crafty intelligencer hearde all<br /> The Iudex pardoned all<br /> And except yo{u}r Ma{ies}tie mend all<br /> W{i}thout ye mercy of god the devell will have all<br /> <br /> As is reported lett fall to the kinge in the cocke pitt<br /> <br /> S{i}r I pray you lett not this or the other be shewed but to discrete frendes for that it is not knowne by whome they wer made or howe they will bee taken
Libel (Libel), c. 1603

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Libel

Libel (Libel), c. 1603

Certain literate and, sometimes, witty, middling individuals wrote and distributed libels, usually out of political or social intent or discontent. A libel is a written or published statement intended to damage a person or group’s reputation. This (typically anonymous) example describes corrupt and decaying England under the late Queen Elizabeth. It was thrown to the newly crowned King James when he was at the cockpit (possibly the one in Whitehall or possibly a regional one, as James was fond of visiting such animal sports arenas). Although this libel takes aim at the nation as a whole, many disputes within the middling occurred at the local level, where accusations of bias in town government, for instance, or accusing authority figures of drunkenness, were taken very seriously.

At a time when people bought and traded goods on a system of credit, reputation and trust were important to your financial status. If you had a bad reputation, people were less likely to lend you money or do business with you. Libels were therefore policed and investigated by the middling—including in lengthy detective cases to discover the culprit, such as in Ipswich in the 1580s. They promised £40 to anybody who would “prove” the identity of libellers attacking the town preachers and councillors. The perpetrator was a councillor himself who had held one of the highest offices in the town: Edmund Goodynges.

Fifteen years later, the governor of the local hospital, William Gilbert, “spread abroad” libellous notes. He was stripped of his role in public office. The very status of individuals as ‘middling’, and any ambitions at social advancement, depended on a good name. Accordingly, words really could hurt.

Full Transcript:
The state of the lande as it was on the latter end of o{u}r Late Quenes gou{er}nement/
The Lordes craved all
The Quene gave all
The parlament passed all
The keper sealed all
The Ladyes of Honor raled all
He that was, sett him selfe against all
Mounsor Bye-roome marde all
The crafty intelligencer hearde all
The Iudex pardoned all
And except yo{u}r Ma{ies}tie mend all
W{i}thout ye mercy of god the devell will have all

As is reported lett fall to the kinge in the cocke pitt

S{i}r I pray you lett not this or the other be shewed but to discrete frendes for that it is not knowne by whome they wer made or howe they will bee taken

Object Type Libel
Year c. 1603
Material Manuscript
Owned By Folger Shakespeare Library, X.d.634
Keywords reading; writing; recording; legal; reputation; literacy; credit; gossip; morality; office-holding; manuscript
Image Credit Libel (c. 1603), X.d.634, Used by permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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