What is it about?
This chapter discusses the way in which Elizabeth I was described in two early modern writings from the region of East-Central Europe. The two narratives differ in purpose and the use of strategies in portraying the English monarch: one relies on a negative comparison of Elizabeth with a monster while the other is much more formal and oriented towards the discussion of her physical appearance and presence at court. The analysis of the two narratives allows for a reflection of how the private and the public dimensions can be created in writing for a rhetorical effect.
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Why is it important?
The study provides insight into documents that have been unknown in the English-speaking world and draws attention to the way in which the concept of privacy bears on diplomatic relations. It also shows that from a historical perspective it is always useful to ask who does the narrating and to what effect.
Perspectives
The chapter shows that the mobility between the European continent and the British Isles was not limited to Western Europe only; that travellers embarked on their journeys motivated by various desires and that the Elizabethan court was a cultural space in which people from different stations and walks of life could come in contact. It also demonstrates that the gendered trope of monstrosity (as in strong women who defy male authority) has a long provenance.
Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik
University of Lodz
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This page is a summary of: (De)Constructing Privacy, Describing Diplomatic Ties: Representations of Elizabeth I in Central European Egodocuments, January 2026, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004749849_006.
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