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Primary sourceBook1544

The Miroir or Glasse of the Synneful Soul

Elizabeth I of England · 1544

A manuscript translation made by the eleven-year-old Princess Elizabeth as a gift for her stepmother Catherine Parr.

Elizabeth wrote and likely embroidered this gift to her stepmother at age eleven, showing her early learning and devotion.

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Embroidered book cover in gold and silver thread on green fabric, with interlaced knotwork forming a frame around the initials K and P, and four pink-and-gold flowers in the corners.
Elizabeth I (as Princess), The Miroir or Glasse of the Synneful Soul, 1544. Bodleian Library.

About this source

What it is

This small manuscript book is Elizabeth's own English translation of a French poem by Marguerite de Navarre, written in her own hand in 1544 when she was eleven years old. She gave it to her stepmother, Catherine Parr, with a handwritten dedication. The book's embroidered binding, worked in gold and silver thread with the initials K.P., was probably also made by Elizabeth herself. It is now held by the Bodleian Library.

Why it matters

The book shows Elizabeth's precocious education and her close relationship with Catherine Parr, who shaped her Protestant upbringing. It also reflects the high value placed on needlework for royal women of the period, since the embroidery is believed to be the princess's own handiwork.

Look closer

  • What does Elizabeth's dedication tell you about how she saw her stepmother?
  • Why might a cheaper material like canvas, rather than velvet, have been chosen for the binding?
  • What skills does this object show Elizabeth had developed by age eleven?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Elizabeth I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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