King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire

Preface

PREFACE John Berendt's evocative, quasi-fictional version of life in Savannah recounts the experiences ofJames Williams, antiques dealer and social gadfly. Williams also becomes a convicted murderer. While in the local jail, he continues to carryon his business and even to arrange a luncheon which his eighty-year-old mother will host and to which many of the socially elite will be invited. At the end of chapter 23 ofMidnight in the Garden ofGoodand Evil, Mrs. Blanche Williams calls the jail and reports to Jim that the lunch has been a success. The whole experience has left her reflective, however. Mrs. Williams has been reading the newspaper story about her son's sexual involvement with the Hansford boy and perhaps others. She turns to Barry Thomas and says: "Seems like I remember hearing people say the same thing about King James of England. You know, the King James that had them to write the KingJames Bible? Do you know if that's true? Have you ever heard anybody say that about King James?" Thomas acknowledges that he has heard this: "King James did have favorites among the men at court, if that's what you mean. He had his special friends. I think he had several." This response provokes a brief smile from Mrs. Williams. This book focuses on that King James (1566-1625) of Scotland and England and his special relationship with three male courtiers, his favorites. The O>iford English Dictionary offers this historical definition of "favorite": "2. One who stands unduly high in the favour of a prince, etc." Certainly many in James's court would agree with this definition. I note the prejudicial word "unduly" as used by the editors of the OED. James would certainly not accept that part of the definition. I like, however, the "etc.," which opens up all kinds of possibilities. Clearly, "favorite" covers a wide range of social standing and social behavior. For James and the three courtiers discussed here, "favorite" implies a special intimacy, including, but not restricted to, homoerotic desire. In this book I explore what "favorite " means for Esme Stuart (Lennox), Robert Carr (Somerset), and vii George Villiers (Buckingham) in their familiarity with the king. The testimony of the extant letters ofJames and his favorites constitutes a primary means of understanding their love. The inscription that moves across the letters spells desire. Exploring this fascinating subject has led me to several libraries whose resources I gratefully used, especially the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Lambeth Palace Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Department of Special Collections of the Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas. The Bodleian Library made materials available to me, and I regularly tapped the books of Watson Library, University of Kansas. I thank the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Lambeth Palace Library, and the Bodleian Library for permission to reproduce letters written by King James and the Duke of Buckingham. For assistance with illustrations and for permission to use them, I thank the National Portrait Gallery (London), the Folger Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Bodleian Library, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Spencer Library, and the National Galleries of Scotland. I have also accumulated vast debts, thanks to the active participation of several people in this project. I single out Richard Hardin, Daryl Palmer, and Geraldo de Sousa, who read the manuscript. These attentive, informed, friendly, and helpful critics offered valuable insights and encouragement. I have tried to honor their suggestions. Members of the British Seminar of the University of Kansas responded considerately to a portion of the chapter on the Duke of Buckingham. I am grateful to the editor of Explorations in Renaissance Culture, who published an early version of the chapter on Robert Carr and who has granted permission for me to use this material. A small part of the chapter on Esme Stuart formed the basis of a presentation at the Southeastern Renaissance Conference at Duke University in April 1996 and subsequently appeared in Renaissance Papers I996. I am grateful to the University of Kansas for a sabbatical leave in 19961997 , which enabled me to finish a draft of this book. I also thank the kind, skillful, and efficient staff (paula Courtney, Pam LeRow, and Lynn Porter) of the Wescoe Word Processing Center at the University ofKansas for their technical help in preparing the manuscript for publication. Because this book explores friendly, intimate relationships, I offer it in...