IN THE INTRODUCTION of his biography of Princess Elizabeth, David Starkey claims that she received “the most advanced curriculum of the day. But it was her lessons in the school of life that mattered more.” This chapter examines the four book dedications written by Elizabeth as an intersection of both of those classrooms. They were direct evidence of her humanist, bookish education, yet showed a savvy, young girl's understanding of the royal court.

As a princess she undertook at least four translations of religious texts that she handwrote and dedicated to various family members as New Year's gifts. Unsurprisingly, all four translations were evangelical, as all of her childhood tutors were evangelical. This chapter will not address the translations themselves, as they have already been thoroughly studied, or Elizabeth's selection of texts in context of the religious mood at court, but instead will focus on the dedications written by Elizabeth and how they fit into the early modern tradition of printed book and manuscript dedications, as discussed in the first chapter. While the translations are evidence of Elizabeth's linguistic ability, the dedications give insight into Elizabeth's relationships with her relatives and her position at court as a demoted princess.

1545 Dedication to Katherine Parr

At eleven years old, for New Year's 1545, Elizabeth translated from French into English Marguerite de Navarre's Le Miroir de l’âme pécheresse (The Glass of the Sinful Soul). It is not clear where Elizabeth first encountered Marguerite of Navarre's text. Possibilities include a copy owned by her mother that was given to Anne by Marguerite during her time at the French court; a copy given to her by Katherine Parr; or a copy given to her by her French tutor, Jean Belmain. Starkey points out that 1544 was a very good year for Elizabeth: she was put in the succession, rehabilitated at court, The Family of Henry VIII is the first surviving painting of her, and her first extant letter dates to that year. In August 1544, Lord Russell wrote to Sir William Paget that the queen and all three children were together at Hampton Court Palace.