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Hamburg and Hanse Towns, SP 82/8
The exchange of letters with Hamburg is well represented in the PRO: SP 82/7, ff. 122-225 (Apr 2-June 29, 1650) and SP 82/8, ff. 1-126 (July 2, 1650-July 30, 1651). Prose identifies copies of Quantis Bellorum (Prose, 1) and an English version of Quam Diu (Works, 1; Prose, 5) in SP 82/7.
*1. (128-29, English) An early draft of the Parlamentum Reipublicae Angliae, Cum Antiquam Amicitiam (Works, 18; Prose, 37), unsigned. The cover sheet of 1 and 2 (below) is endorsed "Copy of the Letter to the Citty of Hamburgh Mart 11, 1651/2." The final two-thirds of the first paragraph is marked with a vertical line in the margin, indicating the section to be revised.
*2. (130, English) A later version of 1, with the marked section revised, unsigned. This is very close to the approved version, but it is not the final draft. There is, for example, no English equivalent in either 1 or 2 for the Latin "in navem praedatoriam" in the approved version.
*3. (132, English) A translation of 4 (below), headed "To the Hanse Towns," unsigned, undated. The copy in Nalson XVIII, 160, is torn in two or three places, as Prose notes (p. 611), but what remains is verbally identical to this translation.
*4. (134, Latin) A copy of Parlamentum Reipublicae Angliae Literas Vestras Sexto (Works, 25; Prose, 43). This appears to be a version of the fair copy from which Literae, p. 36, was transcribed. They are verbally identical, the "de" being scratched out and "ab" inserted. It is endorsed "Read 13 Aprill, 1652 & uppon the Question agreed," and signed "Hen: Scobell, Clic Parliament." The source notes in Prose err in identifying Nalson, X, 85, as a draft of this letter (p. 611). This could be a simple typographical oversight; on the other hand it might have been caused by the inscription on the cover-sheet of Nalson X, 85, which is erroneously endorsed, "Prl. Lte. to Hans Towns" (see 5 & 7 below).
*5. (Bodleian Library, Nalson MS, XVIII, 161; Latin). A semi-final draft of 4 above. While this copy is not in the PRO, it is included here because it is a copy of the letter to the Hanse Towns and it is not mentioned in Prose. Further, I suspect that this copy is the one erroneously identified as Nalson, X, 85, in the source notes (p. 611), though it differs in some respects from the description there, e.g., it has "de" not "ab," is endorsed "Read 13 April 1652 & agreed unto," and has "aequitate." A few words are torn out.
*6. (136, English) A translation of 7 below, headed "To Hamburgh," undated,
*7. (138, Latin) A copy of Parlamentum Reipublicae Angliae, Literas Vestras Quinto (Works, 26; Prose, 42). It is endorsed "Read 13 April 1652 & uppon the Question agreed," and signed "Hen: Scobell, Clic Parliament." It differs from Nalson, X, 85, in some respects, the address, for example, reading "Proconsulibus et Senatoribus" with the "Pro" obliterated. Neither address agrees with Works, 26. Prose remains confusing on Nalson, X, 85 (p. 608). I do not find "perlegum" inserted after "perlegit." "Eumque" is inserted there, however, so that the text agrees with the approved wording. The Nalson copy is properly identified in Prose as a semi-final draft, while it appears that this one was transcribed from the approved text.
8. (140, English) A Parliamentary order dated April 13, 1652, and signed by Scobell, directing that the letters be sent. It reads in part, "Collonell Morley Reported from the Councell of State severall letters to be sent to the Hanse Townes and Hamburgh which were this day read first in Lataine and after in English and upon the Question assented unto."
Comment: Scobell's order (8) indicates that "severall letters" were approved on April 13, 1652. A search of SP 82/7 & 8 and Bodleian, Nalson X & XVIII revealed only these two (4 & 7 above) marked as having been read on that date. Assuming that "severall" means more than two, it appears that there were more letters to Hamburg and the Hanse Towns in the group. If found, they could reasonably be attributed to Milton.
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