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Oldenburg SP 103/24 & SP 81/54
Milton was responsible for the preparation in English and Latin of safeconduct credentials or a Safeguard, as it was called, issued by Parliament to the Count of Oldenburg in 1652. He was in frequent contact with Oldenburg's emissary, Herman Mylius, from October 20, 1651 to March 6, 1652, keeping him abreast of the complex negotiations that marked the passage of the document through the Committee for Trade and Foreign Affairs, the Council of State, and Parliament. For some reason, working papers used by various individuals in this affair are extremely well represented in the PRO. In 103/24, Treaty Papers, German States, for example, they constitute the entire file of papers derived from Commonwealth sources. Since this material, which relates to what is the best documented of all Milton's services as Secretary
It will be noted that there were two separate periods of negotiations, the first in 1652, the second in 1654, when the Count quickly dispatched ambassadors to procure a confirmation of the Safeguard from the newly established Protectorate government.
103/24, Treaty Papers, German States
Oldenburg 1-10 are in two folders containing documents dealing solely with the 1652 Safeguard. The folio numbers, it will be noted, are in sequence.
*1. (216-17, Latin) A copy of Universis et Singulis, the Oldenburg Safeguard (Works, 152; Prose, 35). It is verbally identical to the one printed in French (III, 180), which is based on a copy in the Oldenburg Staatsarchive, and is therefore a transcript of the approved Latin text. Beneath Milton's name, in a different hand appears, "Concordat haec copia, cum vero suo mihi exhibito originali, quod attestor ego Eimertis Lunisnu [?] Hot. Publicus Caesareus," followed by a set of initials, possibly "mppa." These initials also appear after Mylius' signature on all of the documents he signed. The copy in the Bodleian Library, Nalson MS, XVIII, 168, is an earlier draft and working paper, which as corrected conforms to the approved text and to the amended English of 11 below, except for the omission of reference to Spain (See COMMENT below).
2. (218-20, Latin) A copy of Mylius' petition to Parliament, "Petitio Parlemanto Reipublicae Angliae," undated, signed by Mylius.
##3. (221-22, Latin) A copy of a Safeguard issued to the Duke of Holstein, undated, unsigned. (See Holstein 2).
4. (223-24, English) A translation of 2 above, undated, signed by Mylius.
5. (225-26, English) A copy of a cover letter from Mylius to the Council of State, enclosing documents defending Oldenburg (10 below). These papers were delivered at his farewell audience and are mentioned in his speech (6 & 9 below).
6. (227-29, English) A translation of 9 below, "Thanksgiving, Recommendation, and Valediction before the Right Honorable the Committee of the Councell of State," dated March 2, 1652, signed by Mylius. The penultimate paragraph is in a different hand.
7. (235, Latin) A cover letter, addressed to Parliament, enclosing the "Memoriale" (8 below) for their consideration, undated, signed by Mylius.
8. (237-40, Latin) A "Memoriale" from Mylius to the Council of State defending the Count against accusation, dated 28 January, 1652, signed by Mylius.
9. (243-46, Latin) A copy of Mylius' farewell speech to the Council of State, "Gratiorum actio, Recommendatio et Valedictio, coram Augusti Consillii Status Nobilissimus Dominis Commissarius," dated March 2, 1652,
10. (247-54, English) A copy of a letter from Oldenburg to the States General, entitled, "A Short Deduction, why the Count of Oldenburg cannot part with the Weser-Tole, etc.," dated 17/27 January, 1652, unsigned. In his farewell speech, Mylius indicates that he is leaving this document with the Council of State for their information. It is a lengthy explanation (despite the "Short") of the rights granted the Count by the Holy Roman Emperor to collect tolls on the Weser River and was part of Mylius' defense of the Count against accusations concerning his trafficking with Royalists, questions which delayed the approval of the Safeguard for some weeks. (See French, III, 154-55 and 178-79, where Mylius mentions "a message of the States to the Count," to which this one is probably the answer).
Oldenburg 11-15 are in a single folder of papers, all relating to the 1654 Safeguard. Note that the folio numbers are in no way related.
*11. (54-55, English) A copy of "Bee it knowne unto all" (Works, 152; Prose, 35), undated, with only Lenthall's signature. This is an early draft, agreeing with the copy in the Oldenburg Staatsarchive (Prose, p. 576, Manuscript C). The presence of this copy in the folder of papers devoted to the 1654 Safeguard indicates that it was used as a working paper in composing the later document. It is written in the same secretary hand as Oldenburg 4, 5, 6, 10 above, and 17 below, which suggests that it was transcribed at the same time as the others in 1651-52 and kept on file for later reference.
*12. (170 b-c, Latin) A copy of Universis et Singulis, dated 17 February, 1651, with the names of Lenthall, Milton and Scobell at the closing. Under Milton's name appears, "Johannes Miltonius, a Secretis, Consilii Status." It is verbally identical to the approved text and was probably used, like 11 above, as a working paper for the 1654 Safeguard. All of the available Latin texts, except for Bodleian, Nalson, XVIII, 168 (Prose Manuscript C) appear to be copies of the approved version, for they all include reference to Spain and France.
13. (284a, Latin) An original memorial from Oldenburg, signed by his 1654 emissaries, Wolzogny and Gryphiander, stamped with their official seals. It is endorsed "Exhibitum 19 Junii Anno 1654" and identified as "Letter from ye Commissioner of Count Oldenburg desiring ratification of the Salvaguard formerly granted ye said Count, 19th June, 1654."
14. (285-86, English) A translation of 13 above.
15. (423, Latin) A document entitled, "Formalia Confirma Lionis [?] Exemptionis," unsigned, undated. It is endorsed, "Draught of a ratification of the Salvaguard delivered in by the Agents of Count Oldenburg."
Comment: (These remarks are based on a personal examination of all copies except the four in the Oldenburg Staatsarchive, identified in the source notes of Prose, 35, and referred to below, as MSS C, D, E, and F). Prose lists seven copies of
On the basis of these various additions and deletions it is possible to venture an analysis of the sequence of composition of these documents, one which more careful editing may correct. Of the five Latin copies it appears that four are transcripts of the approved Safeguard; Nalson, XVIII, 168 alone is earlier. The five English copies appear to have been written in the following sequence: MS C (Works, 152) is the earliest version. Oldenburg 11, as amended, is next in order. Nalson, XVIII, 169, is yet later, since it incorporates corrections made in earlier drafts. The copy in SP 25/66 is later still, since it incorporates changes made in Nalson, XVIII, 169. MS D is the lates of all, but still without reference to France and Spain. We do not, therefore, have an English translation of the approved Latin.
SP 81/54 German States
Nos. 16-19 concern the 1652 Safeguard, the balance deal with the 1654 negotiations. There are no copies of known Miltonic documents in this file.
16. (54, Latin) A letter from Oldenburg to Parliament, dated August 15, 1651. This is a copy of Mylius' credentials. There is a copy in Bodleian, Nalson, XVIII, 167. To the best of my knowledge, neither one of these copies has been noted heretofore. (See French, III, 85).
17. (55, English) A translation of 16 above. It is endorsed "Read 15 Oct, 1651," "Read 15 October 1651 & referred to the Councell of State," and "Letters of Credence." It is in the same secretary hand as the English translations of SP 103/24.
18. (57, English) A letter from Parliament to the Council of State ordering Mylius' reception, signed by Scobell.
19. (61, Latin) A letter from Mylius to the Council of State, dated February 10, 1651, signed by him. He is complaining about the delay in approval for the Safeguard and asking for authority to return to Oldenburg. Sir Oliver Fleming is mentioned, but not Milton.
20. (76, Latin) A letter to Thurloe signed by the 1654 emissaries, Wolzogen and Gryphiander, dated March 16, 1654.
21. (78, English) A translation of 22 below.
22. (80-81, Latin) A letter from the emissaries to Cromwell, dated March 9, 1654, suggesting that since the Dutch War is coming to a close, the approval of the Safeguard should be forthcoming. Apparently they were having as much trouble as Mylius did.
23. (82-85, Latin) A letter to Cromwell, signed and sealed by the Count of Oldenburg, dated May 2, 1654, asking an audience for his son, Count Anthony. This is the letter Milton refers to in the first sentence of Prose, 65; Works, 45. It appears to be available here for the first time.
24. (86, English) A translation of 23 above.
There follow several more documents arising from this mission, most of them communications between the emissaries and Thurloe.
Comment: There are several aspects of this series of documents that excite interest. One wonders, first, why this relatively unimportant matter should be so well represented in the State Papers, where it has double and triple the number of documents on file than can be found for negotiations of far greater weight and moment, such as the treaties with France and Sweden. More pertinent to Milton, however, is the matter of handwriting. Oldenburg 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, & 17, as has been noted, are all in the same secretarial hand. The important question is whose amanuensis was he, Mylius' or Milton's, for if he turns out to be Milton's, then there is reason to assume that Mr. Secretary was responsible for some of the translation. The evidence, unfortunately, can be argued both ways. The presence of a copy of "Bee it knowne" in the files would seem to indicate that this is Milton's amanuensis. This is a working paper, a draft prepared before February 11, when the reference to successors was scratched, and used after that date, presumably by Milton, to prepare a semi-final draft of the Safeguard in English. It would appear to be a translation of the Latin draft which Milton prepared on January 8, English copies of which Mylius requested of him on that date (French, III, 142). As such, it would have been prepared by Milton's amanuensis.
On the other hand, at his audience on October 20 Mylius delivered his "credentials in autograph in both Latin and English copies" (French, III, 83), and these are surely Oldenburg 16 and 17. There is no indication that Milton did any of this work for him, nor is there any reason to believe that he was responsible for translating the documents left at his farewell audience (Oldenburg 5, 6, 9, and 10). Milton was ordered to prepare Mylius' authorization for departure, which has not been found (French III, 192). If the English version of this document could be located and if it proved to be in the same hand, then perhaps the matter might be settled.
We have, therefore, in English archives, six copies of the Oldenburg Safeguard, three in Latin and three in English, reflecting various stages in the evolution of the document. These, along with the wealth of material from the PRO and other sources,
Aside from the presence of a Latin and an English copy of the Safeguard in the file, the 1654 documents provide no evidence of Milton's involvement in the later negotiations. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the 1654 document, like the later version of the Duke of Holstein's Safeguard (see Holstein 3 & 4), conformed closely in wording to the 1652 versions, and that its wording was in part Miltonic. It can only be suggested that, since the later document was to be based on the one that Milton had so laboriously negotiated in 1652, Thurloe would be very likely to have called upon the author of the original to assist in its preparation. Milton was certainly available, and still on the payroll.
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