George Stepney, 1663-1707: Diplomat and PoetGeorge Stepney was one of the most remarkable men of the end of the seventeenth century. He was considered one of the eight poets worthy of emulation, while 'no Englishman ever understood the affairs of Germany so well, and few Germans better.' A member of the Kit-Cat Club, and respected by Halifax and Marlborough, he - a commoner - was carried to his grave in Westminster Abbey by two dukes, two earls and two barons. Despite his importance for students of the period, and the fascination of his story in its own right, the only study of his life to date has been an article in The Huntingdon Library Quarterly from 1946. Miss Spens's biography is therefore a major contribution to scholarship which will prove invaluable to the international academic community. Diplomatic history has tended to focus on the monarchs and princes rather than on the handful of professional diplomats whose job it was to 'lie abroad for their country', of whom Stepney stands as an unusually well-documented example. Besides arousing the enthusiasm of specialists this volume will complement works on figures as diverse as William III and John Dryden. The fruit of over ten years' research in major archival collections throughout Europe, George Stepney provides new and valuable material on a key period of political and military history. |
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Page 49
... Danckelmann's notice by a lucky accident : King William's Envoy in Stockholm , Charles Duncombe , had asked Stepney to find out who was Danckelmann's agent in the Swedish capital . Letters to Danckelmann which had been sent under cover ...
... Danckelmann's notice by a lucky accident : King William's Envoy in Stockholm , Charles Duncombe , had asked Stepney to find out who was Danckelmann's agent in the Swedish capital . Letters to Danckelmann which had been sent under cover ...
Page 53
... Danckelmann was a serious matter which could , and did , cost Molesworth his job . In mid - July Sir William Colt at Zell informed Stepney that Molesworth was just leaving him to go to Flanders to report to the King , and that he was ...
... Danckelmann was a serious matter which could , and did , cost Molesworth his job . In mid - July Sir William Colt at Zell informed Stepney that Molesworth was just leaving him to go to Flanders to report to the King , and that he was ...
Page 161
... Danckelmann . The President's successor , Johann Kasimir von Kolbe ( later Count Wartenberg ) , had wished to have the Elector's arms displayed over the door of Danckelmann's house , thus indicating to all that the estates were forfeit ...
... Danckelmann . The President's successor , Johann Kasimir von Kolbe ( later Count Wartenberg ) , had wished to have the Elector's arms displayed over the door of Danckelmann's house , thus indicating to all that the estates were forfeit ...
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Common terms and phrases
affairs appointment army August Baron Benebourg Blathwayt Bruynincx Cardonnel Charles Montagu Cleves Colt command correspondence Count Frise Count Kaunitz Count Wratislaw Cresset Danckelmann diplomat dispatch Dresden Duke Dutch Earl Elector of Bavaria Elector of Brandenburg Elector of Saxony Elector Palatine Electress Ellis Emperor England favour France Frankfurt French George Stepney Goertz Hague Hamburg Hanover Harley Hedges Heinsius Het Loo Holland horses Hungarian Hungary ibid imperial court instructions James Johnston journey July n.s. Kaunitz King William King's Landgrave later Letters to Stepney Lexington London Lord March n.s. Marlborough Max Emmanuel Mediators ministers negotiations Palatine Pressburg Prince Eugene Prince Louis Queen Rákóczy received Rechteren Rhine Schöning secretary sent Spanish Netherlands Stepney continued Stepney in Dresden Stepney in Vienna Stepney Papers Stepney reported Stepney wrote Stepney's Letter Book Trade treaty troops Tyrnau Vernon Whitehall wished Wratislaw writing Wyche Zell