| Administrative History | Georg Zolcher (known in England as George Zolcher), from Strassburg, servant and letter-carrier of Johann Casimir of the Palatinate of the Rhine |
| Description | Letter in German, 2 pages, describing the current situation in the Palatinate and elsewhere.
Zolcher complains about the difficulty of carrying out his duties and delivering messages during the current upsets; in particular, he discusses theeffects of the actions taken by the Archbishop of Cologne and the involvement of Pfalzgraf Johann Casimir; Johann Sturm and others are also mentioned. Asks Beale to convey his respects to firstly to "the Secretary" and also to "your dear young ladies", Philip Sydney, Mr Thomson, and others.
Dated: Dat[um] 20 Novembris a[nn]o 03 Inn Strass[burg]
Signed E[wer] Ehrn?hest Dienstwillig[er] Georg Zolcher
Addressed to: Monsieur Robert Beel Greffier du Conseil d'Estat de la Royne d'Angleterre
with note: Prefl.[?] London dem 23. Januarij A[nn]o 1584
Endorsed 10 Nouemb: 1583 Georg Zulcher
Tha Archbishop of Cologne, Gebhard von Waldburg-Trauchburg (1547 - 1601) had converted to Protestantism, married, and was secularizing the archepiscopal lands. He was excommunicated on 1 April 1583 and his lands were attacked by Bavarian and Spanish forces. Johann Casimir was the only Protestant prince to provide military support.
Notes by James D. George and Dr Charles Clyde Barber:
(i) Below the address, which is in French, on the letter is a note in German indicating that the letter was received (?) in London on 23rd January, 1584.
(ii) Georg Zölcher, a Strasburg man, and an agent of the Elector Palatine, met Sidney in Germany in May, 1575 (J. M. Osborne ‘Young Philip Sidney’ pp. 309, 318). He was in London in September of that year and delivered a letter to Sidney (ibid. p. 357).
[end of notes by James D. George and C.C. Barber]
Zolcher dates the letter 20 Nouembris, using the "horizontal" Arabic 2. Hence the date error in the endorsement |