1.2. Giles fletcher's biography

Giles Fletcher, the Elder (c. 1548-1611) was an English poet and diplomat, member of the English parliament. He was the son of Richard Fletcher, vicar of Bishop's Stortford.

Fletcher was born in Watford, Hertfordshire. He spent his early life at Cranbrook before entering Eton college about 1561. From there, Fletcher continued his education at King's college, Cambridge, where he was appointed a fellow in 1568 and gained his B.A. in the academic year of 1569-70.

In 1581, however, personal consideratoin abruptly put an end to his academic career: early in that year he got married, and soon resigned from the college since custom dictated that no married man could retain a fellowship. He was eventually elected to parliament in 1584: in 1584-85 he attracted the patronage of Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Thomas Randolph, and thanks to them he received several diplomatic appointments.

After both Walsingham and Randolph had died in 1590, Fletcher sought the patronage of Lord Burghley, but was rebuffed and turned to the earl of Essex, whose political and religious inclinations were apparently congenial with his own ones.

As it has already been mentioned in the previous subchapter, after the establishment of Boris Godunov’s new trade regime, which allowed the Dutch to be Russia’s trade partners, Elizabeth I, who wanted Great Britain to be Muscovy’s only trade partner, protested against the new policy. For that matter she sent ambassadors to battle for the former rights of the Russia Company, which was profitable for the English. Fletcher was sent to Russia on the same assignment as earlier ambassadors.

Meanwhile there were ‘inner’ disagreements between Russia and Great Britain. Some charges, probably inspired by Andrei Schelkalov, the Anglophobe director of the foreign office, alleged that Robert Peacock and John Chappell had carried on treasonous correspondence with enemies of Muscovy and that they were planning to intercept the ships of other nations, which would approach Russian ports. Even more embarrassing was the case of Anthony Marsh, who accumulated staggering debts to the Muscovite treasury and slipped back to England leaving his creditors furious. Due to all this Fletcher was granted a surprisingly cool reception. When he arrived, no official welcomed him. To his dismay he had to wait almost a month for an audience with the tsar. When it was finally granted, it was marred by a bout of diplomatic fencing.

In spite of all the problems, Fletcher eventually carried out his assignment with remarkable success. By the time of his farewell audience with the tsar on April 22, 1589, he had reassured his hosts of the queen’s good will and won for the Russia Company a new range of privileges which transferred its affairs from the jurisdiction of Schelkalov to Godunov’s supervision.

Despite the final success of the mission, Fletcher was relieved to return in safety to England. To a friend, he is said to have ‘expressed his thankfulness to God for his safe return from so great a danger…’ Whatever his feelings, he realised the significance of what he had seen and heard. Soon after his return to England, he completed a draft of a treatise on Russia and presented it to the queen. Over the course of the next two years his expanded his work, adding some parts and chapters. He eventually published his manuscript in 1591 with the title ‘Of the Russe Commonwealth’, which I’m analyzing in my research.