King Henry VII | Letter signed, to the Duke of Milan, 26 July 1490

King Henry VII.

Letter signed (“Henricus R”), to Gian Galeazzo Sforza Visconti, Duke of Milan

Referring in cordial terms to the warm relations between England and Milan, referring to the recently departed Milanese ambassador Francisco Pagnano, and to Benedetto Spinola, the current Milanese representative in London, and also informing him that the English ambassadors Sir David Williams and Sir John de Giglis have been instructed to visit the Duke on their way to Rome, in Latin, in an accomplished scribal italic hand, 1 parchment membrane, oblong folio, Greenwich, 6 July 1490, integral address panel, docketed in Italian, traces of red wax seal, light staining

A FINE DIPLOMATIC LETTER WITH A FULL AND CLEAR SIGNATURE BY THE FIRST TUDOR MONARCH. Milan, as one of Europe’s great trading states, was an important market for English goods (primarily wool). The Duke of Milan had recently sent an envoy, Francisco Pagnano, to England to exploring the possibility of a marriage alliance between the Duke and one of the younger sisters of the English Queen, Elizabeth of York. Pagnano had recently returned to Milan and Milanese interests were currently being dealt with by the Genoese merchant Benedetto Spinola. It seems likely that this letter was given by the King to Spinola at an audience, and that Spinola sent it back to Milan with an accompanying cover letter updating him on negotiations over the possible marriage and also trade regulations (Calendar of Milanese Papers, 1385-1618 (1912) pp.260-262).

This letter dates from the early period of Henry’s reign, when he was still establishing his regime’s legitimacy. He had defeated one pretender, Lambert Simnel, in battle, but another, Perkin Warbeck, had recently emerged in the Low Countries and was attracting defeated Yorkists with his claim to be the rightful king. It is not surprising, therefore, that Henry was so keen to nurture diplomatic relations with the Italian city states.