The Devonshire Manuscript/Madame margeret

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The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 68r

f. [68r]

Madame Madame d Madame margeret et madame de Richemont Ie vodroy bien quil fult^{1, 2}

Notes & Glosses

     1. This may be in Hand 7.
     2. The transcription of the last line is taken from Helen Baron, except for the "Ie/Je" where she has "se." An unverified translation is "I like well that he," "He would like to have been," or "he would really like if he were."

Commentary

H7 may have entered this line into the manuscript. "Madame margeret" may refer to Lady Margaret Douglas and "madame de Richemont" most likely refers to the Duchess of Richmond. There is a distinction between the generative, public and the "merely" private name in Renaissance aristocratic usage and theatrical practice, which is in opposition to interiority. A woman's inheritance was considered "movable," and could "pass in a moment from hand to hand, body to body." Mary Fitzroy, formerly Mary Howard, assumes her identity as the Duchess of Richmond. As evidenced here, annotations can reveal a great deal about gender identity, Renaissance practice, and courtly reality.