Here is a list of primary sources from the Elizabethan period which you will find useful for researching Elizabeth I’s life, reign and Elizabethan times:-
- Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, Volumes 1 – 23
- Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas) Volume 1 – 1558-1567, Volume 2 – 1568-1579, Volume 3 – 1580-1586 and Volume 4 – 1587-1603
- Calendar of State Papers Relating to English Affairs in the Vatican Archives Volume 1 – 1558-1571 and Volume 2 – 1572-1578
- Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House
- Journal of the House of Lords
- Journal of the House of Commons
- Calendar of State Papers, Ireland
- Historical Collections or an Exact Account of the Proceedings of the Four last Parliaments of Queen Elizabeth, 1589-1601, edited by Heywood Townshend
- Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Most Honourable the Marquis of Salisbury, preserved at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, 13 vols.
- Calendar of State Papers, Colonial
- Revels at the Court of Elizabeth I
- State trials of Mary, Queen of Scots, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Captain William Kidd
- Annals of the reformation and establishment of religion, and other various occurrences in the Church of England, during Queen Elizabeth’s happy reign : together with an appendix of original papers of state, records, and letters (Volume 1 pt.1), Strype, John, 1643-1737
- Annals of the reformation and establishment of religion, and other various occurrences in the Church of England, during Queen Elizabeth’s happy reign : together with an appendix of original papers of state, records, and letters (Volume 1 pt.2), Strype, John, 1643-1737
- Annals of the reformation and establishment of religion, and other various occurrences in the Church of England, during Queen Elizabeth’s happy reign : together with an appendix of original papers of state, records, and letters (Volume 2 pt.1), Strype, John, 1643-1737
- Annals of the reformation and establishment of religion, and other various occurrences in the Church of England, during Queen Elizabeth’s happy reign : together with an appendix of original papers of state, records, and letters (Volume 2 pt.2), Strype, John, 1643-1737
- The Chronicle of Queen Jane, and of Two Years of Queen Mary, and especially of the Rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt
- The Progresses of Elizabeth I – Volume 1
- The Progresses of Elizabeth I – Volume 2
- The Parliamentary History of England, Volume 1
- The Privy Purse Expenses of Mary Tudor, Afterwards Queen Mary I
- Queen Elizabeth and Her Times: A Series of Original Letters Selected from the Inedited Private Correspondence of the Lord Treasurer Burghley, the Earl of Leicester, the Secretaries Walsingham and Smith, Sir Christopher Hatton and Most of the Distinguished Persons of the Period – Volume I, edited by Thomas Wright, 1838
- Queen Elizabeth and Her Times: A Series of Original Letters Selected from the Inedited Private Correspondence of the Lord Treasurer Burghley, the Earl of Leicester, the Secretaries Walsingham and Smith, Sir Christopher Hatton and Most of the Distinguished Persons of the Period – Volume II, edited by Thomas Wright, 1838
- The Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, From the Year 1581 till Her Death, edited by Thomas Birch – Volume I
- The Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, From the Year 1581 till Her Death, edited by Thomas Birch – Volume II
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 1, Volume I
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 1, Volume II
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 1, Volume III
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 2, Volume I
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 2, Volume II
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 2, Volume III
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume I
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume II
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume III
- Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume IV
- History of the Reformation of the Church of England, ed. Gilbert Burnet – 7 Volumes
Specific Events, People and Periods
British History Online, a wonderful collection of archives and primary sources, have collated some of their sources into specific topics to help researchers:-
The Ridolfi Plot
Sir Francis Drake
- Venice – September 1589
- Elizabeth – June 1589, 16-20
- Elizabeth I: volume 146 – August 1589
- Queen Elizabeth – Volume 148 – April 1581
- Queen Elizabeth – Volume 204 – October 1587
1587 Mary Queen of Scots
- Elizabeth – October 1582, 16-20
- Henry VIII – September 1546, 1-5
- Spelthorne Hundred – Hampton Court Palace: pictures
- Elizabeth – December 1559, 6-10
- Elizabeth – December 1571
- Elizabeth – July 1561, 26-31
1588 Spanish Armada
- Venice – December 1588
- Queen Elizabeth – Volume 214 – August 1-11, 1588
- Simancas – August 1588, 26-31
- Venice – December 1587
Other Useful Stuff
One of my favourite historians, Dr John Guy, has an excellent website which is great for research and for students because he has essays for students plus transcripts of public lectures that he has done. See http://www.tudors.org/ for details and in the top right hand corner you’ll see the “History Menu”.
What a wonderful resource! Wish I’d have had this ten years ago when researching. Your tenacity and patience is amazing at gathering all this together!
What an amazing research tool! Thank you!
thankssss sososossosossoso much
This is wonderful! I have added it to my college research guide. I am the library Shakespeare/Elizabethan “expert” so resources like these are a treasure for me! Thanks!
Wow!!! Do any these have any negative view on Queen Elizabeth and her reign??
They’re primary sources, so they’re letters and documents rather than people’s opinions on Elizabeth’s reign.
Wow. Thank you so much. I am using this to help me with a school project called national history day. Thanks again. Bye.
Thank you so much for posting the primary sources! I’m writing an essay about the struggles between Elizabeth and her cousin Mary and you’ve honestly saved my life.
good book i loved it lots
Hello, do you know which (if any) of the sources above include opinions on why Elizabeth didn’t marry? Perhaps Elizabeth’s personal opinion on why she chose not to, or someone like Cecil’s view on why she wasn’t marrying/why she turned down offers?
Thank you! Brilliant resources.
Hi, these files are awesome and really helpful. i was wondering if someone could direct me to Queen Elizabeth’s or english noblemen’s negative view point on Queen Mary of Scotts. Any letter to which has quite some detail on their views about her?? thank you