ABSTRACT

The 1601 inventory of Hardwick New Hall here vividly depicts Bess’s bedchamber as a locus for reading and writing activities during the fi nal years of her life. The presence of the books and desks confi rms that the bedchamber was a space where reading and writing took place, which is further indicated by the various gilded, painted, leather-and velvet-covered coffers and boxes, listed next to the desks, suitable for storage of documents. 2 In terms of the mode and nature of these literate activities, the furniture and architecture here in January 1601 give a mixed picture. On the one hand, their location in her bedchamber itself implies a desire to create opportunities for greater privacy, away from the more overtly public apartments on the ground and second fl oors. The sense of the bedchamber as a personal space is suggested by her six books, customised possessions with their russet and black velvet bindings, which include those on meditative themes. That these books appear next to her mirror, brushes and ‘payre of pullies’ (knee armour) lined

with black taffeta further suggests an aspect of Bess’s literate practice which was contemplative, perhaps with the ‘pullies’ designed to support time in prayer that was hard on the knees. 3 That is, it suggests that aspects of Bess’s literate practice included the kind of silently conducted inward activities and mental processes associated with the books of meditation.