ABSTRACT
At around nine o’clock at night on April 3, 1606, Charles Blount, earl of Devonshire, died. He had left Wanstead, his Essex estate, about nine days earlier, but fell sick of a fatal fever on his way to London. According to his secretary, he died admirably, bravely and calmly facing death while surrounded by friends and servants.1 His death marked the end of a long and complicated relationship with Lady Penelope Rich, the woman with whom he had five children and whom he also claimed as his lawful wife since December 1605. The relationship between Penelope Rich and Charles Blount had commenced sometime in the early 1590s, while Penelope was still married to Sir Robert Rich. In 1605, Rich obtained a divorce on the grounds of Penelope’s adultery, and Charles and Penelope married soon thereafter on December 26, 1605. Penelope survived Charles only a little over a year: she died on July 7, 1607.2
Other writers have cast the story of Penelope and Charles as a timeless example of a great love that endured countless obstacles. Their relationship certainly survived many challenges and ended sadly and poignantly with their premature deaths. While the story might seem timeless, many aspects of it are specifically bound up with the time and place that Penelope and Charles inhabited: the late reign of Elizabeth and the early reign of James. Both Penelope and Charles were intimately connected with the courts and the sovereigns: they both had careers as royal servants. Their story offers an illustrative way to probe deeper into the context and circumstances surrounding one particular case of illicit sex among the early modern elite.
