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Wir besitzen immer noch zwei Originalbriefe von Helena, die an ihre Mutter gerichtet waren. Im Gegensatz zu dem Autoren Charles Angell Bradford halte ich folgenden für den ersten Brief: "... Now I must tell you, my heart's dearest mother dear that my Gracious Lady [Cäcilie von Schweden] left England on the first of May, but I stayed behind and have been in London the whole time since then. I am treated as if I were his Lordship's own daughter: a nobleman's wife is with me and three or four Maids of Honour look after me. Eight or ten of my Lord's servants are with me and serve me, as if I were a daughter of the family, with everything I can fancy. I cannot explain in writing how well everything goes with me. God knows I wish I could tell you how good every one is to me; I wish He would grant me someone of my family to be here, and see and tell you ... My lord the Marquis always talks about you and asks if you would send my brothers to me: they should be treated as well as his lordship himself, if one of them come over, he says. ... My heart's dearest mother dear, my Lord Marquis sends greetings to you and dearest grandmother, and to all my sisters and brothers, with, again, hundreds and hundreds of good nights and days. I send you and grandmother each a little ring as a token; my Lord Marquis sends you also a token and asks that you will not scorn so small a gift: at some other time his Lordship will send you something better ... Your humble daughter Elin Ulfsdotter." (in: Charles Angell Bradford: Helena – Marchioness of Northampton, London 1936, pp. 54-55).
Im zweiten Brief berichtet Helena sehr ausführlich über die Geschehnisse in den Jahren 1565 und 1566: "... When her Ladyship [Cäcilie von Schweden] was confined the Queen [Elizabeth I.] came to see her each second day, and every day there came ladies and gentlemen from the Queen to ask how her Ladyship was going on. Amongst the gentlemen was a courtier who always came with the earliest arrivals and left amongst the last. When my gracious Lady had been 'churched' after the baby was born, the Marquis of Northampton (for that was the Courtier's name) talked to my gracious lady about me. When my lady taxed me on the subject I assured her that I confided in her promise to you, my dearest mother, that she would always do her best for me. ... she [Cäcilie von Schweden] would never fail to give me the very best advice; and that my parents would feel honoured in every respect if a Swedish Maid of Honour on her coming to England should get married to the second gentleman in the land. So I asked her Ladyship not to say anything to the Lord Marquis until I had got your answer from Sweden. My Lord was eager to send his own servant over to get your reply, but her Ladyship said it was unnecessary: she would act for my mother; as she had given her word to you I must not think other than that she desired the very best in everything for me as if she were my own mother, and said I should be as obedient to her in this matter as I should be to you, my dearest mother; she declared she would so treat me as she would be accountable to God. Some time later his Lordship desired an answer from my Gracious Lady and wanted to know if my heart was inclined in his direction, so I prayed to God for his guidance as I had nobody else to ask for help, and my Lady advised him to this effect, that I was a simple maid, what would his Lordship want with one not equal to him in rank? His Lordship said he did not seek for riches: if only God would give him the happiness of my loving heart, he would ask no other wealth. Even if I brought nothing but my shift and gave him happiness it would be a dowry from God. So, my very dearest mother, after that, my Gracious Lady gave her answer to his Lordship, saying that she could do no other than grant her own consent – if His Lordship were obtaining mine and that she would never go back on her promise. A day or two after this his Lordship sent my Lady a necklace which she was to pass on to me. It was worth a hundred dollars, and also came a chain worth fifty dollars. So in return, I gave his Lordship my 'Yes'. As a Christmas gift his Lordship presented me with a dress which cost more than two hundred dollars. My dear heart's mother dear, so long as everything went well with my Gracious Lady and creditors did not press for payment, she was very good to me and was happy over the honour which was going to be done to me, but, when they demanded a settlement she got angry with all the English and wished that the engagement had never been entered into. She was very angry with me, said his Lordship should never have me and she would give him a refusal. But I said I would never say 'no' as her Ladyship had just advised me to say 'yes': she had promised never to go back on her word and that she would provide for my wedding. Whilst she was happy, nobody was better than the Marquis and she had promised him that before leaving England, the last thing she would do would be to give me my wedding. When the day came, which she had decided upon for the wedding to take place, my lady went to the Queen and said My Lord Marquis wished to steal away with one of her Maids of Honour, begging Her Majesty to send a message to him commanding him not to do anything against my Lady's wishes in the matter. This my Lady did against My Lord Marquis though he had done her more favours – but her debts, which now amounted to twenty-two thousand dollars, made her furious. She only wanted to revenge herself on his Lordship who merited naught but good as he had paid fifteen hundred dollars for her and intended to give her still more help. As they had been good friends his Lordship would not take any notice of the wrong she did him. What he had done he did for my sake – and when her Ladyship went away she had to pawn her clothes and everything she had. She did not take very much with her from England. My dearest mother dear, when my gracious Lady was leaving England the Margrave her husband sent some Germans to bring her over because the English would not go with her out of the country. These Germans said that, when my Lady arrived in Germany, all the men there would deem it a miracle that her Maid of Honour should remain behind and become a Marchioness. As it was, her Ladyship regretted that they should out me on a level with herself. After that, she did everything she could to make me alter my decision, but as I had set my mind on it once I would not recede from the position I had taken up since I knew so well her reasons for wanting the change. Her Ladyship reconsidered her opinion, and later on when she heard that I was to be honoured equally with her Ladyship, she regretted what she had done. After she left London I stayed behind close to my lover. Her Ladyship gave me enough dark red velvet to enable me to make a skirt of, and scarlet for an underskirt. That indeed was all she gave me. My very dearest mother, when my gracious Lady was leaving England she wanted me to go with her, but my Lord Marquis asked the question, 'Does your Ladyship want Elin to go with you: does your Ladyship desire to separate us? Your Ladyship knows that she has already promised, and if Elin wants to remain in England after your departure, I promise on my princely honour that I shall keep her as though she were my own daughter with all that's fitting, if you will but keep your earlier pledge, and, whether she prefers to stay with the Queen or at my mansion, she shall have her will: I will supply her with Maids of Honour and servants wherever she may be.' He requested that my Lady should write to you, my dearest mother, telling her that it was with your consent I stayed in England. So my Lady wrote a letter in Latin and showed it to my Lord Marquis asking if it was worded as he wanted it to be – and of it I had a copy made for myself. My very dearest mother, when my Lady was leaving England the Queen gave rings to her Maids of Honour and promised I should have what was better. My Lord Marquis declared that if indeed I departed with my Lady, he would follow me to Sweden if God granted him his life and health, but as I learnt that the Queen wanted me to stay, and my Gracious Lady made no objection, I thought I was old enough to stay abroad a year or two as God had given me a mind to it; and that He had given me such a good protector to whom I can speak as to a father. ... My very dearest mother, I can never thank God Almighty enough for the joy he has given me in a foreign land. First and foremost He has restored my health: I had been ill since I left Sweden until I came to England: I had many physicians but nothing would do me any good till my Lord Marquis sent a doctor to me. God and this doctor helped me. My dearest, dearest mother I must declare that the Marquis has been both father and mother to me. He has been most kind in every detail since the day when I gave him my 'Yes'. I have been treated as his daughter, and indeed had I been a Duke's daughter I could not have had more attention. My dearest mother, I cannot imagine I shall ever want for anything however beautiful and expensive that his Lordship can buy without his getting it at once for his Elin. My heart's dear mother dear, when Tåmmas Knap came to England, he brought a little ring which he gave my Lord Marquis and said you had sent it to his Lordship: if it had been worth a thousand gilders it could not have been more welcome to his Lordship, and he hung it on the neck string (of his ruff) and said, 'Look, your dear mother has sent me a love-token.' My heart's dear mother, his Lordship loves falcons and dogs very much [he was master of the Hawks to King Edward VI.] and he has asked me to write to my friends in Sweden to obtain for him one or two Swedish falcons ..." (in: Charles Angell Bradford: Helena – Marchioness of Northampton, id., 48-53).
als Buch bei amazon.de: 552 Seiten, mit Stammtafeln und 292 sw Bildern, Independently published, 1. Auflage, ISBN 978-1-9768-8527-3, € 31,84 (großes Buchformat: 21 x 27 cm)
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Wer ist Mona Lisa? – Identifizierung einer Unbekannten mit Hilfe historischer Quellen
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