---------------------------------------------------------
. _Secrets of the Dedication to Shakespeare’s Sonnets_
. Originally published in THE OXFORDIAN, Volume 2, 1999
. . John M. Rollett [ https://tinyurl.com/4x9956pu ]
.
But what I was really hoping to find was examples of Elizabethan ciphers. The only example of a cipher I was able to find was in a biography of John Dee, the Elizabethan savant & astrologer. Here is the example his biographer gave to illustrate a method
described by John Dee:
.............................
. .<= 5 =>
.
. T H S S A
. H S H E I
. E I I V L
. S N P A E
. P A S H D
..............................
This reads, going down and up the columns,

. “THE SPANISH SHIPS HAVE SAILED” The message would be
. sent off, reading across, as THSSAHSHEIEIIVLSNPAEPASHD.

To someone intercepting it, it would obviously proclaim itself as a coded message and to decode it, all one has to do is to count the number of letters––25––and write it out again in a 5 by 5 square. It is amusing to learn that Dee regarded this
as “a childish cryptogram such as eny man of knowledge shud be able to resolve.”
.............................
. . <= 5 =>
.
. T H S S {A}
. H S H E {I}
. E I I V {L}
. S N P A {E}
. P A S H {D}
..............................
THE SPANISH SHIPS HAVE SAILED
{DELIA}
------------------------------------------------
. . . . Winter's Tale [II, 3]
.
Leontes: Summon a Session, that we may arraigne
. . Our most disloyall Lady: for as she hath
. . Been publikely accus'd, so shall she haue
. .{A} iust and open Triall. Wh{I}le she liues,
. . My heart wi{L}l be a burthen to me. Leau{E} me,
. . And thinke vpon my bi{D}ding. Exeunt. ...............................................
. . . . <= 20 =>
.
. {A} iustandopenTriallWh
. {I} lesheliuesMyheartwi
. {L} lbeaburthentomeLeau
. {E} meAndthinkevponmybi
. {D} dingExeunt

{DELIA} -20
...............................................
. . . . Winter's Tale [V, 1]
.
Florizel: By his command
. . Haue I here touch'd Sicilia, and from him
. . Giue you all greetings, that a King (at friend)
. . Can send his Brother: and but Infirmitie
. .(Which waits vpon worne times) h{A}th something se{I|Z}'d
. . His wish'd Abi{L|I}tie, he had hims{E|L}fe
. . The Lands an{D} Waters, 'twixt your Throne and his,
. . Measur'd, to looke vpon you; whom he loues
. .(He bad me say so) more then all the Scepters,
. . And those that beare them, liuing. ...............................................
. . . . <= 14 =>
.
.(Whichwaits. v . p .o n
. wornetimes (H) {A} t h
. somethings (E) {I Z} d
. HiswishdAb (I) {L|I} t
. iehehadhim (S) {E L} f
. eTheLandsa. N. {D} W a
. terstwixty. O . u .r T
. hroneandhi. S . M .e a
. surdtolook. E
.
{DELIA} -14
{LIZ} . -14
(SIEH). -14
.....................................................
. . . . Winter's Tale [III, 2]
.
Hermione: But yet heare this: mistake me not: no Life,
. .(I prize it not a str{A}w) but for mine Honor,
. . Which I would fre{E}: {I}f I shall be condemn'd
. . Vpon surmizes (a{L|L} proofes sleeping else,
. . But what your {I|E}alousies awake) I tell you
. 'Tis Rigor, a{N|D} not Law. Your Honors all,
. . I doe referre me to the Oracle:
. . Apollo be my Iudge.
..............................................
. . . . . . . . . <= 32 =>
.
. noLifeIprizeitnotast. r. {A} wbutformin
. eHonorWhichIwouldfre {E} {I} fIshallbec
. ondemndVponsurmizesa {L} {L} proofessle
. epingelseButwhatyour {I} {E} alousiesaw
. akeItellyouTisRigora {N} {D} notLaw
.
{DELIA} -32
{NILE}. -32
.....................................
Lord. This your request
.
. Is altogeth[ER] iust: ther[E]fore brin[G] forth
. . (And [I]n Apollo's [N]AME) his Or[A]cle. ..............................................
. . . <= 9 =>
.
. I s. a .l t o g e t
. h [E R] i u s t:t h
. e r [E] f o r e b r
. i n [G] f o r t h(A
. n d [I] n A p o l l
. o's [N] A M E)h i s
. O r [A] c l e.
.
[E/REGINA] 9
----------------------------------------------------------------- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter%27s_Tale

<<The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare published in the First Folio of 1623. Shakespeare's apparent mistake of placing the Oracle of Delphi on a small island has been used as evidence of Shakespeare's limited education. However, Shakespeare
again copied this locale directly from Greene's "Pandosto". Moreover, the erudite Robert Greene was not in error, as the Isle of Delphos does not refer to Delphi, but to the Cycladic island of Delos, the mythical birthplace of Apollo, which from the 15th
to the late 17th century in England was known as "Delphos". Greene's source for an Apollonian oracle on this island likely was the Aeneid, in which Virgil wrote that Priam consulted the Oracle of Delos before the outbreak of the Trojan War and that
Aeneas after escaping from Troy consulted the same Delian oracle regarding his future.
.
The name {DELIA} refers to the tiny Greek island of Delos (Δῆλος),
. the birthplace of Artemis and her twin brother Apollo.>> -----------------------------------------------------------------
. . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvDlh56z0LA&t
.
I suggest that {DELIA} refers to the virgin queen: {ELI(z)A(beth)}: ----------------------------------------------------------------- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia

<<{DELIA} is a feminine given name, either taken from
. . an epithet of the Greek *moon goddess ARTEMIS*.>> ............................................................ https://tinyurl.com/y7g56zy3

<<An exaltation of queen Elizabeth I's virgin purity identified
. her with the {MOON goddess} *who holds dominion over the waters*.
. Sir Walter Raleigh had begun to use {DIANA} and later {CYNTHIA}
. as aliases for the queen in his poetry around 1580, and images
. of Elizabeth with jewels in the shape of crescent moons or the
. huntress's arrows begin to appear in portraiture around 1586
. and multiply through the remainder of the reign.>> ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://stanleypalace.com/History/history.htm

<<[W]illiam [S]tanley's Coat of Arms, bearing Three Stags Heads & the Eagle & Child, with the words "Sans Changer", 'without changing'. The story is that Sir Thomas Lathom, an ancestor of the Stanley family had a daughter but no son. Getting a son by a
lady other than his wife, he pretended to find the baby under an eagle's nest, as if fetched by the eagle for him and his wife to adopt. When the boy grew up, he lost favour with his father and Sir Thomas Lathom left most of his fortune to his daughter.>>
.............................................................. http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/derby1485.htm

Arms: Argent on a Bend Azure three Buck's Heads cabossed Or

Crest: On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine an Eagle with wings extended
Or preying on a Child proper swaddled Gules in a Cradle laced Or

Supporters: Dexter: a Griffin with wings elevated Or ducally collared
and line reflexed over the back Azure; Sinister: a Stag Or
also ducally collared and line reflexed over the back Azure

Motto: *Sans CHANGEr* (Without changing)
. . https://tinyurl.com/sjxhm8mf ------------------------------------------------- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willobie_His_Avisa

<<Willobie His Avisa is a narrative poem that was published as a pamphlet in London after being entered in the Registers of Stationer's Hall on 3 September 1594. It purports to have been written by a person called "Henry Willobie" One of the characters, "
W.S." [William Stanley] is presented as a friend to "H.W." (Henry Wriothesley), and offers him advice on wooing Diana's maid: Avisa [Elisabeth Vere]

W.S. appears to be familiar with Avisa, for he says he knows the "face from whence these flames arise". He then offers this encouraging rhyme: “She is no saint, she is no Nonne, I think in time she may be wonne.” He then advises his friend regarding
the way to win Avisa’s favour. But the advice seems cynical and shallow, and the tone W.S. uses seems at times almost jokey. When the advice is followed, it proves disastrous. H.W. is so stricken in his failure that it is not known if he is alive or
dead. This episode is followed by a stanza that hints that there is more that could be revealed:

. But here I cease for fear of blame,
. Although there be a great deal more,
. That might be spoken of this dame
. That yet lies hid in secret store,
. If this be lik't, then can I say
. Ye may see more another day.
----------------------------------------------
*PARDON* me (sweete Ladies,) if at this present, I depriue you of a iust Apology in defence of your constant Chastities, *DEsERVED* of many of you, and long sithence promised by my selfe, to some of you: and *PARDON* mee the sooner, for that I haue long
expected that the same should haue beene perfourmed by some of your selues, which I know are well able, if you were but so wellwilling to write in your owne praise, as many men in these dayes (whose tounges are tipt with poyson) are too ready and ouer
willing, to speake and write to your disgrace. This occasion had bene most fit, (publishing now the praise of a constant wife) if I had bene but almost ready. But the future time may agayne reueale as fit a meanes heereafter for the perfourmance of the
same:
.
. if so it {S|E]eme good to him that moderateth
. all. Conc{E|R]ning this booke which I haue
. presumed to {D|E]dicate to the safe protection
. of your acc[U]stomed courtesies; if yee aske
. me for the p[E]rsons: I am altogether ignorant
. of them, an[D] haue set them downe onely as I
. finde them [NAMED] or disciphered in my author.
. For the [TRUETH] of his action, if you enquire,
. I will more fully *DEliVER* my opinion hereafter. ..................................................
. . . . <= 35 =>
.
. ifsoi t {S|E] em e .go odtohim thatmoderatetha
. llCon c {E|R] ni n .gt hisbook ewhichIhauepres
. umedt o {D|E] di c .at etothes afeprotectionof
. youra c c [U] st o .me dcourte siesifyeeaskeme
. forth e p [E] rs o .ns Iamalto getherignoranto
. fthem a n [D] ha u .es etthemd owneonelyasIfin
. dethe m [N A M E D] or disciph eredinmyauthorF
. orthe [T R U E T H] of hisacti onifyouenquireI
. willm. o r e f u l .ly*DEliVER*myopinionhereaf
. ter
----------------------------------------------------
. _WILLOBIE HIS AVISA_ (1594) CANT. 49
. . . H. W. the first assault.
.
. Yo{U} are the chieftaine, {T}hat haue layd
. This h[E]auie siege to stren[G]thlesse fort,
. And fa[N]cy that (MY WILL BE)t{R|A]yd,
. Hath lent dispa{I|R]e his strongest po{R|T]:
. Your glauncing ey{E|S] as Cannon shot,
. Haue pearst my hart, and freedome got. .........................................
. . <= 17 =>
.
. Y. o {U} a r e t h e c h i e f t a i
. n. e,{T} h a t h a u e l a y d T h i
. s. h [E] a u i e s i e g e t o s t r
. e. n [G] t h l e s s e f o r t A n d
. f. a [N] c y t h a t(M Y W I L L B E)
. t {R}[A] y d H a t h l e n t d i s p
. a {I}[R] e h i s s t r o n g e s t p
. o {R}[T] Y o u r g l a u n c i n g e
. y {E}[S] a s C a n n o n s h o t
.
[STRANGE] -17
{UT} . . . 17
{RIRE} . . 17: "to laugh" (French) ................................................
[Note that _Willobie his Avisa_ itself
explicitly contains the word *STRANGE* 17 times!] -------------------------------------------------------
. P. Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses, (Golding/Oxford)
.
. Too the Right Honourable and his singular good Lorde
. [R]obert [E]arle of [LEYCES]ter, Baron of Denbygyh,
. Knyght of the moste noble order of the Garter etc.,
. Arthur Goldyng gent, wisheth continuance of health,
. with prosperous estate and fcelicitie. ...........................................................
. . . . Book 3 (Actaeon & Diana)
.
. The Damsels at the sight of man quite out of countnance dasht,
.(Bicause they EVERichone were BARE and naked to the quicke)
. Did beate their handes against their breasts, and cast out such a shricke,
. That all the wood did ring thereof: and clinging to their dame
. Did all they could to hide both hir and eke them[S]elves fro shame.
. But Ph[E]be was of personage so [C]omly and so tall,
. That b[Y] the middle of hir neck[E] she overpeerd them al[L].
. Such colour as appear[E]s in Heaven by Phebus b[R]oken rayes
. Directly shining on the Cloudes, or such as is alwayes
. The colour of the Morning Cloudes before the Sunne doth show,
. Such sanguine colour in the face of Phoebe gan to glowe
. There standing naked in his sight. Who though she had hir gard
. Of Nymphes about hir: yet she turnde hir bodie from him ward. .............................................
. . <= 19 =>
.
. .D. i d a l l t h e y c o u l d t o h i
. .d. e b o t h h i r a n d e k e t h e m
. [S] e l v e s f r o s h a m e B u t P h
. [E] b e w a s o f p e r s o n a g e s o
. [C] o m l y a n d s o t a l l,T h a t b
. [Y] t h e m i d d l e o f h i r n e c k
. [E] s h e o v e r p e e r d t h e m a l
. [L].S u c h c o l o u r a s a p p e a r
. [E] s i n H e a v e n b y P h e b u s b
. [R] o k e n r a y e s
.
[R.E.LEYCES.] -19 : Prob. in Metamorphoses ~ 1 in 60
(Dedicated to [R]obert [E]arle of [LEYCES]ter!) ................................................
[R.E.LEYCES.] shortest skip in KJV: 1491 --------------------------------------------------------- https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/unpacking-merry-wives/

Unpacking Merry Wives of Windsor
Posted by Robert Brazil : SOF October 7, 1999 ........................................
. In Merry Wives (Folio ) Act II, scene 1, there is a reference
. from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to the mythological hunter Actaeon
. and his pack of dogs, among which is one named “Ringwood.” ..........................................................
PISTOL. He woos both high and low, both rich and poor,
. Both young and old, one with another, Ford;
. He loves the gallimaufry. Ford, perpend.
.
FORD. Love my wife!
.
PISTOL. With liver burning hot. Prevent, or go thou,
. Like Sir Actaeon he, with Ringwood at thy heels. ..........................................................
Ringwood is a name unique to the first English translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

The historical credit for the translation goes to Arthur Golding, but there is mounting evidence that the brilliant and youthfully exuberant translation was actually done by Golding’s nephew, the teenaged Edward deVere. Many Oxfordians find it unlikely
that the starchy Calvinist Golding did more than edit or guide, with possible disapproval, his nephew’s bawdy translation, one that set a new standard for bizarre extrapolation.

In myth, Actaeon traveled with a large pack of dogs, all given colorful names in the original Greek version, names that were adapted by Ovid for the Latin version. But, as Betty Sears has pointed out, the English translator took the names into a new
dimension.

The final dog is named Ringwood in the original Vere/Golding translation (not “Kingwood”, as is given in the modern reprint edited by Nims; 20). In the original the line is given:
" … the tother Chorle who ever gnoorring went,/
. And Ringwood with a shyrle loud mouth the which he freely spent,/
. with divers mo whose names to tell it were but losse of tyme.”

Ringwood is the invention of Vere/Golding; it’s not in Ovid.
Teasing out the name Ringwood from implications in the Latin and
Greek was a clever creative move on the part of the translator.

“et acutae vocis Hylactor quosque referre mora est…. ”

“et acutae vocis Hylactor” = “and shrill voiced Barker”

“quosque referre mora est” = “and others whom it were to long to name”

As Betty Sears points out in her 1997 publication Harts, “Hounds, & Hedingham,” Ringwood was the name of a forest in the environs of Castle Hedingham, ancestral home of the earls of Oxford. Sears offers a compelling study of the Vere connections with
the names of the dogs in Actaeon’s pack that were altered by the English translator for the 1567 version of The Metamorphoses (Book 3, lines 200 and forward). Andrew Hannas, a Latin scholar, has contributed the following analysis:

“Actually, there is an etymological suggestion, though probably not accurate, of ‘wood’ in “Hylactor” [from Greek ‘hylakteo—‘bark, howl,’ etc.], as “hyle” in Greek means “wood[s], forest” (LiddellScott). “Ringwood” could be
a colorful if somewhat fanciful attempt to give “barker” by its “etymology”–a dog that “howls in the wood”–as opposed to merely rendering the name by that of a familiar forest.>>
---------------------------------------------------------- http://hollowaypages.com/jonson1692cynthia.htm
.
. Cynthia's REVEls. OR, The Fountain of Self-Love.
. A COMICAL SATYR. First Acted in the Year 1600.
. By the then CHILDREN of QUEEN ELIZABETH's CHAPPEL.
. With the Allowance of the Master of REVEls.
.
. The Author B. J.
. Nasutum volo, nolo polyposum. Mart.
.
. TO THE SPECIAL *FOUNTAIN of MANNERS* , ........................................................
AMORPH(o)US, a. [Gr. ; priv. + form.]
. Having no determinate form; of irregular; shapeless. ........................................................
AMORPHUS: ...infinite more of
*inferiour Persons, as COUNTS* and others: it was my
chance (the Emperor detain'd by some exorbitant Af-
fair) to wait him the fifth part of an Hour, or much
near it. In which time (retiring my self into a Bay-
window) the beauteous Lady Annabel, Niece to the
Empress, and Sister to the King of Arragon, who having
nEVER before eyed me, (but only heard the common re-
port of my VERtuE, Learning, and Travel) fell into that
extremity of Passion, for my love, that she there imme-
diately swooned: Physicians were sent for, she had
to her Chamber, so to her Bed; where (languishing
some few Days) after many times calling upon me,

*with my Name in her LIPS* , she expir'd.

As that (I must mourningly say)
is the only Fault of my Fortune, that, as it
hath *EVER* been my hap to be sued to, {B}y all
La[D]ies, and Be{A}uties, w(H|E]re I have {C}ome;
so, I n(E|V]er yet s{O}journ'd, or (R|E]sted i{N}
that place, (O|R] part of the World, wh[E]re some
high-born, admirable, fair Feature died not for my Love. ....................................................
. . . <= 16 =>
.
. {B}y_a_l_l L a[D]i e S A n d B e
. {A}u_t_i e s w(H|E]r E I h a v e
. {C O M E S}o I n(E|V]E R y e t s
. {O}j_o u r n d o r(R|E]s t e d i
. {N}t_h a t p L a c e(O|R]p a r t
. {O}f_t h e W O r l d w h[E]r e s
. -o-m e

high-born, admirable, fair Feature died not for my Love.

{BACONO} 16 {1,900,000} = from BACON ("F.B.")
[DEVERE] 17. {640,000}
(HERO) 17 in ~100,000 letters ....................................................
CUPID: So Hercules might challenge priority of us both, because he
can throw [T]he bar farther, or [L]ift more join'd st[O]ols at the
arm's en[D], than we. If this mi[G]ht carry it, then w[E], who have
made the whole body of divinity tremble at the twang of our bow,
and enforc'd Saturnius himself to lay by his curled front,
thunder, and three-fork'd fires, and put on a masking suit,
too light for a reveller of eighteen to be seen in -- ....................................
. . . <= 15 =>
.
. [T] h e b a r f a r t h e r,o r
. [L] i f t m o r e j o i n'd s t
. [O] o l s a t t h e a r m's e n
. [D],t h a n w e.I f t h i s m i
. [G] h t c a r r y i t,t h e n w
. [E],w h o h a v e m a d e t h e
. .w. h o l e b o d y

[TLODGE] 15 {1,060,000} in ~100,000 letters ..................................................................
<<The last literary reference to [T]homas [LODGE] was made by
Ben Jonson in Cynthia's REVEls wherein he satirizes Lodge in
the person of *ASOTUS*, the prodigal.>> -Sister Grace Maria

<<In 1891, E G. Fleay suggested that Thomas Nashe had [T]homas [LODGE]
in mind in the section of Pierce Penilesse (1592) that describes "The
prodigall yoong Master" (margin) and begins "A yoong Heyre or Cockney,
that is his Mothers Darling, if hee haue playde the waste-good at tInnes of the Court or about London....">>
------------------------------------------------------
Mere's Palladis Tamia (1598): . . . "these are the most passionate
among us to bewail & bemoan the perplexities of Love, Henrie
Howard Earl of Surrey, Sir Thomas Wyat the elder, Sir Francis
Brian, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir *EDWARD DYER*
, Spencer, Daniel, Drayton, Shakespeare, Whetstone, etc." .................................................
____ Palladis Tamia. (continued)
.
As Actaeon was wooried of his owne hounds:
so is *Tom NASH* of his Ile of Dogs.
Dogges were the death of Euripedes, but bee not disconsolate
gallant young Juvenall, Linus, the sonne of Apollo died the same
death. Yet God forbid that so brave a witte should so basely
perish, thine are but paper dogges, neither is thy banishm-
[E]nt like Ovi[D]s, eternall[Y] to convers[E] with the ba[R]barous
Getes. Therefore comfort thyselfe sweete Tom. with Ciceros
glorious return to Rome, and with the counsel Aeneas
gives to his seabeaten soldiors. Lib. I. Aeneid. ................................
_______ <= 10 =>
.
. .T. h y b a n i s h m
. [E] n t l i k e O v i
. [D] s,e t e r n a l l
. [Y] t o c o n v e r s
. [E] w i t h t h e b a
. [R] b a r o u s G e t

[EDYER] 10
-------------------------------------------------------------- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia%27s_Revels

<<Cynthia's Revels, or The Fountain of Self-Love is a late
Elizabethan stage play, a satire written by Ben Jonson.

Editor A. C. Judson argued that Jonson modeled this play
(for him, an atypically unrealistic work) on the plays
of John Lyly, specifically Lyly's Galathea, Midas, Sapho & Phao,
and Endymion. Among many resemblances & relationships, Jonson's
*PAGES* in Cynthia, "Cupid, *MORUS* , and the rest, are repetitions
of Samias, Dares, & Epiton" in Endymion. Though Jonson refers to
Lyly's plays as umbrae, plays long dead, Judson disputes the view
of other critics that Jonson was satirizing or ridiculing Lyly.

The play begins with three *PAGES* disputing over the black *CLOAK*
usually worn by the actor who delivers the prologue. They draw lots
for the *CLOAK*, and one of the losers, Anaides, starts telling
the audience what happens in the play to come; the others try to
suppress him, interrupting him and putting their hands over his
mouth. Soon they are fighting over the *CLOAK* and criticizing
the author and the spectators as well.

In the play proper, the goddess Diana, or Cynthia, has ordained
a "solemn revels" in the valley of Gargaphie in Greece. The gods
Cupid & Mercury appear, and they too start to argue. Mercury has
awakened *ECHO* , who weeps for Narcissus, and states that a drink
from Narcissus's spring causes the drinkers to "Grow dotingly
enamored of themselves." The courtiers and ladies assembled
for the Cynthia's revels all drink from the spring.

*ASOTUS*, a foolish spendthrift who longs to become a courtier and a
master of fashion and manners, also drinks from the spring; emboldened
by vanity and self-love, he challenges all comers to a competition of
"court compliment." The competition is held, in four phases, and the
courtiers are beaten. Two symbolic masques are performed within the
play for the assembled revelers. At their conclusion, Cynthia
(representing Queen Elizabeth) has the dancers unmask and
shows that vices have masqueraded as virtues. She sentences
them to make reparation and to purify themselves
by bathing in the spring at Mount *HELICON* .

The figure of Actaeon in the play may represent Robert Devereux,
2nd Earl of Essex, while Cynthia's lady in waiting *ARETE*
may be Lucy, Countess of Bedford, one of Elizabeth's
ladies in waiting as well as Jonson's patroness.>>

"And then there's a retired scholar there, you would not wish
a thing to be better contemn'd of a society of gallants, than
it is; and he applies his service, good gentleman, to the Lady
Arete, or Virtue, a poor nymph of Cynthia's train, that's scarce
able to buy herself a gown; you shall see her play in a black
robe anon: a creature, that, I assure you, is no less scorn'd
than himself. Where am I now? at a stand!" -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.nexusmagazine.com/ringlords2.html

<<In the 12th-century, MELUSINE's descendant, Robert de Vere,
3rd Earl of Oxford & pretender to the Earldom of Huntingdon, was
appointed as King Richard I's Steward of the forest lands of Fitzooth.
As Lord of the Greenwood & titular HERNE of the Wild Hunt, he was a
popular people's champion of the Sidhé heritage - as a result of which
he was outlawed for taking up arms against King John. It was he who, subsequently styled Robin Fitzooth, became the prototype for Robin
Hood.

Of all the monarchs who ever sat upon the throne of England, the Tudor
Queen, Elizabeth I, was by far the most in tune with ancient cultures
and wood lore. She was even called the Faerie Queene and, before being
formally crowned, she was installed by the people as their Queen
of the Greenwood. This was an ancient ritual of the Shining Ones
- the Elven Race of the Albi-gens. The ceremony was conducted
in the mist of early dawn in the depths of Windsor Forest and,
to facilitate the installation, the customary Robin Hood
legacy of the House of Vere was brought into play.

At that time, the Queen's Lord Chamberlain was Edward de Vere of Loxley,
17th Earl of Oxford, and it was his office to invest Elizabeth by first deposing the Caille Daouine. This was the traditional King of the Forest
(whose name had given rise to Scotland's Pictish realm of Caledonia)

- the mighty Stag of the Seven Tines,

upon whose back Lord Vere rode into the ceremonial clearing.>> -------------------------------------------------------------
The Story of Circe and Odysseus -- Homer http://homepage.smc.edu/cramer_timothy/story_of_circe_and_odysseus.htm

"Thence we sailed sadly on, glad to have escaped death, though we had
lost our comrades, and came to the Aeaean island, where Circe lives a
great and cunning goddess who is own sister to the magician Aeetes-
for they are both children of the sun by Perse, who is daughter to
Oceanus. We brought our ship into a safe harbour without a word, for
some god guided us thither, and having landed we there for two days
and two nights, worn out in body and mind. When the morning of the
third day came I took my spear and my sword, and went away from the
ship to reconnoitre, and see if I could discover signs of human
handiwork, or hear the sound of voices. Climbing to the top of a high
look-out I espied the smoke of Circe's house rising upwards amid a
dense forest of trees, and when I saw this I doubted whether, having
seen the smoke, I would not go on at once and find out more, but in
the end I deemed it best to go back to the ship, give the men their
dinners, and send some of them instead of going myself.

"When I had nearly got back to the ship some god took pity upon my
solitude, and sent a fine antlered stag right into the middle of my
path. He was coming down his pasture in the forest to drink of the
river, for the heat of the sun drove him, and as he passed I struck
him in the middle of the back; the bronze point of the spear went
clean through him, and he lay groaning in the dust until the life went
out of him. Then I set my foot upon him, drew my spear from the wound,
and laid it down; I also gathered rough grass and rushes and twisted
them into a fathom or so of good stout rope, with which I bound the
four feet of the noble creature together; having so done I hung him
round my neck and walked back to the ship leaning upon my spear, for
the stag was much too big for me to be able to carry him on my
shoulder, steadying him with one hand. As I threw him down in front of
the ship, I called the men and spoke cheeringly man by man to each of
them. 'Look here my friends,' said I, 'we are not going to die so much
before our time after all, and at any rate we will not starve so long
as we have got something to eat and drink on board.' On this they
uncovered their heads upon the sea shore and admired the stag, for he
was indeed a splendid fellow. Then, when they had feasted their eyes
upon him sufficiently, they washed their hands and began to cook him
for dinner.

"Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun we stayed
there eating and drinking our fill, but when the sun went down and it
came on dark, we camped upon the sea shore. When the child of morning,
fingered Dawn, appeared, I called a council and said, 'My friends, we
are in very great difficulties; listen therefore to me. We have no
idea where the sun either sets or rises, so that we do not even know
East from West. I see no way out of it; nevertheless, we must try and
find one. We are certainly on an island, for I went as high as I could
this morning, and saw the sea reaching all round it to the horizon; it
lies low, but towards the middle I saw smoke rising from out of a
thick forest of trees.'
-------------------------------------------
Michael Groden - Notes on James Joyce's Ulysses
Circe: Homeric Parallel
http://publish.uwo.ca/~mgroden/notes/homer15.html

In Book 10 of The Odyssey, Odysseus recounts his adventures with
Aeolus and with the Lestrygonians and then describes his landing on
Circe's island. Odysseus and his men are in a state of profound
depression, "sick at heart, tasting our grief" (10:143; Fitzgerald, p.
181), as a result of the tantalizing view of Ithaca achieved with
Aeolus's help and of the disastrous encounter with the Lestrygonians.
They rest "cloaked in desolation / upon the waste sea beach" (10:179; Fitzgerald, p. 182), and Odysseus kills "a stag with noble
antlers" (10:158; ; Fitzgerald, p. 182) on which they feast.
Eventually Odysseus divides his crew into two platoons, one under his leadership, one led by Eurylochus. The leaders draw lots and the fate
of exploring the island falls to Eurylochus. Eurylochus and his men
discover Circe's hall, where all save Eurylochus are transformed into
hogs by Circe's "foul magic" (10:247; Fitzgerald, p. 184). Eurylochus
escapes to warn Odysseus, who then approaches Circe's hall alone. He
is met by Hermes and accepts a magic herb, moly, to protect him from
Circe's magic; Hermes also tells Odysseus that he must make Circe
swear to release his men and to perform "no witches' tricks" (10:300; Fitzgerald, p. 186) lest he, too, be "unmanned" by her. Odysseus
confronts Circe, whose magic fails, no match for his moly. Odysseus
threatens her, and she swears that she will not harm him and that she
will release his men. Not only does she keep her oath, but she also
royally entertains Odysseus and his crew "until a year grew
fat" (10:467; Fitzgerald, p. 191). Finally Odysseus's men urge him to
"shake off this trance" (10:472; Fitzgerald, p. 191). He does, and
Circe advises him to visit the underworld (Hades) to consult Tiresias.
When Odysseus returns with Tiresias's prophecy, Circe helps him
further with advice about the Sirens and Scylla and Charybdis.

(from Don Gifford with Robert J. Seidman, "Ulysses" Annotated: Notes
for James Joyce's "Ulysses" [Berkeley: University of California Press,
1988], p. 452. The first numbers following quotes from The Odyssey
[for example, 1:115] refer to book and line numbers in the Greek text;
English translations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Odyssey,
translated by Robert Fitzgerald [New York: Doubleday, 1961]) -------------------------------------------------------------
. The Stag of Windsor
http://www.dragoncourt.org/ringasset/ch1_04.asp
.
<<Before Elizabeth was crowned by Bishops, she underwent coronation by
the people. Attending the ceremony were a host of "Wild Forest Dwellers"
who'd come to bless the new Queen. Later in her reign she attended a
curious ceremony in the Forest of Windsor Great Park. Seated before a
pavilion in a clearing one Spring morning Queen Elizabeth, with her
complicity & consent presided over one of the most ancient druidic &

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