‘Lying Abroad’ by Carol Chillington Rutter review

In 1604 the English diplomat Henry Wotton (1568-1639) made a mistake which threatened to ruin his career. Travelling through Germany en route to his new job as ambassador in Venice, he provided an entry for a friend’s autograph book characterising the diplomat as ‘an honest man sent to lie abroad for the sake of his country’. The problem was that the Latin into which Wotton had translated the quip lacked the ambiguity of English, and merely suggested that an ambassador was dishonest. It came back to haunt him when it was cited in a scurrilous attack upon James I by the Catholic polemicist Caspar Schoppe in 1611. Wotton was forced to make both a private and a public apology, and the episode has defined his reputation ever since. This is unfortunate because, as Carol Chillington Rutter makes clear in this vivid biography, he merits closer scrutiny.

Such a re-evaluation is timely given the recent revival of interest in diplomatic history. Central to this ‘new diplomatic history’ is the desire to know more about its characters: to recover their backgrounds, connections, and attitudes (or ‘mental worlds’), and to develop a rounded picture of ambassadorial life, rather than examine only formal negotiations. Wotton provides a wonderful case study, and an opportunity to reflect upon the possibility that the 17th century witnessed crucial developments in the art of diplomacy.

Wotton was certainly an extraordinary and colourful personality. Although his family was well connected, he was also a younger son who needed to make his own way in the world, and it was important that he possessed the skills – eloquence and the capacity to supply ‘intelligence’ – that were vital for an ambassador. He was evidently at ease within elevated circles, both political and intellectual, both at home and abroad. Some of these relationships brought risks, not least his duties as agent and then secretary to Elizabeth I’s sometime favourite, Robert Devereux, earl of Essex. Although not directly implicated in Essex’s so-called rebellion in 1601, Wotton thought it wise to go into exile until he was able to find favour with the queen’s likely successor, James VI of Scotland. He achieved this by undertaking a dramatic journey from Tuscany to Scotland, under an assumed name, in order to warn the king about an assassination plot, an act which reveals Wotton to have been a political animal rather than merely a bureaucratic functionary – and one with a flair for the theatrical.

All of this is crucial for understanding Wotton’s career once he became James’ ambassador to Venice, and for the claim that this involved the ‘invention’ of diplomacy. Wotton’s time in La Serenissima certainly suggests that such representatives developed their own political personalities, rather than simply following instructions. Rutter rightly notes, without dwelling enough upon, the necessity for Wotton to deal with business that was not covered by his explicit orders, not least the need to assist English subjects who encountered difficulties abroad. This, rather than ‘foreign policy’ and formal treaties, was what preoccupied diplomats most of the time; Rutter recognises that such ‘consular’ matters were quotidian but also highly complex, and that Wotton handled them with skill.

More obviously, Wotton’s case highlights the need to explore what Rutter calls ‘undiplomatic diplomacy’. This means being attentive to the time and energy that was devoted to research and networking, intelligence-gathering and letter-writing, and to strategic and tactical considerations that arose in unfolding and messy conjunctures. Central here was a crisis: the ‘Venetian interdict’ of 1606-07, the pope’s censure of the Republic for exceeding its legitimate power by exerting control over ecclesiastical affairs. This raised questions of international relevance, not least in Britain where the requirement for English Catholics to swear an Oath of Allegiance prompted similar jurisdictional issues. This was a profound test of people’s loyalty – to the king or the pope – and it generated real heat. It also showed how diplomatic matters could be fought in public rather than merely in council chambers and the corridors of power. The interdict controversy generated a ‘war of writings’, one with which Wotton meddled in support of Venice with a pamphlet that contained reportage as well as political commentary, and that sought to influence public opinion. Wotton’s role thus involved what would now be called ‘public diplomacy’ or ‘soft power’, culminating in the occasion when he formally presented Venetian senators with a book by James himself, defending the oath and implicitly endorsing Venetian resistance. This was not just controversial but also performative, and it raised questions about whether – and how far – ambassadors could and should use their own discretion about how to proceed. This was perilous territory, with the possibility of offending hosts as well as employers, and Wotton emerges as someone who could be rash and headstrong. This is not to say that he lacked what it took to be a successful diplomat (as his unfortunate quip from 1604 might suggest). Rather, the affair of the ‘king’s book’ forces us to confront issues that were – or were increasingly becoming – central to ambassadorial affairs.

The biographical approach to diplomacy has advantages and limitations. Concentrating upon a career like Wotton’s, with its rich paper trail, permits the reconstruction of lively episodes and colourful characters, but not a wider discussion of key issues. Rutter explores only a portion of Wotton’s career, eschewing his later years in Venice and his subsequent postings, and leaving aside comparisons to other ambassadors. As a result, the claim that Wotton ‘invented’ diplomacy is not fully developed. Nevertheless, in highlighting the need to grapple with both the style and the substance of ambassadorial life, and with the culture and people involved, Rutter has produced a suggestive and very readable book, and one that does a great deal to enhance our understanding of the man behind the notorious quote.

• Lying Abroad: Henry Wotton and the Invention of Diplomacy
  Carol Chillington Rutter
  Manchester University Press, 240pp, £22.95
  Buy from bookshop.org (affiliate link)

Jason Peacey is Professor of Early Modern British History at UCL.