1595

The trial and execution of Robert Southwell

By February of this year, the Jesuit poet Robert Southwell has spent two and a half years in jail. During this time he has continuously protested his loyalty to Elizabeth, despite repeated savage torture at the hands of Topcliffe. Before and after his execution friends and Catholic sympathizers petition on his behalf.

It is reported that after his death, when Elizabeth is presented with a book by Southwell on the duty of poets, that she shows "signs of grief."