The Babington Plot

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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Sir Francis Walsingham uncovers the Babington Plot to murder Elizabeth I, and discovers that Mary Queen of Scots was a collaborator in the conspiracy. It planned to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and replace her on the throne with Mary. Legend claims that the conspirators planned to build of a tunnel between the house of Anthony Babington, a Catholic devotee of the imprisoned Scottish queen, and nearby Wingfield Manor, where Mary was living under house arrest, though no evidence of such a tunnel has ever been found. Walsingham's discoveries were to lead ultimately not only to the execution of Babington but also to that of Mary herself, in a move that Elizabeth had resisted for the past two decades.

117 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "The Babington Plot". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 February 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=15333, accessed 28 March 2024.]

15333 The Babington Plot 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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