Welcome to the Semper Varia: Representations of Elizabeth Timeline!

Although Elizabeth I’s Latin motto was Semper Eadem (“Always the Same”), the Queen would be more accurately characterized, in both her life and legend, as Semper Varia (“Always Changing”). The Representations of Elizabeth Timeline captures—in a dynamic, interactive fashion—the myriad ways in which the Queen has been represented and their endless variations and perspectives—during her lifetime and in the 400 years since. The Timeline has three bands, stretching from 1533 to the present:

• The Top Band contains color-coded cultural and textual representations of Elizabeth—from poems to portraits, from fiction to film, and from drama to websites, even the Queen’s own self-representations in her letters and speeches.

• The Second Band provides historical context for the entries above. Entries provide important contextual information in British History, in Theater History, and in Film History. The Second Band moves with the Top Band, making it easy to move between a representation and helpful background information about contemporaneous events—for example, Elizabeth’s poem “I Grieve and Dare Not Show My Discontent” and the French Marriage Negotiations. The Second Band also has “duration” entries, displaying a line rather than a dot to represent the duration of a historical event or period.

• The Third Band, in compressed century sections with small markers signifying entries in the Top Band, permits quick and easy scrolling through the timeline.

 The Timeline is designed to be easy and intuitive. These quick tips will get you started:

• ENTRIES: Simply click on the dot or the label of any entry to pop up key information about the entry—including date, author, a brief description, and an image (when available). Much more detail is available, if you are interested, by clicking on the link at the bottom of the pop-up box. Among the themes the Timeline emphasizes are the historical accuracy, the textual tradition, and the gender bias of the representations over time.

• LEGEND: At the top right of the Timeline, you will see a small area (where you found these instructions). By clicking on LEGEND, you will see the color codings for the various entries in both bands.

• FILTERS: By clicking on FILTERS, you can select one or more types of information to view in the Top and Second Bands. For example, if you are interested in film, you can click on “Film, TV, or Video Text” to see only those entries on the Top Band; you can also click on “Film History” in the Second Band to see only those entries. You may mix and match the filtered information, and hit “Clear” to view all entries.

• SEARCH: The Search feature will find any name or term that you enter in either the title or pop-up box for any entry. A list of results will appear on the right of the screen, and if you click on any one result, the Timeline will re-center to that entry and highlight it.

Representations of Elizabeth is a collaborative effort:

• the students in ENGL 292, Winter Term 2014, at Washington and Lee University (Brooke Donnelly, Cara Hayes, Sofia Lauretti, Joseph Liu, Deanna Schreiber, and Allie Weiss),

• the Digital Humanities Action Team at W&L, especially Jeff Knudson and Brandon Bucy, who provide expert technical  support,

• other W&L students, including my WRIT 100 class in Winter 2014,

• and Professor Hank Dobin in the English Department.

Almost all of the entries are researched and posted by students themselves.  The Winter 2014 course project is only the beginning (but a very auspicious one!); the Timeline will be an ongoing effort given the countless entries yet to be made.  Soon, new entries will be welcomed from the scholarly community and interested public at large.

If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact Professor Hank Dobin at Washington and Lee University at hdobin@wlu.edu.