Raleigh, Sir Walter (1554-1618) Document signed, Isle of Wight, 15th August 1580 Single sheet of laid paper (29.2 x 21.2cm), 14 lines written in brown ink in a secretarial hand, with Ralegh's autograph signature 'W Rawley' at foot, the text reading 'Memorand[um] that I Walter Rawley Gent have had and received this day and yere abovesaide of Sr Edwarde Horsey knight capteyne of the Isle of Wighte for victuall and lodginge for our hundred souldeyrs under my conduction for her Ma[jesties] service in Ireland during the tyme of myne and their aboode in the saide Isle of Wighte. That is to saie from the xxx daye of July in the yere abovesaide untill the xv daie of Auguste viz for fiftene daies at vi s a man by the daye the some of xxxvii ls xs', docketed in a contemporary hand, toned, spotting, old folds, repaired closed tears, faint pencilled annotations to lower half recto

Note: The young Raleigh makes preparations to travel to Ireland to help crush the Desmond rebellion, the venture which rescued him from likely obscurity as the wayward second son of a Devon country family, and propelled him instead into the favour of Elizabeth I, setting him on the path to becoming the soldier, courtier, explorer, scholar and poet, 'the Renaissance man par excellence' (ODNB) perhaps more emblematic of the Elizabethan golden age than any other figure except the sovereign herself. Ralegh's signature is extremely rare; this example notably pre-dates his 'earliest surviving letter, written to William Cecil, Baron Burghley, lord treasurer, from Cork in February 1581' (ibid.). In early 1580 Raleigh served two spells of imprisonment for violent affray. Through the intercession of friends he received a captain's commission in the reinforcements being despatched to Ireland, and there oversaw the reduction and massacre of the garrison at Smerwick, co. Kerry. Among the possessions of the dead he discovered a collection of secret letters, and was ordered to return to London to present his findings at court. Once permanently back in England (after a brief return to Ireland) he quickly established himself as a leading light at Elizabeth's court, and concerned himself with the projected colonisation of the New World.