A previous project of mine was inspired by the first book given to Catherine Parr (6th wife of Henry VIII) in 1544 by Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) as a New Year's gift. This book had an embroidered cover. Inside the book were the translated works of Elizabeth. She had translated the Glasse of the Synneful Soul (a poem written by Marguerite of Navarre) from French into English. This book is now owned by the Bodleian Library.
Later, in 1545, Elizabeth gifted another book. This gift was given to her father, King Henry VIII, as a New Year's gift. This book also had an embroidered cover. Inside this book were English prayers that Elizabeth had translated into French, Latin, and Italian.
These two books had been my inspirations for my project. I embroidered the book cover with reversible cross stitch for the square. Then, I did chain stitch embroidery for the initials. For this project, I began learning about bookbinding. I also began to learn about calligraphy. I translated the first 3 paragraphs of Le Miroir de l'ame pecheresse (the Glasse of the Synneful Soul) from French into Spanish, German, and English.
Below are pictures from my book.
English:
German:
Spanish:
French:
