Why does Queen Elizabeth I have a mouse on her in some pictures?

Answer 1

As a Queen Elizabeth fanatic and a hobbyist historian on the Golden Age period of English history, this is a question that truly piqued my interest. I could not recall any portraits or paintings that depicted Queen Elizabeth with a mouse. The Good Queen Bess often used symbolism in her dress and props - such as having cloth eyes and ears sewn onto her sleeves - meaning that she heard and saw all. So I decided to think about the symbolism of a mouse and came up with "scrutiny" and "order" which would make sense when considering the legacy of Elizabeth I. It has even been considered a power animal. Now I found a reference where a mouse has been used to symbolize "fertility". But Queen Elizabeth would never use symbolism in this manner - as she was a proud Virgin Queen. Then I got to thinking that maybe she was representing herself as the people's queen - the mouse as a symbol of the common citizen (mouse - meek, small). It was time to dig out the reference material.

In one of my books, I quickly discovered a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I with a rodent-type creature near her arm. Underneath the portrait was this title: The Ermine Portrait, 1585, by Nicholas Hilliard. So the rodents that you are seeing in the various paintings of the Virgin Queen are not mice or rats, rather ermines. Back in the Elizabethan Era, ermines were a symbol of royalty. I have included a link below showing the majestic Ermine Portrait. Ermines also symbolized "purity" at the time, which would make sense given that Elizabeth was the Virgin Queen and chose to remain so.

Supposedly there is a needlework panel showing Elizabeth with a rat on her shoulder that was done by Mary Queen of Scots when she was imprisoned by her cousin. Historians have interpreted this as the rat being Mary and Elizabeth being a cat - the cat would eat the rat or in this case, Elizabeth would execute Mary. I am not familiar with this piece; however, Mary was gifted in needlework.