New Evidence about Nicholas Oudart (1614–1681)

In the absence of any documentary evidence, accounts of Nicholas Oudart, who acted as an official in the employ of Charles I, Mary of Orange and Charles II, have necessarily remained silent about his birthdate and parentage. Little has been added to the information provided by Anthony Wood, who correctly reported that Oudart was born at Mechlin in Brabant, and brought from beyond the seas by sir Henry Wotton but went on to speculate that he may have been the son or nephew of one Nich. Even the most recent account of Oudart, although making use of a fairly wide range of sources, has given little consideration to his origins. It is useless to speculate about when, under what circumstances, or indeed through whose intermediary, young Nicholas was brought from beyond the seas by the diplomatist and poet Sir Henry Wotton who set the path for Oudart's distinguished career in England.