THE HISTORIE OF THE REIGNE OF KING HENRY THE SEVENTH. WRITTEN BY THE RIGHT HON: FRANCIS LORD VERULAM, VISCOUNT S. ALBAN. WHEREUNTO IS NOW ADDED A VERY USEFULL AND NECESSARY TABLE.
London, England: Printed by R[obert]. Y[oung]. and R[ichard]. H[odgkinson]. and are sold by R. Meighen neere the Inner-Temple gate, anno Domini 1641, 1641. Leather-bound. Folio, 11 1/4in. x 7 1/4in. Full contemporary calf double ruled in blind. Scuffing and faint dampstain half-ring to front board. Rubbing to extremities and hinges. Corners moderately bumped. 20 double ruled lines on spine. Crazing to leather toward top of spine. Ink ownership inscription "J.E.R. Hatfield/Nov. 1911" to front pastedown. pp. [14], 248. Lacks frontispiece portrait of Bacon. large chip torn from top of rear free endpaper. Beautiful woodcut architectural title page, trimmed close to outer border. Woodcut decorative initials, headpieces, and tailpieces throughout. Nice wide margins. Pages very clean throughout. (ESTC R11984). Good. Item #79475
The politician and natural philosopher Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Alban (1561-1626) wrote The Historie of...King Henry in 1621, during the most turbulent period of his life. That same year, he had fallen into public disgrace owing to his support of governmental patents and monopolies. Bacon's enemies in parliament impeached and prosecuted him for corruption, although such claims were dubious. King James allowed the trial to continue despite Bacon's desperate pleas. During the trial, Bacon promised to write a good history of England in appeasement to the King. The result was The Historie of...King Henry, dedicated to Prince Charles. Marrku Peltonen writes of the work, "It should be seen in the context of humanist historiography rather than as a precursor of its modern methods...The central lesson of The History of Henry VII was that a ruler must remain open to accident and ready to seize the opportunities it offered" (ODNB). King Henry VII (1457-1509) seized the throne at the momentous 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field. This decisive battle effectively ended the War of the Roses and installed the Tudor monarchy. Bacon's lesson dovetails with his economic and natural philosophical works, as he often advocated for decisive epistemic and economic risk. (ODNB and Wikipedia).
Price: $1,150.00