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ASSER, John.
Aelfredi regis res gestae (with) WALSINGHAM, Thomas. Historia Brevis (and)
Ypodigma neustriae vel Normania.
London; Henry Binneman, John Day, 1574.
£2750.00
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FIRST EDITIONS folio, three works in one. Pp. (xii) 40 (x); (xii) 458 (x); (ii) 199 (v). First work mainly Anglo-Saxon letter, else largely Roman. First title with portrait of Alfred surrounded by elaborate compartment with at top Time, Truth and Antiquity above a terrestrial globe, figures of Ptolemy, Marius, Strabo etc and allegorical figures of the science surrounding, a bearded Memory (perhaps John Day) at foot, probably by the miniaturist John Bettes and one of the great Elizabethan t-ps (McKerrow & Ferguson 99), second title within compartment of mouldings with festoon of fruit at corners, Binneman's mermaid at foot (McKerrow & Ferguson 147), last within figurative architectural border, royal arms at head, boys in landscape within compartment at foot (McKerrow & Ferguson 76). Woodcut portrait busts of the seven Dukes of Normandy from Rollo to William the Conqueror on verso, large woodcut initials and ornaments throughout. Numerous early pencil underlinings and marginal marks. A fine thick paper copy in early C18 polished calf, covers double gilt-ruled with corner ornaments, spine gilt beautifully remounted, aer. C19 armorial bookplate of Richard Prime on pastedown, old Quaritch collation note on rear fep. This very handsome volume, a piece of deluxe Elizabethan book production comprises three notable first editions of English history. The first is John Asser's life of Alfred the Great.. Asser was a Welsh monk of St David's who became Bishop of Sherborne. He had a high reputation for learning and was invited by Alfred to join his household, which he did for six months every year. The King and the monk frequently studied together and Alfred refers to Asser in his translation of St Gregory. Asser's firsthand account is our principal authority for Alfred's life. It consists of a chronicle of English history from 849 to 887, and provides an original narrative of Alfred's career to this date. The work was edited by Matthew Parker and it is probably from his interpolations that a number of the famous Alfred legends - like the burning of the cakes – derive.
Thomas Walsingham a monk of St Albans who lived c.1360-1440 was the last representative of that school of medieval historians. His great historical work, the Chronica Maiora, is now lost, all that remains is the author's abbreviated version, published here. The history extends from 1272-1422; the earlier parts are mostly derivative though with some additions and alterations, but for the reigns of Henry IV and especially Henry V it is the chief surviving contemporary history and of considerable authority. Walsingham had access to good information, was unbiased and of trustworthy character. He possessed detailed knowledge of events in England and Normandy unrecorded elsewhere for the period after 1406, was extensively quoted by Holinshed and Stow and thus brought to the mainstream of English history. His Ypodigmas, dedicated to Henry V, comprises a manual of the history of Normandy from the time of Rollo to its recovery by Henry in 1419. Its object was to provide Henry with a summary of history of his predecessors and to furnish a historical precedent for his invasion of France. Walsingham was essentially a chronicler, a painstaking collection of historical facts but we know for example the facts of Wycliffe's career and Watt Tyler's rebellion more from Walsingham than any other single source. STC 863, 25004, 25005. Lowndes I 82 and VII "Abp. Parker's rare volume". Kingsford English Historical lit. Chapter II.
L921
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