Egerton MS 2975

POLITICAL TREATISES by Sir Robert Cotton and others.

1. " The severall opinions of sundrie antiquaries touching the antiquitie, power, order, state, persons, manner and proceedinge of the Highe Courte of Parliament in England ": a composite paper read to the (original) Society of Antiquaries in London. Printed in Thomas Hearne's Collection of Curious Discourses (1771 ed.), p. 292, probably from Harley MS. 305. Other MSS. are Lansdowne 491, f. 22, Stowe 298, f. 143, and 572, f. 8, Add. 22591, f. 111. The authors here named are [Sir John] Dodderidge, ff. 2-12 b, 16-19 ; [Arthur] Agar[del, ff. 13-15 b ; Fra[ncis] Tate, ff. 19 b-23b; [William] Camden, ff. 24-26 b; Joseph Holland, ff. 27-28 ; and Sir Robert Cotton, f. 28 b. Followed (f. 30) by " Other discriptions and occurrences of the Parliament " (beg. " that wee nowe agreeinge with the Scottes name â parliament "), also by Cotton, not printed in Hearne. f. 2.

2. [Considerations of the present state of the Navy, and by what meanes it may be reduced to a better order] : report by Cotton under a commission given by James I in 1608. See the proceedings of the commission in Cotton MS. Julius F. iii. A different draft of the report in the same hand, Add. MS. 9334, f. 20, has some additional matter and Cotton's signature and an index, but does not include the last two sections, " The trewe disciplyne of the Nauie," f. 95 b, and " The generall dutie of the principall officers " (etc.), f. 96 b. f. 34. Paper; ff. iii + 97. Folio. Circ. A.D. 1609. Binding of calf, blind-tooled (17th cent. ?) rebacked. Bookplate of arms, sa., on a bend arg. three lozenges of the first (Carrington) with an escutcheon of pretence, gu. a bar arg. between three unicorns' heads erased, and a bordure of the second. From the Farnborough Fund.