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Harley MS 1221

Record Id:
040-002047050
Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
040-002047050
MDARK:
ark:/81055/vdc_100000000652.0x0002d7
LARK:
SLARK:
Format:
ISAD(G)
Reference (shelfmark):
Harley MS 1221
Title:
Moral, literary, and political tracts
Scope & Content:

Miscellaneous collection of essays, verse, speeches, and political papers. Includes two printed tracts on the death of Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex.

Contents:

f. 1*: Contents list

ff. 1-12v: Copy of A System of Ethicks, by Charles Morton (1627-1698), minister and teacher at Newington Green Dissenting Academy, and later Vice-President of Harvard College. Dated at head of first folio 7 August 1681, and signed at end of f. 12v, ‘Ed. D’Oyly, 16 November 1681’, probably the name of a student who copied the work. With pen trials in the margins.

ff. 12v-14: ‘A System of Oeconomicks’, on family and household relations, in four chapters. In the same hand as the preceding ‘System of Ethicks’.

ff. 15-55: Concerning nobility, by John Dodderidge.

ff. 56-64: Headed: ‘The Discourse of John-Baptista [illegible], Venetian, Advocate for the Duke of Urbin at Venice; concerninge the Ecclesiastical power and monarchy of the Romane Court’.

ff. 65-69: Character studies:

  • Character of a Puritan.
  • Character of a Church-Papist (i.e. of a papist who comes to the Church of England).
  • Concerning riches.
  • Character of a covetous man.
  • Character of a courtier.
  • Character of a virgin.
  • Character of a widow.
  • Character of an honest and modest woman

ff. 70-80: Epitaphs and other short poems:

  • Epitaph on Queen Anne. ‘In obitum Annae Reginae’. Latin (f. 70r).
  • Epitaph on the child of the Deputy of Ireland, by Sir John Davies. Beginning ‘As carefull nurses in theire beds do lay’ (f. 70r).
  • Epitaph on Prince Henry’. ‘In obitum Henrici Principis’. Latin (f. 70v).
  • Epitaph on Lady Pembroke, by William Browne of Tavistock (f. 70v).
  • On the death of Mr. Barker of Hammon, and his wife who dyed both together, by George Herbert. Begins ‘Here lye two Bodyes happy in their kinds’. Untitled and unascribed. Edited and attributed to George Herbert in James Doelman, ‘Herbert's couplet?’, Times Literary Supplement (19 February 2010), p. 15.
  • He that hath heard a prince’s secrecy, by John Hoskyns. Untitled copy (f. 71v).
  • Epitaph on an unknown person. Begins ‘A.B. though heere thou lyest in little roome’. Annotation: ‘Dyed of ye stone’ (f. 71v).
  • Epitaph on a lawyer (f. 72r).
  • Epitaph on an unknown person. Begins ‘Here she doth lie that reconciled the strife’ (f. 72v).
  • An enigmatical epitaph (f. 72r).
  • Epitaph on an unknown person. Begins ‘Mourn not for me, I am in joy’ (f. 73r).
  • Epitaph on Peter Aretine, the Tuscan poet (i.e. Aretino) (f. 73r).
  • Epitaph on Henry Morris (f. 73v).
  • Epitaph on Monsieur de Chartres (f. 73v).
  • On a Bishop who was an alchemist (f. 73v).
  • Sir Walter Raleigh, Epitaph on the Earl of Salisbury. Untitled copy beginning ‘Heere Hobbinoll lyes our Shepeheard whilere’ (f. 74r).
  • Upon the Duke of Buckingham being made High Admiral (f. 74v).
  • Upon the House of Howard (f. 74v).
  • Upon the appearance of a comet (f. 75).
  • A New-Yeares Gift to the Duke of Buckingham, by Richard Corbet. Headed ‘The Deane of Christs Church to Marques Buckingham’. Subscribed by Dr Richard Corbet [i.e. the Dean], New Years Day, 1621 (f. 75v).
  • In Quendam Anniversariorum Scriptorem’, by Richard Corbet. Headed ‘Ad Authorem de Anniversarijs eisdem, sive Animadversarijs, sive Adversarijs, in Henricum Principem’ (f. 76r).
  • ‘Jacobo Magnae Britanniae Regi Maximo Clementissimo’, by John Hoskins. Headed ‘John Hoskin’s newyeares gift to the King’s Ma[jes]tie’. Latin (f. 76v).
  • English translation of the preceding poem, by John Hoskyns. Begins ‘An hundred nights twice told are come & gone’) (f. 77).
  • Elegy on the death of the Countess of Rutland, by Francis Beaumont. Untitled copy (ff. 78r-79r).
  • Ad Comitissam Rutlandiae, by Francis Beaumont. Untitled copy (ff. 79v-80r).
  • Ballad upon the removing of Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam and Viscount St Albans, from the office of Lord Chancellor, by John Hoskyns. Untitled copy (f. 80v).

ff. 81-89: Petitions, addresses and resolutions of the House of Commons, 1628. Includes:

  • The Remonstrance of the House of Commons touching the dangerous estate of the kingdome and the great grievances of the subject. Presented to the King, 17 June 1628. This lacks the list of ships taken by the enemies, or otherwise lost, within 3 years, which was annexed to it (ff. 81-86).
  • The Petition of both Houses of Parliament for a General Fast; delivered by them to the King at Whitehall, 28 January 1628 (f. 87).
  • ‘The Answeare of the House of Commons presented to his Majesty at Whitehall, 2 February 1628, by a Committee of Twelve’. An address to the King where the Commons resolve to postpone their grant of tonnage and poundage until the King has provided for security of religion (ff. 88-89r).
  • Resolution of the House of Commons 29 January 1628 concerning the sense of the Articles of Religion (f. 89r).

ff. 90-91: Ballads and sonnets some on the times of King James I. Includes:

  • ‘The Parliament sitts, with a synod of witts’ (f. 90r).
  • Despayring Love (f. 90r).
  • False love (f. 90v).
  • Sir Walter Raleigh, ICUR, good Mounser Carr (f. 91r).

ff. 92v-93r: Ballad against maypoles, ‘A May pooles speech to a traveller’. Begins: ‘Oh passenger knowst thou not mee, where is thy Cap, where is thy knee?’

f. 94r: Letter of the Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon to the House of Lords on being accused of bribery.

ff. 94v-95r: Letter of Sir Walter Raleigh to Sir Robert Carr (later Earl of Somerset) who had begged his estate.

ff. 95v-96r: Letter of Sir Walter Raleigh to his wife the day before his execution.

ff. 96v-99r: Apology to King James I by Sir Charles Cornwallis, 22 June 1614.

ff. 99v-101r: Letter of Sir Charles Cornwallis to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London.

f. 101v: Deathbed speech of Sir Vincent Corbet to his children and friends.

f. 102: Untitled poem on the visit of Frederick, Elector Palatine to the University of Cambridge, by George Herbert. Begins: ‘Roma, tuum nomen quam non pertransijt Oram’. With a translation on the verso.

f. 103: Short poems, anagrams, epigrams, etc. in Latin and English.

ff. 104-105: Essay of a King, by Francis Bacon.

ff. 106-108r: Petition for his brother’s freedom by Francis Phillips. Petition to King James I for his brother’s release from the Tower of London.

ff. 108v-109r: Extract from the will of Sir Anthony Benn, Recorder of London.

f. 110r: Upon the sudden restraint of the Earl of Somerset then falling from favour, by Sir Henry Wotton. Verses on Somerset’s imprisonment in the Tower of London. Untitled copy with English and Latin texts.

f. 110v-111: Remonstrance proposed to have been delivered to King Charles I by the House of Commons.

f. 112: Rough draft of a protestation or combination; intended against the King and the royalists about the beginning of the Civil War.

ff. 113-128: Argument concerning ship money by Judge George Croke in the Exchequer Chamber before the Judges of England, 14 April 1638.

ff. 129-191: Short account, with an extract of the History of Sweden by John Robinson (etc.). Dated 25 February 1692/3.

ff. 192-215: Proceedings concerning the divorce between Lady Frances Howard and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex).

ff. 216-251: Printed tract: Essex’s Innocency & Honour vindicated: or Murther, Subornation Perjury, & Oppression, justly charged on the Murtherers of that Noble Lord & true Patriot Arthur Capell late Earl of Essex, by Laurence Braddon of the Middle Temple (1690).

ff. 252-289: Printed tract, caption title: An Account of the Death of the Earl of Essex. Quarto. Probably ESTC R202084, attributed variously to Robert Ferguson, Hugh Speke or Laurence Braddon. Dated to c. 1686.

ff. 290-322: Manuscript account of the enquiry into the death of the Earl of Essex, 1689.

Collection Area:
Western Manuscripts
Project / Collection:
Harley Collection
Hierarchy Tree:
[{ "id" : "040-002047050", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 1221: Moral, literary, and political tracts" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
Hierarchy Record Ids:
032-002045828
040-002047050
Is part of:
Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts

 

Harley MS 1221 : Moral, literary, and political tracts
Hierarchy:
032-002045828[1221]/040-002047050
Container:
View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661
Record Type (Level):
File
Extent:
1 volume
Digitised Content:
Languages:
English
Latin
Scripts:
Latin
Start Date:
1600
End Date:
1699
Date Range:
17th century
Era:
CE
Access:

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User Conditions:
Physical Characteristics:

Materials: Paper.

Dimensions: 320 x 240 mm.

Foliation: 1*, 1-322 folios.

Binding: British Museum binding.

Custodial History:

The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (1661-1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (1689-1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts.

Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta Cavendish, née Holles (1694-1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (1715-1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library.

Finding Aids:

A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), I (1808), no. 1221.

Publications:

Manuscript Pamphleteering in Early Stuart England [website] https://mpese.ac.uk/m/BL_Harley_MS_1221.html [Accessed June 2023]

  • ff. 15r-55r: John Dodderidge, Concerning Nobility.
  • ff. 94v-95r: Sir Walter Raleigh, Letter to Sir Robert Carr.
  • ff. 95v-96r : Sir Walter Raleigh: Letter to His Wife.
  • ff. 96v-99r: Sir Charles Cornwallis, Apology to James I.
  • ff. 104r-105r: Sir Francis Bacon?, Essay of a King.
  • ff. 106r-108r: Francis Phellips, Petition for His Brother's Freedom.
  • ff. 113r-128v: George Croke, Argument Concerning Ship Money.

Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700, ed. Peter Beal [website]: https://celm-ms.org.uk/repositories/british-library-harley-1000.html#british-library-harley-1000_id664220 [Accessed June 2023].

  • f. 70r: Sir John Davies, On the Deputy of Ireland his child (‘As carefull mothers doe to sleeping lay’). CELM DaJ 186.
  • f. 70v: William Browne of Tavistock, On the Countess Dowager of Pembroke (‘Underneath this sable herse’). CELM BrW 202.
  • f. 71r: George Herbert, On the death of Mr. Barker of Hammon, and his wife who dyed both together (‘Here lye two Bodyes happy in their kinds’). CELM HrG 290.5.
  • f. 71v: John Hoskyns, He that hath heard a princes Secrecy. CELM HoJ 306.
  • f. 74r: Sir Walter Ralegh, Epitaph on the Earl of Salisbury (‘Here lies Hobinall, our Pastor while ere’). CELM RaW 366.
  • f. 75v: Richard Corbett, A New-Yeares Gift To my Lorde Duke of Buckingham (‘When I can pay my Parents, or my King’). CELM CoR 404.
  • f. 76r: Richard Corbett, In Quendam Anniversariorum Scriptorem (‘Even soe dead Hector thrice was triumph'd on’). CELM CoR 266.
  • ff. 76v-77r: John Hoskyns, Jacobo Magnæ Britanniæ Regi Maximo, Clementissimo (‘Jam mihi bis centum fluxere in carcere noctes’). CELM HoJ 282. Copy, headed ‘John Hoskins Newyeares gift to the Kings Matie:’.
  • f. 77r-v: John Hoskyns, The same in English (‘An hundred nights twice told are come & gone’). CELM HoJ 210.
  • ff. 78r-9r: Francis Beaumont, An Elegy on the Death of the Virtuous Lady, Elizabeth Countess of Rutland (‘I may forget to eat, to drink, to sleep’). CELM BmF 36.
  • ff. 79v-80r: Francis Beaumont, Ad Comitissam Rutlandiae (‘Madam, so may my verses pleasing be’). CELM BmF 7.
  • f. 80v: John Hoskyns, Sr Fra: Bacon. L: Verulam. Vicount St Albons (‘Lord Verulam is very lame, the gout of go-out feeling’). CELM HoJ 220.
  • f. 91r: Sir Walter Raleigh, ICUR, good Mounser Carr. CELM RaW 400.
  • f. 94r: Francis Bacon, Bacon's Humble Submissions and Supplications. CELM BcF 457.
  • ff. 94v-96r: Sir Walter Ralegh, Letter(s). CELM RaW 886.
  • f. 102r-v: George Herbert, Lucus, XXV. Roma. Anagr. (‘Roma, tuum nomen quam non pertransijt Oram’). CELM HrG 318.
  • ff. 104-5: Francis Bacon, An Essay of a King. CELM BcF 703.
  • f. 110r: Sir Henry Wotton, Upon the Sudden Restraint of the Earl of Somerset then falling from favour (‘Dazzled thus with the height of place’). CELM WoH 205.

Material Type:
Archives and Manuscripts
Legal Status:
Not Public Record(s)