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Truth brought to light: Or, the history of the first 14 years of King James I.: In four parts. I. The happy state of England at His Majesty's Entrance... II. The divorce betwixt the Lady Frances Howard and Robert Earl of Essex... III. A declaration of His Majesty's revenue since he came to the Crown of England... IV. The commissions and warrants for the burning of two Hereticks, newly revived, with two pardons, one for Theophilus Higgons, the other for Sir Eustace Hart.

James I, King of England
London: Printed for Richard Baldwin, 1692

Rare Books & Special Collections
Strong Room Collection SR 942.06 S73

We thank our donor...

Conservation treatment of Truth brought to light... was generously funded by Adopt-a-Book donors, Bob and Kay Moore. Their valued contribution has ensured this 17th century historical narration will be available for future generations of researchers for many years to come.

Synopsis

The only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her husband, Henry Stewart, James Charles Stuart was born at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, in 1566.  He was just one year old when he became King of Scotland, his mother having abdicated the throne upon defeat by rebel Scottish lords.  Mary left the Kingdom, never to see her son again and although James was subsequently isolated, he received a good education, showing an early interest in literature and making use of a library of religious and classical texts.

Ruling Scotland as James VI, the young King became increasingly tired of submitting to Scottish factions and set about establishing his claim to succeed Elizabeth I upon the English throne.  He concluded an alliance with England in 1585-86 and eventually succeeded to the throne in 1603, after Elizabeth’s death.  He ruled England and Ireland as James I, and continued to reign in all three kingdoms until his death in 1625 at the age of 58.

Though he achieved most of his goals as King of Scotland, James failed to understand the English Parliament and repeatedly came into conflict with it.  He may have established peace in England quickly, ending its war with Spain in 1604, but his fondness for lecturing both houses of Parliament about his royal prerogatives did not sit well.  So, when the members refused to grant him a special fund to pay for his indulgences, James simply introduced new customs duties on merchants without seeking the Parliament's consent.[1]  Within four years, James had virtually doubled the debt left by his predecessor.

Despite his flaws, James largely retained the affection of his people who lived in uninterrupted peace in what was termed the Jacobean era.  His financial irresponsibility, disdain for Parliament and cultivation of unpopular favourites have been widely regarded as the underlying basis of the English Civil War.  In light of his Government’s stability in Scotland and his modern views on war and religion, however, many recent historians have begun to reassess and, in effect, rescue his reputation from traditional criticism.[2]

Truth brought to light... is divided into four parts.  The first, ‘The happy state of England…’ is comprised of 34 chapters, each a historical narration of James’ reign, including ‘The condition of the state of England, and the relation it had to other provinces’; ‘The domestic affairs, and of the lascivious courses of such on whom the King had bestowed the honor of knighthood’ and 'The rising of the Earl of Somerset, his favour and greatness with the King, and his parentage and descent’, amongst others.  The second part, ‘The divorce betwixt Lady Frances and Robert Earl of Essex’, touches on the divorce between the two but also on the arraignment of Sir Jervis Yelvis Knight, Lieutenant of the Tower, Sir Thomas Menson Knight, Anne Turner Widow, Richard Weston, and James Franklin… The third part, ‘A declaration of His Majesty’s revenue since he came to the Crown of England…’ explores the annual issues, gifts, pensions and extraordinary disbursements, and the fourth part, ‘The commissions and warrants for the burning of two hereticks…’ comprises narrations of the burning of Bartholomew Legatt and Edward Wightman, plus the pardons of Theophilus Higgons and Sir Eustace Harte.

Original Condition

Front and rear boards detached. Large section of leather missing from the headcap, together with a smaller piece from the spine tail. Additional loss of leather to board corners which themselves are beginning to separate. Significant tear to rear marbled endpaper. Textblock otherwise sound. Requires a full reback.

Conservation by Anthony Zammit

Leather from original spine removed. New leather spine created and remainder of original spine reattached to new leather.  Board corners consolidated and re-covered with new leather. Tear to rear marbled endpaper repaired with Japanese paper, and inner board hinges also reinforced with dyed Japanese paper, sympathetic in colour to the marbling.

Footnotes:

[1] Mathew, David, ‘James I: King of England and Scotland’, Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed online 7 November 2017
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-I-king-of-England-and-Scotland

[2] James VI and I, Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia, accessed online 7 November 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_VI_and_I