BY PETER HEYLYN, D.D. With The Life Of The Author, By John Barnard, D.D.

EDITED BY JAMES CRAIGIE ROBERTSON, M.A., Of Trinity College, Cambridge, Vicar Of Bekesbourne, In The Diocese Of Canterbury.

VOL. 1.

PREFACE.

THE ECCLESIA RESTAURATA of Heylyn was, notwithstanding the previous labors of Fox and Fuller, the earliest attempt at a regular History of our Reformation; and, although it has been followed by many works on the same subject, and has unquestionably been excelled by some of them in one respect or other, it still retains a value, and continues to be read and quoted. It is hoped, therefore, that a republication may not be unacceptable to the members of the Ecclesiastical History Society.

The first edition was published in 1661 — the year before the author’s death. A second followed in 1670 — improved by the addition of an Index, but in other respects a mere reprint of the former, with a somewhat increased number of errors. The third edition, however, which appeared in 1674, differs considerably from those which had preceded it. Some concluding sentences and a note are added at the end of the History, — the whole addition bearing tokens of the author’s hand, and the note evidently written while the first edition was in the press, or immediately after the completion of the printing. The third edition, too, while it has many errors of its own, frequently corrects those of the first and second; and in some places, where words had been before misprinted, it has new readings, which are themselves also erroneous. This last class of variations must be accounted for by supposing, either that the third edition, as well as the first, was printed from manuscript, or that the third was printed from a copy of the first, in which the concluding sentences and note had been added, and corrections, sometimes indistinctly written, had been inserted. If the third edition was taken from a manuscript, an earlier printed copy must have been used as a guide for the arrangement of the pages, which is alike in all the impressions.

The book used in preparing the present reprint is of the second edition; and the others have been collated with it wherever there appeared to be any doubt as to the reading. The corrections derived from the third edition are mentioned in the notes; but it has not in general been thought necessary to record the errors which are peculiar to the second or the third.

A prominent defect of the Work has hitherto been the almost entire want of references to authorities; and the chief part of my task has consisted in supplying these. By following the hints which are occasionally given, I have for the most part succeeded in discovering the sources from which it is evident that Heylyn must have drawn his information: and it may be here observed, that a reference in this book very commonly implies an amount of obligation far exceeding that which is usual in modern literature; for it is our author’s practice to appropriate whole sentences, and even paragraphs, with very little, if any, alteration. Among the works from which he has borrowed in this way, may be particularly mentioned, Hayward’s Life of Edward the Sixth, Stow’s Annals and Survey, Brent’s Translation of Fra Paolo, Spottis-woode’s History of the Church in Scotland, Fuller’s Church History, and the Translation of Godwin’s Annals. He is also largely indebted to the last-named writer’s work, “De Praesulibus Angliae,” which has, since Heylyn’s day, been greatly increased in value by the labors of the Cambridge editor, Dr Richardson, formerly Master of Emmanuel College.

Many passages of the “History” recur in others of the author’s numerous works; and by comparing the parallel places, I have been assisted in discovering the authorities for his statements.

Where there was no such marked coincidence as to satisfy me that I had found the same authority on which Heylyn relied, I have endeavored to give references to books of a date earlier than the “History,” — books from which he might have drawn; and where the reference is to later writers, I have studied to cite such as are independent of our author, and therefore may with propriety be used as vouchers for his correctness.

A considerable number of documents is introduced in the course of the “History;” but these had, with few exceptions, been already printed by Fox, Fuller, and others, and of those few some have since been printed more accurately, from the originals. I have not thought it necessary to refer to the Cottonian MSS. except for the very few pieces which do not come under either of these classes. The rest have been carefully collated with other printed copies — whether earlier or later; and all variations of any importance have been noticed. But it is right to state explicitly, that the reader is not to expect minute verbal accuracy: the character of the book is not documentary, and a punctilious noting of insignificant differences would be out of place in it.

I have wished to reform the punctuation, which in the old editions is perplexing from the profusion with which stops are scattered — almost at random. Perhaps, however, it may be thought that too many traces of this still remain — especially in the earlier sheets.

The principle which I have intended to observe as to orthography, was — to modernize where the difference from our present usage was merely one of spelling, but to preserve all such variations as affected the form of words. In proper names, I have endeavored to reduce the very uncertain spelling of the former editions to something more like consistency, but in no case to write any name in a way of which the old copies did not furnish some example.

A marginal summary of the contents has been supplied; and the paragraphs have been numbered, chiefly for the sake of facilitating the references from earlier to more advanced parts of the Work which are rendered necessary by the author’s manner of conducting his story. f3 The old paging is marked in the inner margin. In the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth, it will be found that two sets of numbers are thus given: the lower being that of the first and second editions, in which there are two series of pages; the higher, that of the third, which is paged continuously throughout.

The notes of the old editions are so few, that it has seemed better to mark them as the author’s, than to follow the usual practice of editors by enclosing my own in brackets. The reader is, therefore, requested to consider me answerable for such notes as have no distinctive mark, as well as for the bracketed additions to those which are referred to the author.

It is hoped that the Life of Heylyn, by his son-in-law, will be considered a valuable addition. Some particulars respecting that work will be found in the special notice which is prefixed to it.