Legal/political tracts concerning arraignments, trials and court procedures, 1586; 1603; 1612-1633, and undated (bulk: circa 1629)
Scope and Contents
Some 17 separate legal/political tracts bound together into one volume: trials before the Court of Star Chamber, the Chancery, etc.; also descriptions of the procedures of the Courts. Treason, politics, murder, rape, sodomy, etc. Composed, written, and circulated individually. Such manuscripts represent a form of publishing: a text injudicious or inconvenient to print could be copied by hand, and the copies circulated among trusted friends, or sold. (In some cases covert workshops produced such texts.) Many now exist in later printed versions; a few may also have been copied from contemporary printed texts.
Such tracts usually appeared close to the date of the events described.
Dates
- Creation: 1586; 1603; 1612-1633, and undated (bulk: circa 1629)
Extent
1 volume : Binding: Sturdy brown calf, 17th century? Ruled on the boards (plain triple-rule frame in blind), on the spine (single plain gold rule above and below each cord), and on the board-edges (single plain gold rule). 5 cords. 2 metal clasps oddly ornamented with crescent moons and bands on wedges. Amended by the Grosvenor family of Eaton Hall in the 19th-century. Russet leather label applied to head and foot of spine: head label is framed in gold and stamped with two talbots supporting a garb, and "NUM." Foot label stamped in gold "MS[S] EATON." An ink "10" follows the NUM; on the second compartment of the spine a round white paper label is marked "10" in ink. Tightly bound. The gutters of the preliminary matter and the final leaves are cobbled: perhaps the volume was re-set when the labels were added. Some sections of the fore-edge seem to be distinguished by a reddish stain. The fore-edge also has a "5" or "6" inked on it. Foliation: leaves [i-v], 1-357. Through-numbered in varying hands, probably all 17th-century; some tracts also numbered separately. The hand that produced the table of contents seems to be responsible for much of the foliation. Leaf "357" is pasted down on the rear board. Script: each tract is in a different 17th-century hand or hands, often a secretary hand. (Unlikely to be in the author's hand -- most are probably clerical copies.) ; Volume measures no taller than 30 cm.
Other Finding Aids
The attached pdf provides a more detailed listing of the volume by numbered item: ksrl.sc.starchambersD153.pdf.
Custodial History
Grosvenor family, Dukes of Westminster: Eaton Hall case XXI no. 3. (raspberry mitre-shaped bookplate of portcullis flanked by talbots). Spine label marked NUM. 10. Leaf [iii] marked "10" in pencil circle. Rear pastedown marked "MIT/-/- 476" in pencil.
Existence and Location of Copies
This volume has been digitized; Contact staff at ksrlref@ku.edu or (785) 864-4334 for assistance in retrieving the digitized copy.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository