Restitvtion Decayed Intelligence Antiquities Concerning (3 results)

3rd Edition. Sm. 4to. 7 x 5 inches. [24], 338, [12] p. [Lacking blank to rear]. Title page in red and black and with engraved vignette (torn and creased at gutter hinge and with tear to fore-edge), dec. initial letters, 10 textual engravings, dec. devices. Several leaves shaved to head affecting running title, several leaves with minor closed tears, some browning, with the signature of 'R. Hesley of Alweston .' to pastedown, early calf, some minor wear and marking, gilt ruled raised bands and lacking title title to repaired spine with sl. loss to head and tail. STC (2nd ed.), 21363; ESTC S1162599; Verstegan covers the early history of Britain upto the Norman conquest, the development of the English Language with a glossary of Saxon words, the origins of English names and titles, ranks of offices and occupations.Richard Verstegan [formerly Rowlands], (c.15501640), writer and intelligence informant. '. From March 1587 Verstegan lived in Antwerp. From 1590 until 1603 he worked as a publishing and intelligence agent for the superiors of the English mission, William Allen in Rome and Robert Persons in Spain. He maintained communications between them and the missionaries in England, arranged passports and the smuggling of books, bought books in Flanders for the seminaries in Spain, and oversaw the printing of numerous English Catholic works in Antwerp. He continued to write polemical and martyrological works, including, most importantly, answers to the 1591 proclamation against Jesuits and seminary priests. He also produced devotional translations (among them the first English translation of the Tridentine primer), religious verse, and a seminal work of Anglo-Saxon scholarship, [the above first published in Antwerp in 1605], about which he corresponded with Sir Robert Cotton. He edited or contributed to several of the political works generally attributed to Robert Persons. His writings in these years were a cause of great concern to the authorities in England, and did much to shape the perception of Queen Elizabeth's policies on the continent .' ODNB. US$442.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. The title page, printed in red and black, features an engraved vignette of the Tower of Babel. The text is illustrated with ten engravings by the author, including images of fossils, the Saxons arriving in Britain, the Teutonic Gods, and Ethelbert bringing Christianity to England. Two books bound together in contemporary limp vellum (lightly soiled, with small ink doodles and scuffs, corners bumped. With an early poem from the tomb of Pope Lucius III in original Latin and in English translation, on the inside of the rear cover. Flyleaves renewed. Very fresh copies of both works, though with wear to the first leaf, its fore-edge rumpled and creased, and further wear to the last three leaves, with small holes in the corner of the third to last leaf, tears and rumpled corners to the penultimate leaf, and loss of paper (not affecting the text) to the last leaf. A few marginal paper flaws, a few small rust spots (lvs. Ee1, Vv3, Vv4), a touch of worming in the gutter of gatherings a-e in the first work and a small worm-trail in the gutter of gatherings Aa-Dd in the second, not affecting the text. A few insignificant blemishes. There is a four-line poem in English on the verso of the final leaf (see photo.) First edition of a seminal work of Anglo-Saxon scholarship, written by Richard Verstegan, printer, intelligencer, recusant sympathizer, and ?one of the earliest identifiable newspapermen.?(ODNB) The book includes the second-oldest Anglo-Saxon glossary and the first appearance in English of story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin (pp.85-87), (??this fellow forsooth offred the townsmen for a certain somme of mony to rid the town of all the rattes that were in it (for at that tyme the burgers were with the vermin greatly annoyed?.)? The section on the Teutonic gods (the Sun God, Moon God, Tuisco/Tuysco, Wodan, Thor, Friga, and Seater) is partly derived from Olaus Magnus. The engravings, Verstegan?s own work, are derived from the same source. "Richard Rowlands, alias Richard Verstegan (fl. 1565-1620), antiquary, born in the parish of St. Catherine, near the Tower of London, was grandson of Theodore Roland Verstegan, of an ancient Dutch family which was driven from Gelderland to England about 1500. Rowlands, after a good education, was entered at Christ Church, Oxford, in the beginning of 1565. While there, he distinguished himself by his study of early English history, and began to learn Anglo-Saxon. Soon after 1576, Rowlands removed to Antwerp, dropped his English name, and resumed the paternal Verstegan. He set up a printing press, wrote books, and, being an artist of no mean skill, engraved some of the cuts for them himself. He also acted as agent for the transmission of Catholic literature (some of which he printed), and letters to and from England, Spain, Rome, and the Netherlands. He was in frequent correspondence with Cardinal Allen and Robert Parsons, and for a time in their pay.?(DNB) In his "Restitution of Decayed Intelligence in Antiquities concerning the English Nation", Verstegan explores the Germanic origins of the English people -describing the culture, language and customs of the ancient Saxons- and narrates the early invasions of Great Britain by the Germans. A large part of the work is given over to the development of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon tongue. Verstegan has compiled a short dictionary of early Anglo-Saxon words and an alphabetical list of names of Anglo-Saxon origin. The most entertaining part of this linguistic survey is the section "The Etymologies of our English names of Contempt" (Knave, Crone, Shrew etc.) In the fourth chapter, Verstegan examines the topography and geology of England to prove that the British Isles were once attached by dry land to the European mainland. He begins by examining the composition of the facing shorelines of France and England, "both of one substance; that is of chalke and flint, the sides of both towards the sea?". He then draws on evidence from the topography of The Netherlands, which he finds "flat and plain" and undoubtedly recently submerged by the sea, to show that recurrent alterations in sea level are of post-diluvian occurrence. Verstegan also describes, at length and with a fine engraving, the great number of fossils ("the Great Bones of Fishes") found "about two fathoms down" in the soil of The Netherlands. He describes these gigantic bones (curiously turned to stone by nature) in great detail, and also notes fossilized "firre trees?thought never to have grown in The Netherlands", as well as numerous curious shells and the gigantic skull and bones of a "Sea Elephant" found in England in 1561. "Verstegan offered a convincing theory of the Teutonic origin of the British people, which he buttressed with sensible evidence from Tacitus and other Roman historians, supplemented with philological material astutely used. He also introduced evidence of cultural and religious similarities with the ancient Germanic tribes encountered by the Romans. He acknowledged that his theory of Teutonic settlement lacked the glorious appeal of the far-fetched derivations from Troy or Greece or Scythia, but nonetheless he maintained there was a peculiar virtue in the Nordic line that was every bit as admirable as any Mediterranean inheritance. The repossession of Britain by the Saxons after the Roman occupation was a reinforcement of the old Teutonic strength. Verstegan admired the hardiness and energy of what he called the English Saxons (whom we would term the Anglo-Saxons) in their military and political affairs, just as he admired the spiritual brightness shown by their eager reception of Christianity. Above all, the vigor of the race was characterized by the English language, which overcame the Latin of the Romans and resisted the French of the Normans. A terse, witty, and sinewy language, it expressed the plain forthrightness of the English spirit. Although it showed the scars of its battles with Latin and French, it needed no meretr.

LeatherBound. Condition: New. BOOKS ARE EXEMPT FROM IMPORT DUTIES AND TARIFFS; NO EXTRA CHARGES APPLY. LeatherBound edition. Condition: New. Reprinted from 1634 edition. Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden leaf printing on spine. Bound in genuine leather with Satin ribbon page markers and Spine with raised gilt bands. A perfect gift for your loved ones. Pages: 381 NO changes have been made to the original text. This is NOT a retyped or an ocr'd reprint. Illustrations, Index, if any, are included in black and white. Each page is checked manually before printing. As this print on demand book is reprinted from a very old book, there could be some missing or flawed pages, but we always try to make the book as complete as possible. Fold-outs, if any, are not part of the book. If the original book was published in multiple volumes then this reprint is of only one volume, not the whole set. Sewing binding for longer life, where the book block is actually sewn (smythe sewn/section sewn) with thread before binding which results in a more durable type of binding. Pages: 381.