Clarendon reconsidifered : law, loyalty, literature, 1640-1674

__Clarendon Reconsidered__ reassesses a figure of major importance in seventeenth-century British politics, constitutional history and literature. Despite his influence in these and other fields, Edward Hyde, first Earl of Clarendon (1609–1674) remains comparatively neglected. However, the recent surge of interest in royalists and royalism, and the new theoretical strategies it has employed, make this a propitious moment to re-examine his influencecontribution. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor and author of the __History of the Rebellion__ (1702–1704), then and for long afterwards the most sophisticated history written in English, his long career in the service of the Caroline court spanned the English Revolution and Restoration. The original essays in this interdisciplinary collection shine a torch on key aspects of Clarendon’s life and works: his role as a political propagandist, his family and friendship networks, his religious and philosophical inclinations, his history- and essay-writing, his influence on other forms of writing, and the personal, political and literary repercussions of his two long exiles. Pushing the boundaries of the new royalist scholarship, this fresh account of Clarendon reveals a multifaceted man who challenges as often as he justifies traditional characterisations of detached historian and secular statesman. "Clarendon Reconsidifered reassesses a figure of major importance in seventeenth-century British politics, constitutional history and literature. Despite his influence in these and other fields, Edward Hyde, first Earl of Clarendon (1609'"1674) remains comparatively neglected. However, the recent surge of interest in royalists and royalism, and the new theoretical strategies it has employed, make this a propitious moment to re-examine his influencecontribution. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor and author of the History of the Rebellion (1702'"1704), then and for long afterwards the most sophisticated history written in English, his long career in the service of the Caroline court spanned the English Revolution and Restoration. The original essays in this interdisciplinary collection shine a torch on key aspects of Clarendon's life and works: his role as a political propagandist, his family and friendship networks, his religious and philosophical inclinations, his history- and essay-writing, his influence on other forms of writing, and the personal, political and literary repercussions of his two long exiles. Pushing the boundaries of the new royalist scholarship, this fresh account of Clarendon reveals a multifaceted man who challenges as often as he justifies traditional characterisations of detached historian and secular statesman."--Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Contributors Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction I II III Notes Manuscript Sources Bibliography Chapter 1 A royalist reads the news: Sir Edward Hyde and civil war journalism I II III IV V Notes Manuscript Sources Bibliography Chapter 2 Edward Hyde and the Villiers family I II III IV V Notes Manuscript Sources Bibliography Chapter 3 Royalists in war and peace: Clarendon and the burdens of loyalty I II III IV V Notes Manuscript Sources Bibliography Chapter 4 Clarendon against Hobbes? I II III IV Notes Manuscript Sources Bibliography Chapter 5 ‘All things serious and sacred’: Clarendon as essayist I II III IV V Notes Bibliography Chapter 6 The Life of Clarendon: History and memoir in England and France I II III IV V VI Notes Manuscript Sources Bibliography Chapter 7 ‘That fatal desolation’: Toleration and calamity rehearsed in the early Restoration I II III IV V Notes Bibliography Chapter 8 ‘This heavenly exercise’: Clarendon and the Psalms I II III IV V Notes Manuscript Sources Bibliography Index Introduction / Philip Major -- A royalist reads the news: Sir Edward Hyde and Civil War journalism / Jason Peacey -- Edward Hyde and the Villiers family / Geoffrey Smith -- Royalists in war and peace: Clarendon and the burdens of loyalty / Barbara Donagan -- Clarendon against Hobbes? / Jon Parkin -- "All things serious and sacred": Clarendon as essayist / Martin Dzelzainis -- The life of Clarendon: history and memoir in England and France / Paul Seaward -- "That fatal desolation": toleration and calamity rehearsed in the early Restoration / Matthew Birchwood -- "This heavenly exercise": Clarendon and the Psalms / Philip Major Clarendon Reconsidered is a lively new account of a major figure in seventeenth-century British history, politics and literature. It reappraises the life and career of the foremost statesman of the Caroline court and the author of the History of the Rebellion, then and for long afterwards the most sophisticated history written in English.