SIR WALTER RALEGH AND HIS READERS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
EARLY MODERN LITERATURE IN HISTORY General Editor: Cedric C. Brown Professor of English and Head of Department, University of Reading Within the period 1520-1740 this series discusses many kinds of writing, both within and outside the established canon. The volumes may employ different theoretical perspectives, but they share an historical awareness and an interest in seeing their texts in lively negotiation with their own and successive cultures. Published titles Anna R. Beer SIR WALTER RALEGH AND HIS READERS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: Speaking to the People Cedric C. Brown and Arthur F. Marotti (editors) TEXTS AND CULTURAL CHANGE IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND James Loxley ROYALISM AND POETRY IN THE ENGLISH CIVIL WARS: The Drawn Sword Mark Thornton Burnett MASTERS AND SERVANTS IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DRAMA AND CULTURE: Authority and Obedience The series Early Modern Literature in History is published in association with the Renaissance Texts Research Centre at the University of Reading.
Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the Seventeenth Century Speaking to the People Anna R. Beer
First published in Great Britain 1997 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG2l 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-39800-3 ISBN 978-0-230-37160-6 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230371606 First published in the United States of America 1997 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. loolo ISBN 978-0-312-17610-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beer, Anna R., 1964-- Sir Walter Ralegh and his readers in the seventeenth century : speaking to the people I Anna R. Beer. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-17610-5 (cloth) l. Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 1552?-1618. 2. Great Britain-Politics and govemment-1603-1714----historiography. 3. Authors and readers -Great Britain-History-17th century. 4. Books and reading-great Britain-History-17th century. 5. Political science-great Britain-History-17th century. 6. Popular culture-great Britain -History-17th century. 7. Prisoners' writings, English- -Appreciation-History. I. Title. DA86.22.R2B44 1997 942.05'5'092-dc2l 97-3277 CIP Anna R. Beer 1997 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997 978-0-333-66076-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written pem1ission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W l P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution aud civil claims for damages. TI1e author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 06 05 04 03 02 0 l 4 3 2 l 00 99 98 97
for Stephen 'He was no slug' (John Aubrey on Ralegh)
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Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations 1 Sir Walter Ralegh in the Seventeenth Century 2 The History of the World 3 A Dialogue betweene a Counsellor of State and a Justice of peace 4 The Speech from the Scaffold 5 Resurrecting Ralegh: the 1620s and 1630s 6 Re-forming Ralegh: the 1640s and 1650s Postscript Appendix I: The Prose Works of Sir Walter Ralegh Appendix II: Publications Attributed to Ralegh, or Written in Response to Ralegh's Life and Work, Published between 1618 and 1660 Bibliography Index ix xi 1 22 60 82 109 139 176 179 186 190 205 vii
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Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their permission to examine and reproduce the manuscripts in their care: The Master and Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford; the Bodleian Library; the British Library; Cambridge University Library; Somerset Archive and Record Service; the Public Record Office; The Master and Fellows of StJohn's College, Cambridge; and The Master and Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. I would also like to thank Lord Eliot, Earl of St Germans, for permission to view and reproduce materials in his private library. Early versions of chapters 2 and 4 have appeared as: ' "Left to the World without a Maister": Sir Walter Ralegh's The History of the World as a Public Text', Studies in Philology, 91 (1994) 432-63; and 'Textual Politics: The Execution of Sir Walter Ralegh', Modern Philology, 94 (1996) 19-38, 1996 by the University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Many people have helped make the writing of this book possible. I owe long-standing debts of gratitude to Cedric Brown, James Holstun and Nigel Smith for support, guidance and encouragement. My colleagues at St Mary's (and in particular, Brian Robinson) provided support of a different kind, by ensuring that lunch-times were always enjoyable. They, more than most, will know how crucial that was to my well-being. My students over the years have challenged and inspired me to think through my ideas about early modern culture: thanks to all of them, particularly the year of '94 at St Mary's. Special thanks are reserved for one of my students, Donna Joss, who has been an exemplary research assistant. My greatest thanks go to my family and friends. Katey Anderson, Madeleine Katkov, Penny Tyack, Dave Crossley and Katrina Crossley have all listened patiently over the years. My mother, Margaret Beer, has helped in many, many ways, providing everything from Latin translations to child-care. Quite simply, this book would not have been written without her practical and emotional sustenance. Rebecca, my elder daughter, was born in the midst of my PhD on Ralegh; Elise, her sister, was born in the midst of writing this book. Both children have brought unimaginable joy ix
X Sir Walter Ralegh and his Readers into my life for which I am intensely grateful. When I have been working on Sir Walter, they have been cared for by a number of people, all of whom were vital to the completion of this book: my especial thanks go, however, to Fiona Russell for her kindness to both children over a number of years. This book is dedicated to Stephen Roberts, my partner in everything.
List of Abbreviations E.L.H. E.L.R. H.L.Q. M.P. R.Q. S.E.L. S.P. Works: English Literary History English Literary Renaissance The Huntington Library Quarterly Modern Philology Renaissance Quarterly Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 Studies in Philology The Works of Sir Walter Ralegh, eds W. Oldys and T. Birch, 8 vols (London: 1829) xi