The Baronage of England
or An Historical Account
of the Lives and most Memorable Actions of Our English Nobility in the Saxons time, to the Norman Conquest; And from thence, of those who had their rise before the end of King Henry the Third's Reign
Volume I (1675)
Which had their rise, after the end of King Henry the Third's Reign
before the Eleventh Year of King Richard the Second
Volume II (1676)
As had their rise from the Tenth Year of King Richard the Second, Until This Present Year 1676
Volume III (1676)
Contemporary 1st editions matching original bindings professional rebacked some time ago retaining the original spines, some cracking to Tome I but firm. Original gilt edge and inner tooling to covers with matching bookplates for William Duke of Bedford (Endsleigh). Contemporary very tidy hand written additions to text on black sheets bound in between pages 112/113 and 130/131 in Tome II and 480/481 Tome III and very tidy occasional corrections within text in faded copper plate.
First edition. Title pages printed in red and black. [12], 790, [2] p., [5] leaves of plates : genealogical tables, [8], 312, 361-488, [4] pp. [Second and Third volumes continuously paginated]. Folio (approx., 9 x 14.5 x 2 inches). ESTC, R16723, R225614 Contemporary calf, Title page Tome I printed in red and black. [12], 790, [2] p., [5] leaves of plates : genealogical tables, [8], 312, 361-488, [4] pp. [Second and Third volumes continuously paginated]. Folio (approx., 9 x 14.5 x 1.5 inches). Tome III miss paginated jumping from 312 to 361but text contiguous and correct as confirmed by ESTC and description in Royal Academy collection of their copy.
About the author
William Dugdale (1605–86) took seriously his appointment as ‘Norroy king of arms’ and ‘visited’ all counties north of the Trent. After the publication of Baronage of England, Dugdale was knighted in 1677 in connection with becoming ‘Garter king of arms’, receiving £100 per annum plus residence at Windsor.
About the text
Three decades of research went into his Baronage, a decisive account of England's aristocracy beginning with the Saxons. So painstakingly responsible was his medieval scholarship that heralds and historians still refer to it. The preface declares Dugdale's goal: to wrest from oblivion the familial lines of noble descent by recovering the legal grounds for their original elevation.
The arts of memory
Heraldry is a national art of memory that uses a visual lexicon corresponding to established rules for granting and depicting coats of arms, a system which Dugdale sought to revive, reform and stabilise. The authority of the College of Arms had not been recognised or exercised during the Interregnum. The herald's role thus became more than simply that of a ‘remembrancer’ recording the names of nobles who had fallen in combat (Dugdale was in fact the ‘surveyor’ following the battle at Edgehill), but also a preserver of the worthy deeds and sayings of members of illustrious families.
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