The Trophies of Time
English Antiquarians of the Seventeenth Century
Published on 22. February 1996
Book
Hardback
394 pages
978-0-19-812962-2 (ISBN)
Description
The Trophies of Time presents the first comprehensive survey of the English antiquarians of the seventeenth century.
In Britain throughout the period there was a persistent curiosity about the origins of the nation and its institutions, inspired initially by the publication in 1586 of Camden's Britannia. A remarkable campaign of scholarship developed, which attempted to imagine the vanished societies that had once flourished there. What could be known of prehistoric Britain from its monuments and language? Could the lay-out of Roman Britain be recovered? Was it possible somehow to retrieve the language, religion, and laws of Saxon England? The answers to these questions often had a bearing on contemporary issues of church and state and also enabled citizens to gain a new insight into the character and identity of their nation. Many of the most learned men of the age addressed themselves to antiquarian enquiry and this book presents lively and fascinating portraits of Camden, Cotton, Selden, Spelman, Ussher, Dugdale, Aubrey, and many other lesser-known scholars.
In Britain throughout the period there was a persistent curiosity about the origins of the nation and its institutions, inspired initially by the publication in 1586 of Camden's Britannia. A remarkable campaign of scholarship developed, which attempted to imagine the vanished societies that had once flourished there. What could be known of prehistoric Britain from its monuments and language? Could the lay-out of Roman Britain be recovered? Was it possible somehow to retrieve the language, religion, and laws of Saxon England? The answers to these questions often had a bearing on contemporary issues of church and state and also enabled citizens to gain a new insight into the character and identity of their nation. Many of the most learned men of the age addressed themselves to antiquarian enquiry and this book presents lively and fascinating portraits of Camden, Cotton, Selden, Spelman, Ussher, Dugdale, Aubrey, and many other lesser-known scholars.
Reviews / Votes
many virtues: a clear, accessible style, summaries of the content and significance of often rather inaccessible Latin works, and a real sense of both the academic and wider political importance of superficially recondite research. * Alan Ford, Irish Historical Studies, May 1998 * Parry largely succeeds in providing an overview of the development of antiquarianism over an extended period, one that bridges the chasm of the civil wars...The appearance of a study that covers nearly the entire seventeenth century is welcome, not least because it can point out continuities of interest, thought and method over a somewhat longer duree...a good book that is well-illustrated and gracefully written. One could have few reservations in assigning this work to students as an introduction to the topic...the Trophies of Time will undoubtedly assist further endeavors. Camden's Britannia provided such a service four centuries ago, and in tracing the influence of that important book and its illustrators here, Parry puts us all under a similar obligation. * Renaissance forum. * It was a good idea to bring together in a single volume English antiquarians from Camden (1551-1623) to Thoresby (1658-1725). * Times Literary Supplement * an overview of the development of antiquarianism over an extended period, one that bridges the chasm of the civil wars ... the appearance of a study that covers nearly the entire seventeenth century is welcome, not least because it can point out continuities of interest, thought and method over a somewhat longer duree ... a good book that is well-illustrated and gracefully written ... there is much information to be gleaned from Parry's close reading of many of the printed texts he discusses, and from his working out of relationships between those texts' authors. This latter feature is the book's greatest strength ... The study of early modern English historical thought appears to be attracting renewed interest, and in providing an illuminating synthesis of our knowledge to date, The Trophies of Time will undoubtedly assist further endeavors. * Daniel Woolf, Dalhousie University, Renaissance forum, Volume 1, Number 2, September 1996 * an absorbing series of biographical studies which clarifies achievement in a number of major areas * English Studies * Writing with clarity and wit, Parry offers case studies of many intellectual leaders of the Stuart age. ... the achievement of this book is to furnish sumptuously what has been hitherto the rather bleak and empty chamber of humane studies of early modern Britain. ... The Trophies of Time will establish itself as the authoritative account of the antiquarian movement. * The Times Higher Education Supplement, 25 July 1997 * Writing with clarity and wit, Parry offers case studies of manu intellectual leaders of the Stuart age ... the achievement of this book is to furnish sumptuously what has been hitherto the rather bleak and empty chamber of humane studies of early modern Britain ... The Trophies of Time will establish itself as the authoritative account of the antiquarian movement. * Times Higher Education Supplement * a useful chronological survey of the work of the main English antiquarians of the seventeenth century * Northern History, 33 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
halftones
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
571 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-812962-2 (9780198129622)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2007
Oxford University Press
€77.40
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