The Life and Raigne of King Edward the Sixth

In this book, Barrett Beer presents a scholarly edition of Sir John Hayward's ""Life and Raigne of King Edward VI"", the earliest biography of the last Tudor king. Originally published in 1630 and again in 1636, Hayward's account was reprinted in White Kennett's ""Complete History of England"" in 1706. Beer uses the printed editions and unpublished manuscripts to produce a complete text of Hayward's book. In his introduction he examines the environment in which Hayward wrote and considers the influence this pioneering work has had on attitudes toward the mid-Tudor period. The only son of Henry VIII, Edward VI (1537-53) ruled during the Protestant Reformation in England, a period not only of dramatic religious change, but also of warfare, political intrigue and popular rebellion. Hayward, who was imprisoned by Elizabeth I for his controversial book on Henry IV and his involvement in the conspiracy of the Earl of Essex in 1600, wrote his biography of Edward at the end of the Jacobean period when major challenges were facing the monarchy. He proclaimed that his narrative was intended to be a ""monument"" to the ""unperishable fame"" of the king and focused his efforts on court politics, foreign policy and military affairs. Although few contemporary scholars would accept Hayward's interpretation of the reign at face value, his work influenced historical thinking for over three centuries. ""King Edward VI"" is an example of the new politique historiography of the English Renaissance and should play an important role - along with the works of Hayward's contemporaries, Sir Francis Bacon and Lord Herbert of Cherbury - in the development of the biography as a literary form.