Tuesday 27 November 2007

Edward Seymour Project - An Update


The age of the Internet has proved extremely useful in my background research into Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, Duke of Somerset. I have found many useful publications, not only books (many of which are second hand) on Amazon, E-Bay and other online antique booksellers, but many websites from which I have printed articles .

One of my most valuable finds has been on JSTOR. This is a wonderful website that is dedicated to the storing of important historical articles, essays etc. The English Historical Review had published on JSTOR a journal by Ethan Shagan from 1999 called Protector Somerset and the 1549 Rebellions: New Sources and New Perspectives. It includes reference to some virtually unknown manuscripts - a series of nine letters written by the government to the eastern and midland rebels in in July 1549. Best of all these manuscripts are actually printed at the end of the article.

The books I have found include one by Albert Fred Pollard in 1900, who all future historians pay tribute, a 500 page plus "somewhat indigestible" tome from 1968 by WK Jordan, to a modern, bright and concise history of the period by Jennifer Loach published in 1999.

There are two more books I need to buy. One is Intrigue and Treason: The Tudor Court 1547-1558 by David Loades and Kingship and Politics in the Reign of Edward VI by Stephen Alford. This last book has only been published in paperback this year, so it will be very intersting to read a current view on the period.

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