The English Works of Sir Henry Spelman
The English Works of Sir Henry Spelman, Kt. Publish'd in His Life-Time; Together with His Posthumous Works, Relating to the Laws And Antiquities of England; First Publish'd by the Present Lord Bishop of Lincoln, in the Year 1695, Together with the Life of the Author, Now Revised by His Lordship. to Which are Added, Two More Treatises of Sir Henry Spelman, Never Before Printed: One, of the Admiral-Jurisdiction, And The Officers Thereof: The Other, of Antient Deeds And Charters, with a Compleat Index to the Whole
by Sir Henry Spelman
| English Works of Sir Henry Spelman | |
 Title page from English Works of Sir Henry Spelman, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary. | |
| Author | Sir Henry Spelman |
| Editor | Edmund Gibson |
| Published | London: Printed for D. Browne, sen. & jun. W. Mears, F. Clay [etc.] |
| Date | 1723 |
| Language | English |
| Volumes | 2 parts in 1 volume set |
| Desc. | Folio (34 cm.) |
Sir Henry Spelman (1563/4–1641) studied at Walsigner grammar school and graduated BA from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1583.[1] He was admitted in Lincoln’s Inn in 1586 where he studied the law for three years, but he found drudgery in many aspects of the law, and focused on history and antiquity.[2] He was married his wife Eleanor in 1590 and soon after began writing treatises.
Spelman’s life experience seems to have shaped his works. For example, after purchasing the leases to Blackborough and Wormegay Abbeys in 1594, he spent a considerable amount of time involved in extensive litigation that did not resolve itself until 1625.[3] Spelman became interested in the results of financial and other transactions with the Church’s properties, places he considered consecrated.[4] Soon after, he wrote his work The History and Fate of Sacrilege.[5] Spelman also spent time as Sherriff and a Commissioner to determine unsettled titles to lands and manors in Ireland.[6] He died in 1641 in the home of his son-in-law.[7]
Spelman was recognized as a scholar and antiquary during his time, and was generally respected.[8] He wrote treatises on many topics, ranging from coats of arms, to feudalism.[9] As time passed his work gained both recognition and respect, especially with regard to his ability present not only the mere facts, but to connect seemingly unrelated facts in a meaningful and persuasive manner.[10] He is recognized as having laid a foundation upon which subsequent scholars were able to build.[11]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Wythe referred to Spelman's works in his case report for Field v. Harrison, "Sir H. Spelman somewhere condemns the common lawyers of his own time, for the small acquaintance they had with the principles and rationale of their profession."[12] Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> includes the first (1723) edition of The English Works of Sir Henry Spelman as the work intended by Wythe's reference. He bases the selection of this title and edition in part on the copy Thomas Jefferson sold to the Library of Congress in 1815.[13] The Wolf Law Library followed Brown's suggestion and purchased a copy of the same title and edition.
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Bound in contemporary decorative leather binding. Spine has six bands with gilt decoration and lettering. Purchased from Longland Books.
View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
References
- ↑ Stuart Handley, "Spelman, Sir Henry (1563/4–1641)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed October 9, 2013.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Westminster Abbey website, s.v. "Henry Spelman,", accessed October 9, 2013, http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/henry-spelman.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Hanley, “Spelman, Sir Henry."
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ George Wythe, "A Report of the Case Between Field and Harrison Decreed by the High Court of Chancery in which the Decision was Reversed by the Court of Appeals (Richmond: Printed and Sold by Thomas Nicolson, 1796), 12, n.
- ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 3:125-126 [no.2721].
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