Word & Image:
The Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608

History and Religion

Learning from the exploits and conflicts of the past was considered a profitable exercise in early modern England. In the aftermath of the Reformation, Holinshed, Stow, Camden, and others published massive chronicles of Britain beginning with the mythical founding by Brutus and continuing to the present day. John Foxe's Acts and Monuments, first published five years after the death of Catholic Queen Mary, documented the martyrdoms of early Christians and contemporary Protestants and stressed the continuous survival of "true" Christianity (i.e., Protestantism). Like his sources, Trevelyon's chronological histories not only emphasized his country's ancient lineage and Protestant faith, but also imposed a sense of continuity on an otherwise turbulent past.

Edward Pond (d. 1629)
Pond. 1609. . . . A newe almanacke
London, 1609
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This "brief computation of the time" serves as the beginning of the Miscellany since the first two leaves are lost. Copied from a 1608 almanac by Edward Pond, it begins with the creation of the world and ends with James I's accession. Classical and biblical events give way to more recent ones: the invention of the printing press, outbreaks of plague and sweating sickness, a blazing star, snow, an earthquake, the earls' rebellion, and the camp at Tilbury. Updated each year, the list appears in a slightly different form in almanacs by John White and others.