THE

HISTORY OF THE REBELLION

AND

CIVIL WARS IN ENGLAND

BEGUN IN THE YEAR 1641,

BY

EDWARD, EARL OF CLARENDON.

RE-EDITED FROM

A FRESH COLLATION OF THE ORIGINAL MS. IN THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY,

WITH MARGINAL DATES AND OCCASIONAL NOTES,

BY

W. DUNN MACRAY, M.A., F.S.A.

In Six Volumes.

VOL. I.

(Books 1-IV.)

Oxford

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1888

M DCCC.LXXXVII

PREFACE.

FOR this edition the text has been collated throughout, word for word, by the Editor, with the original MS., and he ventures therefore to say with some confidence that it furnishes as exactly as possible the form in which Clarendon wrote his narrative. The points with regard to which variations will be found from the last edition (printed in 1849) are the following:

1. Various forms of expression which were considered incorrect by former editors, and had consequently been very unnecessarily altered, have been restored, as well as a few obsolete words'. Of all these differing readings a list has been given at the end of volume V, by which the number and general needlessness of the former alterations can be seen, as well as very numerous instances in which additional but unnecessary words had been inserted within brackets, without any distinction being made between words altered and words supplied. A few of these additional words are still left, (placed, as before, within square brackets,) where they are required for completeness of construction or of sense.

2. Dates have been assigned, as far as found practicable, to the events narrated or noticed. The absence of all dates, with the exception of a running heading of the current year (which in some instances was, however, totally wrong,) has been a serious defect in previous editions. And the mere insertion of

1 E. g. 'amating,' which had been altered to 'amazing' (book vii. § 1C6); 'laish' to 'lazy' (xiv. 108); 'truckman' to 'trustman' (i. 75).

a marginal date, without any further note, is not infrequently found sufficient for proving how the memory of the historian (-writing one large portion of his history in island-refuges during the actual progress of the Civil War, under great difficulties and disadvantages, and the rest of it in exile, away from many sources of information-) in various instances played him false, even with regard to events then recent1. In cases, somewhat numerous, in which authorities differ as to dates, the Editor has followed the Journals of Parliament, wherever he could find that these (which often differ from Rushworth) supply information, and has of course referred to the Calendars of State Papers so far as these are as yet available. As the publication of these Calendars and of the Reports of the Commission for Historical Manuscripts progresses, it will no doubt become possible to supply dates in various instances where they are now wanting, and it may be in a few cases to detect errors. Like help also may be expected for the last book of the history, from that portion of the Bodleian Clarendon MSS. which is as yet uncatalogued, when the unfinished Calendar of those papers is continued and completed. It may well also be that amidst the mass of documentary evidence which has of late years been published, particulars may have come to light with which the Editor is not acquainted. His task (and that no light one) has been the endeavouring to set up sufficient guide-posts for, at any rate, the ordinary careful reader, along a way where before there were practically none. The chronological sequence of the narrative is often violated by the author's frequently repeating himself, and recurring from one portion of his story to some earlier period which he had already dismissed; and these irregularities in date and connection are largely owing to the fact that when engaged in completing his History he interwove in its text large passages

1 Of this some special instances may be seen in sections 139, 140 of book v.

from his MS. of his Life. To fully annotate the book has not been attempted; the notes that are occasionally given are only for the correction of errors, or for the supplying information needful for the better understanding of the text.

3. The manner in which the History and the Life were worked up together by the author is explained in Dr. Bulkeley Bandinel's preface to the edition of 1826. But for the sake of the light which by knowledge of this distinction between the two sources of the text is thrown on the course of the narrative, as well as to facilitate the finding of any passage in the original MSS. which it may at any time be desired to verify, references have been given in foot-notes in all places where the text changes from the one MS. to the other. Hitherto it has been impossible without great expense of time and labour to verify any passage whatever, from there not having been a single clue given whereby to find it.

4. The numbered sections (so numbered only in the last edition) have been in many instances altered in their division, and the division of sentences has been also not infrequently changed. It was found that sometimes the whole meaning of passages had been perverted, or their connection lost, by incorrect division. These cases are pointed out in the table of Corrected Readings. The punctuation, which hitherto has been superabundant to a wonderful extent, has been considerably modified; and marks of quotation have often been omitted in cases where their insertion had represented Clarendon as quoting actual words of others when not himself professing so to do.

5. Names of persons and places have been given throughout in the forms used by Clarendon, except in a few instances presently to be noticed. The late editions have been inconsistent in this respect, generally giving the modern forms but occasionally retaining the old (e. g. 'Bromicham'). There can hardly be a question as to the course to be followed on this point. With regard to the names, Reading, Cromwell, Strafford, and