Britain 1486-1688

From EuroDocs
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Flag of the United Kingdom



EuroDocs > History of the United Kingdom: Primary Documents > 1486 - 1688


Middle Ages through 1485

Charters, please and inquisitions in several volumes.
(447-1721; Latin eBook)
Eyewitness accounts of historic events from the Black Plague to the Crusades to Columbus’ discovery of America
EyeWitness to History
(585-1597; English transcription)
JISC-funded project bringing together four searchable databases of Anglo-Saxon sources.
ASChart and eSawyer: Anglo-Saxon charters (6th-11th centuries).
Langscape: Anglo-Saxon estate boundaries and related data (8th-18th centuries).
(6th to 18th centuries; manuscripts & transcriptions)
Books, laws, treaties.
(600-1799; Russian transcriptions)
Chronologically organized collection of English literature, including Old, Middle and Modern English
From Bibliotheca Augustana
(8th-20th century; facsimiles and transcriptions)
Explore a selection of collection items that relate to Shakespeare, Renaissance writers and the context in which their works were created.
From the British Library
(facsimiles)
Over 20,000 images of objects, books, letters, aerial photographs and other items from museums, libraries and record offices in Wales.
(Medieval to 20th century; facsimiles and photographs)
A documentation project of Powys County, Wales.
(Medieval to present; facsimiles, Latin and Welsh transcriptions and English transcriptions and translations)-->
(9th to 16th centuries; facsimiles)
(Transcriptions and translations)
Five principal sections that include primary documents online:
Scotland, England, France, Wales, and Ireland.
A well-designed site created by the UK Public Record Office.
(1066 - 1603; facsimiles and transcriptions)
276 documents from the earliest age.
(1080-1885; English; eBook)
Edited by Sir Walter Ellis, for King George the Fourth
(1070s-1520s; English transcriptions)
From the commencement of the twelfth century to the close of the reign of Queen Mary
(12th-17th century; English transcriptions)
Writs, charters and letters extending from the time of Henry I to Charles II.
(12th-17th centuries; Latin with English translations)
Treaty rolls and other diplomatic records. Digitized book.
(1101-1645; Latin)
For High Treason and Misdemeanors From the Earliest Period. In 34 volumes.
(1163-1820; English)
Vol. 1 (London: Henry Colburn, 1846)].
(1190-1544; text searchable Google Print facsimiles with updated English transcriptions)
Geographical and literary mappings of the medieval city of Chester.
(1200-1500; digital map and texts)
Relating to tithes
(1204-1825; English; eBook)
Database of legal decisions. Documents are found in PDF format.
(1220-1873; English)
Searchable database containing the proceedings of the Scottish parliament from the first surviving act of 1235 to the union of 1707.
(1235-1707; manuscripts and translations)
  • Select Cases Concerning the Law Merchant
Volume I (1270-1638)
Volume II (1239-1633)
Volume III (1251-1779)
(1239-1779; English and Latin)
Index to the rolls of Parliament, from ann. 6 Edward I. to ann. 19 Henry VII.
(1278-1503; English; ebook format)
Virtual Book. Dating from the reign of Edward I and almost five metres long
From the British Library
(1300; facsimile)
(1311-1603; English; eBook)
An impressive local history collection, comprising church, state, estate and personal records.
(1375 - 1854)
Claims made at coronations. Includes the reigns of Richard II to George II.
(ca 1377-1727; English eBook)
Volume I, from Richard II to George II
(1377-1760; English; eBook)
Vol. I: Richard II-Henry IV, 1386-1410.
Vol. II: Henry IV-Henry V, 1410-1422.
Vol. III: Henry VI, 1422-1429.
Vol. IV: 8-14 Henry VI, 1429-1436.
Vol. V: 15-21 Henry VI, 1436-1443.
Vol. VI: 22-39 Henry VI, 1443-1461.
Vol. VII: 32-33 Henry VIII, 1540-1542.
(abbreviated Middle Latin, Middle French, and Middle English; eBook)
  • Select Pleas of the Court of Admiralty
Volume I: Civil pleas during the reigns of Richard II and Henry VIII (1390-1404; 1527-1545)
Volume II: The reigns of Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I (1547-1602)
(Latin and Old English; eBooks)
Containing the history of England, during the reign of Henry the Fourth, and the succeeding monarchs, to the end of the reign of Henry the Eighth, in which are particularly described the manners and customs of those periods.
(1399-1547; transcriptions)
Edited by Sir Walter Ellis, for King George the Fourth
(1400s-1520s; English transcriptions)
Edited by Sir Walter Ellis, for King George the Fourth
(1410s-1520s; English transcriptions)
Database of manuscripts. Search or browse here.
(1450-1720; manuscripts)
A primary source for the Wars of the Roses
and the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.
(1453-1486; transcriptions)
"Provides access to digital versions of over 130,000 printed works in English speaking countries between 1473 and 1700. They cover many disciplines: art, history, literature, music, science, theology ..."
Referred by Royal Library of Belgium
(1473-1700; transcriptions)
Contemporary correspondence of a wealthy family of English wool merchants.
(1475-1488; transcriptions) courtesy of the Richard III Society.
Digitized book. Extracted From Act-Books of Ecclesiastical Courts in the Diocese of London, Illustrative of the Discipline of the Church of England.
(1475-1640; Latin with English introduction)
Historical documentation displayed by various themes and date ranges.
(1485 - 1714; facsimiles, transcriptions and images)
  • Patent Rolls of Henry VII
Volume I
Volume II
(1485-1509; English transcriptions)
(transcriptions & translations)
with a number of links to contemporary reporters and chroniclers from various perspectives
(chiefly 1483-1490; transcriptions)
(transcriptions) courtesy of the Richard III Society.
Electronic texts and documents from the Tudor period.
See also Tudor Letters.
(1485-1597; facsimiles and transcriptions)
By Charles Wriothesley
(1485-1559; English transcriptions)
Includes works by and about dozens of renaissance contemporaries, including Sir Walter Ralegh, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Shakespeare.
Compiled by Luminarium
(1485-1603; English transcriptions)

The Reign of Henry VII (1485-1509)

In the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII
(ca 1485-1540; English transcriptions)
Official correspondence of Thomas Bekynton, secretary to King Henry VI., and bishop of Bath and Wells
(1485-1509; Latin and English transcriptions)
(1485-1497; Old English transcriptions)
Original Documents Illustrative of the Courts and Times of Henry VII. and Henry VIII.
(1485-1547; Old English transcriptions)
Digitized book.
(1485-1547; Old English)
Only one of [the former queen's] four sons is known to have survived her: Richard Grey had been executed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in 1483, and her two royal sons, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, disappeared that same year.
(1492; Old English transcription)
Accounts of the toll which the king of Denmark levied on shipping through the Sound between Sweden and Denmark.
Important sources for research on economic and maritime trade history in Northern Europe.
(1497-1857; searchable datasets - registration may be required to view results)
The Letters Patents of King Henry the Seventh Granted unto Iohn Cabot and his Three Sonnes, Lewis, Sebastian and Sancius for the the Discouerie of New and Unknowen Lands.
Facsimile seen HERE
(February 3, 1498; English)
Calendar of letters, despatches and state papers relating to the negotiations between England and Spain
(1498-1531; English translation)
From Bodleian Library at University of Oxford.
Database of over 30,000 ballads. Browse or perform an advanced search.
Thematic ballad collections.
Also includes illustrations.
(16th to 20th century; images, lyrics, and sound files)
Poems, songs, letters, speeches, essays.
(Early 16th century; transcriptions)
  • The History of the Reformation of the Church of England
A collection of records, letters and original papers, with other instruments
Volume I
Volume II
Volume III
Volume IV
Volume V
Volume VI
Volume VII
(English transcriptions)
External links include Joannis Lelandi Antiquarii De Rebus Britannicis Collectanea , Commentarii de Scriptoribus Britannicis, <Itinerary, and others
(16th century)
Huge and exemplary website combining a searchable database of wills and testaments
with full transcripts of the originals and some sample facsimiles.
Includes auxiliary helps such as guides to handwriting and to Scottish occupations.
(1500-1901; facsimiles and transcripts)
Including firsthand accounts within the text
(1501-1536; English transcriptions)
From the death of Prince Arthur to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
(1502-1587; transcriptions)
The account at right was written by Tudor citizen Richard Grafton.
Made available by English History
(1503; English transcription)
Made available by English History
(1505-1544; English transcription)
Click on the different wives for their firsthand accounts of their fateful marriages with the king of England.
(1509-1547; English; transcriptions)
Primary source documents from the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.
(Scroll down to "English Reformation").
(1509 - 1559; transcriptions)
The House of Lords Journal is the corrected archive edition of 'Minutes of Proceedings', the formal record of House of Lords business for a given day. The volumes of the series published on British History Online cover the periods 1509-1793 and 1830-2.
(English transcriptions)
Works on the reign of Henry VII, including Vita Henrici VII, Annales Henrici VII, and reports of ambassadors
(to 1509; English and Latin transcriptions)
The account below was recorded in the Anglica Historia.
From English History
(1509; English transcription)
The account at right was written by the Tudor chronicler Edward Hall.
From English History
(1509)
Covers the beginning of Henry's reign, up to the end of 1514.
From British History Online
(1509-1514; English transcription)
Ecclesiastical Memorials Relating Chiefly to Religion and the Reformation of It, shewing the various emergencies of the Church of England. With remarks and observations of persons in church and state, of eminent note, particularly the two English Cardinals, Wolsey and Pole.
(1509-1547; English transcriptions)

The Reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547)

With direct links to digitized books and other useful websites. Access to Hathitrust is free.
(16th century)
This particular volume covers the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.
(16th century; English; eBook)
To celebrate the birth of his son Prince Henry in 1511, King Henry VIII proclaimed an allegorical tournament of the sort developed in the previous century at the court of the Dukes of Burgundy.
From the British Library
(1511; facsimile)
By Robert Fabyan. Named by himself The concordance of histories.
(1516; English transcriptions)
Medieval manuscript of the famed work by Thomas More. "He was at one time, one of Henry VIII's most trusted civil servants, becoming Chancellor of England in 1529."
From the British Library
(1516; facsimile)
As found in the public records, despatches of ambassadors in original private letter, and other contemporary documents
(1516-1558; transcriptions)
Links to numerous primary sources
(English)
"This letter was written by Henry VIII to Cardinal Wolsey, two years after Mary's birth, while Catherine was pregnant for the last time...Henry was eager for a male heir, but the child was in fact a girl, and she died shortly after her birth."
From the British Library
(1518; old English facsimile)
A Renaissance biography
Also available here in ebook format.
(1519; English transcription)
Edited by Sir Walter Ellis, for King George the Fourth
(1520s-1580s; English transcriptions)
(1520s-1570s; English transcriptions)
(1520s-1540s; English transcriptions)
From Elizabeth Queen of England, Mary Queen of Scots, King James VI, King Charles I, King Charles II, and others
(1520-1685; transcriptions)
It "was a time of immense ferment, when Luther and Tindale were fighting for freedom, and Wolsey and More were endeavoring to bring them [with] their books. Henry VIII seems to have been a kind of spectator."
(1522; English transcriptions)
"Unfortunately, we do not have Anne’s replies but the letters are evidence of Henry VIII’s romantic side and his strong feelings for Anne."
From Anne Boleyn Files
(1527-1528; transcription)
(1527-1533; English and Latin transcriptions)
"Drawn up in the summer of 1528, when the sweating sickness was raging, this list gives the titles of almost 100 books in religious houses in Lincolnshire that might pertain to Henry’s ‘Great Matter’ (divorce)."
From British Library
(1528; facsimile)
To her father, to Cardinal Wolsey, to Stephen Gardiner, to King Henry VIII.
(1529-1536; English transcription)
A collection of poems, letters, and speeches.
(English transcriptions; 1533-1603)
A treatise on the pretended divorce between Henry VIII. and Catharine of Aragon
By Nicholas Harpsfield, archdeacon of Canterbury
(1533; Old English transcriptions)
Cranmer writes of the official divorce of Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon and the coronation of Henry's next Queen, Anne Boleyn. He speaks of the legal meeting in which Catherine was informed that the King rejected the Pope's authority over the marriage and of the obvious pregnancy of Anne at her coronation ceremony.
From the Internet History Sourcebook
(1533; transcription)
Account by the Tudor chronicler Edward Hall.
From English History
(1533; English transcription)
Digitized book. A treatise on English law that is often cited in modern courts.
(1534; English)
"Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor...However, in late February 1534 Henry added More's name to the Bill for the Attainder (for treason) of Elizabeth Barton."
From British Library
(1534; Old English facsimile)
From Its First Foundation to the Conquest, and From the Conquest to the Reign of King Henry VIII
(1535-1547; English; eBook)
Death of the writer of Utopia.
Luminarium
(1535; English transcription)
(1535; English transcriptions)
And the viii. day of January folowyng dyed the princes dowager at Kymbalton and was buried at Peterborough. Quene Anne ware yelowe for the mournyng.
(1536; English transcription)
Princess Mary acknowledges the annulment of her parents’ marriage, her own illegitimacy, and her father’s position as head of a new English church.
From English History
(1536; English transcription)
At the Tower of London
(1536; English transcription)
This account of Anne Boleyn’s fall from royal favor was written by the Spanish ambassador Eustace Chapuys, in a letter to Emperor Charles V.
See also Anne Boleyn’s Speech At Her Execution
From English History
(1536; English transcription)
Including an account from the Chronicle of Calais
(1536; English transcription)
And especially of the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat
(beginning 1536; English transcriptions)
The day after his second wife had been executed, Henry VIII became betrothed to Jane Seymour.
From The Anne Boleyn Files
(31 July 1544; English transcription)
The account at right was written by the Tudor chronicler Edward Hall.
King Henry VIII’s third marriage, made when he was almost forty-five, finally brought him the longed-for son.
From English History
(1536; English transcription)
Containing 4 principle discourses written with her own hands; the first an admonition to such as are weake in faith, the second a catechisme, the third an exhortation to her sister, and the last her words at her death.
(1537-1554; old English transcriptions)
This series details the papers of the Cecil family, specifically William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (1520/1-98) and his son Robert, 1st earl of Salisbury (1563-1612).
(1539-1668; English transcriptions)
The accounts at right were written by the Spanish ambassador Eustace Chapuys. Anne was Henry VIII’s fourth wife.
From English History
(1539-1554; English transcription)
Searchable database of principal records of clerical careers from over 50 archives in England and Wales.
(1540-1835)
The transactions of two memorable embassies: 1st to King James V in order dispose him towards a reformation. 2nd to the governor and states of Scotland concerning a marriage betwixt Mary their young queen and Edward VI.
(1540-1543; English transcriptions)
Vice-chamberlain and lord chancellor to Queen Elizabeth : Including his correspondence with the Queen and other distinguished persons
(1540-1591)
Searchable database of prints and illustrations from early modern Britain.
(1540-1700; image facsimiles, descriptions and commentaries)
Edited by Sir Walter Ellis, for King George the Fourth
(1540s -1570s; English transcriptions)
This is the only surviving letter written by Henry VIII’s fifth wife...After Catherine’s fall from grace, Culpeper was among the men charged with committing adultery with the queen.
See the original letter HERE
(1541; English transcription)
She was perhaps only 18 years old when she caught the king’s eye; her immature and reckless behavior guaranteed a brief marriage. The account at right was written by the Spanish ambassador Eustace Chapuys.
From English History
(1541; English transcription)
"52-year-old Henry VIII married for the last time; his bride on this occasion was the wealthy widow, Katherine Parr...the King’s prothonotary (“principal clerk of a court”) did make an official record of the marriage."
From On the Tudor Trail
(1543; English transcription)

The Reigns of Edward VI, Lady Jane Gray, & Mary I (1547-1558)

(ca 1537-1553; English transcriptions)
  • Mary Queen of Scots
Henry VIII – September 1546, 1-5
Elizabeth – December 1559, 6-10
Elizabeth – July 1561, 26-31
Elizabeth – December 1571
Elizabeth – October 1582, 16-20
Spelthorne Hundred – Hampton Court Palace: pictures
(1546-1582; English transcription)
Also contains the Calais Papers.
From the British History Online
(1547-1553; English transcriptions)
” The House of Commons Journal is the corrected archive edition of 'Votes and Proceedings', the formal record of House of Commons business for a given day.“
British History Online
1547-1830; English transcriptions)
And such as concern religion and the reformation of it, and the progress made therein. Containing also many new discoveries of the life, acts and government of that prince.
(1547-1553; English transcriptions)
With the contemporary history of Europe, illustrated in a series of original letters.
(1547-1558; English transcriptions)
(1549; transcription)
Act standardizing Anglican liturgy.
(1549; English)
In the first journal entry Edward VI records the results of an unsuccessful war in Scotland, civil disturbances in England and the execution of the Protector’s brother who was also the king’s uncle.
See also a facsimile selection directly from his diary
From English History and the British Library
(1549-1551; English transcription)
After Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547, commissioners were employed to make a detailed list of his belongings. It took 18 months to compile.
From British Library
(1549; facsimile)
A project of the Edinburgh University Library.
(1550-1740; facsimiles)
Letters of a noted dynast and indomitable matriarch.
The complete correspondence, developed by the University of Glasgow.
(1550-1608; facsimiles, transcripts and commentary)
For a great part of the period of his Diary, the times were very eventful. Important changes in the Church and State were attended by many extraordinary occurrences, particularly those deprivations, imprisonments, trials and executions, the promotion of new ministers and prelates, and other incidents...
(1550-1563; transcriptions)
She is famous as the ‘Nine Days’ Queen’, for she ruled for that small amount of time in July 1553. Account written by Henry Machyn, a London undertaker.
From English History
(1553; English transcription)
Being the contemporary narrative of Antonio de Guaras, a Spanish Merchant resident in London.
(1553; transcriptions; Spanish with English translation)
From the British History Online
(1553-1558; English transcription)
Wherein are brought to light various things concerning the management of affairs, during the five years of her government. More particularly, the restoring of the Pope's authority and the Popish religion in this kingdom.
(1553-1558; English transcriptions)
Probably written in 1553, when the future Queen of England was 20 years old, Elizabeth’s letter reveals the personal costs behind the power struggles of the troubled Tudor dynasty.
From the British Library
(1553; English facsimile and transcription)
Works by important English aristocrat.
(1554-1618; English)
Writings of preacher who influenced political philosophy.
(1554-1600; English)
Searchable images of the British Library copy.
(1554-1555; facsimiles)
From Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature.
(16 March 1554: English transcription)
English translation of selected articles with background information provided.
Full German transcription also available.
(25 September 1555; English translation)
The English History through Henry VIII by Polydore Vergil
From the University of Birmingham Philological Museum
(1555; Latin text and English translation)
Controversial essay by Bishop of of Winchester and Rochester.
(1556; English)

The Reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

Including correspondence with Queen Katherine, King Eric XIV of Sweden, and Mary Queen of Scots; a coroner's report and other primary documents.
(pre 1558-1603; facsimiles with Latin and English transcriptions)
Letters of a noted dynast and indomitable matriarch.
The complete correspondence, developed by the University of Glasgow.
(1550-1608; facsimiles, transcripts and commentary)
A collection of public and private documents, chiefly illustrative of the times of Elizabeth and James I, from the original manuscripts
(ca 1558-1625; English transcriptions)
Including letters written by the hand of the queen, official letters written by secretaries, and drafts in the king's hand.
(ca 1558-1625; Old English transcriptions)
(London: Henry Colburn, 1845)
(1558-1576; text searchable Google Print facsimiles with updated English transcriptions)
From British History Online
(1558-1559; English transcription)
A series of original letter, selected from the unedited private correspondence of the Lord Treasurer Burghley and other most distinguished persons
Volume II
(1558-1603; transcriptions)
  • Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas)
1558-1567
1568-1579
1580-1586
1587-1603
From British History Online
(English transcription)
Among which are Interspersed Other Solemnities, Public Expenditures, and Remarkable Events During the Reign of that Illustrious Princess
Volume II
(1558-1603; English transcriptions)
And other various occurrences in the Church of England, during Queen Elizabeth's happy reign : together with an appendix of original papers of state, records, and letters
Volume II
Volume III
(beginning 1558; English transcriptions)
Extracts from the Accounts of the Revels at Court, in the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I
(English and Old English transcriptions)
  • Calendar of State Papers Relating to English Affairs in the Vatican Archives
1558-1571
1572-1578
From British History Online
(English transcription)
In the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I
(1558-1603; English eBook)
Scroll up one section to Britain. These 23 documents of religious unrest during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and Charles I include proclamations against preaching; political acts giving ecclesiastic power to the state; acts against Jesuits, Seminarists, Puritans, and Recusants; resolutions of religion by the House of Commons; etc.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(1558-1689; transcription)
” Includes very detailed accounts of debates in both houses of Parliament from 1559 until 1601. Collected by Sir Simonds d'Ewes, knight and baronet of Stow Hall in Suffolk.”
British History Online
(1559-1601; English transcription)
Part of Queen Elizabeth's 1559 Religious Settlement.
Edited by Henry Gee and William John Hardy.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(1559; transcription)
"Revives ten acts subsequent to 22 Hen. VIII, and one of Edward VI; it confirms the repeal of six Acts of Henry VIII, and repeals the Heresy Act of Philip and Mary and the repealing Statute of those sovereigns."
Edited by Henry Gee and William John Hardy.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(April 1559; transcription)
Edited by Henry Gee and William John Hardy.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(April 1559; transcription)
A project of the National Library of Scotland.
(1560-1928; facsimiles)
Famous book of Reformation era Protestant Martyrs.
(1563; English)
By John Stow. Conteynyng the true accompt of yeres, wherein euery kyng of this realme of England began theyr reigne, howe long they reigned: and what notable thynges hath bene doone durynge theyr reygnes.
Made available by The Oxford Text Library
(1565; Old English transcription)
" It was issued in 1567 by Queen Elizabeth I... England was seeking to expand its export markets around the world."
From British Library
(1567; old English facsimile)
Early in the morning of 10 February 1567, Kirk o’ Field house in Edinburgh was destroyed by an explosion. The partially clothed bodies of Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and his servant were found in a nearby orchard, apparently strangled but unharmed by the explosion.
(1567; written and illustrated facsimiles)
Edited by Sir Walter Ellis, for King George the Fourth
(1570s-1650s; English transcriptions)
Defining statements of Anglican doctrine.
(1571; English)
  • The Ridolfi Plot
The plot to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots
Simancas – September 1571
Rome – 1571, November-December
Simancas – July 1571
(1571; English transcriptions)
  • Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Most Honorable the Marquess of Salisbury
"The series of these most important political and other documents commences in 1306, but papers of earlier date than the reign of Elizabeth are comparatively few. For the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, however, they constitute a body of state papers illustrative of general events and political transactions, with which the state papers preserved in the Public record office are alone comparable."--Roberts, R. 
Part I: From 1306
Part II: 1572-1582
Part III: 1583-1589
Part IV: 1590-1594
Part V: Oct 1594-Dec 1595
Part VI: 1596
Part VII: 1597
Part VIII: 1597-1598
Part IX: 1599
Part X: 1599-1600
Part XI: 1601
Part XII: 1602- Mar 1603
Part XIII: 12th-16th century
Part XIV: 1596-1603
Part XV: Mar-Dec 1603
Part XVI: 1604
Part XVII: 1605
(English transcriptions)
Letters and reports: The Norrises had six sons, all of whom fought in the armies of Elizabeth I. Five of the six brothers died serving the Queen, all within the lifetime of Lord and Lady Norris.
(1573; facsimiles)
The State Papers Colonial are the accumulated papers of the secretaries of state relating to colonial affairs from the 16th to the 18th century. This series details papers relating to Colonial America and the West Indies for the period 1574-1739.
(1574-1739; English transcriptions)
"Amassed by Hans P. Kraus, this collection comprises important primary and secondary materials accumulated about Sir Francis Drake’s voyages."
In cooperation with Rare Books and Special Collections Reading Room
(1577-1580; English)
"During the late 1500s, Queen Elizabeth I passed a series of strict laws relating to dress codes. The laws ensured that people across the social spectrum dressed according to their rank and class."
From British Library
(1577; old English facsimile)
Edited by Sir Walter Ellis, for King George the Fourth
(1580s-1720s; English transcriptions)
In which the secret intrigues of her court, and the conduct of her favourite, Robert Earl o f Essex are particularly illustrated from the original papers of his intimate friend, Anthony Bacon.
Volume II
(1581-1603; English transcriptions)
Commissioned by Sir Walter Raleigh to encourage English colonization of the New World.
(1584; transcription)
Richard Hakluyt justifies English predations against Spanish shipping and ports in the New World. He also argues that the Pope's decision in 1494 to divide the New World between Spain and Portugal was in error.
(1584; English transcription)
The first letter was sent to Mary, queen of Scots at the opening of her trial at Fotheringhay...Four days after Mary’s execution, Elizabeth sent the second letter to Mary’s son, King James VI of Scotland. In it, she asserts her innocence in his mother’s death.
From English History
(1586; English transcription)
(beginning 1586; English transcriptions)
Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. A source used for Shakespeare's Macbeth, King Lear and Cymbeline. Organized by chapter.
HOLINSHED’S HISTORY OF KING RICHARD III
(1587; Old English transcription)
  • Sir Francis Drake
Venice – September 1589
Elizabeth – June 1589, 16-20
Elizabeth I: volume 146 – August 1589
Queen Elizabeth – Volume 148 – April 1581
Queen Elizabeth – Volume 204 – October 1587
(1587-1589; English transcription)
It is addressed to her former brother-in-law, King Henry III of France. ...Mary clearly believes she is dying as a martyr to her Catholic faith.
From English History
(8 February 1587; English transcription)
Eyewitness account of the death of the Mary, ordered by Queen Elizabeth
In cooperation with Eye Witness to History
(1587; English transcription)
  • Spanish Armada
Venice – December 1588
Queen Elizabeth – Volume 214 – August 1-11, 1588
Simancas – August 1588, 26-31
Venice – December 1587
(1587-1588; English transcription)
Queen Elizabeth's speech against the Spanish Armada.
(1588; modernized transcription and commentary)
Queen Elizabeth's speech against the Spanish Armada.
From Internet History Sourcebook of Fordham College.
(1588; modernized transcription)
The following narrative is by a young courtier, Robert Carey, who, hearing the news of the arrival of the Spanish fleet, hurried away from court to take part in the fighting, and after the crisis was past returned to court, all within twelve days.
From Elfinspell
(1588; English transcription)
How the English government tried to show that the Spanish were threatening to invade England
See also, Documents of the Spanish Armada
(1588; English facsimiles)
Sir Francis Drake, Vice-Admiral of the English fleet, wrote this letter to Sir Francis Walsingham, Principal Secretary of Queen Elizabeth I, after the Battle of Gravelines.
See the facsimile version here
(1588; English transcription)
"The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 has long been held as one of England's greatest military achievements. This document records the famous speech delivered by Queen Elizabeth to her troops who were assembled at Tilbury Camp to defend the country against a Spanish invasion."
From The British Library
(1588; facsimile)
” Details debates in both Houses of Parliament from 1589 until 1601”
British History Online
(1589-1601; English transcription)
By Sir Walter Raleigh, knight. A report of the truth of the fight about the Isles of Azores, last summer, between the Revenge, one of her majesty's ships, and an armada of the king of Spain.
See also Excerpt from Jan Huyghen Van Linschoten
From Elfinspell
(1591; English transcription)
(1592-1597, facsimiles)
  • George Gifford, A dialogue concerning witches and witchcraftes
From the Hanover Historical Texts Collection
(1593; English transcription)
"This page provides all sorts of helpful advice: the best way to kill lice, how to keep pears from going mouldy, a method for making linen white, and a useful recipe for curing drunkenness."
From the British Library
(1595; English facsimile)
Part of the Bavarian State Library's Digital Collections.
(August 1595-May 1896; facsimile of the logbook's text and images)
The astrologer-physicians Simon Forman and Richard Napier recorded 80,000 consultations between 1596 and 1634. This is one of the largest surviving sets of medical records in history.
From the Cambridge Digital Library
(1596-1634; facsimiles)
Botanist book by John Gerard, including introduction to plants from the New World and an early reaction to the American chili pepper as it spiced up European cuisine for the first time.
(1597; English facsimile)
(1597; English transcription)
King James' defense of the divine right of kings.
(1598; English)
King James' treatise on government, written as a private letter to his son
(1599; English transcription)
Includes records of Parliament, of higher clergy, and manorial records such as feet of fines.
From British History Online
(16th century, transcriptions)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(16th - 17th centuries; transcriptions)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(16th - 18th centuries; transcriptions)
Key documents from the life and times of Henry VIII.
Provided by the British Library's Online Gallery.
(16th century; facsimiles, descriptions and videos)
120.000 portraits of famous British men and women from the 16th Century to the present day.
Explore the collection in a variety of ways.
(16th century - present; image facsimiles)
  • Sources on Francis Bacon
Original letters and memoirs
The works of Francis Bacon
Letters, speeches, charges, advices etc. of Francis Bacon
(late 16th, early 17th century; English transcription)
A series of letters written in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, with notices of the family of Stradling of St. Donat's Castle, Co. Glamorgan
(16th century; English transcription)
Includes extensive official and private records of Parliament, and the urban history of London, Glasgow, Cardiff and other major cities.
From British History Online
(17th century, transcriptions)
A commonplace book contains a collection of significant or well-known passages that have been copied and organized in some way, often under topical or thematic headings, in order to serve as a memory aid or reference for the compiler.
(15th century; English transcription)
A webpage dedicated to his works
From the creators of LacusCurtius
(17th century; English transcriptions)
A collection documenting Sir Isaac Newton's writings and ideas, consisting primarily of letters to and from 17th and 18th century scientists.
(17th - 18th centuries; facsimiles)
"This autobiography of a Jesuit priest in Elizabethan England is a most remarkable document and John Gerard, its author, a most remarkable priest in a time when to be a Catholic in England courted imprisonment and torture; to be a priest was treason by act of Parliament."
(17th century; English transcriptions)
  • Seventeenth Century Human Rights Documents
The Poor Law Act
Quakers in Reading Gaol
The Grand Remonstrance
A request from army leaders at Putney to Parliament
(17th century; facsimiles)
An online exhibit of the Parliamentary Archives including primary documents and other records.
(1600-1807; facsimile images, commentary and instructional modules)
Ballad about Elizabeth York, who prepared to commit suicide to avoid marrying her brothers' murderer
See also The most pleasant song of Lady Bessy : the eldest daughter of King Edward the Fourth, and how she married King Henry the Seventh of the House of Lancaster
From Encyclopedia of the War of the Roses
(1600; English)
With Sir Robert Cecil and others in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Containing papers illustrative of transactions between King James and Robert Earl of Essex.
(1600; transcriptions)
Speech delivered in London by Elizabeth the Second.
(November 30, 1601; English)
Includes works by and about dozens of 17th century contemporaries, including James I, Sir Francis Bacon and the Duchess of Newcastle.
Compiled by Luminarium
(1603-1660; English transcriptions)
Robert Carey's Account
From Elfinspell
(1603; English transcription)

The Reign of James I (1603-1625)

Including many of his speeches (1603-1616), the Trent Law of Free Monarchies, the Basilikon Doron, a Premonition to all Christian Monarches, and other works
(1599-1616; English transcriptions)
Containing a series of historical and confidential letters, in which will be found a detail of the public transactions and events in Great Britain during that period, with a variety of particulars not mentioned by our historians.
(1603-1617; English facsimile)
(1603-1617; Old English transcriptions)
Letters of a noted dynast and indomitable matriarch.
The complete correspondence, developed by the University of Glasgow.
(1550-1608; facsimiles, transcripts and commentary)
Collected from original manuscripts, scarce pamphlets, corporation records, parochial registers. Comprising 40 masques and entertainments, 10 civic pageants, numerous original letter and annotated lists
(1603-1617; English transcriptions)
By King James I, a treatise expressing his dislike of tobacco. Soon afterwords, an excise tax and tariff was levied on imported tobacco.
(1604; Old English transcriptions)
"A group of Catholic conspirators, including the now infamous Guy Fawkes, devised a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Their aim was to overthrow the government, kill King James I, and make James’s daughter a Catholic head of state."
From the British Library
(1605; facsimile)
Item #4. " The writer warned [Catholic Lord Monteagle] to avoid the state opening of Parliament due in a few days’ time and remain at his estate for the purposes of safety."
From History Extra
(1605; English transcription)
Transcription of the trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot.
(27 January 1605; transcription)
With a discourse of the manner of its discovery; and a perfect relation of the proceedings against those horrid conspirators; wherein is contained their examinations, tryals, and condemnations: likewise King James's speech to both houses of Parliament, on that occasion.
(1605; Old English transcriptions)
From the Queen, Prince Henry, Prince Charles, the Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Frederick, king of Bohemia, and from their son, Prince Frederick Henry.
(beginning 1606; Old English transcriptions)
(1608-1674; English)
"For kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself are called gods."
(1609; English transcription)
A judge of the court of the King's Bench in the reign of James I and Charles I
(1610-1622; Old English transcriptions)
  • Works of Richard Baxter
Works by the Puritan leader.
A Call to the Unconverted to Turn and Live
The Reformed Pastor
The Saints' Everlasting Rest
(1615-1691; transcriptions)
He relates to the queen his story of Jamestown and Pocahontas.
Courtesy of Digital History
(1616; English transcription)
”This series is a documentary history of the English 17th-century civil wars, compiled by the historian and politician John Rushworth.”
British History Online
(1618-1648; English transcription)
Written by King Charles the First and Second, King James the Second, and the King and Queen of Bohemia; together with original letters, written by Prince Rupert, Charles Louis, count palatine, the Duchess of Hanover, and several other distinguished persons
(1619-1665; transcriptions)
Chiefly addressed to King James I. of England.
(1620; Old English transcriptions)
To which is subjoined the private correspondence between King Charles I and Sir Edward Nicholas, and between Sir Edward Hyde, afterwards Earl of Clarendon, and Sir Richard Browne.
(1620-1665)
Wherein, The Causes of the Decay of Trade in this Kingdome, are discovered and the Remedies also to remoove the same, are represented.
(1622; old English transcription)
Namely Commodities, Moneys and Exchange of Moneys, by Bills of Exchanges for other Countries. An answer to a "Treatise of Free Trade."
(1622; old English transcription)
(English transcription)
Autobiography by the founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers).
(1624-1691; edited by Rufus M. Jones)
(London: Camden Society, 1889).
(1624-1626; text searchable Google Print facsimiles)

The Reign of Charles I (1625-1649)

Including her private correspondence with her husband Charles the First
(1624-1668; English transcriptions)
A judge of the court of the King's Bench in the reign of James I and Charles I
(Old English transcriptions)
Containing a series of historical and confidential letters, including memoirs of the mission in England of the Capuchin friars in the service of Henrietta Maria, and a variety of other particulars not mentioned by our historians
(ca 1625; English transcriptions)
  • Works of Paul Bunyan
Works bhttps://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/EuroDocs:Copyrightsy the Christian writer.
Grace Abounding
The Holy War
The Pilgrim's Progress
(1628-1688; transcriptions)
The Petition exhibited to his Majesty by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, concerning divers Rights and Liberties of the Subjects, with the King's Majesty's royal answer thereunto in full Parliament [from the American colonies].
(1628; English transcription)
Documents of the English civil wars, the Commonwealth and Protectorate
(1641-1660; English transcriptions)
(1642-1660)
Pamphlets include: His Majesties Declaration to the Ministers, Freeholders, Farmers, and substantiall Copy-holders of the County of York, The Kings Maiesties Alarum for Open War, Englands Oaths, and True and Happy Newes from Worcester.
(1642; English transcription)
Concerning their endeavours since they came thither for the peace of the Kingdom, and the reasons enforcing their absence from Westminster
See also a 1642 declaration concerning Distractions and Calamities, HERE
(1643; Old English transcription)
By Sir Richard Baker, Knight. A chronicle from the time of the Romans goverment unto the raigne of our soveraigne lord, King Charles containing all passages of state or church, with all other observations proper for a chronicle / faithfully collected out of authours ancient and moderne.
Made available by The Oxford Text Archive
(1643; Old English transcription)
Sources on Oliver Cromwell
Menasseh ben Israel's mission to Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell's letters & speeches
Speeches
The Quarrel Between the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell
(1643-1658; English transcriptions)
Important piece of writing by John Milton.
(1644; English)
It begins at the height of the civil war. "The diary is that of a lady living in troubled times, her husband imprisoned, the estate despoiled; leading men in the State brought to execution.
(1645-1651; English)
Reformed confession of faith for the Church of England.
(1646; English)
Letters of King Charles the First to Queen Henrietta Maria
(1646; English transcriptions)
Proposal for republican government in England.
(1647; English)
Although the authorship is debated, this work purports itself to be Charles' spiritual autobiography, in which he pushes for the forgiveness of his executioners.
(1649; English transcriptions)
Including navy committee orders, militia commissions, recognizances and other important documents.
(1649-1660; English transcriptions)
With links to diaries and letters
(1649-1660; English)
Charles' speech delivered immediately before his death.
More on his death HERE
A facsimile page from his trial record here
(January 30, 1649; English)
Concerning the affairs of Great Britain
(1649-1658; transcriptions)
Manifesto of the egalitarian Levelers.
(1649; English)

The Cromwells, Charles II & James II (1653-1688)

By Count Crammont. Also: The personal history of Charles, including the king's own account of his escape and preservation after the battle of Worcester, as dictated to Pepys ; and The Boscobel tracts; or, Contemporary narratives of His Majesty's adventures, from the murder of his father to the restoration.
(1649-1685; English transcriptions)
Defense of the execution of Charles I.
(1650; English)
(ca 1651; transcriptions)
OF THE NATURAL CONDITION OF MANKIND AS CONCERNING THEIR FELICITY AND MISERY
From the Internet History Sourcebook
(1651; English transcription)
Speech of Oliver Cromwell, when he threw out the parliament.
(April 20, 1653; English)
Effectively the constitution of the English Commonwealth.
(1653; English)
The state of Europe during the early part of the reign of Louis XIV
(1654; English transcriptions)
Member in the parliaments of Oliver and Richard Cromwell, from 1656-59 ... With an account of the Parliament of 1654; from the journal of Guibon Goddard
(1654-1656; transcriptions)
Response to English Commonwealth.
(1656; English)
Proposal for the structure of a republican Government.
(1656; English)
"To His Highness, Oliver Cromwell"
(1658; English transcriptions)
Important philosophical work by John Milton.
(1659; English)
A letter from officers at Whitehal to the Commander in Chief of the Forces in Scotland, to be communicated to the officers of the army there. Including the reply.
(1659; English transcriptions)
These letters possess importance as proving that Richard did not so readily acquiesce in his downfall as is generally supposed.
(1659; English transcriptions)
Amnesty for rebels during the English civil war, promise of retention of property and guarantee of religious toleration from Charles II.
(April 4, 1660; English)
Act of both houses of parliament affirming the right of Charles II to the throne of England.
(May 8, 1660; English)
Together with a few letters
(1660-1667; English transcriptions)
In 1660 Samuel Pepys, an increasingly-important 26 year-old civil servant in London, began writing his diary. He stopped a decade later. This site contains the full text of his diary, along with several letters sent or received by Pepys.
(1660-1670; English transcriptions)
Written by his Royal Highness James, duke of York
(1660-1673; English transcriptions)
Letters to and from Henry Savile, esq., envoy at Paris, and vice-chamberlain to Charles II and James II, including letters from his brother George, marquess of Halifax
(beginning 1661; English transcriptions)
Revised Anglican prayer book. This version was instituted at the end of the English Civil War. Includes more recent revisions.
(1662; English)
"As soon as the Plague appeared in London, so did quack doctors selling fake remedies."
From the British Library
(1665; English facsimile)
Cambridge University Library holds the largest and most important collection of the scientific works of Isaac Newton (1642-1727). They range from his early papers and College notebooks through to the ground-breaking Waste Book and his own annotated copy of the first edition of the Principia.
(1665-1727; facsimile)
This was the worst outbreak of plague in England since the black death of 1348. London lost roughly 15% of its population.
(1665-1666; English written and illustrated facsimiles)
"The fire had started in a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane on September 2. In 17th century London fires were common, but none of them had spread so widely or caused as much damage as this."
From the British Library
(1666; English facsimile)
By Josiah Child
(1668; English transcription)
Compilation completed sometime between 1670 and 1680, includes work of multiple English poets and playwrights.
Click on book in right hand corner to view facsimile.
(1670-1680; English interface)
The first treats of The Reason of the Decay of the Strength, Wealth, and Trade of England.The latter, Of the Growth and Increase of the Dutch Trade above the English.
(1670)
"England's second Dutch war of the reign of Charles II... was preluded by long negotiations with France, and by three successive treaties, showing... the immorality and wickedness of the English government at that period."
(1673-1674; English transcription)
In an effort to concentrate religious power in the Anglican realm.
Digitized by Wade Frembd.
(8 January 1678; transcription)
Act of congress guaranteeing that subjects not be held indefinitely without a trial.
See the facsimile version HERE
(1679; English)
Over 100 documents on the history of Jacobitism and the Jacobite kings.
Digitized by Noel S. McFerran as a part of The Jacobite Heritage.
(1680-1861; transcriptions with modernised spelling)
An account of the preservation of King Charles II after the Battle of Worcester
Dictated by the king himself; to which are added his letters to several persons.
See also The royal miracle; a collection of rare tracts, broadsides, letters, prints, & ballads concerning the wanderings of Charles II. after the battle of Worcester
(1680; English transcription)
Failed attempt of parliament to prevent James II from ascending to the throne of England.
(1680; English)
Isaac Newtons seminal work on physics. Also available in English.
(1687; English)
Letter of parliament inviting William of Orange to seize the throne of England.
(June 30, 1688; English)
Digitized key books and maps relating to specimens held in the Geological Collections of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
(17th - 19th centuries; book and manuscript facsimiles)
A part of the University of Missouri Library's Digital Library.
(17th-19th centuries; full-text searchable database of facsimiles)
This selections gives "a sense of what the ideal roles and virtues for such women were. It was commonly believed...that women were the weaker sex, physically inferior to men and more prone to irrationality...However, [there] were the traits of gentleness and softness...which some saw as indicating a sense of feminine moral equality, if not superiority, to men.
From Women in World History
(late 17th century; English transcription)

Other Collections

  • The Statutes of the Realm
Vol. 1, 1101-1301
Vol. 2, 1377-1503/04
Vol. 3, 1509/10-1545
Vol. 4, Part I and Part II, 1547-1624
Vol. 5, 1625-1680
Vol. 6, 1685-1694
Vol. 7, 1695/6-1701
Vol. 8, 1702-1707
Vol. 9, 1708-1713
Vol. 10
Vol. 11
(facsimiles with English translations)
An extensive collection of printed British official publications.
Previously digitised EPPI and BOPCRIS papers, with some additional non-Parliamentary publications which have been scanned by the in-house Hartley Library Digitisation Unit (LDU).
In 8 volumes. Beginning with medieval writers such as Bede and continuing on through the beginning of Protestantism.
Their original writings, in 12 volumes:
Wickliff to Bilney
Tindal, Frith and Barnes
Latimer
Hooper
Bradford
Ridley and Philpot
Cranmer, Rogers, Careless
Knox
Becon
Jewell
Fox, Bale and Coverdale
As well, The Writings of Edward VI and others
(English transcription)
Topographic Maps, Boundary Maps, and Land Use Maps of Historic Britain.
A subpage of A Vision of Britain through Time.
Includes letters from multiple women such as Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots, Charlotte Brontë, and a maidservant.
(15th-19th century; English transcription)
Collection of 50 books and manuscripts from England around the renaissance centuries
In cooperation with the Library of Congress
(English and Latin facsimiles)
A collection of documents and maps.
(Facsimiles)
From the University of Manchester
(facsimiles)

EuroDocs > History of the United Kingdom: Primary Documents > 1486 - 1688