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Medieval & early modern Britain

Government records

Baga de secretis. 1477-1813. (K.B.8/2-14) [Microform]
RECAP 7894.406
2 reels
Printed guide: none
Material from the National Archives of the UK. This series is "the official records of many of the most important 'state trials', mainly for treason, held between 1477 and 1813, including those of Sir Thomas More, Queens Anne Boleyn and Katharine Howard, Guy Fawkes, the Regicides and the Jacobite rebels of 1715 and 1745. We have only K.B. 8/2-14, from the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII. For more information, see the UK National Archives web site.

Journals of all the Parliaments during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Collected by Sir Simonds D’Ewes
Firestone Library (F) Oversize J301 .xH14 1973q
Also available online and in microform.

Papers of the York Court of High Commission, c.1560-1641 [microform]
Microfilm 09160
14 reels
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Oversize BX5154 .E534q
The Court of High Commission heard ecclesiastical cases that had not been, or could not be, successfully addressed at a lower level. Cases include complaints about nonconformity, sexual conduct, and abuse of office by ministers. See http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/05090101.html

Cecil Papers
Papers of William Cecil, Lord Burghley (1520-1598) and his son, Robert, the 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563-1612). See http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4983.

Crown servants. Series one, The papers of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, 1593-1641, from the Sheffield City Libraries [microform]
Microfilm 09693
20 reels
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms DA396.S8 A35
Thomas Wentworth (1593–1641), first earl of Strafford, was deeply involved in British politics in the first half of the 17th century. See http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29056and http://www.adam-matthew-publications.co.uk/digital_guides/ crown_servants_series_one_thomas_wentworth/Contents.aspx

Crown servants. Series three, The Lauderdale papers, c1647-1682 from the British Library, London [microform]
Microfilm 11707
10 reels
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms DA804.1.L3 A4
John Maitland, first Duke of Lauderdale, was a powerful Scottish politician of the 17th century. See [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17827. Online guide at http://www.adam-matthew-publications.co.uk/digital_guides/ crown_servants_series_three_lauderdale/Contents.aspx.

Repertory. [Microform]
1465.592
39 reels
Printed guide: none
Records of the Court of Aldermen in London, for 1598-1694.

Journal. [Microform]
1465.593
18 reels
Printed guide: none
Records of the Court of Common Council in London. See above.

Book collections

Early English Books Online
Digital edition of books printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as works in English printed elsewhere. Based upon the Pollard and Redgrave Short Title Catalogue (1475-1640) and the Wing Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700). [We also hold these collections in microform: 0930.922 (Pollard) and 0419.922 (Wing).]

Renaissance commonplace books from the British Library, London [microform]
Microfilm 11785
15 reels
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms P6245.R462 2003
A collection of commonplace books dating from 1550 to 1700. See http://www.adam-matthew-publications.co.uk/collections_az/RenCpbks-BL/highlights.aspx

Renaissance commonplace books from the Huntington Library [microform]
Microfilm 00204
4 reels
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms PN6245 .R366
A collection of commonplace books that "cover the full spectrum of Renaissance culture, from poetry to politics, and from theology to law." See http://www.adam-matthew-publications.co.uk/collections_az/RenCpBksHunt/Highlights.aspx

Renaissance man [microform]: the reconstructed libraries of European scholars, 1450-1700. Series one, The books and manuscripts of John Dee, 1527-1608
Microfilm 08218
112 reels
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z997.D298 B66
On John Dee, Renaissance astrologer and antiquary, see http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/7418. The collection reconstructs his library, which included books and manuscripts on many topics, but is especially rich in material on science and magic. See the online guide at http://www.adam-matthew-publications.co.uk/digital_guides/.

Pamphlets & newsletters

Newsletters of Richard Bulstrode, 1667-1689: from the Harry Ransome Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin
Microfilm 11782
4 reels
Printed guide: none
A collection of English newsletters covering the late 17th century. See http://www.adam-matthew-publications.co.uk/digital_guides/newsletters_of_richard_bulstrode/Contents.aspx

Thomason Tracts
The Thomason Tracts are a substantial collection of material collected by a bookseller during the English Civil War. They have been digitized as part of Early English Books Online. See http://eebo.chadwyck.com/about/about.htm#tract. The collection is important enough to have a Wikipedia entry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomason Tracts. See also http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/news/thomasontracts/index.html.

Bute Broadsides in the Houghton Library, Harvard University [microform]
RECAP Microfilm 05335
1 reel
Printed guide: Firestone Microforms Z1231.B7A46
The Bute collection, assembled in the 19th century, consists of ephemera illustrating political and social aspects of 17th-century England. See http://microformguides.gale.com/Data/Introductions/30100FM.htm