GEMMS IDGEMMS-MANUSCRIPT-001290
TitleTwo biographies
ShelfmarkHarley MS 7517
Creation Dateca. 1657 - 1700
RepositoryBritish Library
Contents NoteThis manuscript contains two biographies, written c. 1699-1700. The first concerns the life of the clergyman Thomas Pierson (c. 1573-1633); this is followed by a transcription of one of his sermons (ff. 43r-82r) and an extract from Excellent Encouragements Against Afflictions (London, 1647) (ff. 83r-87v). The second focuses on the landowner John Packer (1572-1649) (ff. 88r-101v). Following this shorter biography, there is a tract which centres on the relief of the poor in Holland 'and the other Protestant Provinces of the Low-Countries' (ff. 102r-108v). Two sermons by Thomas Watson, delivered in October 1657 and written in an earlier hand, complete the volume (ff. 110r-133r).
Material FeaturesQuarto. The present cataloguer has followed the modern pagination (in pencil).
Associated Peoplemanuscript owner - Harley, Robert
Provenance
AcquisitionThe Harleian Library was founded by Robert Harley, First Earl of Oxford (1661–1724). According to Cyril Ernest Wright, Robert Harley ‘was primarily interested in English historical and political material and in volumes of sermons and theological controversy, sharing in the latter the taste of his Harley ancestors’. See Cyril Ernest Wright, Fontes Harleiani (London, 1972), p. xxxiv.
Source of DataCyril Ernest Wright, Fontes Harleiani (London, 1972); A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts, in the British Museum (1808), Vol. III, pp. 533-34; Jacqueline Eales, 'Thomas Pierson and the Transmission of the Moderate Puritan Tradition', Midland History, 20 (1995), 75-102; Hannah Yip.
Other NoteAccording to Jacqueline Eales, the biography of Pierson is 'a typical example of the genre of the puritan 'godly life'', being 'a blend of the conventional mixed with recognisable personal details'. See Eales, p. 79.
Sermons ContainedThe Cure of Hurtfull Cares and Fears -- ff. 43r-82rMr Watsons Sermon preached October ye 4th: 1657 -- ff. 110r-121rMr Watson Sermon preached October ye 11th: 1657 -- ff. 122r-133r
Sermon Reports ContainedSermon on Daniel 9:22-23 -- f. 41r
GEMMS record createdMarch 04, 2020
GEMMS record last editedMarch 07, 2020