Foxe's Book Of Martyrs And The Elect Nation

By William Haller

From the Preface. My intention in these pages is to offer an account of the usually referred to as The Book of Martyrs, in what I conceive to be the context of its own time. The account is based primanly on a study of that book in the successive versions and editions published by the author in his lifetime and of the relevant contemporary literature ofProtestant edification and propaganda. Foxe published two preliminary versions of his book on the Continent in 1554 and 1559, the first English version in 1563. A much revised and greatly enlarged version in 1570, and two editions in 1576 and 138g with some further revisions and additions but no significant changes. In the century after his death five more editions, based on the text of 1583, appeared in 1596, 1610, 1631-2, 1641 and 1684. The same text, slightly bowdlerized and at certain points somewhat awkwardly conflated with the text of 1563, was again reproduced in an edition in eight volumes issued by S.R. Cattley in 1837, later revised by Josiah Pratt,and reissued with pagination unchangedi 1843-9, 1870 and 1877. Quotations from the book in the following pages correspond to the text as it appearsin the Cattley-Pratt edition, corrected as may be necessary according to theoriginal. Spelling and punctuation have been regulated according to present usage. Of the numerous other editions or versions of Foxe's book published subsequentlyto 1684. I have examined a considerable number but not all, and have found none to be complete and many to be grossly corrupt. Most of the stories ofthe Marian martyrs appeared for the first time in print in the pages of Foxe's book, but some were published separately on the Continent during Mary’s reign…”

London. Bayler and Son. 1963. 275p.