Terence Hartley – författare

The documents assembled in this volume were selected by Sir John Neale and many of them were used in his study of the House of Commons and in his two-volume study of Elizabeth''s parliaments. They may be divided into the diaries or journals complied by individual members on the one hand, and on the other, separate accounts of speeches intended for, or delivered, in Parliament, and of other proceedings relating to single issues. The principles on which this compilation has been presented are consistent with those followed in the first volume, subject to the modification adopted in the second.

Proceedings in the Parliaments of Elizabeth I is a major project which aims to make available the source materials collected by the late Professor Sir John Neale in the course of writing his classic work, Elizabeth I and her Parliaments. Neale had long hoped that the full richness of these sources - of which he made only partial use - would be made widely known. The documents cover a broader range of topics, notably of economic and social interest, than Neale dealt with in his study, and also reflect the preoccupation of individual localities with their own particular interests. This collection of documents is a further stage in the publication of material relating to proceedings in Elizabeth''s parliaments, and follows the first volume of "Proceedings" covering the sessions up to and including that of 1581.

This collection of documents is a further stage in the publication of material relating to proceedings in Elizabeth's parliaments, and follows the first volume of "Proceedings" covering the sessions up to and including that of 1581. Two considerations have led to the publication of theis section. In the first place, the quantity of material to be included for the six sessions from 1584-5 to 1601 is more extensive than what appeared in the first volume, and made a single volume a less feasible proposition. One consideration may illustrate this: the Hayward Townshend journal for 1601 alone extends to about 70,000 words, without any commentary or footnotes. Secondly, it is some time since the appearance of the first volume and it seemed right to divide what remained rather than prolonging the interval even further while work on the last three sessions of the reign is completed.