Diary of John Manningham

Diary of John Manningham - Of the Middle Temple, and of Bradbourne, Kent, Barrister‑at‑Law, 1602-1603

The original of Manningham's Diary, which is here printed, is No. 5353 in the Harleian collection of MSS. in the British Museum. It is a diminutive 12mo. volume, measuring not quite six inches by four, and containing 133 leaves. The handwriting, of which an admirable representation is given in the fac-simile prefixed, is small, and in the main extremely legible; yet in some few places, from haste in the writer, from corrections, from blotting, from the effects of time, and from other obvious causes, difficulties have occurred in a word or two, which, even with the assistance of gentlemen most skilful in reading the old hands, have not been entirely overcome. The few instances in which the collater has been baffled are indicated by marks of doubt. The first historical writer who noticed this little volume for a literary purpose was Mr. John Payne Collier. In his Annals of the Stage, published in 1831 (i. 320), Mr. Collier quoted from this Diary various passages connected with his special subject, and drew attention to the principal personal facts disclosed by the writer respecting himself, namely, that he had many relations in Kent, and had probably been a member of the Middle Temple. The late Mr. Joseph Hunter was the next writer who used the work for an historical purpose.1 With his well-known fondness for genealogical inquiries he applied himself to determine who the writer was whom Mr. Collier had designated merely as a barrister.[Pg ii] In this inquiry Mr. Hunter was completely successful. Pursuing the clue given by the mention of relationships in Kent in the various ways which would occur to a person skilled in such investigations, Mr. Hunter fell upon a track in which coincidences between the facts stated in the MS. and those elicited by his own researches followed one another so rapidly as in the end to leave not even the shadow of a doubt that the desired result had been obtained. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 41609
Author: Manningham, John
Release Date: Dec 12, 2012
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Bruce, John, 1802-1869