![\"Wondering](\"http:\/\/spec.lib.miamioh.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/eikontitle.jpg\")
<\/a>Wondering why it\u00a0reads ‘1648’? Until 1752, England held to the Julian calendar with New Year’s Day as March 25th.<\/p><\/div>On January 30th, 1649, Royalists in England were dealt a heavy blow when the Rump Parliament executed\u00a0Charles I for the charge of high treason. However, a mere ten days later, a book surfaced claiming to be the autobiographical writings of Charles during his imprisonment. A blend of spiritual meditations and political apologetics, the Eikon Basilike: The Portraicture of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings<\/em><\/a> had a stunning impact on the English people. The depiction of Charles as a flawed yet earnest, determined yet contemplative leader elevated him to martyrdom and energized the Royalist cause. The Eikon Basilike<\/em> quickly became one of the most popular books on the market, and in its first year alone saw over three dozen print runs in English and twenty more in other languages.<\/p>\n This frontpiece became a famous image of Charles I. This copy is an inset in a later edition<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n Parliament was quick to condemn it as a forgery and enlisted John Milton to pen his Eikonoklastes<\/em><\/a> which, though it declaimed Charles as a tyrant, failed to slow the growing popular sentiment for the king. The question of authorship was reignited more than a decade later when a dean named John Gauden claimed to have written the Eikon Basilike<\/em> based on the king’s notes. Meanwhile, a companion of the king through his last days named William Levet swore he had seen the king write it himself; his signed witness is often found in later editions. To this day, the origin of the\u00a0Eikon Basilike<\/em> remains a debated subject.<\/p>\n For an added bit of history, here’s a clipping about a diary contemporary to Charles I found glued in the back.<\/p><\/div>\n Whether the original words of Charles or a production by an associate, the Eikon Basilike<\/em> stands out as a treasure of our library and we are fortunate to have a first edition of this superb piece of literature and history available for scholars and enthusiasts.<\/p>\n Nor hath Gods Justice failed in the event and sad consequences, to shew the world the fallacy of that Maxime, ‘Better one man perish (though unjustly) then the people be displeased, or destroyed’.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the second chapter, Charles laments yielding to Parliament\u2019s demands for the execution of the Earl of Strafford, a long-time supporter of the king. Charles felt that by this, above all, he had damned himself. In his final speech on the scaffold at Whitegate it is recorded that he spoke \u2018That an unjust Sentence that I suffered for to take effect is punished now by an unjust Sentence upon me\u2019 in reference to Strafford.<\/p>\n This pocket-sized book is barely six inches long.<\/p><\/div>As beautiful as the spring finally come is, consider taking an afternoon to experience some of the history that the Walter Havighurst Special Collections has to offer. For more on the debate between the Royalists and Parliamentarians, we also have a first edition of Claude Saumaise\u2019s Defensio regia pro Carolo I<\/a><\/em>, published just months after the Eikon Basilike<\/em>, and another anti-monarchial response by Milton, Defensio pro Populo Anglicano<\/a><\/em>. Or why not read through some of Charles\u2019 known letters<\/a> and decide for yourself whether or not you think the Eikon Basilike to be the king\u2019s own words?<\/p>\n Marcus Ladd On January 30th, 1649, Royalists in England were dealt a heavy blow when the Rump Parliament executed\u00a0Charles I for the charge of high treason. However, a mere ten days later, a book surfaced claiming to be the autobiographical writings of…<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
\nSpecial Collections Librarian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"