• Foreword 5

• List of Abbreviations 6

• Introduction

  1. i. Contents 7

  2. ii. Manuscripts 8

  3. iii. Text development 10

  4. iv. Date 12

  5. v. Author 14

  6. vi. Historical value and sources 15

  7. vii. Reception of the Brevis Relatio 23

  8. viii. Editions 24

• The Brevis Relatio 25

King Edward died at Greenwich, on the 6th July 1553, “towards night.” a The event was kept perfectly secret during the next day; but measures were taken to occupy and fortify the Tower of London On “the 8. of July the lord maior of London was sent for to the court then at Greenwich, to bring with him sixe aldermen, as many merchants of the staple, and as many merchant adventurers, unto whom by the Councell was secretly declared the death of king Edward, and also how hee did ordaine for the succession of the Crowne by his letters pattents, to the which they were sworne, and charged to keep it secret.”

Acknowledgements 25

Abbreviations 26

Introduction

The text 27

The author 27

Latymer's purpose in writing the ‘Cronickille’ 29

Latymer's veracity 33

Other early biographies and notices of Anne Boleyn 37

The value of Latymer's account 43

Editorial Procedure 45

Text 46

I am grateful to the Keeper of Western Manuscripts, the Bodleian Library, Oxford for permission to publish the text offered here, Bodleian MS Don. C. 42, fos 21–33. I wish to thank Mr J.A.S. Green, the County Archivist of Berkshire, for information about Trumble MS and the staff of the following institutions for their assistance and cooperation: the Bodleian Library, Oxford; the British Library, Dr Williams's Library, Institute of Historical Research and Public Record Office, London; and the Bibliotheque Albert I, Brussels. Professor E.W. Ives has given valuable advice and constructive criticism, and Mr L.R. Gardiner offered much useful discussion of the nature of Tudor biography. I would like to thank Ms Catharine Davies and Ms Joy Shakespeare both for references and for suggestions. Thanks are due to Mr Stephen Baskerville, Miss Joan Henderson and Ms Susan Wabuda for enthusiastic discussion and kind encouragement.

Adopted with much enthusiasm by the Liberal ‘300’ at Droitwich. In the evening to a packed and rollicking meeting at Kidderminster. Sir Edward Fraser, Liberal candidate for the Borough and Mr. Brooks, our working-man humourist and orator of Stourbridge, also addressed meeting.