Copyright © 2012
Avello Publishing Journal
ISSN: 2049 - 498X
Issue 1 Volume 2:
The Unconscious
Jason Wakefield
Review: Authorship and Authority: the writings of James VI and I (2007) Jane Ricard. Manchester
University Press. 2012.
After visiting an exhibition at Cambridge University Library last year about the making of the King
James Bible, my attention was drawn to James VI of Scotland and I of England, not only as a
monarch, but as an author in his own right. Before entering the exhibition, there was an unrelated
marble statue of King George II, the last British monarch to personally lead an army into battle
dressed as a Roman Emperor (thus crowned with a laurel wreath) positioned near the front door
way of the library. The statue is no longer in the library and neither are the rare copies of the Bible
from the temporary exhibition. A parallel can be drawn between this and the very little evidence
surviving of the process between commissioning and publication of the King James Bible. Thus one
took the opportunity of taking a few photographs of the rare books on display in the exhibition! The
exact date, price and print – run of the King James Bible is unknown, however it was eventually
published in 1611. According to the curator of the exhibition:
No authoritative copy of the King James Bible survives. The manuscript, supposedly
still in existence in 1655, is said to have perished in the Great Fire of London. The first
editions were produced by the King's printer, Robert Barker, who despite his eminent
position seems to have been a disorganised workman who introduced a large number of
typographical errors. In 1631 after he omitted the word not from the Seventh Commandment
he was fined £500, 000 for the error and the rest of his life in a debtors jail as a result!
Other rare books which captivated my attention in the exhibition was a 1455 Gutenburg Bible and
the John Wycliffe English translations of the Bible condemned by Arch- Bishop Arundel in 1407. It
is worth noting that translating the Bible into English was still illegal when the classical and
Hebrew scholar William Tyndale wished to make a new translation, so he left for Germany. Unable
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to acquire any of these rare manuscripts for my personal collection, this new paper – back edition of
Jane Ricard's Authorship and Authority: the writings of James VI and I has been an alternative
addition to my reference material. Ricard's scope and content consists of portraying King James as a
writer of poetry, theological treatises, scriptural exegeses, political speeches in addition to prose
spread across approximately two hundred pages. It has been necessary to review Ricard's
monograph in this issue of the journal because it is one of the few books that focuses on James as
an author, rather than as a patron of the Renaissance. Authorship and Authority: the writings of
James VI and I is adapted from a Ph.D thesis chapter Rickard embarked on at the University of
Warwick under the supervision of Jonathan Bate and Kevin Sharpe. 1
The book has numerous strengths, especially in her choice of quotations from Basilikon Doron,
Daemonologie, Poeticall Exercises, Letters of Queen Elizabeth and King James VI of Scotland as
well as The Workes of the Most High and Mighty Prince, Iames (1616). Basilikon Doron is a lavish
text, printed in seven copies comprising of italic letters on high – quality paper. James intended it as
a handbook for kings, as opposed to An Apologie for the Oath of Allegiance (1607) which he
printed anonymously.
Weaknesses of her book include her limited choice of title pages and engravings she has chosen
to illustrate Authorship and Authority: the writings of James VI and I. During a visit to a different
Cambridge University Library exhibition, this time to celebrate the last four centuries of books on
its shelves, 2one of my favourite books on display was John Udall's Certaine Sermons, taken out of
Severall Places of Scripture (1596) a fine example of sixteenth – century English velvet binding,
embroided with the arms of Elizabeth I. In 1598, Paul Hentzner visited the Royal Library in
Whitehall and commented that the books were 'all … bound in velvet of different colours, though
chiefly red'. Perhaps a greater variety pictures could have been used to illustrate her text rather than
just those reproduced from the Folger Shakespeare Library. On page 103, there is a timely picture
1 Kevin Sharpe was a historian particularly noted for his work on King Charles I of England (1600 – 1649).
2 This was held between January and June 2012. There are more than eight million items on the shelves of the library,
making it one of the most important collections of books and manuscripts in the world.
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containing a manuscript copy of Daemonologie, showing James's hand – written corrections.
Another weakness is Ricard's flirtation with Foucault's Language, Counter – Memory, Practice and
Barthes Image Music Text to support her core argument concerning James deconstructing his
authority through his authorship. Perhaps she stresses the co – dependence of political and literary
authority a little too much: 'the King's attempts to borrow authority from literature may ultimately
have done less to reinforce his kingship than to authorise authorship' (Ricard 2012: 207).
To conclude, my final evaluation is that Ricard perhaps should have used Cambridge University
Library as an additional resource to expand her manuscripts found in the Bodleian, Henry E.
Huntington and British libraries. Her bibliography of early editions of printed works by and
attributed to King James VI and I is excellent; however Cambridge University Library houses the
great bibliophile John Moore's collection of books bought by King George I in 1714 plus other
treasures such as Emperor Napoleon's personal copy of Montaigne's Essays (1608). The binding of
Napoleon's personal edition is decorated with bees and a crowned initial 'N' - one of Napoleon's
symbols. Also Ricard could have explored more about the relationship between our monarchy and
our Anglo – Saxon educational citadels such as Oxford and Cambridge. Oxonians already familiar
with Henry II's 1167 formation of the University of Oxford (as a consequence of banning English
students enrolment at the University of Paris) perhaps would be interested in learning about Henry
III's part in the 1231 formation of the University of Cambridge. It is these King's legacies that
James I inherited. It is fascinating how literature informs us of the two great kingdoms (England
and France) lost by Henry when he was murdered in the Tower of London on the 21st May 1471.
Despite this, one can still stroll around King's College Chapel, Cambridge (as we where yesterday),
marvel at its fan – vault ceiling (the largest in the world) and appreciate the emblematic stained –
glass windows depicting the relationship between theology, philosophy, royalty, literature and
Gothic English architecture.
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