Ravillac Redivivus, Being a Narrative of the Late Tryal of Mr. James.
Anti-Presbyterian Propaganda [Trials]. [Hickes, George (1642-1715)]. Ravillac Redivivus. Being a Narrative of the Late Tryal of Mr. James Mitchel a Conventicle-Preacher, Who was Executed the 18th of January, 1677. For an Attempt Which he Made on the Sacred Person of the Arch-Bishop of St. Andrews. To Which is Annexed, An Account of the Tryal of that Most Wicked Pharisee Major Thomas Weir, Who Was Executed for Adultery, Incest and Bestiality. In Which are Many Observable Passages, Especially Relating to the Church and State of Scotland. In a Letter from a Scottish to an English Gentleman. London: Printed for Walter Kettilby, 1682. [iv], 46, [2], 47-54 pp. The unpaginated leaf after page 46 contains publisher advertisements. Folio (12-1/4" x 7-3/4"). Recent period-style quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt title and date to spine, title page and final leaf re-hinged. Moderate toning light foxing in a few places, soiling to title page, early owner annotations to title page in neat small hand, a few marks and brief marks in recent hand in a few places. $950. * Second, expanded edition. Hickes was a bishop of the nonjuring Church of England in Scotland. A work on propaganda commissioned by his superior in Scotland, John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, Ravillac Redivivus is an account of the trial of the Scots-nationalist Presbyterian (Covenanter) James Mitchell [d.1678] for an attempt to assassinate James Sharpe, the archbishop of St Andrews. Hickes linked Mitchell's story to that of the notorious covenanter Major Thomas Weir [c. 1600-1670], a suspected sorcerer who was executed for bestiality and incest in 1670, in order to demonstrate that fanatical dissenters violated the boundaries of moral law and were capable of committing the most outrageous crimes in the name of religion. First published in 1678, the work was reprinted in Dublin in 1679, followed by our second edition. A note at the foot of the title page, which identifies the author, reads: "The author calls himself a Scots Addvocate: (p. 46). I rather think him an English Man, probably Dr. Hicks, at that time Chaplane to the Duke of Lauderdale." English Short-Title Catalogue R19059.
Price: $950.00
Book number 66594