Ravillac Redivivus, Being a Narrative of the Late Tryal of Mr James...
Religious Dissent and Sexual Deviancy in 17th-Century Scotland [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, Last, 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. In a Letter from a Scottish to an English Gentleman. London: Printed for Henry Hills, 1678. 78, [2] pp. Last leaf is a blank. Quarto. (7-1/2" x 5-1/2"). Eighteenth-century three-quarter calf over marbled boards, lettering piece and gilt fillets to boards. Light rubbing to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends and corners, front joint and hinge starting at head. Moderate toning and occasional faint dampspotting, light soiling to title page, "XI" in small early hand to its upper margin. $1,250. * First 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 Redivivis 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. English Short-Title Catalogue R10945.
Price: $1,250.00
Book number 72134