Foxe, Actes and Monuments. The complete 4th edition of 1583, last printed edition in Foxe’s lifetime.

FOXE, John  Actes and Monuments of matters most special and memorable happenying in the Church [&c]   [At London: Imprinted by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate beneath S. Martins] An. 1583. Mens. October

39cm x 25cm  [32], 305, 307-373, 373-794; [2], 799-1221, 1223-2110, 2112-2154 [30]p  Lacking only blank at end of Vol 2. Collates complete.

Some small amount of worming 2113-2147. One or two small closed tears, marks, else a very good copy.

2 folding plates. Title page to first volume is mounted with small loss, chip to lower outer foredge. Paper repairs to final pages of first volume. Half dozen leaves top corners repaired and then final 7 leaves more heavily repaired down the foredge of each leaf. These are all illustrated with woodcuts to both sides of the leaf. It is usual that copies are generally worn here with the regular thumbing of these woodcut pages.

Two volumes bound in matching tooled spines. Volume 1 has been recently rebound in new full calf and Volume 2 with original leather boards both with matching fully tooled spines in gilt over raised bands. Hand lettered labels. An attractive set.

This is the final edition (4^th) of Foxe’s Actes and Monuments which was published before his death in 1587. There were further additions made to this, the fourth, edition.

The 1992 British Academy Actes & Monuments project states:

Professor Collinson had already, and very generously, loaned the project his personal copy of the 1583 edition, with a view to having this unbound and scanned, and it was decided to exploit this unique opportunity by issuing a facsimile of that edition on CD-ROM. The scanning was undertaken at the British Library facility at Boston Spa between 1995 and 1998, defects in the main copy being supplied from other copies at the Library and at Cambridge. The result, which was issued by OUP in 2001, is the only complete text of the 1583 edition, all the surviving originals being defective in some respect.

John Foxe’s “Actes and Monuments,” published in Elizabethan England, wielded immense influence, shaping religious consciousness during the Protestant Reformation. This comprehensive martyrology emphasized the persecution of Protestants, fostering a distinct Protestant identity. Widely read, it fueled anti-Catholic sentiment and reinforced the Elizabethan Church’s legitimacy. Foxe’s work contributed to a collective Protestant memory, influencing public opinion and strengthening the resolve of adherents. It served as a polemical tool against Catholicism, contributing to a Protestant narrative that endured beyond its time, impacting religious discourse and identity in Elizabethan England.