Craig, Sir Thomas

Concerning the Right to Succession to the Kingdom of England, Two Books; Against the Sophisms of One Parsons a Jesuite, Who Assum'd the Counterfeit Name Doleman; By Which He Endeavours to Overthrow Not Only the Rights of Succession in Kingdoms, But Also the Sacred Authority of Kings Themselves.

      Craig, Sir Thomas [1538- - 1608]. [Gatherer, James, Translator]. Written Originally in Latin Above 100 Years Since by the Author, And Now Faithfully Translated Into English, With a Large Index of Contents, And a Preface by the Translator. London: Printed by M. Bennet, For Dan. Brown, 1703. [34], 230, 245-431, [17] pp. Folio (12-1/2" x 8"). Contemporary speckled calf, blind frames to boards, gilt spine with raised bands and lettering piece. A few minor scratches to boards, corners bumped and somewhat worn, front board just beginning to separate, rear joint just starting at ends, front free endpaper detached. Armorial Macclesfield bookplate to front pastedown, small embossed Macclesfield crest to title page. Offsetting to margins of endleaves, light soiling to title page, interior oherwise fresh. * Only edition. Craig wrote this work in 1603 in response to Robert Parsons's A Conference About the Next Succession to the Crown of England (1594), which supported the claims of the infanta of Spain. The vigorous suppression of Parsons's book and the peaceful accession of James I probably convinced Craig that his book was obsolete and not worth publishing. When it was published, however, it provoked a response by William Atwood entitled The Superiority and Direct Dominion of the Imperial Crown of England over the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland and the Divine Right of Succession to Both Crowns Inseparable from the Civil, Asserted: In Answer to Sir Thomas Craig's Treatises of Homage and Succession (1704, 2nd ed. 1705). This book was ordered by the Scottish Parliament to be burnt by the common hangman. Craig, a notable Scotch jurist and poet, is best known as the author of Jus Feudale (1603), an the first sytematic exposition of Scots law. OCLC locates 6 copies, none in law libraries. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth 1:114 (24). [Attributes: Hard Cover]