Abstract
John Caius is no longer a household name, except in a few households in East Anglia. Yet he was in many ways a characteristic and dominating figure of a particular moment in the 1560s and 1570s. For a few years, British courtiers, churchmen and country aristocrats—as well as successful medical men like Caius—shared a particular late humanist culture. They believed in the power and utility of ancient and medieval texts. These common assumptions kept them engaged in the scholarly study of the past long after their formal studies were over, and inspired them to nurse what were sometimes exaggerated hopes for the power of education. Many of them took a special interest in pragmatic political history, which they saw as a guide to public life. Caius was also a historian, like so many other medical men. But as we will see, he practiced a particular kind of history—one normally focused on the history of the church and produced more often by groups than by individuals.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
See the classic work of Siraisi 2007.
- 3.
Venn 1912; and Nutton, “Caius, John” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (http://www.oxforddnb.com.ezproxy.princeton.edu/view/article/4351?docPos=1; consulted May 19, 2014).
- 4.
- 5.
John Caius to Matthew Parker, April 8, 1567; Parker 1853, 299.
- 6.
Caius, Historiae Cantebrigiensis Academiae ab urbe condita liber primus [–secundus], in Works, 76–77: “Quas ob res eos tum temporis omnes fovebant, omnes amplexabantur, ut quos virtus, & eruditio commendabant populo, non ut hodie insolentia alienabat, non luxurians mensa, non vestis, non cubiculum, non intumescentia crocotillis crusculis faemoralia, non inter disputandum galeri, non ambiguae vestes, non crispatae camisiae, non rotundi pilei, non capiti pressi, non tonsa levitas, non barbata vanitas, non lascivia, non arma, non alea, non choreae, universitatis legibus iam olim prohibitae, non fastus denique vestis atque vitae, in quo multi ita splendent luce aliena, ut solet luna.”
- 7.
Venn, “John Caius,” in Works, 22–27.
- 8.
- 9.
Brooke 1985, 75.
- 10.
Caius 1568.
- 11.
Strype 1711, vol. 3, ch. 18, 257.
- 12.
- 13.
Hiatt 2004, ch. 4.
- 14.
Caius, De antiquitate, in Works, 26: “Nam postquam ab uno atque altero recentiori auspicatus fueris, ut Polydoro, Baleo, atque Lilio (quorum oscitante uno oscitat & alter, nam unum Polydorum authorem sequuntur omnes) cum locus sit introducendi veteres scriptores, nullum prorsus introducis, sed in alium locum differs … quasi trium istorum testimonia unum non essent, sed plura, uno Polydoro authore, pluribus qui eum authorem sequuti sunt, referentibus.”
- 15.
Ibid., 133: “Sed ad rhetoricam tuam, quae etsi dicat, nude & ieiune proferenda adversarij verba, non tamen dicit decerpenda duo aut tria vocabula testimonij ut causam adiuves: (incivile enim est arripere historiae particulam, & totam ex ea causam iudicare) nec ita implicanda scriptorum testimonia ut imponas.”
- 16.
Ibid., 14–16. For Annius’s giants, see Stephens 1989.
- 17.
- 18.
Caius, Works, [223]–227: “Catalogus scriptorum, quibus usus est duobus hisce libris Londinensis. Historici nostri antiqui & scripti.”
- 19.
Ibid., viii–x, after the Preface, where a note by M.R. James appears, identifying as many of the sources Caius used as possible. He points out Caius’s use “of Parker’s collection before it was bequeathed to Corpus Christi College” and of “many of the MSS, which Sir Robert Cotton (who seems to have begun to collect books about 1588) afterwards secured” (x). He does not note that the Cotton MSS, or many of them, would have been at Lambeth Palace. See also Grierson, “Appendix IV: John Caius’s Library,” in Biographical History of Gonville and Caius College, ed. Venn et al., VII, 509–535, at 523. For the growth and use of Parker’s collection see Graham and Watson 1998; Graham 2006, II. The portion of it that Parker left to Corpus Christi College has been digitized and made available as The Parker Library on the Web (http://parkerweb.stanford.edu/parker/actions/page.do?forward=home, consulted on May 20, 2014). See also Budny 1997.
- 20.
Strype 1711, 257.
- 21.
See Grafton 2012, 3–26.
- 22.
This point is best made by McMahon 2013.
- 23.
Parker 1572.
- 24.
Lambeth Palace Library MS 959, 36 recto.
- 25.
See e.g., London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius D. VII and MS Cotton Vitellius E XIV (the latter contains earlier drafts, the former later ones).
- 26.
London, British Library C.24.b.6, 2d pagination, 94–96.
- 27.
Parker, ibid., 2nd pagination, 95: “cum multis alijs Episcopis et Abbatibus, ut in Archivis patet.”
- 28.
Lambeth Palace Library MS 959, 18 recto. On Acworth see Fritze, “Acworth, George,” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (http://www.oxforddnb.com.ezproxy.princeton.edu/view/article/78, consulted May 20, 2014).
- 29.
Most striking—and most revealing of the labyrinthine quality of this printed book which has morphed into a manuscript—are two marginal notes in which members of the Parker circle identify beyond question the handwriting of a colleague: Lambeth Palace Library MS 959, 132 recto: “manus Domini Yale, ni fallor. autographum Yalei iam prae manibus habeo.” “valde dubito. Manus enim Johannis Parker est perquam similis.”
- 30.
See Knight 2013, 40–51.
- 31.
Plomer 1926, 252–268. London, British Llibrary C.32.h.15.(1.) is the Arundel/Lumley copy. A note on the title page reads: “Ex dono Mathei Cantuariensis Archiepiscopi.”
- 32.
London, British Library C.24.a.27. (1.) is a presentation copy from John Parker to King James VI and I, with a bespoke colored title page. On the verso of the first fly-leaf appears the following: “Excellentissimo Principi Iacobo Angliae Scotiae / Franciae et Hiberniae Regi dignissimo. / (Matthei dudum Archiepiscopi filius.) / Subditus humilimus / Johannes Parker / hunc.” James’s response is quoted by Brooke, 75.
- 33.
Lambeth Palace Library MS 959, 359 recto: “Johannes Lydgatus, Galfridi Chauceri discipulus author est tempore Gurguntij Regis Britanni qui regnavit anno mundi 4317. Cantabrum Regis Hispaniae filium et Bartholum regis Hiberniae fratrem Cantabrigiam super Cantam fluvium condidisse, nomenque Cantabrigiae dedisse: anno mundi 4346. A transmigratione babylonica anno 538. eumque Athenis edoctum inde Philosophos advocasse et Cantabr. docendi gratia collocasse & ab alijs initiijs ad suam Bedae et Alfredi memoriam primae scholae et universitatis nomine Cantabr. claruisse. Johannes Caius”; 374 verso: “Singulares patronos et restitutores habuit Cantabrigia: et habet hodie quoque multos. Habet enim tot ex multis paucos referam.) lucens ille et pulcherrimus orbis literarum et virtutum Cantabrigia prae caeteros, tres summos et primarios viros, tanquam tres stellas radiantes, de quibus multum sane gloriatur. Reverendissimum Matthaeum Parker Cantuar. Archiepm. et totius Angliae primatem: D. Nicolaum Bacon equestris ordinis virum, summi Cancellarij locum tenentem et Magni Sigilli custodem. Et Guliel. Cecilium equitem auratum, summum Angliae Thesaurarium, regiae maiestati a Consiliis, atque Cantabrigiensis Academiae Cancellarium summum. Qui ut eodem tempore Cantabrigiae omnes studuerunt etc. ut Caius de antiquitate Canteb. Academiae. pa. 129 et 130.”
- 34.
“Non tam solicitus fuit Caius noster cum adversario suo de utriusque Academiae antiquitate in hoc opere contendere, quam quae ex varijs antiquis monumentis de statu, privilegijs, dignitate, ac praerogativa Cantebrigiae ipse collegisset, edere ac in lucem proferre. In quo eum maxime elaborasse facile erit sano ac prudenti lectori deprehendere.”
- 35.
Caius 1570, Works, 86–87, contrasting “Bibliotheca publica illustrissimi principis Cosmi Medices, quae omnibus literarum studiosis principis humanitate atque gratia patet” (86) with the library at Urbino (“usque adeo difficilis accessus est in Bibliothecam ejus viri”) (87).
- 36.
Ibid., 100–102.
- 37.
- 38.
Caius, Historia, in Works, 68: “Ita utraque Oxoniensium Bibliotheca cum alijs perquisitis in illas scholas Theologicas translata, a nobilibus viris ornata quondam fuit. Quae iam vereor ne una cum Patronorum memoria deleta pene atque consumpta sit. Tam paucis annis gratitudinem extinguit negligentia, & benemeritorum oblivionem parit. Proinde admonendi sunt utriusque universitatis studentes, ut diligenter conservandis his quibus affecti sunt beneficijs, colendaque fraequenter Patronorum memoria a supina illa negligentia se prorsus vendicent atque seiungant. Eo enim modo Patronos novos indies conciliabunt, & quae profutura sibi sunt, acquirent.”
- 39.
Ibid., 68–71: “Hi autem veteres libri in Cantebrigiensi Bibliotheca iam supersunt.” At [115–116] thete is a “Note on pp. 68–71 by Dr. M.R. James, Provost of King’s College,” which identifies many of the books and manuscripts listed by Caius.
- 40.
Ibid., 184: “Etenim si quis volet superiorum temporum omnia comprehendere, ex ipso fonte petat, unde ad alios rivus dimanavit. Quapropter neque ego certe usus essem recentium authoritate, nisi tibi in hac controversia hos placere ex usu animadvertam, sic ut non alij aeque. Usus autem sum paucissimis, ut & impressis paucis, coeteris omnibus scriptis, quibus delector maxime, ut incorruptae & venerandae vetustatis exemplaribus.” Note also his description of the value of Asser as a contemporary witness to Alfred’s doings, ibid., 74: “Quid multis? Fidem & authoritatem maiorem semper affert vetustas in omnibus controversijs, ut quae, res ut erant viderat, aut illis quam proxime accesserat. Posteriores igitur examinabo ad primos illos incorruptae vetustatis scriptores, qui fide supereminent omnes, quod aut illis diebus vixerant quibus haec gesta sunt, aut his non longe aberant, aut quam proxime (ut dixi) accesserant, ut ex illis haurire possent. Inter quos primus primaeque fidei Asser seu Asserus est, oculatus & auritus testis, qui ex intimis Aluredi familiaribus fuit, qui in eius Aula vixit, res eius & domesticas & forenses novit, atque etiam cum doctis regiae familiae viris consuetudinem habuit, omniaque in vita & in morte diligenter observavit, ut solent qui historias veras scribere decreverunt.” It was of course Parker who arranged for the publication of Asser’s work on Alfred.
- 41.
Though Caius’s bibliography contains substantive comments on some of the works it lists, it says nothing about their provenance or location. See e.g. Works, 226: “Antonini Augusti itinerarium, in quod vir magnae diligentiae, & praestabilis nostri temporis Antiquarius Robertus Talbotus scripsit commentarios, satis certe luculentos atque elaboratos.”
- 42.
Parker, Correspondence, 299.
- 43.
Ibid.
- 44.
Ibid., 300.
- 45.
Parker, ed. 1570–71. † iii verso – † iiii recto: “Sane studiosius eum hanc provinciam in se suscepisse credibile est, quod lege et communi decreto cautum erat apud nos, Monasteria et Collegia ecclesiastica, in primis vero et prae caeteris Albanense Coenobium, quasi communem thesaurum et receptaculum debere esse, ubi reponerentur ac fidelissime reservarentur omnia historica gesta huius Regni, et quaecunque memoria ac fama digna essent.”
- 46.
On Da Ponte see Ricciardi 1986 (http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ludovico-da-ponte_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/; consulted May 19, 2014).
- 47.
Parker, ed. 1570, loc. cit.: “quod et notavit PONTICVS VIRVNIVS. in historia sua Britannica, in qua hoc testatum relinquitur, morem et consuetudinem Occidentalium Principum fuisse, semper apud se domi habere tales eruditos et doctos viros, qui sua et suorum dicta et facta egregia, vere possent et memoriter statim expedire: nolebant tamen haec sua magnifica et heroica gesta in publicum prodire et evulgari, quamdiu aut ipsi aut ipsorum filii viverent. Semper vero haec illustria et nobilia exempla in Principum regestis diligentius custodiebantur, ut hinc insequens posteritas ad maiorum suorum excellentes virtutes et imitationem facilius informarentur.”
- 48.
Ibid.: “Pro graviori testimonio huius antiqui et perveteris moris in hac Anglia nostra (quod his nostris diebus valde optabile esset, ut servaretur accuratius) memoriae mandatum est ab illo qui scripsit SCOTICHRONICON, libro. 16. cap. 39. Statutum est (inquit) convenienter in Anglia (ut audivi) quod unumquodque Monasterium a Regibus fundatum, haberet de ipso loco suum certum scribam, vel scriptorem, quo omnia notabilia tempore Regis, saltem in Regno, vel e vicinis contingentia, secundum quod veritas facti se haberet, cum data annotarentur: ad proximum generale Concilium, post obitum Regis, omnes illi Chronographi convenirent, et sua vere dicta, sive scripta, in medium producerent, et delectis a Concilio sagacioribus, et in talibus peritis et expertis, scripta examinarent, et diligenti habita collatione, de congestis summarium extraherent, et Chronicam compingerent, ac in Coenobicis Archivis librariorum, pro authenticis Chronicis, quibus fides daretur, scripta reponerent, ne temporum labilitate memoriae gestorum in Regno deperirent. Haec ille. Hic mos continuabatur et studiose observabatur a pluribus Coenobiis, sed maxime ab illo Monacho Albanensi THOMA WALSINGHAM, qui in summam et compendium congesserat omnia memoratu digna, quae gerebantur ab ultimo anno Henrici tertii, ad annum primum Henrici sexti: cuius historia (si hic labor noster, quod speramus, satis tibi probabitur, amice Lector) a nobis posthac fortasse in ordinem rectius composita adducetur, et prelo etiam in tuum commodum commitetur.” The passage from the Scotichronicon is from Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS 171B, folio 353 recto. The first words of the portion quoted by Parker are underlined in red chalk.
- 49.
Ludovico da Ponte 1534, C1 recto: “Ad manus meas historiae regum Britannorum nobilissimae supra cladem Trioianorum pervenere, quas esse verissimas arguebat regum Occidentalium consuetudo semper secum habere, qui eorum gesta notarent veritate praecipua, sed nec viventibus ipsis, nec filijs aperire, obprobrium vero fore, scilicet attribuere, quae ipsi in tanto Imperio facere non potuissent, eas deinde in regalibus archivis in posteros custodire …”
- 50.
Caius 1568, 239: “imperavit coenobio Roffensi, ut in commentarios referrent res gestas sui temporis ut acciderint, idque coenobium cum multis alijs monast. & praecipue S. Albani, in hoc delegit, tanquam in Thesaurum et custodiam rerum memorabilium, uti Matth. Westm. & is qui Roffensem historiam aedidit, scribunt.”
- 51.
Ibid., 239–240: “Etenim Regibus occidentis mundi partis consuetum fuit olim, apud se habere eos, qui res eorum ut erant gesta, annis singulis bona fide scriberent. Sic tamen ut neque regis aetate, nec filiorum eius facerent publicas, sed ita concinnatas historias, in archiva referrent regia, ubi ad posteros reservarentur: uti Virumnus Ponticus in historia Britannorum refert.”
- 52.
Grafton and Jardine 1986, 107–109.
- 53.
- 54.
Caius 1568, e.g. 5, 14 (Caius keeps up a feeble pretense that the “antiquary” and he himself are not the same person).
- 55.
- 56.
Lambeth College Library MS 720, quoted by Venn, “John Caius,” 26. Caius was also accused of papism in a memorandum of 1572 or later, written by a critical member or members of the Royal College of Physicians, of which he was elected President nine times: Clark and Cooke 1964–72, I, 127–130.
- 57.
Brooke, 76–77. For Caius’s own account of this event see Caius 1904, 185.
- 58.
Informed opinions on this subject have differed. John Venn 1923, 55, thought that Caius “never ceased to be at heart a decided Roman Catholic.” Brooke disagrees, as does Grierson, “Caius’s Library,” 524–525.
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Grafton, A. (2017). A Medical Man Among Ecclesiastical Historians: John Caius, Matthew Parker and the History of Cambridge University. In: Manning, G., Klestinec, C. (eds) Professors, Physicians and Practices in the History of Medicine. Archimedes, vol 50. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56514-9_7
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