John Aubrey: Brief Lives with An Apparatus for the Lives of our English Mathematical Writers

by John Aubrey, Kate Bennett (editor)

This is the first scholarly edition of Aubrey's Brief Lives since 1898, the first to include the complete text of the three Brief Lives manuscripts (including censored and deleted material, title pages, antiquarian notes, and the indices), and the first to provide a full general and critical introduction and comprehensive commentary.

This edition is the first to respect the original arrangement of the Lives in Aubrey's manuscripts. Brief Lives is presented as an antiquarian and collaborative text, containing the autograph papers of biographical subjects, the annotations of those among whom the manuscripts circulated, and wax seals. As well as 25 facsimile pages, there are over 160 images, reproducing for the first time all Aubrey's horoscopes, pedigrees, coats of arms, and topographical sketches as they are found in the manuscripts. The text respects the mise-en-page of the manuscript and its status as an incomplete and heavily revised work-in-progress while presenting an edited, rather than a diplomatic, text.

The commentary presents extensive new research on manuscript sources including much material not previously known to be Aubrey's or associated with him. It also reflects the state of current scholarship. Each life is introduced by a headnote placing the life in context. This gives the dates and sequence of composition and an account of Aubrey's relationship with the biographical subject, the circulation of knowledge of that subject in Aubrey's circle, and a full account of Aubrey's notes on the subject of the life in other manuscripts and correspondence. Aubrey's biographical informants also have a long note, as do uncompleted or missing Lives.

Genres: History

1968 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Brief Lives , published posthumously, of English antiquarian John Aubrey contains character sketches of notable thinkers and writers of 17th century.

People perhaps best know John Aubrey, fellow of royal society and a natural philosopher, as the author of his collection of short biographical pieces. This pioneer archaeologist for the first time often recorded numerous megalithic and other field monuments in south and particularly discovered the Avebury henge. He observed the holes at Stonehenge despite considerable doubt whether they currently bear his name. He, also a pioneer folklorist, collected together a miscellany of material on customs, traditions and beliefs under the title Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme . He set to compile county histories of Wiltshire and Surrey but finished neither project. His Interpretation of Villare Anglicanum , also unfinished, first attempted to compile a full-length study of placenames. Applied mathematics and astronomy widely interested him, friend with many of the greatest scientists of the day.