Monarchy or No Monarchy in England. Grebner his Prophecy concerning Charles, son of Charles, his Greatnesse, Victories, Conquests. The Northern Lyon, or Lyon of the North, and Chicken of the Eagle discovered who they are, of what Nation. English, Latin, Saxon, Scotish and Welch Prophecies concerning England in particular, and all Europe in generall. Passages upon the life and death of the late King Charles. Aenigmaticall types of the future state and condition of England for many years to come.

Descripción

Sm. 4to. [8], 119, [1], 20pp. In recent unlettered calf, finished to style. Title-page lined and repaired and tender edges supported as required. A4 and plates 17-20 supplied in good quality facsimile and bound in. First edition of this remarkable astrological work which claims to predict the death of Charles II, the Great Fire of London and the Great Plague, as well as significant events of the English Civil War. The woodcut images in a popular, vigorous, but naïve style represent the varied concerns of contemporary readership. They include a handsome rendering of the King brandishing a peace giving sword, as well as a gruesome prediction of civilians attempting to quench flames with the embracing twins of Gemini above, the astrological symbol Lilly attributes to the City of London. The seven people in the woodcut represent each known planet, and together the image provides an accurate horoscope of the time of the Great Fire. Other woodcuts depict drowned bodies drifting downriver and the dead wrapped in shrouds, falling crowns, pulpits and a sinking ship. William Lilly (1602-1681), known as the English merlin , rose from a modest farmer s son to one of the most prominent and trusted astrologers to English aristocracy and royalty, his yearly almanacs being phenomenal bestsellers. For his prediction of a fire consuming the City of London, a full page woodcut showing a vivid image of the River Thames with the city in flames, Lilly was brought before the Commons Committee on the 26th October 1666 and questioned for his suspected involvement in the actual fire, though he was acquitted of any charges. The present work was published at a time where Lilly's fame was considerable. He was seen as a prophet, and utilised hieroglyphic drawings which he called the secret Key of Astrology, or Propheticall Astrology. In this work he claims to have foretold the execution of King Charles I, which had occurred two years previously. He uses these hieroglyphic images in order to avoid writing dangerously detailed descriptions and incurring unwelcome attention or punishment. The ambiguity of his astrological diagrams allowed him some leeway if his predictions were not entirely accurate. Lilly also makes predictions about the Thirty Years War and its key players, and more vague events like A star shall arise in Europe over the Iberions, towards the great House of the North; whose beams shall unexpectedly enlighten the Whole World . Front paste-down with the heraldic bookplate of John Robert Daniel-Tyssen, brother of the lord of Hackney Manor, and manorial steward. ESTC R202726; Cantamessa 4551. N° de ref. del artículo PS.712

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