Certaine sermons or homilies, appointed to be read in churches. In the time of the late Queene Elizabeth of famous memory. And now thought fit to be reprinted by authority from the Kings most excellent Majesty; The second tom of homilies of such matters as were promised and entituled in the former part of homilies

London: Printed by R.H. and J.N. for Richard Whitaker, 1640. LATER, REVISED EDITION. Two separate title pages. Woodcut frontispiece, decorated initials, head- and tailpieces. Contemporary full calf with blind-tooled borders, spine label; corners and joints repaired, hinges reinforced, staining to first five and last eight leaves, tear to lower corner of Mm5 (p. 305), otherwise a very good copy with multiple ownership signatures, marks, and inscriptions. Revised edition. The books of homilies (two books first issued in 1547 and 1563, respectively) form a central part of the original official doctrine of the Church of England. The two books, developed during the rule of Edward VI and Elizabeth I, are composed of thirty-three sermons that were intended to communicate the central tenants of the nascent Church to the masses and to ease the separation of the Church with Rome following Henry VIII’s abjuration.

This edition was printed on the eve of the First English Civil War, when religious and political tensions were at their peak and the Crown was eager to reaffirm the norms of the Church of England. While the final sermon, “Homily against disobedience, and willful rebellion” was originally written in response to Elizabeth I’s excommunication in 1570, it may have felt especially significant in the wake of the Scottish rebellion of 1639-40.