''Corona Regia'' (Latin for "Royal Crown") was a scandalous satire of King

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...

. It was written from the fictional perspective of an unfinished panegyric of the king found among the papers of

Isaac Casaubon Isaac Casaubon (; ; 18 February 1559 – 1 July 1614) was a classical scholar and philologist, first in France and then later in England. His son Méric Casaubon was also a classical scholar. Life Early life He was born in Geneva to two Fr ...

(1559–1614) and published by John Bill, the king's printer. In fact neither Casaubon nor Bill had anything to do with the publication. ''Corona Regia'' has been described as "an important text in the history of satire, in the history of English monarchy, and in study of seventeenth-century English theological debates".

Investigation

The king was so offended by the book that attempts to identify and punish those involved in its production took up considerable time and energy of English diplomats on the Continent. This was a special concern for

William Trumbull Sir William Trumbull (8 September 163914 December 1716) was an English statesman who held high office as a member of the First Whig Junto. Early life Trumbull was born at Easthampstead Park in Berkshire and baptised on 11 September 1639. He w ...

at the court of the Archdukes

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

and

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, as their

historiographer royal Historiographer Royal is the title of an appointment as official chronicler or historian of a court or monarch. It was initially particularly associated with the French monarchy, where the post existed from at least 1550, but in the later 16th and 1 ...

Erycius Puteanus Erycius Puteanus (4 November 1574 – 17 September 1646) was a humanist and philologist from the Low Countries. Name Erycius Puteanus is a latinization of his name, which was rendered in various ways, including Hendrick van den Putte (Put, Putt ...

, was under particular suspicion of being the author. Trumbull, who spent over £6,500 on his investigation, later shifted his suspicions to a student at Leuven University named Cornelius Breda. Nobody was ever brought to trial.

Later editions

A scholarly edition and translation by Tyler Fyotek, with an introduction by Winfried Schleiner, was published by Droz in 2010.Review of 2010 edition by Johann Sommerville in ''

Journal of Early Modern History The ''Journal of Early Modern History'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal focusing on the early modern period. It is the official journal of the University of Minnesota Center for Early Modern History, and is published by Brill since 1997. The ...

'' 15/6 (2011): 573 – 574 In 2011 Dana F. Sutton produced a hypertext edition and translation for the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

's "Philological Museum" Website.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Scans of original edition
(1615) on Google Books.
Hypertext edition
by Dana F. Sutton (2011).

(2010).
Ute Winter: ''Corona Regia : eine Schmähschrift gegen Jakob I. von England und ihre diplomatischen Folgen'' (in German). Phil. Diss. Vienna
(1970) 1615 books 1615 in England Political satire books Cultural depictions of James VI and I 17th-century Latin books