About the Extended Sixteenth Century
Queen Elizabeth I died in April of 1603, and Raph Blower clearly noted in London’s Mourning Garment that the document follows London and its nearby parishes from July to November of that same year. The death of Elizabeth caused many problems for England, as she was a much-loved queen who was admired by the country.
When James I came into power, he ended the Tudor reign and began the Stuart era. He came from Scotland as Elizabeth’s relative but was not nearly as loved as she was. In fact, England began having a problem with his family when Elizabeth even beheaded his mother for plotting against her and the crown (Loomis 2010).
However, one of James’ mistakes, in the eyes of many, was his lack of reaction to the plague. While this was not the first time the plague had hit London and would certainly not be the last, James did not call Parliament together until a year after he took the throne, which caused many citizens to become more worried. As a result, they took to religion and medicinal pamphlets to try and overcome it. In the events that they could not, they then turned to death pamphlets (Lee 2003).
When James I came into power, he ended the Tudor reign and began the Stuart era. He came from Scotland as Elizabeth’s relative but was not nearly as loved as she was. In fact, England began having a problem with his family when Elizabeth even beheaded his mother for plotting against her and the crown (Loomis 2010).
However, one of James’ mistakes, in the eyes of many, was his lack of reaction to the plague. While this was not the first time the plague had hit London and would certainly not be the last, James did not call Parliament together until a year after he took the throne, which caused many citizens to become more worried. As a result, they took to religion and medicinal pamphlets to try and overcome it. In the events that they could not, they then turned to death pamphlets (Lee 2003).
About the Genre and Text
The rise of death pamphlets coincided with the plague outbreak in 1603. While William Muggins wrote London’s Mourning Garments, he was not the only author to write these pamphlets. The entire genre typically contained prayers and old wives’ tales to try and fend off the plague. Muggins included statistics of the number of deaths per each parish in his document as wel. Additionally, these pamphlets could cover information and stories in poetry form, as Muggins demonstrated. Some of these pamphlets also included images, which are present in London’s Mourning Garments (Lee 2003).
Another written document that focused on the world after life during this time period included the printing of funeral sermons. These documents were typically focused on the lives of one person through a commemoration, which is how they varied from death pamphlets (Molekamp 2012).
The images used in the document included drop caps as well as intricate patterns to separate different sections. The cover itself also featured an image with a skull and wings with the phrase “NON PLUS” underneath. Without further official knowledge of the image, it is possible that the image is meant to coincide with the difficulties of the plague and the fact that the English people often blamed the sinners for its occurrence. Additionally, the cover featured a few scribbles, but nothing that could be officially made out as far as letters or symbols.
Another written document that focused on the world after life during this time period included the printing of funeral sermons. These documents were typically focused on the lives of one person through a commemoration, which is how they varied from death pamphlets (Molekamp 2012).
The images used in the document included drop caps as well as intricate patterns to separate different sections. The cover itself also featured an image with a skull and wings with the phrase “NON PLUS” underneath. Without further official knowledge of the image, it is possible that the image is meant to coincide with the difficulties of the plague and the fact that the English people often blamed the sinners for its occurrence. Additionally, the cover featured a few scribbles, but nothing that could be officially made out as far as letters or symbols.
About the Author and Printer
Not a lot is known about William Muggins, the author of London’s Mourning Garment. The original printer, Ralph Blower, actually noted this at the very end of the document, saying, “The book is dedicated to alderman Sir John Swinnerton by William Muggins, of whom nothing seems to be known.” The fact that Blower included this tidbit indicates one of two things—either nothing is known about William Muggins or William Muggins is not who he says he is.
However, Blower, who misspelled his own name in the document as “Raph Blower” was actually known for printing a number of works after this piece. For example, he was identified as printing A Looking Glass for London and England in 1604, just a year after London’s Mourning Garment. Additionally, he has been identified as the printer of A Canterbury Visitation Article for 1605. The fact that Blower has a substantial amount of printed documents from this time period represents how trusted he was. Although he did make some spelling errors, he also provided a good product, including images. The fonts he used were also found in other documents of the time, so even though I had trouble reading them, he knew what he was doing as an expert (Maguire 1999).
However, Blower, who misspelled his own name in the document as “Raph Blower” was actually known for printing a number of works after this piece. For example, he was identified as printing A Looking Glass for London and England in 1604, just a year after London’s Mourning Garment. Additionally, he has been identified as the printer of A Canterbury Visitation Article for 1605. The fact that Blower has a substantial amount of printed documents from this time period represents how trusted he was. Although he did make some spelling errors, he also provided a good product, including images. The fonts he used were also found in other documents of the time, so even though I had trouble reading them, he knew what he was doing as an expert (Maguire 1999).
About the Editor's Decisions
Although this text is fairly self-explanatory, the annotations were something I had to consider. To me, it made sense to use footnotes instead of endnotes because anything that is confusing would be easier to look at on the same page versus at the back of the text. I know that when I am a reader, I am not likely to flip to the back to find endnotes unless I am too confused to understand the context at all. Footnotes are less intimidating because as a reader, I can skip over them if I want or read them if I feel the need. I can also read them if I just am interested in learning more, even if I understand the general idea.
In general, I tried to leave all of the original spelling as far as words like “Maie.” The only changes to spelling that I made were changing specific letters in a word like “flovrifh” which would now read “flourish.” I based this decision off my own ability as a reader, and I feel like words with an alternative spelling are still easy enough to understand, but if the letters are reversed, as in the second example, it can cause more confusion. If I believe that readers may end up having some difficulty understanding a word, I will offer annotations to help.
When I was working on this document, I began by transcribing it. I knew that the process of transcribing would help me to understand the document as a whole better than before because I would get better at my close-reading skills. However, the difficulty of reading some of the letters led me to changing the font in this document. I do not want any readers to struggle with the physical reading of this document because I feel as though that intimidates them and often scares them into not reading it at all. One aspect of this text that I debated altering and ultimately decided to leave was the misspellings. There are actually quite a few extra letters in some words such as “foorth” and “shalll” that the printer made when he first printed this book. I wanted to leave the authenticity, so I left those spellings because they are still easy enough to understand.
This text addresses many allusions, so those are some of the main annotations I chose to make. Although I personally believe many of the readers will know these allusions, such as Agamemnon, I do not want to run the risk of someone not understanding it. The allusions are made for a reason, and as such, I want to give everyone the most ease possible when reading and attempting to learn about this text.
In general, I tried to leave all of the original spelling as far as words like “Maie.” The only changes to spelling that I made were changing specific letters in a word like “flovrifh” which would now read “flourish.” I based this decision off my own ability as a reader, and I feel like words with an alternative spelling are still easy enough to understand, but if the letters are reversed, as in the second example, it can cause more confusion. If I believe that readers may end up having some difficulty understanding a word, I will offer annotations to help.
When I was working on this document, I began by transcribing it. I knew that the process of transcribing would help me to understand the document as a whole better than before because I would get better at my close-reading skills. However, the difficulty of reading some of the letters led me to changing the font in this document. I do not want any readers to struggle with the physical reading of this document because I feel as though that intimidates them and often scares them into not reading it at all. One aspect of this text that I debated altering and ultimately decided to leave was the misspellings. There are actually quite a few extra letters in some words such as “foorth” and “shalll” that the printer made when he first printed this book. I wanted to leave the authenticity, so I left those spellings because they are still easy enough to understand.
This text addresses many allusions, so those are some of the main annotations I chose to make. Although I personally believe many of the readers will know these allusions, such as Agamemnon, I do not want to run the risk of someone not understanding it. The allusions are made for a reason, and as such, I want to give everyone the most ease possible when reading and attempting to learn about this text.