Huntington Library Quarterly

The editorial board of the Huntington Library Quarterly is staffed by sixteen eminent scholars of early modern art, literature, history, science, medicine, and material culture. They represent the best of what has made the HLQ a highly valued journal among researchers in the US, Britain, and beyond, with more than 150,000 annual article downloads. They also signal a new direction for the HLQ, which is expanding to embrace broader and more diverse fields of inquiry, including scholarship rooted in continental Europe, the African Diaspora, and the Indigenous Americas, informed by critical approaches to colonialism and power in the early modern world. As advisors and advocates, they will help guide the journal’s new editor, Brett Rushforth, as he leads the HLQ from its headquarters at The Huntington.

For more information about individual board members, click on their names below.

Susan Cogan, Utah State University
Elizabeth Ellis, Princeton University
Lynn Festa, Rutgers University
Douglas Fordham, University of Virginia
Stefan Hanss, University of Manchester
Katherine Ibbett, Oxford University
Peter Mancall, USC and EMSI
Shannon McHugh, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Jennifer L. Morgan, New York University
Jennifer Mori, University of Toronto
Noémie Ndiaye, University of Chicago
Nicholas Popper, William & Mary and Omohundro Institute
Nicholas Radburn, Lancaster University
Andrés Reséndez, University of California, Davis
Ulinka Rublack, Cambridge University
Cristobal Silva, University of California, Los Angeles

Volume 87, Number 1, Spring 2024

“Mary do’s now Elizabeth out shine”: Mary II and Historic Narratives of Female Monarchy in Post-Glorious Revolution England

Amelia Rosch, 1-26

This article argues that in the immediate aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, the English public used existing historical narratives of English queenship to make sense of the possible positions that Mary II could occupy on the throne. A variety of comparisons in historical narratives from the 1680s connected Mary II and four women who either had ruled or had strong claims to the English throne. While none of these women was a stable parallel for Mary II and her political situation, they provided the English public a variety of ways to imagine the possibility of female rule, which ultimately strengthened Mary’s sole claim to the throne and the claims of the regime as a whole.

Joint-Stock Companies, Colonialism, and Broadside Ballads in the Early Modern Period

Duncan Frost, 27-61

This article studies colonial promotion in broadside ballads written in support of colonial endeavors or commissioned by joint-stock companies. Notably, these ballads target popular audiences, seeking investment from all members of society. The three case studies of ballads presented here (focusing on the Virginia colony, the Western Design, and the Darien scheme) demonstrate that colonial endeavors were pitched toward the common population, highlighting the importance placed on small-scale investments. Examining rhetoric and nontextual elements such as musical tunes analyzes the discourse of national and religious sympathies and the ballads’ emphasis on material wealth, which provided motivation for investment.

Residual Images in the Borders: Reading Paratexts of Christian Prayers and Meditations (1569)

Arata Ide, 63-104

This article examines the paratexts of Christian Prayers and Meditations (1569), published by John Day. The study explores the sources of the book’s biblical border illustrations, identifying Thielman Kerver’s early books of hours as a primary influence. Under the patronage of Archbishop Matthew Parker, John Day and the engraver borrowed Catholic images from these and other sources, strategically drawing on Marian iconography to harness the cultural power of these images, not to revive Catholicism but to strengthen Protestant devotion. The juxtaposition of the Tree of Jesse and Elizabeth I’s portrait on the title page underscores this intent, positioning the queen as a new object of reverence. This analysis highlights the persistence and versatility of traditional images in shaping public devotion and consolidating the English church’s authority during the Reformation.

Love’s Short Day: Romance and Illumination in the “Light Sequence” of John Donne’s Poems

Kyle Dase, 105-127

This article builds on the work of scholars such as Arthur Marotti and Ernest Sullivan, using manuscript contexts to inform readings of John Donne’s poetry. I present a study of what I call the “light sequence” of John Donne’s poems, an arrangement of three poems-“Breake of Day,” “The Sunne Rising,” and “A Lecture upon the Shadow”-that appears in seven manuscripts compiled during Donne’s lifetime, two of which have a tangential connection to Donne. These manuscripts contextualize interpretations for their contemporary readers that critics have yet to consider partly because the poems never appear in this arrangement in print editions. In particular, this light sequence supports a reading where Donne’s poems innovate on and surpass his classical model, Ovid’s Amores 1.13. More broadly, this case study demonstrates one way scholars might employ manuscript studies to bridge a gap between modern editorial practices and early modern readership.

John Flower’s Newsletters: Their Author and his Source

James Doelman, 129-142

This article identifies John Flower of Whitwell, Rutlandshire, as the likely author of the series of newsletters sent to John, Viscount Scudamore, from 1629 to 1634. More significantly, it demonstrates that Flower’s main source of information was Emmanuel Giffard, a client of the Earl of Arundel, messenger for Sir Henry Vane (the elder), and from 1632 a gentleman of the King’s Privy Chamber. Giffard, of Catholic background, was notorious for his outspoken skepticism about King Gustavus Adolphus’s leadership of the Protestant cause in the Thirty Year’s War.

A New Year’s Gift for Roger North: The Afterlife of a Sixteenth-Century Cambridge Manuscript

June Schlueter and Michael Blanding, 143-152

In 1973, Cambridge University Library purchased a scribal copy of a 1503 manuscript that intended to forge a lasting peace between the town of Cambridge and the University. This was not an original of the indenture (executed in counterpart) but a scribal copy prepared near the end of the century and presented as a new year’s gift to Roger, second Lord North (1535-1600). Beautifully written and bound with a fulsome dedication to the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, the volume changed hands several times, beginning in 1941, when Bernard Halliday acquired it from the North family library. This essay traces the afterlife of the 1503 indenture and its later dedication to North, offering a fascinating glimpse into custodial preservation and sixteenth-century patronage.

Past issues can be accessed via Project Muse.

HLQ Call for Submissions:

The Huntington Library Quarterly (HLQ) invites article submissions for two featured issues that will mark the journal’s new direction. Submissions received before 15 January 2025 will be evaluated for the first of these issues, to be published in September 2025. Submissions received before 15 March 2025 will be evaluated for the second of these issues, to be published in December 2025.

Call for Submissions: Early/Modern Connections

The Huntington Library Quarterly (HLQ) invites submissions for a new section of the journal called Early/Modern Connections. This section will feature peer-reviewed essays that link early modern research to public humanities and the public interest. Although examples will vary widely, all successful submissions will illustrate how previously unpublished research in early modern sources has informed, or continues to inform, a public-facing project. Work benefiting historically underserved or marginalized communities is of particular interest. Essay length will vary significantly by project but will generally not exceed 5,000 words.

We anticipate submissions highlighting smaller-scale individual work as well as collaborations between scholars and performers, educators, activists, writers, artists, and public-serving institutions. We also anticipate the unanticipated and encourage anyone interested in submitting an Early/Modern Connections piece to contact the journal’s editor, Brett Rushforth.

The Huntington Library Quarterly announces a new editor in chief and editorial board

Two Distinguished Scholars Join Huntington’s Research Division

Amelia Rosch, 1-26

This article argues that in the immediate aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, the English public used existing historical narratives of English queenship to make sense of the possible positions that Mary II could occupy on the throne. A variety of comparisons in historical narratives from the 1680s connected Mary II and four women who either had ruled or had strong claims to the English throne. While none of these women was a stable parallel for Mary II and her political situation, they provided the English public a variety of ways to imagine the possibility of female rule, which ultimately strengthened Mary’s sole claim to the throne and the claims of the regime as a whole.

Duncan Frost, 27-61

This article studies colonial promotion in broadside ballads written in support of colonial endeavors or commissioned by joint-stock companies. Notably, these ballads target popular audiences, seeking investment from all members of society. The three case studies of ballads presented here (focusing on the Virginia colony, the Western Design, and the Darien scheme) demonstrate that colonial endeavors were pitched toward the common population, highlighting the importance placed on small-scale investments. Examining rhetoric and nontextual elements such as musical tunes analyzes the discourse of national and religious sympathies and the ballads’ emphasis on material wealth, which provided motivation for investment.

Arata Ide, 63-104

This article examines the paratexts of Christian Prayers and Meditations (1569), published by John Day. The study explores the sources of the book’s biblical border illustrations, identifying Thielman Kerver’s early books of hours as a primary influence. Under the patronage of Archbishop Matthew Parker, John Day and the engraver borrowed Catholic images from these and other sources, strategically drawing on Marian iconography to harness the cultural power of these images, not to revive Catholicism but to strengthen Protestant devotion. The juxtaposition of the Tree of Jesse and Elizabeth I’s portrait on the title page underscores this intent, positioning the queen as a new object of reverence. This analysis highlights the persistence and versatility of traditional images in shaping public devotion and consolidating the English church’s authority during the Reformation.

Kyle Dase, 105-127

This article builds on the work of scholars such as Arthur Marotti and Ernest Sullivan, using manuscript contexts to inform readings of John Donne’s poetry. I present a study of what I call the “light sequence” of John Donne’s poems, an arrangement of three poems-“Breake of Day,” “The Sunne Rising,” and “A Lecture upon the Shadow”-that appears in seven manuscripts compiled during Donne’s lifetime, two of which have a tangential connection to Donne. These manuscripts contextualize interpretations for their contemporary readers that critics have yet to consider partly because the poems never appear in this arrangement in print editions. In particular, this light sequence supports a reading where Donne’s poems innovate on and surpass his classical model, Ovid’s Amores 1.13. More broadly, this case study demonstrates one way scholars might employ manuscript studies to bridge a gap between modern editorial practices and early modern readership.

James Doelman, 129-142

This article identifies John Flower of Whitwell, Rutlandshire, as the likely author of the series of newsletters sent to John, Viscount Scudamore, from 1629 to 1634. More significantly, it demonstrates that Flower’s main source of information was Emmanuel Giffard, a client of the Earl of Arundel, messenger for Sir Henry Vane (the elder), and from 1632 a gentleman of the King’s Privy Chamber. Giffard, of Catholic background, was notorious for his outspoken skepticism about King Gustavus Adolphus’s leadership of the Protestant cause in the Thirty Year’s War.

June Schlueter and Michael Blanding, 143-152

In 1973, Cambridge University Library purchased a scribal copy of a 1503 manuscript that intended to forge a lasting peace between the town of Cambridge and the University. This was not an original of the indenture (executed in counterpart) but a scribal copy prepared near the end of the century and presented as a new year’s gift to Roger, second Lord North (1535-1600). Beautifully written and bound with a fulsome dedication to the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, the volume changed hands several times, beginning in 1941, when Bernard Halliday acquired it from the North family library. This essay traces the afterlife of the 1503 indenture and its later dedication to North, offering a fascinating glimpse into custodial preservation and sixteenth-century patronage.