Elizabeth I (Queen of England & Ireland, 1533-1603) & Charles I (King of England, Scotland & Ireland, 1600-49).- [Volume of speeches and tracts including Elizabeth I's Speech at Tilbury against the Spanish Armada in 1588 and the politics of the Short and Long Parliaments in the year 1640], manuscripts in a variety of hands (many in 1 hand), together 48 speeches and tracts in c. 695pp., a few blank ff., some vertical folds, 1 blank f. partly torn away, some ff. slightly creased, slightly browned throughout, ink ownership signature of "Robr. Harington" on front free endpaper, original calf, double blind stamped borders, edges a little rubbed, corners bumped, rebacked in modern calf, gilt panelled spine, front free endpaper pot watermark, other ff. a variety of watermarks including post horn and bunch of grapes, sm. folio (291 x 180mm.), 1640, 1647 & 1648.*** Two of the defining moments in British history.Speeches and tracts including:(1). [Elizabeth I] Queene Elizabeth hir Speech. Before hir Army at Tilbury when they looked every hower for ye Landing of ye duke of Parma whereupon she tooke occasion to deliver this Excellent Speech ye Earle of Essex Sr John Norris And Sr ffrancis Drake wayting on hir Stirrup."I am come amongst you at this time... fully resolved in ye middest and heat of ye Battell to live and dye amongst you all, to lay downe for my God and my Countrymyne Honor and my blood even in ye dust and although I have ye body of a weeke and feeble woman yet have I ye heart and ye Courage of a King, and that of a King of England too... ," 1p., n.d., [c. 1640].A manuscript version of one of the greatest war speeches against foreign invasion in the English language. The speech has some variation and omissions from the fullest known text which was published for the first time in 1654. It is unclear whether Drake was present as intimated here, at Tilbury, on 9 August, as on 7 August he was at Gravelines, ordering the sending in of fire ships to attack the Armada in harbour. (2). [Henrietta Maria (Queen, consort of Charles I, 1609-69)] A Message from the Queen's Ma:tie to the House of Commons by Mr Comptroller...", 1p., [Rushworth iv 169], 6th February 1640.Henrietta Maria's message to the House of Commons on a variety of matters, including that she was willing to persuade the king to recall parliament, her acknowledgement that her approach to the pope to gain support for the king's northern wars was "distastfull to ye Kingdome...", and promising that she would not flaunt her Catholicism.(3). [Lenthall (William, lawyer and speaker of the House of Commons, 1591-1662)] Mr Lentall speaker of the Commons house his speech in the upper house of Parliament 5th November 1640, 14pp., [Rushworth iv 17], 1640.Lenthall's speech to the king in the House of Lords in which he accepts the Speakership of the House of Commons, with the king's affirmation.(4). [Charles I]. To ye Speaker of ye House of Peeres [e]xtempore to be Communicated to the Lords & Comons in p[ar]liam[en]t assembled at Westm[inste]r... Charles R, 1p., Holdenby, 6th March 1646 [1647].A letter from the king imprisoned at Holdenby Hall, Northamptonshire, to parliament asking for "some of my Chaplins whom I esteme & reverend". The request fell on deaf ears, "for the whole of his time at Newcastle and Holdenby (May 1646–June 1647) he was refused his own choice of chaplains and offered only rigid presbyterians, whose services he spurned. He attended no act of worship and denied himself the sacrament of holy communion throughout that time." - Oxford DNB.(5). [Charles I]. his maiesties resons against ye pretended jurisdiction of ye high court of Justice wch hee intend to deliver in writieng on monday Januarie ye 22th 1648 faythfully transcribed oute of ye originall coppie under ye Kings owne hand, 3pp., [Rushworth vii 403], 1648.Charles I's protestation against the legality of the court set to try him, "for houe can ainie freeborn subiect of England call life or any thing hee possesseth his owne, if power wth out righte daylie make newe, & abrogate ye olde fundamentalle lawe of ye land... ."(6). Pym (John, politician, 1584-1643) Mr Pyms speech in ye painted Chamber at ye Conference betwixt both the houses of pliamt ffebr. xxvith 1640, 28pp., [Rushworth iv, 199-202], 1640.Pym's speech in support of the charges against William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, covering both secular and religious matters, and which ultimately led to his imprisonment in 1641 and execution in 1645. *** The majority of these tracts are concerned with the febrile politics of 1640, the year of the Short and Long Parliaments, called by Charles I in the wake of his catastrophic war with the Scots, and their subsequent invasion of the north of England. The king had gone to war in Scotland without enough money and now faced the dilemma of calling on parliament, in abeyance since 1629, to make him a financial grant. The Short Parliament sat for only three weeks between April and May 1640, parliament being more interested in the redressing of its grievances with the perceived arbitrary powers of the crown. The Long Parliament, so called because it lasted intermittently from 1640 to 1660, proved to be equally intractable and eventually led to the king raising his standard at Nottingham in 1642, and to the start of the Civil War. The Scots and English wars were distinct, but both were inextricably entwined. The king had gone to war in Scotland in an attempt to impose changes in religious practice which brought about the Covenant and the expulsion of the bishops. The Civil War in England was about the governance of the realm, either through the authority of king or parliament. Both wars were ultimately about the sovereignty of the crown. These political tracts, many with folds, would have circulated in manuscript among the population, before being bound up later in the century.Provenance: Typed note of Roger Warner Antiques, Burford, "Purchased from sale of Library at Moccas Court, Herefordshire, property of Sir Geoffrey Cornewall, Bt. J.P., 1946"; Roger Warner (1913-2008), antiques dealer and collector.