MS. Eng. c. 2693 - Commonplace book of Walter Boothby of Tottenham

GEMMS Manuscript ID
GEMMS-MANUSCRIPT- 576
(old series: GEMMS-MANUSCRIPT-541)
Title
Commonplace book of Walter Boothby of Tottenham
Shelfmark
MS. Eng. c. 2693
Creation Date
ca. 1631 - 1665
Repository
Contents Note

A commonplace book entitled "A Nosegay of Everlasting Orifficall Flowers, gathered out of Heavens paradice" (p. 1). Contains Boothby's notes on about 150 sermons, mostly by Presbyterians (pp. vii-766). The manuscript is organized as a commonplace book but is divided by subjects rather than following a chronological order, with Boothby's notes on sermons he has heard under the subject headings (e.g. "Of Christ", "Of Sinne"). Includes an index of the sermons by subject (pp. iii-xiv). Also includes correspondence, mainly Boothby's letters to family members, dated 1640-1643 (pp. 768-913).

Material Features

xxviii + 914 pages. Bound in vellum wrapper. Boothby has put subheadings in the margin, apparently to summarize the point of the sermon that he has cited under the general heading .

Acquisition

Purchased at auction from D. P. White (Occasional List 35 [1991], item 137).

Source of Data

Jeanne Shami; Ann Hughes; Bodleian Library Catalogue of manuscripts acquired singly: albums, commonplace books, notebooks and scrapbooks (online)

Other Note

The cataloguer dates this manuscript c. 1632-1655, but some of the sermons are dated 1631. This volume contains notes on many sermons that Boothby attributes to "Dr. Stawton" (occasionally spelled Staughton). The most likely identity of Stawton is John Stoughton (1593-1639), whom the cataloguer identifies as a preacher mentioned in this volume. However, in some cases the name seems more like "Stanton", so it could be Edmund Staunton (1600-1671). Both of these preachers were Presbyterians, like Boothby and like most of the other preachers mentioned in this volume. It could also be one of two preachers named John Stawton in CCEd (Person IDs: 101994 and 108233). Since Stoughton is the most likely attribution, these sermons have been attributed to him, but they remain uncertain. Among these sermons, those that are dated were all preached before Stoughton's death in 1639, except the sermon "of feare [3]" (pp. 272-273), but in this case Boothby has clearly written "Doc. Stanton" so this sermon is attributed to Edmund Staunton. For more information on this manuscript, see also John Spurr, The Laity and Preaching in Post-Reformation England (London: Dr Williams's Trust, 2013), pp. 18-19.

Sermons Contained
URLs
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/online/single-items/albums/albums.h… Bodleain online catalogue: "Albums, commonplace books, notebooks and scrapbooks, 17th-21st cent."
GEMMS record created
February 25, 2017
GEMMS record last edited
July 15, 2024