Strange and Remarkable Prophesies and Predictions Of the Holy, Learned and excellent James Usher, Late L. Arch-Bishop of Armagh, and Lord Primate of Ireland. Giving an Account of his Foretelling I. The Rebellion in Ireland Forty years […]

Full title: Strange and Remarkable Prophesies and Predictions Of the Holy, Learned and excellent James Usher, Late L. Arch-Bishop of Armagh, and Lord Primate of Ireland. Giving an Account of his Foretelling I. The Rebellion in Ireland Forty years before it came to pass. II. The Confusions and Miseries of England, in Church and State. III. The Death of King Charles the First. IV. His own Poverty and want. V. The Divisions in England in matters of Religion. Lastly, Of a great and Terrible Persecution which shall fall upon the Reformed Churches by the Papists, wherein the then Pope should be chiefly concerned. Written by the Person who heard it from this Excellent Persons own Mouth, and now publisht earnestly to perswade us to that Repentance and Reformation which can only prevent our Ruin and Destruction. Licensed November the 16^th.

 

4to. f. [1] (blank), pp. 8. Signatures: A⁴. Bound in red water buffalo hide, by John Field. An apparently unrecorded variant printing, of poor quality, probably a piracy.

 

A highly popular anti-papist and separatist concoction, the first published hoax by Robert Ware–branded by one victim in 1917 as ‘the most audacious fabricator of historical documents who ever lived’ –and absurdly attributed by him to the long-deceased Archbishop of Armagh. Attributed to Ussher by Wing (D. Wing (ed.), Short-title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English Books Printed in Other Countries, 1641–1700. 4 vols. New York, 1982-98 (2^nd ed.), U225), but described by the Dictionary of National Biography (v. 20, p. 72) as an "untrustworthy production." ‘Prophesies’ and ‘predictions’ are not all in capital letters, and ‘ruin’ is so spelt, but the setting is altogether different from those signalled by ESTC. See Bib# 4102902/Fr# 391 in this collection for another 1678 edition of this work.

 

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