The King's Book (Eikon Basilike): the papers, the editions and the claims (1645 to 1711)
As of 2026-10-02. Dates marked 'read' come from the EEBO-TCP files and catalogue records read for this page (title pages, imprints, issue notes). Dates marked 'bounty page' come from bounty B-002 and were not independently checked: the execution date, Gauden's claim, the royalist testimonies and the 1687 captivity prayer. Where only a year is known the dot is hollow and drawn mid-year. The book's authorship is the open question; no dot shows who wrote it.
Shape = kind of source: machine-recorded data a primary document an official statement a person's account a scholar's account a news report Style = status: 2+ sources agree one source sources differ our inference / time not reported the same event at another source's time Every dot is a link to its main source; the table lists all sources.
1645 to 1711 (one tick per decade)
Click a dot to open its source. Scroll sideways on a phone.
Events (numbers match the diagram)
| # | When (UTC) | What | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 Jun 1645 (date only) | 14 Jun 1645: the King's cabinet is taken at Naseby (published as The Kings Cabinet Opened) Title page: 'written with the Kings own hand, and taken in his cabinet at Nasby-Field, June 14. 1645 By victorious Sr. Thomas Fairfax'. Parliament published them with annotations; royalists alleged alteration (gap G-02). The test uses only the King's letters. Read. | single document | s_a31932 |
| 2 | 1646 (year only) | 1646: Charles's papers with Alexander Henderson at Newcastle (printed 1649 by Royston) Title: 'Anno Dom. 1646'; imprint 1649 for R. Royston. His formal prose (about 5,900 words) is the main sample of his own argument. Read. | single document | s_a78958 |
| 3 | 30 Jan 1649 (date only) | 30 Jan 1649: Charles I executed From the bounty page; not independently read in this dig. | single analysis | s_bounty |
| 4 | 04 Feb 1649 12:00 (approx.) | About 4 Feb 1649: the first edition, second issue, appears (the text tested) TCP catalogue: 'First edition, second issue. Printed by John Grismond for Richard Royston. "This issue appeared within a few days of the death the King, probably about 4 February." Cf. Madan.' The text contains no Pamela prayer. Read. | single document | s_a38258 |
| 5 | 1649 (year only) | 1649: Milton's Eikonoklastes, first edition From the bounty page; the first edition was not read here. The TCP text read is the 1650 second edition. | single analysis | s_bounty |
| 6 | 1650 (year only) | 1650: Eikonoklastes, second enlarged edition: the Pamela charge ('stol'n word for word') TCP A50898: 'Publish'd now the second time and much enlarg'd', London 1650. Contains: 'a Prayer stol'n word for word from the mouth of Heathen fiction ... Arcadia' and the reference to the 3rd book, p. 248. Read. | single document | s_a50898 |
| 7 | 1661 (year only) | About 1660-62: Gauden claims authorship privately (letters) From the bounty page (claim eikon-gauden-claimed-authorship, anchor not read; he died in 1662 per the TCP authority record). The year is approximate. | single witness | s_bounty |
| 8 | 1687 (year only) | 1687: Works with the 'Prayer in time of Captivity' (positive control) From the bounty page (TCP A31771, not read in this session): the prayer shares 73 six-word phrases with Sidney's Arcadia and changed its opening. | single document | s_bounty |
| 9 | 1692 (year only) | 1692: Hollingworth supports Charles as author (testimony) From the bounty page: testimony given decades after the events. | single witness | s_bounty |
| 10 | 1711 (year only) | 1711: Wagstaffe supports Charles as author (testimony) From the bounty page: testimony given decades after the events. | single witness | s_bounty |
People and bodies involved
- Charles I: King of England, 1600-1649; executed 30 January 1649 (bounty page). Authorship of the book is attributed to him by royalists.
- John Gauden: Bishop, 1605-1662 (TCP authority record); claimed after 1660 to have written the book.
- John Milton: 1608-1674; answered the book in Eikonoklastes for Parliament.
- John Grismond and Richard Royston: Printer and publisher of the book and of the Newcastle papers.
Sources
s_a31932The Kings cabinet opened (1645), EEBO-TCP A31932, title page read authenticity: transcription; letters possibly altered (G-02)s_a78958The papers which passed at New-Castle (1646; printed 1649), TCP A78958, imprint read authenticity: transcription, moderates_a38258Eikon basilike (1648 [1649]), TCP A38258, catalogue note read: 'probably about 4 February' authenticity: transcription, moderate; second issue of the first editions_a50898Milton, Eikonoklastes (second edition, 1650), TCP A50898, passage read authenticity: transcription, moderates_bountyBounty B-002 page (Strata/Stratah), the source of dates not independently read authenticity: this repository; not independent
Generated from timeline.yaml by build/tools/render_timeline.py. This page records what is reported and where reports differ. It is not a finding about what happened.