By Elissa B.G. Mullins
If you, dear readers, recall with interest our earlier blog post on the Eikōn basilikē of King Charles the First, we now invite you to turn your attention to a newly re-cataloged manuscript containing a belated epitaph (in both Latin and English) for one Colonel John Penruddock (Post-1650 MS 0824). The English text begins:
“Sacred to the Memory of the most Illustrious Colonell John Penruddock of the Ancient town of Penruddock in Cumberland: who being beheaded with his faithfull fellow Soldier Hugh Grove et al. in the Just Cause of Charles the 1st on the 6th May 1655 was discharged from the Prison of Mortality at Exeter and Translated to the Assembly of Masters …”
John Penruddock fought for Charles I in the English Civil War and led the Penruddock Uprising of 1655 with the aim of restoring Charles II to the throne; the uprising was evidently unsuccessful. His epitaph, written a mere 88 years after his death by Thomas South (steward of the Manor of Compton, 1742-1785), is enclosed in a letter addressed to Tho. Prev. McHead at Amesbury, and prefaced with the following note:
“Revd. Sir: Inclos’d you receive the Epitaph, both english and Latin, which I so long agon promis’d: I must confess it is a very late Performance of Promise, and what will hardly admit of a Plea for an Excuse; But I thought on the Old Proverb better late than never, and have ventur’d to send it; and am … Your most obed. h[um]ble Serv. Thos. South, Donhead 2d April 1743.”
Whether you are eager to flex your transcription muscles and help us tease out the full text (in both Latin and English!)—or simply content to ogle at the elegance of 18th-century handwriting—come and take a peek at this commemorative gem.