Print

Object Type
This print is an etching, produced by using an acid to bite lines in a metal plate. These are then filled with ink, which is then printed onto paper.

People
This print appeared in a book published in three volumes, Monasticon Anglicanum . The text was written by Roger Dodsworth (1585-1654) and William Dugdale (1605-1686), the greatest antiquarian of his day. Monasticon Anglicanum records the charters and donations given to monasteries in England, together with details of the cathedrals and churches themselves and the people who established them. It was commissioned by Sir Christopher Hatton, who shared with Dugdale a fear that the Anglican Church would suffer a comparable fate during the Civil War (1642-1646) to that which had befallen the monasteries when they were dissolved by Henry VIII (ruled 1509-1547) a century earlier.

The printed illustrations depict buildings described in the text. These were made by various printmakers, the most famous of whom was Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677). This print is by Hollar and is the title-page to the publication. Hollar's work on Dugdale's antiquarian publications was a significant source of income for the artist during the 1650s.

Subject Depicted
The title-page shows various scenes relating to the history of the Church in England. In the pediment above is King John (ruled 1199-1216) giving Magna Carta to the bishops. To the left is a picture of a king placing a sealed document on an altar and saying 'Deo et Ecclesiae' ('God and the Church'). In the lower righthand corner is Henry VIII standing before a ruined church, brandishing a sword and saying to a group of priests and nobles 'Sic volo' ('I will it thus').