1527 - Leaf From William Claxton's Translation Of Jacobus De Voragine's Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend), Printed In 1527With All References To The "Pope" Obliterated At The Command Ofhenry Viii Following His Excommunication By Pope Paul Iii In 1538 Jacobus De Voragine And William Claxton History,Incunabula, Early Printings & Manuscripts,Philosophy & Religion

The Golden Legend, or Legenda sanctorum (Readings of the Saints) is a collection of 153 hagiographies originally compiled by Jacobus de Voragine between 1259 and 1266. It was one of the most popular texts of the Middle Ages and printed throughout Europe in more editions than the Bible. It is, in effect, an encyclopedia of the saints with its chapters organized by the date of their feast days. This leaf (approximately 7" x 10") is from the English translation, a later edition, by William Claxton printed at Westminster by Wynkyn de Worde in 1498. 47 lines of text plus headline. Double column.It is headlined "The lyfe of Saynt Edwarde kynge & cofessour." This was King Edward the Martyr who ruled from 975 to 978 when he was assassinated at the order of his stepmother, the Dowager Queen Ælfthryth. While the Golden Legend claims he was stabbed by a member of the kitchen staff, other accounts claim it was by a band of traitorous knights who had deceived him. Edward was, apparently, a cruel and violent teenager who was detested by most. However, his subjects viewed the murder as a horrible crime that was sure to incur the wrath of God. This, perhaps, terrified his stepbrother, Æthelred, who succeeded him and quickly ensured Edward, although undeserving, was elevated to sainthood. Alas, perhaps it did incur God's wrath, as England was soon conquered by the Danes and a crisis of succession that was not resolved until the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Interestingly, every mention of the word "pope" on its pages was obliterated or excised at the order of King Henry VIII following his excommunication by Pope Paul III in 1538 for his divorce from Catharine of Aragon and beheading of Ann Boleyn. .