Rbt Parsons’ ‘Treatise’ – An Antidote to Foxe’s ‘Actes & Monuments’ – in 3 vols. 1603

PARSONS, Robert. A treatise of three conuersions of England from paganisme to Christian religion. [Saint-Omer] : Imprinted [by François Bellet] vvith licence, anno. 1603 [-1604] 

3 volumes. (v.1: [72], 658, [32] p.; v.2: [144], 530, [14]; 237, [1] p.; v.3: [116], 465, [21]; 370, [2] p.)
3 volumes, vol. 1 with burn-hole to first 3ff. affecting a few letters of text, vol. 2 with some light damp-staining, heavy creasing and occasional fraying, occasional browning, the odd leaf trimmed at head (mostly to vol. 3) affecting headline, lacking blank leaves at end, non-uniformly bound (vol.1 later half calf, vol. 2 contemporary vellum, vol.3 contemporary calf, rubbing and some soiling, later endpapers, [STC 19416]

Vol. 2-3 each have title “The third part of a treatise, intituled: of three conuersions of England” and imprint date 1604. Each begins with a calendar for half of the year, with Catholic saints on versos and Protestant martyrs (taken from “The book of martyrs” of John Foxe) on rectos, printed in red and black. Vol. 2 includes “A relation of the triall made before the King of France, vpon the yeare 1600 betvveene the Bishop of Eureux, and the L. Plessis Mornay” by Parsons, a reissue of STC 19413. Vol. 3 includes “A reuievv of ten publike disputations” by Parsons, a reissue of STC 19414.