Series
Manuscripts relating to treatises by Hobbes
Catalogue reference: HS/A
What’s it about?
This record is about the Manuscripts relating to treatises by Hobbes dating from 17th century.
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- HS/A
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Title (The name of the record)
- Manuscripts relating to treatises by Hobbes
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Date (When the record was created)
- 17th century
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series largely comprises works by Hobbes, including manuscripts that were preparatory pieces for some of his life works. The majority are in the formal hand of scribes and are either the completed and published manuscripts or draft extracts and unpublished works which made it to the stage of being copied out by a scribe but were then rejected.
HS/A/9 and HS/A/10 are distinct in this series from the rest of the volumes. HS/A/9 was certainly in Hobbes's possession but not necessarily written by him and HS/A/10 comprises the notes by Robert Payne about a draft of Hobbes's "De corpore". For many years, this manuscript was assumed to be a draft by Hobbes.
Major published pieces represented in this series include:
"Elementorum philosophiae: sectio prima, de corpore" (published London, 1655). Portions of Hobbes's major series of treatises establishing his principles of philosophy and key political arguments, which established his reputation among intellectual circles.
"Elementorum philosophiae: sectio tertia, de cive" (published London, 1642)
"Elementorum philosophiae: sectio secunda, de homine" (published London, 1658)
"The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic" (published in two parts, London, [1649]-1650)
"Vita carmine expressa" (published posthumously, London, 1679)
Hobbes likely did not keep his own original autograph manuscripts once a scribal copy or printed edition had been made - certainly none exist in this collection - and so these preparatory chapters and early manuscript copies, sometimes with Hobbes's annotations, provide the best insight available into Hobbes's process of thinking and revision of his work, for scholars today.
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Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
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The current arrangement is based on that in 1977 RCHM report and does not appear to have a particular rationale for the order within the series. The series is recorded in the 1977 RCHM report as: "Treatises and other systematic writings by Hobbes in finished form" and was likely arranged in its current form by 1936.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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See CELM ref HbT for other copies of manuscripts by Hobbes: https://celm-ms.org.uk/authors/hobbesthomas.html
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- Devonshire Collection Archives, Chatsworth
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Language (The language of the record)
- Latin English
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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
- Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), Robert Payne (1596–1651), 'Parisian scribe'
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 12 volumes
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
- Not all these volumes have been extant at Chatsworth or Hardwick since the time of Hobbes. Some mystery remains as to which of these volumes was at Chatsworth or Hardwick and which were acquired later, and when these volumes were compiled together in one location, though it can be no later than 1977. Possibly some items in this series were added from the library collection, as there are manuscript works by Hobbes listed in the later 17th-century Chatsworth library catalogues (see HS/ADD).
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/2c94d670-2d1a-45db-b2ee-454797f9e928/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at Devonshire Collection Archives, Chatsworth
Within the fonds: HS
Papers of and relating to Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
You are currently looking at the series: HS/A
Manuscripts relating to treatises by Hobbes