Abstract
Few politicians have played so significant a role for so long as did Edward Hyde, first Earl of Clarendon. More than any other man he shaped the emergence of ‘constitutional royalism’ from 1641; for nearly ten years he acted as chief adviser and tutor to the young Charles II in exile and greatly assisted in ensuring his triumphant restoration; finally he served as leading minister during the years in which monarchical government was re-established. To these achievements must be added his monumental and stylish History of the Great Rebellion and Life of Himself, fascinating and revealing if not absolutely accurate works. It was his tragedy that he achieved the pinnacle of his career when political circumstances had changed beyond his comprehension, and when he was a generation too old to fit easily into the relaxed mores of the Restoration Court. His long political career shows a consistency of belief and behaviour rare in any age, an admirable virtue which probably contributed significantly to his ultimate failure by 1667.
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Bibliography
The fullest biography of Clarendon is still T. H. Lister, Life of Clarendon (1837–8), not accessible to most readers. R. W. Harris, Clarendon and the English Revolution (1983) appeared in print only after this essay was completed. It does not produce anything very new in material or analysis, but it will obviously become the main source for those wishing to study Hyde’s career in greater depth, although it devotes almost as much space to ‘relating the developments of the age’ as to examining his life. In many respects the best modern study is still B. H. G. Wormald, Clarendon: Politics, History and Religion 1640–1660 (Cambridge, 1951), a brilliant and illuminating insight into his ideas, but its title makes clear its limitations as a biographical work. Well worth reading, for its style as well as its content, is, of course, Clarendon’s own History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars and Life by Himself, but their accuracy must not be taken for granted; the best modern edition of extracts is edited by H. Trevor-Roper (Oxford, 1978), whose lecture Clarendon (1975), is a useful summary of his career.
Other works which impinge on his career and deserve study are A. Fletcher, The Outbreak of the English Civil War (1981) for the years 1640–2, and R. Ashton, The English Civil War (1978). For the Restoration, see The Restoration, ed. J. Thirsk (1976). For the religious restoration, the most useful guide is R. A. Beddard, ‘The Restoration Church’, in The Restored Monarchy, ed. J. R.Jones (1979), but also see the volumes and articles listed in note 10 to this chapter. For Clarendon’s ideas on government after 1660, see E. I. Carlyle, ‘Clarendon and the Privy Council’, English Historical Review, XXVII (1912). Also useful are J. R.Jones, ‘Political Groups in the Convention of 1660’, Historical Journal, XI (1963); and C. Roberts, ‘The Impeachment of the Earl of Clarendon’, Cambridge Historical Journal, 1957. For both a genuine feel of the atmosphere in London during the years of the Restoration period, and for comments on the various personalities at Court, The Diary of Samuel Pepys, ed. R. Latham and W. Matthews, 11 vols (1970–83), provides fascinating reading.
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© 1985 Timothy Eustace
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Eustace, T. (1985). Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon. In: Eustace, T. (eds) Statesmen and Politicians of the Stuart Age. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17874-2_8
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