Excerpt from Materials for a History of the Reign of Henry VII, Vol. 2: From Original Documents Preserved in the Public Record OfficeHad this valuable document come to the hands of the Editor two years sooner, it would have fallen into its proper place among his materials for the history of the first year of this reign. But the volume containing those materials had already passed from the press to the public when this document, together with other ward robe accounts and memoranda of coronations, were re moved from the Lord Chamberlain's department to the Record Office, and were all stitched together with more heed to their individual safety than to their chronological order.In this we have the outline of a very different spec tacle from the rugged and hasty ceremonial on the reeking field of Bosworth. There a crown found in the thickest of the slain was placed on the successful adventurer's brow, with no other accompaniment than the cheers of an excited soldiery; here we have the description of an event - only nine weeks afterwards - which, apart from its political and social value, must have presented a spectacle of material splendour and refinement which had probably never been at this time equalled at the coronation of any English monarch. This view of the event, however, will be more properly touched upon at a subsequent period of this Series. Meanwhile we may point out the great value of this document, as presenting reliable information upon the character and prices of articles of noble and courtly costume, and the remunera tion of the different artistic industries connected with their production. There are, however, occasionally evi dent inaccuracies in the document; and, that its testi mony may not on this account be doubted, an oppor tunity is taken of calling the reader's attention to mis-statements which must not be attributed to its latest transcriber.

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