Mystical Scriptures
    Richard Verstegan
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    Richard Verstegan

    Richard Verstegan(c. 1550–1640)

    Anglo-Dutch antiquary, polemicist, and engraver who documented the Germanic roots of the English language and people. Writing from Catholic exile in Antwerp, he produced influential works on Anglo-Saxon antiquities, etymology, and cultural origins that shaped early modern understandings of English national identity.

    Read by Alcott (see Alcott's Library)

    1 title in the Cabinet

    Restitution of Decayed Intelligence

    Full title: A restitution of decayed intelligence: in antiquities. Concerning the most noble and renowned English nation

    The Dial's edition: London

    A pioneering antiquarian study tracing the Germanic origins of the English nation, its language, customs, and proper names. Verstegan argues for the deep Saxon roots of English culture, drawing on etymology, folklore, and historical narrative to reconstruct a pre-Norman identity.

    Full textSurvives at Fruitlands Museum

    Read by Alcott (see Alcott's Library)

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