Moderatus: By Robert Parry

This title was first published in 2002. "Moderatus" was an Elizabethan romance, probably the first published work of the 16th-century Welsh gentleman Robert Parry; it was produced in 1595 by the bookseller, publisher, and printer Richard Jones. In this volume John Simons offers in modern typography an edition of this now-scarce text, with explanatory notes and an extensive introduction that places the work in its historical context. He also presents what biographical information is known about the author of "Moderatus" and what is known of the book's publication history, and discusses such pertinent issues as the travel experience of Elizabethans, their knowledge of other languages than English, and their experience of translating and translations. Simons demonstrates how works like "Moderatus" do impel us to look more carefully at the inter-relationships of writers and readers and teach us a good deal about the habits of mind which those readers brought to more familiar texts.