InA Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf laments that ′nothing is known about women before the eighteenth century′ (45). Beyond the hyperbole of her assertion, Woolf gestures toward the genuine difficulties involved in reconstructing the lives of early modern women from a predominantly male-constructed historical record. In the case of Elizabeth Joscelin (1595?-1622), two sources of biographical information exist, each arising from the author′s relationship with historically significant men. First, Joscelin is mentioned in biographical and ecclesiastical accounts of her maternal grandfather, the Anglican bishop William Chaderton (1540?-1608). Second, Thomas Goad (1576-1638), the editor of Joscelin′s work, records details...

OVr lawes disable those, that are vnderCouert-baron,¹ from disposing by Will and Testament any temporall estate. But no law prohibiteth any possessor of morall and spirituall riches, to impart them vnto others, either in life by communicating, or in death by bequeathing. The reason is, for that corruptible riches, euen to those who haue capacity of alienating² them, bring onely a ciuill propriety, but no morall & vertuous influence for the wel dispensing, or bestowing them: whereas vertue and grace haue power beyond all empeachment of sex or other debility, to enable and instruct the possessor to employ the same...

Myne own deare loue[,] I no sooner conceyved a hope that I should bee made a mother by thee but w^thit entered the consideration of a mothers duty and shortly after followed the apprehension of danger that might preuent me for [from] executinge that care, I so exceedingly desired. I mean in religious trayninge our childe, and in truthe deathe appearinge in this shape was doubly terrible vnto mee[,] first in respect of the paynfullnes of that kinde of death an[d] next the losse my littell one should haue in wantinge mee but I thanke god theas fears wear...

Hauinge longe[,] often and earnestly desired of god that I might be a mother to one of his children, and the time now drawinge on w^thI hope he hathe appoynted to giue thee vnto me, it drew me into a consideratyon bothe whearfore I so earnestly desired thee and (hauinge found that the true cause; was to make thee happy) how I might compas this happines for thee, I knew it consisted not in honor[,] wealthe[,] strengthe of body or frends (though all theas are great blessings), thearfore it had bin a poor and weake desire to desire thee...

Variants are listed by the page and line numbers of the second impression as it appears in this edition. Each emandation is followed by its source(s). The spelling of the variant derives from its earliest source....