Abstract

Paying close attention to the paratext in Reformation books can reveal a great deal about the historical period and political situation out of which those books emerged. This study becomes more interesting as we trace the evolution of the paratext through subsequent editions of a book. Whilst the text may be minimally revised, the paratext is often very dynamic, engaging with current political issues and mediating the reading of the text to respond to the changing needs of the State. In this paper I will be investigating prefatorial and annotational paratext in Reformation works by such historiographers as John Bale and John Foxe, before exploring in more depth the fascinating paratextual dynamic of Reformation Bibles themselves, from Myles Coverdale's 1535 Antwerp Bible through to the 1560 Geneva Bible to reveal something of the politics of Reformation paratextual revision.