Abstract

Francis Bacon's History of Henry VII was an admired classic for almost three centuries, but in the twentieth century has come to be regarded as unreliable, as representing no contribution to source criticism, and as largely derivative from Edward Hall's Chronicle and Polydore Vergil's Anglica Historia. However, a comparison with these sources shows an entirely original psychological analysis of Henry VII and thereby supports the thesis that Bacon was carrying out a case-study according to his project for a "science of man" outlined in the Instauratio Magna. It was, in fact, the first scientifically-oriented biography in English, and thus differs from the tradition of "literary" history with which it otherwise shares a didactic purpose