author
Sir John Hayward
d. 1627
A sharp early modern historian whose writing could unsettle a queen, he moved between scholarship, law, and public life in late Elizabethan and early Stuart England. His best-known work on Henry IV made him famous for turning history into something politically alive.
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About the author
Born around 1564 near Felixstowe in Suffolk, Sir John Hayward became an English historian, lawyer, and politician. He studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge, earned advanced degrees in law, and built a career that joined learning with public service.
He is best remembered for The First Part of the Life and Raigne of King Henrie IV, published in 1599. The book's account of a king taking the crown from Richard II was controversial enough to alarm the government of Elizabeth I, especially because it was dedicated to the Earl of Essex. That episode helped make Hayward one of the more striking historical writers of his age: someone interested not just in recording events, but in the political meaning behind them.
Later in life, Hayward continued writing history and also held important legal and civic posts, eventually serving under James I. He died on June 27, 1627. Today he is often noted as one of the earlier English historians to move beyond medieval-style chronicle writing toward a more interpretive, analytical kind of history.