Thomas Smith and Reading as a 'Trigger for Action'

Although the majority of Smith's foreign travels took him to France and Italy, as a scholar and policy-maker his historical interests extended to other European countries. This chronicle of Scandinavian rulers by Albert Krantz was a key text for advisors in foreign policy, and would have been useful to Smith in his positions as ambassador and Secretary of State during the reigns of Edward VI and Elizabeth I. An example of Smith’s habit of annotating his books can be found in a margin on display here, showing a portrait of Margaret I, who at various times during the final years of the fourteenth century became regent of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, positions she would retain until her death in 1412.

Author: Albert Krantz
Title: Chronica regnorum Aquilonarium Daniae, Suetiae, Norvagiae [Chronicles of the northern kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway] ([s.l.], 1561)
Shelfmark: D.10.22 (catalogue record)

D.10.22