Lord Berners, the Earls of Huntingdon, and the First English Edition of Huon of Bordeaux

Modern scholars of early Tudor chivalric prose romance identify Francis Hastings, second Earl of Huntingdon, as the probable patron of Lord Berners’s translation and publication of Huon of Bordeaux. This essay argues instead, based in part on the Hastings family manuscripts at the Huntington Library, that George Hastings, the first earl, was the actual patron; analyzes the financial commitment this entailed; and suggests the first earl’s possible motivations. More generally, it presents a detailed case study of the social and political role of aristocratic patronage for this popular genre during the reign of Henry VIII.