ABSTRACT
On 27 March 1625 death carried off James VI and I, unsurpassed among British rulers in his eagerness to communicate his vision of his powers, his duties and his ambitions by speech, pen, and print. The daunting task of projecting to a large audience the first ‘lively image and representation’ of a deceased king so active in self-presentation fell to John Williams, bishop of Lincoln and lord keeper of the great seal, preacher at James’s funeral on 7 May. Williams, who had attended James on his deathbed, was exceptionally well qualified to portray the king in the manner that best reflected his own aspirations and self-image. His sermon, Great Britaines SALOMON, presents a sustained comparison between James and the wise king of Israel, suggested by 1 Kings 11: 41-3. James, like Solomon, had been happy in his life, reign, and end. Divine providence had made James the means of uniting a great empire as the first king to reign over the whole of Britain.1
