ABSTRACT
If the latter half of the twentieth century in general witnessed an acceleration in the advance of Byrd appreciation and scholarship, the period since the publication of the first edition of this book in 1987 has witnessed an eruption. In 1897Sw, Squire first published Byrd’s will, from the wording of which it was deduced that Byrd was born in 1543 or possibly late 1542. Exactly a hundred years later in 1997Hw, John Harley announced the discovery of a document that indicated that Byrd was born in 1540 or possibly late 1539. Harley’s monograph and succession of subsequent biographical articles—most significantly 1998Hn, 2000Hw and 2002Hby—have rendered redundant most such writings that preceded them, but other writers also have made available some new discoveries. The advent of 1995A led to further such studies: 1995Ss by the distinguished Philips scholar David J. Smith; 1999BUc, in which David Buckley introduced William Child into Byrd literature.
