ABSTRACT
Clarendon spent almost a third of his life in exile. Even within the context of the civil wars and their aftermath, when long-term displacement was common, this separates him from most of his royalist contemporaries. The peregrinations of Crown supporters have been rather unevenly treated in modern times. This has started to be redressed in the last fifteen years, however: people have begun to develop a significantly clearer picture of the living conditions, preoccupations and writings of royalists who found a new life outside of the British Isles. 'Contemplations' is by some distance the longest work in Tracts, beginning on page 349 and ending on page 770, the volume's final page. When Clarendon wrote the dedication to 'Contemplations', his two sons held senior positions at the Restoration court. This may in itself help explain why publication - of a work which, however decorously, challenged Charles's decision to exile their father - was not achieved during their lifetime.
