The great Elizabethan divine Richard Hooker has occupied a prominent
place in the intellectual history of the Church of England and
sixteenth-century Protestantism but his wider significance has often
been neglected. In his introduction to this selection of books from Of
the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Professor McGrade demonstrates
clearly the continued relevance and importance of the particular
politico-religious project Hooker undertook and shows that The Laws
offer far more than simply an apologia for the Elizabethan religious
settlement. The text of this version is based on the authoritative
Folger edition and presents those sections of The Laws most important to
an understanding of Hooker's wider aims and context.