This book contains transcripts of papers which passed between Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire from 1586 to 1591, and his deputies. The period included the time when England was threatened with invasion by the Spanish Armada; the papers reveal much about the preparations to deal with the threat.
A detailed introduction sets the scene, both in terms of how the papers came to be discovered and how the militia was organised in Northamptonshire in that era. It also unfolds the Lord Lieutenant's other responsibilities in administering the county.
There is an extensive index of Persons and Places, with a separate one of Subjects.
The picture of the Battle of Gravelines where the Armada was defeated is adapted from a painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg, more details of which can be found at Wikimedia Commons.