Argenis is a book by John Barclay. It is a work of historical allegory which tells the story of the religious conflict in France under Henry III of France and Henry IV of France, and also touches on more contemporary English events, such as the Overbury scandal. The tendency is royalist, anti-aristocratic; it is told from the angle of a king who reduces the landed aristocrats' power in the interest of the "country", the interest of which is identified with that of the king. Jennifer Morrish describes Argenis as one of "the two most influential Neo-Latin novels", along with Thomas More's Utopia.

Some editions

Originally published in Latin in 1621, King James asked for it to be translated into English. The first such translation was undertaken by Ben Jonson, but his version was lost in a fire which also destroyed many of his other works. Later translations were made by Kingsmill Long (1625), and Robert Le Gruys (1628). Clara Reeve translated it as The Phoenix (1772).