Bishops and Power in Early Modern England

Description

Armed with pistols and wearing jackboots, Bishop Henry Compton rode out in 1688 against his King but in defence of the Church of England and its bishops. His actions are a dramatic but telling indication of what was at stake for bishops in early modern England and Compton’s action at the height of the Restoration was the culmination of more than a century and a half of religious controversy that engulfed bishops. Bishops were among the most important instruments of royal, religious, national and local authority in seventeenth-century England. While their actions and ideas trickled down to the lower strata of the population, poor opinions of bishops filtered back up, finding expression in public forums, printed pamphlets and more subversive forms including scurrilous verse and mocking illustrations. Bishops and Power in Early Modern England explores the role and involvement of bishops at the centre of both government and belief in early modern England. It probes the controversial actions and ideas which sparked parliamentary agitation against them, demands for religious reform, and even war. Bishops and Power in Early Modern England examines arguments challenging episcopal authority and the counter-arguments which stressed the necessity of bishops in England and their status as useful and godly ministers. The book argues that episcopal writers constructed an identity as reformed agents of church authority. Charting the development of this identity over a hundred and fifty years, from the Reformation to the Restoration, this book traces the history of early modern England from an original and highly significant perspective. This book engages with many aspects of the social, political and religious history of early modern England and will therefore be key reading for undergraduates and postgraduates, and researchers working in the early modern field, and anyone who has an interest in this period of history. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Bibliographic Note Introduction Chapter 1 Bishops and the Reformation in England Introduction The coronation of Edward VI and its significance Elizabeth’s reign: Matthew Parker and his consecration Chapter 2 A Bishop and Therefore No Puritan: Episcopal Authority and ‘Conforming Puritans’ in Jacobean England Introduction Division and discord: Modern views Cataloguing bishops: Reformed and unreformed episcopates John Harington, the Prince of Wales and the episcopate Battles fought and won: Protestant bishops and episcopal dissent Loyalty in dissent: Episcopal puritans and puritan bishops Hampton court and its consequences Conclusion Chapter 3 Exorcising Demons and Defending Episcopacy Introduction Conclusion Chapter 4 Reformed Episcopacy Under Pressure Introduction Laud among the bishops Archbishop Laud and the episcopate: Arminianism and Laudianism Modern accounts of Laud Laud and the bishops: Episcopacy under attack Defences of Laud: Reformed episcopacy Laud on trial Laud the protestant bishop Cranmer for the defence Conclusion Chapter 5 The Uncertain Path to Restoration Introduction Heralds of reform: Medieval protestants Gauden and the scope of episcopacy Conclusion Chapter 6 The Restoration, Episcopal Self-representation and the Defence of Vestments Introduction Episcopal choir dress and vestiarian disputes The rochet and chimere in historical perspective Visual assertions of episcopacy Defending episcopal dress: George Hooper Conclusion Conclusion: Identifying Reformed Authority Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Conclusion Bibliography Manuscript sources Primary (pre-1700) sources in print Secondary sources in print Unpublished dissertations Index