The Culture of English Puritanism 1560-1700

by Christopher Durston, Jacqueline Eales

The Culture of English Puritanism is a major contribution to the debate on the nature and extent of early modern Puritanism. In their introduction the editors provide an up-to-date survey of the long-standing debate on Puritanism, before proceeding to outline their own definition of the movement. They argue that Puritanism should be defined as a unique and vibrant religious culture, which was grounded in a distinctive psychological outlook and which manifested itself in a set of highly characteristic religious practices.

In the subsequent essays, a distinguished group of contributors consider in detail some of the most important aspects of this culture, in particular sermon-gadding, collective fasting, strict observance of Sunday, iconoclasm, and puritan attempts to reform alternative popular culture of their ungodly neighbours. Other contributions chart the channels through which puritan culture was sustained in the 80-year period proceding the English Civil War, the failure of attempts by the puritan government of Interregnum England to impose this puritan culture on the English people, the subsequent emergence of Dissent after 1600.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

340 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 1996

Reviews

[Gayla Bassham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this largely disappointing; but to be fair, this is primarily because none of the essays touched directly on my main interest, the experience of Puritan women. There's still some interesting stuff here, especially the essay on the Puritan death-bed, which sounds to have been quite the extravaganza.

[Scribh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely good overview of English Puritanism within the period between 1560-1700, though the emphasis is more on the religious beliefs and practices of the group than the political ramifications of their influence in society.