The Early Stuart Church, 1603-1642

In this examination of the early Stuart Church original essays review academic controversy, which has been largely confined to specialist journals, and also offer many new interpretations and perspectives.

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The study of history thrives on controversy. Recently the early Stuart Church has become the subject of fierce debate among historians. What part, if any, did religion play in the coming of the English Civil War? Were puritans or Armenians the disruptive and innovative group in the pre-war Church? Why was religious unity so hard to achieve? In this volume, original essays review the current academic controversy, which has been largely confined to specialist journals, and also offer many new interpretations and perspectives. Among the contributors are Peter Lake, Nicholas Tyacke and Peter White, all leading figures in the recent debate, as well as a number of younger scholars. The chapters present conflicting views of the dominant personalities and problems of the time, and investigate the early Stuart Church from a series of viewpoints.
The monarchy's control over the Church, Episcopal leadership in the dioceses, and religion in the parishes all receive attention: so too do the theological disputes within the Church, and contrasting attitudes towards the Church of Rome Each theme is firmly placed in the political and social context of the time, and is pursued over the forty years before the Civil War, so that the distinctive character of the Churches of James I and Charles I can be clearly identified. The result is a collection of stimulating studies offering new arguments about and insights into an important period of English history.<