The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism

This Companion views Puritanism from new angles and reveals the surprising diversity that fermented beneath its surface.

John Coffey (Edited by), Paul C. H. Lim (Edited by)

9780521678001, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 9 October 2008

400 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.63 kg

'… an excellent overview … both a perfect introduction for the undergraduate student and useful to the specialist.' Kyle DiRoberto, Sixteenth Century Journal

'Puritan' was originally a term of contempt, and 'Puritanism' has often been stereotyped by critics and admirers alike. As a distinctive and particularly intense variety of early modern Reformed Protestantism, it was a product of acute tensions within the post-Reformation Church of England. But it was never monolithic or purely oppositional, and its impact reverberated far beyond seventeenth-century England and New England. This Companion broadens our understanding of Puritanism, showing how students and scholars might engage with it from new angles and uncover the surprising diversity that fermented beneath its surface. The book explores issues of gender, literature, politics and popular culture in addition to addressing the Puritans' core concerns such as theology and devotional praxis, and coverage extends to Irish, Welsh, Scottish and European versions of Puritanism as well as to English and American practice. It challenges readers to re-evaluate this crucial tradition within its wider social, cultural, political and religious contexts.

Introduction John Coffey and Paul C. H. Lim
Part I. English Puritanism: 1. Antipuritanism Patrick Collinson
2. The growth of English Puritanism John Craig
3. Early Stuart Puritanism Tom Webster
4. The Puritan revolution John Morrill
5. Later Stuart Puritanism John Spurr
Part II. Beyond England: 6. Puritanism and the Continental Reformed Churches Anthony Milton
7. The Puritan experiment in New England, 1630–60 Francis J. Bremer
8. New England, 1660–1730 David D. Hall
9. Puritanism in Ireland and Wales Crawford Gribben
10. The problem of Scotland's Puritans Margo Todd
Part III. Major Themes: 11. Practical divinity and spirituality Charles Hambrick-Stowe
12. Puritan polemical divinity and doctrinal controversy Dewey D. Wallace, Jr.
13. Puritans and the Church of England: historiography and ecclesiology Paul C. H. Lim
14. Radical Puritanism, c.1558–1660 David R. Como
15. Puritan millenarianism in old and New England Jeffrey K. Jue
16. The Godly and popular culture Alexandra Walsham
17. Puritanism and gender Ann Hughes
18. Puritanism and literature N. H. Keeble
Part IV. Puritanism and Posterity: 19. Puritan legacies John Coffey
20. The historiography of Puritanism Peter Lake.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Theology [HRLB], Church history [HRCC2], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH]