Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
Censored and incomplete, Milton's History of Britain stands as a broken monument to the controversies of the 17th century, as well as to the political and religious ambitions of Milton himself. This ...
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Censored and incomplete, Milton's History of Britain stands as a broken monument to the controversies of the 17th century, as well as to the political and religious ambitions of Milton himself. This book is a comparative study of the History's composition and publication which allows new perspectives on Milton's republican allegiances from the 1640s to the 1670s, and beyond. Now the History can be seen as Milton's response to the crisis of the English Revolution in 1648–9. This examination of the History also permits a wider view of the publication and reception of Milton's work in the Restoration; in particular, the work's censorship makes it a central text in the study of Restoration publishing. This first full-length study makes Milton's History available to scholars as never before. Because early modern histories can only be understood with reference to the texts they recycle, the History has hitherto proved largely impenetrable. This study provides the contextual information with which we can make sense of the composition and publication of the History.Less
Censored and incomplete, Milton's History of Britain stands as a broken monument to the controversies of the 17th century, as well as to the political and religious ambitions of Milton himself. This book is a comparative study of the History's composition and publication which allows new perspectives on Milton's republican allegiances from the 1640s to the 1670s, and beyond. Now the History can be seen as Milton's response to the crisis of the English Revolution in 1648–9. This examination of the History also permits a wider view of the publication and reception of Milton's work in the Restoration; in particular, the work's censorship makes it a central text in the study of Restoration publishing. This first full-length study makes Milton's History available to scholars as never before. Because early modern histories can only be understood with reference to the texts they recycle, the History has hitherto proved largely impenetrable. This study provides the contextual information with which we can make sense of the composition and publication of the History.
Vernon Bogdanor (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263198
- eISBN:
- 9780191734755
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263198.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This is the first survey of the British constitution in the twentieth century. Indeed, it fills a very real gap in the history of Britain during the last 100 years. The book is a product of ...
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This is the first survey of the British constitution in the twentieth century. Indeed, it fills a very real gap in the history of Britain during the last 100 years. The book is a product of interdisciplinary collaboration by constitutional lawyers, historians, and political scientists, and draws where possible on primary sources. It is an evaluation of the recent constitutional reforms.Less
This is the first survey of the British constitution in the twentieth century. Indeed, it fills a very real gap in the history of Britain during the last 100 years. The book is a product of interdisciplinary collaboration by constitutional lawyers, historians, and political scientists, and draws where possible on primary sources. It is an evaluation of the recent constitutional reforms.
Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
This chapter discusses John Milton's writings on ancient Britons. The dispute over British history is demonstrated. Milton's early references to the British myth give it increasing political ...
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This chapter discusses John Milton's writings on ancient Britons. The dispute over British history is demonstrated. Milton's early references to the British myth give it increasing political significance. In the late 1630s, his high regard for the British legends remains untroubled. In addition, Book I and Book III of the History of Britain is also described. In this book, Milton dissociates his authority as historian from the texts on which he must rely. The early Britons' lack of records shows a corresponding lack of civil virtue. Milton's History forbids any heroic interpretation of the Arthurian age. Milton's impatience with the patriotic myths indicates his growth as a reformer dedicated to the truer understanding of English history, with a historical perspective enhanced by an open-eyed view of his compatriots, ancient and modern.Less
This chapter discusses John Milton's writings on ancient Britons. The dispute over British history is demonstrated. Milton's early references to the British myth give it increasing political significance. In the late 1630s, his high regard for the British legends remains untroubled. In addition, Book I and Book III of the History of Britain is also described. In this book, Milton dissociates his authority as historian from the texts on which he must rely. The early Britons' lack of records shows a corresponding lack of civil virtue. Milton's History forbids any heroic interpretation of the Arthurian age. Milton's impatience with the patriotic myths indicates his growth as a reformer dedicated to the truer understanding of English history, with a historical perspective enhanced by an open-eyed view of his compatriots, ancient and modern.
Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
The final three books of the History of Britain cover the period from the Saxon invasions to the Norman Conquest. They have often disappointed students of Milton. Milton's position on the Saxons ...
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The final three books of the History of Britain cover the period from the Saxon invasions to the Norman Conquest. They have often disappointed students of Milton. Milton's position on the Saxons needs situating in the longer history of Saxon studies. His failure to achieve more stems in part from his characteristic response to the study of Saxon history as it had developed in the preceding century. This is the first subject tackled in this chapter, after a preliminary note on the date of the later books of the History. Milton's greater difficulties in addressing the complexities of constitutional reform in the 1650s are also explained. He is sceptic about the Saxons' religious and civil discipline. It is stated that the Milton of the History and poetry finds little to cheer in Saxon history and culture.Less
The final three books of the History of Britain cover the period from the Saxon invasions to the Norman Conquest. They have often disappointed students of Milton. Milton's position on the Saxons needs situating in the longer history of Saxon studies. His failure to achieve more stems in part from his characteristic response to the study of Saxon history as it had developed in the preceding century. This is the first subject tackled in this chapter, after a preliminary note on the date of the later books of the History. Milton's greater difficulties in addressing the complexities of constitutional reform in the 1650s are also explained. He is sceptic about the Saxons' religious and civil discipline. It is stated that the Milton of the History and poetry finds little to cheer in Saxon history and culture.
Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
By working back from the separate publication of the History of Britain (1670) and the Character of the Long Parliament and Assembly of Divines (1681), it is possible to reconstitute a fuller History ...
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By working back from the separate publication of the History of Britain (1670) and the Character of the Long Parliament and Assembly of Divines (1681), it is possible to reconstitute a fuller History of Britain that takes to the heart of Milton's republican thought at the crisis of the English Revolution. As so often happens, the political turmoil of the latter end of the 17th century provides vital information about a mid-century text. The political reasons for publishing the 1681 Character needs to be explored in order to understand the History. In particular, the publication of the Character needs to be considered in light of the events of 1681: only then do its omissions and other misleading features, especially its editorial preface, come into focus. The Digression was indeed written ‘Unbrib'd’. The misgivings about the Character are explored. Importance of determining the original context for the History and the Digression in the revolutionary years of 1648–9 is stated.Less
By working back from the separate publication of the History of Britain (1670) and the Character of the Long Parliament and Assembly of Divines (1681), it is possible to reconstitute a fuller History of Britain that takes to the heart of Milton's republican thought at the crisis of the English Revolution. As so often happens, the political turmoil of the latter end of the 17th century provides vital information about a mid-century text. The political reasons for publishing the 1681 Character needs to be explored in order to understand the History. In particular, the publication of the Character needs to be considered in light of the events of 1681: only then do its omissions and other misleading features, especially its editorial preface, come into focus. The Digression was indeed written ‘Unbrib'd’. The misgivings about the Character are explored. Importance of determining the original context for the History and the Digression in the revolutionary years of 1648–9 is stated.
Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
Introducing Book III of the History of Britain, John Milton sees himself as writing with a special purpose in ‘this intereign’. Milton wrote the History as advice literature to the nation in the ...
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Introducing Book III of the History of Britain, John Milton sees himself as writing with a special purpose in ‘this intereign’. Milton wrote the History as advice literature to the nation in the ensuing interregnum. The History should be recognized as part of Milton's achievement in 1649, the annus mirabilis in which he writes the Tenure, the first four books of the History, the Observations, and Eikonoklastes, and in which he further assists the new government in preparing Latin letters of state. It is unfortunate that questions about the date of the History have much blunted its message. The freedom at the beginning of the interregnum was soon to be eroded by the lack of true progress in the revolution. The Digression's context in the History itself indicates the frustration of Milton's hopes for his country in the late 1640s. The doubts voiced in the History lie behind much of Milton's later political thought.Less
Introducing Book III of the History of Britain, John Milton sees himself as writing with a special purpose in ‘this intereign’. Milton wrote the History as advice literature to the nation in the ensuing interregnum. The History should be recognized as part of Milton's achievement in 1649, the annus mirabilis in which he writes the Tenure, the first four books of the History, the Observations, and Eikonoklastes, and in which he further assists the new government in preparing Latin letters of state. It is unfortunate that questions about the date of the History have much blunted its message. The freedom at the beginning of the interregnum was soon to be eroded by the lack of true progress in the revolution. The Digression's context in the History itself indicates the frustration of Milton's hopes for his country in the late 1640s. The doubts voiced in the History lie behind much of Milton's later political thought.
Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
Gildas deeply impressed John Milton with the fervour of his jeremiad. At the crisis of the Revolution, Milton was undeterred by the more hortatory than historical style of Gildas' De Excidio et ...
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Gildas deeply impressed John Milton with the fervour of his jeremiad. At the crisis of the Revolution, Milton was undeterred by the more hortatory than historical style of Gildas' De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae ac flebili Castigatione in Reges, Principes et Sacerdotes. Milton pointed out the confusion Gildas described in ancient Britain that could not be reconciled with the heroic splendour of an Arthurian age. The De Excidio in early modern historiography is described. Milton's use of De Excidio reflects both the historians' and the Reformers' interest in Gildas. In addition, explanations regarding the De Excidio in Milton's History of Britain is provided.Less
Gildas deeply impressed John Milton with the fervour of his jeremiad. At the crisis of the Revolution, Milton was undeterred by the more hortatory than historical style of Gildas' De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae ac flebili Castigatione in Reges, Principes et Sacerdotes. Milton pointed out the confusion Gildas described in ancient Britain that could not be reconciled with the heroic splendour of an Arthurian age. The De Excidio in early modern historiography is described. Milton's use of De Excidio reflects both the historians' and the Reformers' interest in Gildas. In addition, explanations regarding the De Excidio in Milton's History of Britain is provided.
Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
This chapter discusses the salient inconsistency between John Milton's political tracts and the History of Britain. In the Defensio especially, Milton presents a very different, much more positive ...
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This chapter discusses the salient inconsistency between John Milton's political tracts and the History of Britain. In the Defensio especially, Milton presents a very different, much more positive account of early English history and the Saxon legacy. The Defensio provides a common version of the myth of the ancient constitution, a belief in which appears to underlie references to English history in the later tracts. This historical argument in the Defensio has been related to Milton's reading of Hotman's influential Francogallia. History illustrates Milton in political retreat from his engagement with the parliamentary cause in the early 1650s.Less
This chapter discusses the salient inconsistency between John Milton's political tracts and the History of Britain. In the Defensio especially, Milton presents a very different, much more positive account of early English history and the Saxon legacy. The Defensio provides a common version of the myth of the ancient constitution, a belief in which appears to underlie references to English history in the later tracts. This historical argument in the Defensio has been related to Milton's reading of Hotman's influential Francogallia. History illustrates Milton in political retreat from his engagement with the parliamentary cause in the early 1650s.
Karen Sullivan
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226540122
- eISBN:
- 9780226540436
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226540436.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
In the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, medieval thinkers disagreed about what they called “marvels,” that is, phenomena in the natural world that cannot be understood according to the laws of ...
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In the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, medieval thinkers disagreed about what they called “marvels,” that is, phenomena in the natural world that cannot be understood according to the laws of Nature, and about Merlin, the preeminent performer of marvels. Rationalists denied the existence of marvels because they denied that anything natural was beyond human comprehension. They argued that, because Merlin was not a saint, enacting miracles with divine aid, he must have been a limb of the devil, enacting magic with demonic assistance. Contemplatives affirmed the existence of marvels because they affirmed the irreducible mysteriousness of God’s existence. They maintained that Merlin possessed a natural power, neither divine nor demonic, to predict the future. In Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Life of Merlin and History of the Kings of Britain and Robert de Boron’s Merlin, Merlin demonstrates that time is not a linear sequence of points but a web of correspondences, where marvelous portents (like dragons) anticipate the future and marvelous memorials (like Stonehenge) recall the past. One should respond to a marvel, these texts suggest, not by trying to understand it, but by delighting in it, as one responds to romance.Less
In the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, medieval thinkers disagreed about what they called “marvels,” that is, phenomena in the natural world that cannot be understood according to the laws of Nature, and about Merlin, the preeminent performer of marvels. Rationalists denied the existence of marvels because they denied that anything natural was beyond human comprehension. They argued that, because Merlin was not a saint, enacting miracles with divine aid, he must have been a limb of the devil, enacting magic with demonic assistance. Contemplatives affirmed the existence of marvels because they affirmed the irreducible mysteriousness of God’s existence. They maintained that Merlin possessed a natural power, neither divine nor demonic, to predict the future. In Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Life of Merlin and History of the Kings of Britain and Robert de Boron’s Merlin, Merlin demonstrates that time is not a linear sequence of points but a web of correspondences, where marvelous portents (like dragons) anticipate the future and marvelous memorials (like Stonehenge) recall the past. One should respond to a marvel, these texts suggest, not by trying to understand it, but by delighting in it, as one responds to romance.
Jennifer Jahner
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- November 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198847724
- eISBN:
- 9780191882401
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198847724.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
Having begun as a short-lived peace treaty in 1215, Magna Carta grew to acquire a quasi-sacral status over the course of the thirteenth century. This chapter traces the development of the “Great ...
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Having begun as a short-lived peace treaty in 1215, Magna Carta grew to acquire a quasi-sacral status over the course of the thirteenth century. This chapter traces the development of the “Great Charter,” arguing that literary modes of invention contributed vitally to its elevation as a symbol for the rule of law. It looks to three sites for the production of the “idea” of Magna Carta: in the chronicling traditions of St. Albans Abbey, in the legal historiography of London, and in the Latin, Anglo-French, and Middle English verse ephemera that proliferated in the margins of law books and histories. In all of these instances, literary forms of invention and historical modes of finding precedent converge, with the result that Magna Carta comes to embody both “old law” and the prospect of future reform.Less
Having begun as a short-lived peace treaty in 1215, Magna Carta grew to acquire a quasi-sacral status over the course of the thirteenth century. This chapter traces the development of the “Great Charter,” arguing that literary modes of invention contributed vitally to its elevation as a symbol for the rule of law. It looks to three sites for the production of the “idea” of Magna Carta: in the chronicling traditions of St. Albans Abbey, in the legal historiography of London, and in the Latin, Anglo-French, and Middle English verse ephemera that proliferated in the margins of law books and histories. In all of these instances, literary forms of invention and historical modes of finding precedent converge, with the result that Magna Carta comes to embody both “old law” and the prospect of future reform.
Karen Eliot
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199347629
- eISBN:
- 9780199347643
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199347629.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
This chapter examines competing narratives about the birth of British ballet. The chapter then looks at contributions of dance critics and historians who created these narratives and who advocated ...
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This chapter examines competing narratives about the birth of British ballet. The chapter then looks at contributions of dance critics and historians who created these narratives and who advocated the growth of a uniquely British classical ballet. Balletomanes contributed to ballet’s survival during wartime isolation through their published dance criticism and active engagement in the field. Critics including Cyril Beaumont, Arnold Haskell, and P. J. S. Richardson helped to create an environment where ballet could thrive and widen its popularity during and after the war. Richardson’s Dancing Times kept communication alive among members of the dance community, and substantial numbers of dance books were published in spite of shortages of paper and manpower. Some regarded the resultant dance boom warily: they welcomed ballet’s increased popularity but worried about a lessening of critical standards as uninitiated audiences developed interest in dance, and, they thought, lowered the artistic levels established by Diaghilev.Less
This chapter examines competing narratives about the birth of British ballet. The chapter then looks at contributions of dance critics and historians who created these narratives and who advocated the growth of a uniquely British classical ballet. Balletomanes contributed to ballet’s survival during wartime isolation through their published dance criticism and active engagement in the field. Critics including Cyril Beaumont, Arnold Haskell, and P. J. S. Richardson helped to create an environment where ballet could thrive and widen its popularity during and after the war. Richardson’s Dancing Times kept communication alive among members of the dance community, and substantial numbers of dance books were published in spite of shortages of paper and manpower. Some regarded the resultant dance boom warily: they welcomed ballet’s increased popularity but worried about a lessening of critical standards as uninitiated audiences developed interest in dance, and, they thought, lowered the artistic levels established by Diaghilev.
W. B. Patterson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- March 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198793700
- eISBN:
- 9780191835513
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198793700.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Fuller faced an uncertain future on his return to London in the wake of the royalist collapse. Friends assisted him, and he found convenient lodging at Sion College. In 1648 he was appointed minister ...
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Fuller faced an uncertain future on his return to London in the wake of the royalist collapse. Friends assisted him, and he found convenient lodging at Sion College. In 1648 he was appointed minister of Waltham Abbey by James Hay, earl of Carlisle, the church’s patron. Fuller published a major work on the history and geography of the Holy Land, a collection of biographies of Protestant divines, and an edition of the debates in Parliament in 1628-9. He lamented the trial and execution of King Charles in a published sermon. He also defended in print practices of the Church that had been abolished or were being undermined by the ecclesiastical changes of the late 1640s and 1650s, especially under Oliver Cromwell. In this environment he published his major work, The Church-History of Britain (1655), in part to stimulate the nation’s memory of its religious heritage.Less
Fuller faced an uncertain future on his return to London in the wake of the royalist collapse. Friends assisted him, and he found convenient lodging at Sion College. In 1648 he was appointed minister of Waltham Abbey by James Hay, earl of Carlisle, the church’s patron. Fuller published a major work on the history and geography of the Holy Land, a collection of biographies of Protestant divines, and an edition of the debates in Parliament in 1628-9. He lamented the trial and execution of King Charles in a published sermon. He also defended in print practices of the Church that had been abolished or were being undermined by the ecclesiastical changes of the late 1640s and 1650s, especially under Oliver Cromwell. In this environment he published his major work, The Church-History of Britain (1655), in part to stimulate the nation’s memory of its religious heritage.
Clive D. Field
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198799474
- eISBN:
- 9780191839740
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198799474.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This is a major empirical contribution to the literature of secularization, both generally and in Britain, which moves beyond the now largely sterile and theoretical debates about the validity of the ...
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This is a major empirical contribution to the literature of secularization, both generally and in Britain, which moves beyond the now largely sterile and theoretical debates about the validity of the secularization thesis or paradigm. Combining historical and social scientific perspectives and approaches, the author uses a wide range of quantitative sources, many of them unpublished or otherwise neglected, to probe the extent and pace of religious change in Britain during the long 1960s. In most cases, data are presented for the years 1955–80, with particular attention being paid to the methodological and other challenges posed by each source type, in order to avoid misleading interpretations. Following an introductory chapter, which reviews the historiography, introduces the sources, and defines the chronological and other parameters, evidence is presented for all major facets of religious belonging, behaving, and believing, as well as for institutional church measures. The work particularly engages with, and (in statistical terms) largely refutes, Professor Callum Brown?s influential assertion that Britain experienced ?revolutionary? secularization in the 1960s, which was highly gendered in nature, and with 1963 the major tipping-point. Rather, a more nuanced picture emerges, with some religious indicators in crisis, others continuing on an existing downward trajectory, and yet others remaining stable. On the basis of previous research by the author and other scholars, and rejecting recent proponents of counter-secularization, the long 1960s are ultimately located within the context of a longstanding gradualist, and still ongoing, process of secularization in Britain.Less
This is a major empirical contribution to the literature of secularization, both generally and in Britain, which moves beyond the now largely sterile and theoretical debates about the validity of the secularization thesis or paradigm. Combining historical and social scientific perspectives and approaches, the author uses a wide range of quantitative sources, many of them unpublished or otherwise neglected, to probe the extent and pace of religious change in Britain during the long 1960s. In most cases, data are presented for the years 1955–80, with particular attention being paid to the methodological and other challenges posed by each source type, in order to avoid misleading interpretations. Following an introductory chapter, which reviews the historiography, introduces the sources, and defines the chronological and other parameters, evidence is presented for all major facets of religious belonging, behaving, and believing, as well as for institutional church measures. The work particularly engages with, and (in statistical terms) largely refutes, Professor Callum Brown?s influential assertion that Britain experienced ?revolutionary? secularization in the 1960s, which was highly gendered in nature, and with 1963 the major tipping-point. Rather, a more nuanced picture emerges, with some religious indicators in crisis, others continuing on an existing downward trajectory, and yet others remaining stable. On the basis of previous research by the author and other scholars, and rejecting recent proponents of counter-secularization, the long 1960s are ultimately located within the context of a longstanding gradualist, and still ongoing, process of secularization in Britain.
