The Construction of Martyrdom in the English Catholic Community

Between the accession of King James I in 1603, and King James II in 1685, eighty-one English Catholics were put to death by the state for treason and fifteen others died in prison while awaiting execution. This book considers the ways in which the English Catholic community, both at home and abroad, transformed these deaths into acts of martyrdom. Whilst the subject of Protestant martyrdom, personified by Foxe's Actes and Monuments, continues to be the centre of significant scholarly research, much less work has been done on Catholic martyrdom in seventeenth century England. Through a detailed study of the nature and function of the rhetoric of images, manuscripts and texts, this book redresses the confessional balance and maps the changing nature and self-image of English Catholicism during the turbulent years of the 1600s. It demonstrates how the rhetoric of martyrdom came to reflect and highlight many of the arguments and divisions within the English Catholic community as it sought to come to terms with its minority status in a country increasingly dominated and defined by militant Protestantism. As well as investigating Catholic laity, the role and differing attitudes of the religious orders operating clandestinely in England are examined, showing how Benedictines, Franciscans and Jesuits adopted very different approaches to, and justification of, their missionary duties. The attitudes of English Catholics to their co-religionists martyred abroad, in the European wars and colonial missions, are also looked at, showing how international concerns were shared and adopted. Following on from her previous book The Construction of Martyrdom in the English Catholic Community: 15??-1600, this work from Anne Dillon provides a much needed survey of English Catholic attitudes to martyrdom and self-image in the seventeenth century.