People and Piety

Protestant Devotional Identities in Early Modern England

Elizabeth Clarke editor Robert W Daniel editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Manchester University Press

Published:18th Sep '20

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

People and Piety cover

This international and interdisciplinary volume investigates Protestant devotional identities in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. Divided into two sections, the book examines the ‘sites’ where these identities were forged – the academy, printing house, household, theatre and prison – and the ‘types’ of texts that expressed them – spiritual autobiographies, religious poetry and writings tied to the ars moriendi – providing a broad analysis of social, material and literary forms of devotion during England’s Long Reformation. Through archival and cutting-edge research, a detailed picture of ‘lived religion’ emerges, which re-evaluates the pietistic acts and attitudes of well-known and recently discovered figures. To those studying and teaching religion and identity in early modern England, and anyone interested in the history of religious self-expression, these chapters offer a rich and rewarding read.

'Situating itself broadly within the well-established field of "self fashioning" studies, but more particularly within the more recent "devotional turn" in historiography, this is a well-chosen, carefully structured... effective and handsomely produced volume... well-thought-out and stimulating... Much new research is to be found here.' Literature & History, R. C. Richardson

'...all of the fine essays in this volume reflect the considerable time given by the contributors to the "otherness" of their subjects and, as a result, offer the reader fascinating insights into the variety of devotional identities in early modern England.'
Baptist Quarterly, Karen E. Smith

''This fine new volume... is predicated on the principle that it is through the detailed study of particular lives that we can come closest to appreciating early modern religion and religious writing. The result is a fascinating collection of new essays... I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone interested in the history, literature or religion of early modern England, and especially in the meeting of these elements in the endlessly fascinating devotional lives of its people.'
Bunyan Studies, Helen Wilcox

'This collection of fourteen essays provides a wealth of examples of the ways that devotional identities were formed and understood in early modern England... Whether a reader approaches the collection as a whole or dips into it according to her interests, she is sure to emerge with a deeper understanding of popular piety in early modern England.'
Milton Quarterly, Brook Conti

'In their important edited collection... Elizabeth Clarke and Robert W. Daniel succeed in their intention of demonstrating that “piety did not define people” in early modern England, for “it was people who defined their piety”. Responding to the recent devotional turn, and in particular, renewed calls to consider individuals’ lived religious practice, Clarke and Daniel bring together wide-ranging and interdisciplinary chapters that survey the breadth and vitality of Protestant devotional identities... This volume serves as a snapshot of the state of a flourishing field, a comprehensive and enlightening overview of the construction of devotional identities, and deserves to be widely consulted as a key survey of English Protestantism.'
Journal of British Studies, Emily Vine

ISBN: 9781526150127

Dimensions: 216mm x 138mm x 22mm

Weight: 558g

320 pages