105-534: The Eleutheran Adventurers were a group of English Puritans and religious Independents who left Bermuda to settle on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas in the late 1640s. The small group of Puritan settlers, led by William Sayle , were expelled from Bermuda for their failure to swear allegiance to the Crown and left in search of a place in which they could freely practice their faith. This group represented
210-462: A Parliamentarian and was opposed to episcopacy , he was not a Puritan . Later in life especially, he seems to have been a conforming Anglican. Marvell positively identifies himself as "a Protestant" in pamphlets. He had flirted briefly with Catholicism as a youth, and was described in his thirties (on the Saumur visit) as "a notable English Italo- Machiavellian ". His strong Biblical influence
315-595: A BA degree. A portrait of Marvell, attributed to Godfrey Kneller , hangs in Trinity College's collection. From the middle of 1642 onwards, Marvell probably travelled in continental Europe. He may well have served as a tutor for an aristocrat on the Grand Tour , but the facts are not clear on this point. While England was embroiled in the civil war , Marvell seems to have remained on the continent until 1647. During his visit to Rome in 1645, he probably met
420-426: A Christian could never be reduced to simple "intellectual acknowledgment" of the truth of Christianity. Puritans agreed "that the effectual call of each elect saint of God would always come as an individuated personal encounter with God's promises". The process by which the elect are brought from spiritual death to spiritual life ( regeneration ) was described as conversion . Early on, Puritans did not consider
525-622: A Painter , written in 1667, Marvell responded to the political corruption that had contributed to English failures during the Second Anglo-Dutch War . The poem was only published in print after the Revolution of 1688–9 . The poem instructs an imaginary painter on how to portray the state without a proper navy to defend them. The state is led by men without intelligence or courage, a corrupt and dissolute court, and dishonest officials. Of another such satire, Samuel Pepys , himself
630-458: A Tombstone can neither contain his character, nor is Marble necessary to transmit it to posterity; it is engraved in the minds of this generation, and will be always legible in his inimitable writings, nevertheless. He having served twenty years successfully in Parliament, and that with such Wisdom, Dexterity, and Courage, as becomes a true Patriot, the town of Kingston-upon-Hull, from whence he
735-464: A congregation of "visible saints" (meaning those who had experienced conversion). Members would be required to abide by a church covenant , in which they "pledged to join in the proper worship of God and to nourish each other in the search for further religious truth". Such churches were regarded as complete within themselves, with full authority to determine their own membership, administer their own discipline and ordain their own ministers. Furthermore,
840-593: A diverse religious reform movement in Britain committed to the Continental Reformed tradition. While Puritans did not agree on all doctrinal points, most shared similar views on the nature of God , human sinfulness , and the relationship between God and mankind. They believed that all of their beliefs should be based on the Bible , which they considered to be divinely inspired . The concept of covenant
945-646: A financial support derived from the contributions of his constituency. He was re-elected MP for Hull in 1660 for the Convention Parliament . The monarchy was restored in England in 1660 with Charles II as king. Marvell avoided punishment for his own co-operation with Cromwell and republicanism more broadly. Furthermore, he helped to convince the King not to execute John Milton for his anti-monarchical writings and revolutionary activities. The closeness of
1050-692: A government official, commented in his diary , "Here I met with a fourth Advice to a Painter upon the coming in of the Dutch and the End of the War, that made my heart ake to read, it being too sharp and so true." From 1659 until his death in 1678, Marvell served as London agent for the Hull Trinity House shipmasters' guild . He went on two missions to the continent; one to the Dutch Republic , and
1155-554: A governor and twelve councillors chosen from a senate composed of the first 100 settlers, and humane treatment of any indigenous people still on the island. It has been noted that if Sayle's settlement had been successful, then he would have created in the Bahamas "the first democratic state in the New World", some 130 years before the American Revolution . Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in
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#17327718153391260-480: A man so endowed by Nature, so improved by Education, Study, and Travel, so consummated by Experience, that, joining the peculiar graces of Wit and Learning, with a singular penetration and strength of judgment; and exercising all these in the whole course of his life, with an unutterable steadiness in the ways of Virtue, he became the ornament and example of his age, beloved by good men, feared by bad, admired by all, though imitated by few; and scarce paralleled by any. But
1365-567: A new English national church. By the late 1630s, Puritans were in alliance with the growing commercial world, with the parliamentary opposition to the royal prerogative , and with the Scottish Presbyterians with whom they had much in common. Consequently, they became a major political force in England and came to power as a result of the First English Civil War (1642–1646). Almost all Puritan clergy left
1470-593: A period of civil strife resulted in a victory for the supporters of the royalist party, known as Cavaliers . The struggle eventually led to the expulsion of the colony's Puritans and independents to the Bahamas, which the English had laid claim to in 1629 but had not permanently settled. Earlier in 1644, the Bermudian independent Puritans had sent an expedition to explore these new islands. Sometime between spring 1646 and autumn 1648, Sayle took 70 people to settle in
1575-464: A popular meeting of his old constituents at Hull. His health had been remarkably good; and some people theorised of his poisoning by his political or clerical enemies. This is unproven. Marvell was buried in the church of St Giles in the Fields in central London. His monument, erected by a very grateful constituency, bears the following inscription: Near this place lyeth the body of Andrew Marvell, Esq.,
1680-692: A reformed episcopacy , presbyterianism , congregationalism , and Erastianism . The membership of the Assembly was strongly weighted towards the Presbyterians, but Oliver Cromwell was a Puritan and an independent Congregationalist Separatist who imposed his doctrines upon them. The Church of England of the Interregnum (1649–60) was run along Presbyterian lines but never became a national Presbyterian church, such as existed in Scotland. England
1785-632: A result, Puritans were among the most literate societies in the world. By the time of the American Revolution there were 40 newspapers in the United States (at a time when there were only two cities—New York and Philadelphia—with as many as 20,000 people in them). The Puritans also set up a college (now Harvard University ) only six years after arriving in Boston. Christianity • Protestantism Puritanism broadly refers to
1890-484: A ship and supplies and went to relieve the others. More colonists expelled from Bermuda arrived in 1649 and also faced the predicament of inadequate supplies. This time it was the sympathetic Puritans of New England who rallied to their cause and collected £800 for all the supplies they needed, allowing the colony to survive. The Eleutheran people showed their thankfulness by sending the ship back to Boston filled with Braziletto wood, with instructions to sell it and donate
1995-434: A specific conversion experience normative or necessary, but many gained assurance of salvation from such experiences. Over time, however, Puritan theologians developed a framework for authentic religious experience based on their own experiences as well as those of their parishioners. Eventually, Puritans came to regard a specific conversion experience as an essential mark of one's election. The Puritan conversion experience
2100-550: A time of war and political change. Probably the best-known poem he wrote at this time is " To His Coy Mistress ". During the period of increasing tensions leading up to the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652, Marvell wrote the satirical "Character of Holland". It repeated the contemporary stereotype of the Dutch as "drunken and profane": "This indigested vomit of the Sea,/ Fell to the Dutch by Just Propriety." He became
2205-592: A tutor to Cromwell's ward, William Dutton, in 1653, and moved to live with his pupil at John Oxenbridge 's house in Eton . Oxenbridge previously made two trips to Bermuda , this most-likely inspired Marvell to write his poem Bermudas . He also wrote several poems praising Cromwell, who was Lord Protector of England at that point. In 1656 Marvell and Dutton travelled to France, to visit the Protestant Academy of Saumur . In 1657, Marvell joined Milton (who
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#17327718153392310-491: A uniform reform of the established church was called for to create a godly nation, while others advocated separation from, or the end of, any established state church entirely in favour of autonomous gathered churches , called-out from the world. These Separatist and Independents became more prominent in the 1640s, when the supporters of a presbyterian polity in the Westminster Assembly were unable to forge
2415-701: A vested personal interest in Eleuthera. He used this influence to secure some trade for the island and so helped the community through its infancy. This episode is thought to be the historical source of Andrew Marvell 's poem "Bermudas," written in praise of the Puritan settlers of the New World , and one of the earliest statements of the so-called " American Dream ". According to the Norton Anthology of English Literature (7th ed., p. 1686), "The poem
2520-460: A visitation of the plague and celebrated the birth of a child to King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria . He belatedly became sympathetic to the successive regimes during the Interregnum after Charles I's execution on 30 January 1649. His "Horatian Ode", a political poem dated to 1650, responds with sadness to the regicide, despite the overall praise towards Oliver Cromwell 's return from Ireland. Circa 1650–52, Marvell served as tutor to
2625-434: Is clear in poems such as " The Garden ", the "Coronet" and "The Bermudas". Vincent Palmieri noted that Marvell is sometimes known as the "British Aristides " for his incorruptible integrity in life and poverty at death. Many of his poems were not published until 1681, three years after his death, from a collection owned by Mary Palmer, his housekeeper. After Marvell's death she laid dubious claim to having been his wife, from
2730-421: Is more than a technical accomplishment, or the vocabulary and syntax of an epoch; it is, what we have designated tentatively as wit, a tough reasonableness beneath the slight lyric grace". He also identified Marvell and the metaphysical school with the "dissociation of sensibility" that occurred in 17th-century English literature; Eliot described this trend as "something which ... happened to the mind of England...it
2835-456: Is that around 2,400 Puritan clergy left the Church in the " Great Ejection " of 1662. At this point, the term " Dissenter " came to include "Puritan", but more accurately described those (clergy or lay) who "dissented" from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer . The Dissenters divided themselves from all other Christians in the Church of England and established their own Separatist congregations in
2940-401: Is the difference between the i ntellectual poet and the reflective poet". Poets increasingly developed a self-conscious relationship to tradition, which took the form of a new emphasis on craftsmanship of expression and an idiosyncratic freedom in allusions to Classical and Biblical sources. "To His Coy Mistress", Marvell's most celebrated poem, combines an old poetic conceit (the persuasion of
3045-656: The Book of Common Prayer , traditional clerical vestments , and episcopal polity . Many English Protestants — especially those former Marian exiles returning to England to work as clergy and bishops — considered the settlement merely the first step in reforming England's church. The years of exile during the Marian Restoration had exposed them to the practices of the Continental Reformed churches . The most impatient clergy began introducing reforms within their local parishes. The initial conflict between Puritans and
3150-472: The Brownists , would split from the established church and become known as Separatists. Other Separatists embraced more radical positions on separation of church and state and believer's baptism , becoming early Baptists . Based on Biblical portrayals of Adam and Eve , Puritans believed that marriage was rooted in procreation, love, and, most importantly, salvation. Husbands were the spiritual heads of
3255-536: The Reformation of the Church of England but remained within it, advocating for further reform; they disagreed among themselves about how much further reformation was possible or even necessary. Others, who were later termed " Nonconformists ", " Separatists ", or "separating Puritans", thought the Church of England was so corrupt that true Christians should separate from it altogether. In its widest historical sense,
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3360-534: The Villiers brothers, Lord Francis and the 2nd Duke of Buckingham , as well as Richard Flecknoe . He later wrote a satirical poem about Flecknoe. His travel route is unclear, except that Milton later reported that Marvell had mastered four languages , including French , Italian and Spanish . Marvell's first poems, which were written in Latin and Greek and published when he was still at Cambridge, lamented
3465-519: The evangelical Protestants of the 18th century. While evangelical views on conversion were heavily influenced by Puritan theology, the Puritans believed that assurance of one's salvation was "rare, late and the fruit of struggle in the experience of believers", whereas evangelicals believed that assurance was normative for all the truly converted. While most Puritans were members of the Church of England, they were critical of its worship practices. In
3570-414: The prelatical party) were conservatives who supported retaining bishops if those leaders supported reform and agreed to share power with local churches. They also supported the idea of having a Book of Common Prayer , but they were against demanding strict conformity or having too much ceremony. In addition, these Puritans called for a renewal of preaching, pastoral care and Christian discipline within
3675-431: The revised Book of Common Prayer . The Puritan movement of Jacobean times became distinctive by adaptation and compromise, with the emergence of "semi-separatism", "moderate puritanism", the writings of William Bradshaw (who adopted the term "Puritan" for himself), and the beginnings of Congregationalism . Most Puritans of this period were non-separating and remained within the Church of England; Separatists who left
3780-413: The vestments controversy , church authorities attempted and failed to enforce the use of clerical vestments. While never a mass movement, the Puritans had the support and protection of powerful patrons in the aristocracy. In the 1570s, the primary dispute between Puritans and the authorities was over the appropriate form of church government. Many Puritans believed that the Church of England should follow
3885-520: The 1660s and 1670s. An estimated 1,800 of the ejected clergy continued in some fashion as ministers of religion, according to Richard Baxter . The government initially attempted to suppress these schismatic organisations by using the Clarendon Code . There followed a period in which schemes of "comprehension" were proposed, under which Presbyterians could be brought back into the Church of England, but nothing resulted from them. The Whigs opposed
3990-560: The 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. Puritanism played a significant role in English and early American history, especially in the Protectorate in Great Britain, and the earlier settlement of New England . Puritans were dissatisfied with
4095-620: The 17th century, Sunday worship in the established church took the form of the Morning Prayer service in the Book of Common Prayer . This may include a sermon, but Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper was only occasionally observed. Officially, lay people were only required to receive communion three times a year, but most people only received communion once a year at Easter. Puritans were concerned about biblical errors and Catholic remnants within
4200-620: The Bahamas. They made landfall on the island called Cigateo, which they named Eleutheria , from the Greek word for "freedom", although the name later became Eleuthera. The island's original inhabitants, the Lucayans , had been decimated through the slaving activities of the Spanish and the numerous European diseases, especially smallpox , that followed. Sayle and his assistant Captain Butler were
4305-680: The Catholic veneration of virginity (associated with the Virgin Mary), citing Edward Taylor and John Cotton . One Puritan settlement in western Massachusetts banished a husband because he refused to fulfill his sexual duties to his wife. Puritanism had a historical importance over a period of a century, followed by fifty years of development in New England. It changed character and emphasis nearly decade by decade over that time. The Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559 established
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4410-635: The Church of England after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the Act of Uniformity 1662 . Many continued to practise their faith in nonconformist denominations, especially in Congregationalist and Presbyterian churches. The nature of the Puritan movement in England changed radically. In New England, it retained its character for a longer period . Puritanism was never a formally defined religious division within Protestantism, and
4515-402: The Church of England altogether were numerically much fewer. The Puritan movement in England was riven over decades by emigration and inconsistent interpretations of Scripture, as well as some political differences that surfaced at that time. The Fifth Monarchy Men , a radical millenarian wing of Puritanism, aided by strident, popular clergy like Vavasor Powell , agitated from the right wing of
4620-485: The Church of England as a Protestant church and brought the English Reformation to a close. During the reign of Elizabeth I (r. 1558–1603), the Church of England was widely considered a Reformed church, and Calvinists held the best bishoprics and deaneries . Nevertheless, it preserved certain characteristics of medieval Catholicism , such as cathedrals, church choirs , a formal liturgy contained in
4725-436: The Church of England for allowing unrepentant sinners to receive communion. Puritans wanted better spiritual preparation (such as clergy home visits and testing people on their knowledge of the catechism) for communion and better church discipline to ensure that the unworthy were kept from the sacrament. Puritans did not believe confirmation was necessary and thought candidates were poorly prepared since bishops did not have
4830-409: The Church of England. Like the episcopalians, the presbyterians agreed that there should be a national church but one structured on the model of the Church of Scotland . They wanted to replace bishops with a system of elective and representative governing bodies of clergy and laity (local sessions , presbyteries , synods , and ultimately a national general assembly ). During the Interregnum ,
4935-744: The Civil War period, such as when an axe was taken to the organ of Worcester Cathedral in 1642. While the Puritans were united in their goal of furthering the English Reformation, they were always divided over issues of ecclesiology and church polity, specifically questions relating to the manner of organizing congregations, how individual congregations should relate with one another and whether established national churches were scriptural. On these questions, Puritans divided between supporters of episcopal polity , presbyterian polity and congregational polity . The episcopalians (known as
5040-628: The Commonwealth; and for about twenty years M.P. for Hull. Born at Winestead, Yorkshire, 31st March, 1621, died in London, 18th August, 1678, and buried in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields. This memorial is placed here by the London County Council, December, 1898. A floral sundial in the nearby Lauderdale House bears an inscription quoting lines from his poem "The Garden". Andrew Marvell died suddenly in 1678, while attending
5145-506: The Devil's Backbone, north of Spanish Wells . The adventurers found their way ashore and took refuge in what was later called Preacher's Cave, where a religious service was held every year for the next 100 years on the anniversary in thankfulness for their survival. However, although the settlers had shelter, they had lost their provisions so they had no food. Sayle took eight men in a small boat and went to Virginia to find help, where he got
5250-812: The Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland; Defender of the Faith, &c , the articles make clear that the new settlement was to be effectively independent, making no further mention of the Crown. On the contrary, the articles speak of the rules governing the Members of the Republick and the Magistracie or officers of the Republicke . The articles established freedom of religion and opinion, three hundred acres of land per settler, governance under
5355-523: The New England colonies (around 700,000 by 1790) was almost entirely due to the high birth rate and lower death rate per year. They had formed families more rapidly than did the southern colonies. Puritan hegemony lasted for at least a century. That century can be broken down into three parts: the generation of John Cotton and Richard Mather , 1630–62 from the founding to the Restoration, years of virtual independence and nearly autonomous development;
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#17327718153395460-439: The Puritans "liberated men from the treadmill of indulgences and penances , but cast them on the iron couch of introspection". It was expected that conversion would be followed by sanctification —"the progressive growth in the saint's ability to better perceive and seek God's will, and thus to lead a holy life". Some Puritans attempted to find assurance of their faith by keeping detailed records of their behavior and looking for
5565-457: The Puritans stressed "that Christ comes down to us in the sacrament by His Word and Spirit, offering Himself as our spiritual food and drink". They criticised the prayer book service for being too similar to the Catholic mass. For example, the requirement that people kneel to receive communion implied adoration of the Eucharist , a practice linked to transubstantiation. Puritans also criticised
5670-505: The United States was not descended from all of the original colonists, since many returned to England shortly after arriving on the continent, but it produced more than 16 million descendants. This so-called "Great Migration" is not so named because of sheer numbers, which were much less than the number of English citizens who immigrated to Virginia and the Caribbean during this time, many as indentured servants. The rapid growth of
5775-491: The authorities included instances of nonconformity, such as omitting parts of the liturgy to allow more time for the sermon and singing of metrical psalms . Some Puritans refused to bow on hearing the name of Jesus, or to make the sign of the cross in baptism, or to use wedding rings or the organ. Yet, the main complaint Puritans had was the requirement that clergy wear the white surplice and clerical cap . Puritan clergymen preferred to wear black academic attire . During
5880-779: The church government to be God's agency in social life. The Puritans in the Colonies wanted their children to be able to read and interpret the Bible themselves, rather than have to rely on the clergy for interpretation. In 1635, they established the Boston Latin School to educate their sons, the first and oldest formal education institution in the English-speaking New World. They also set up what were called dame schools for their daughters, and in other cases taught their daughters at home how to read. As
5985-411: The corruption of the court. This work was mostly circulated in less public manuscript form, however some was anonymously published in print. The verses were too politically sensitive and too dangerous to be published under his name until well after the writer's death. Marvell took up opposition to the 'court party', and satirised them as his main target. In his longest verse of satire, Last Instructions to
6090-597: The court religious policies and argued that the Dissenters should be allowed to worship separately from the established Church. This position ultimately prevailed when the Toleration Act was passed in the wake of the Glorious Revolution in 1689. This permitted the licensing of Dissenting ministers and the building of chapels. The term " Nonconformist " generally replaced the term "Dissenter" from
6195-466: The cross made possible the covenant of grace, by which those selected by God could be saved. Puritans believed in unconditional election and irresistible grace —God's grace was given freely without condition to the elect and could not be refused. Covenant theology made individual salvation deeply personal. It held that God's predestination was not "impersonal and mechanical" but was a "covenant of grace" that one entered into by faith . Therefore, being
6300-466: The daughter, Marry, of Lord General Fairfax Thomas Fairfax , who had recently relinquished command of the Parliamentary army to Cromwell. During this period, Marvell lived at Nun Appleton Hall , near York , where he continued to write poetry. One poem, "Upon Appleton House, To My Lord Fairfax", uses a description of the estate as a way of exploring Fairfax's and Marvell's own social situation in
6405-532: The doctrines of the Church of England , mother Church of the Anglican Communion . In the 17th century, the word Puritan was a term applied not to just one group but to many. Historians still debate a precise definition of Puritanism. Originally, Puritan was a pejorative term characterizing certain Protestant groups as extremist. Thomas Fuller , in his Church History , dates the first use of
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#17327718153396510-410: The effect of baptism was disputed. Puritans objected to the prayer book's assertion of baptismal regeneration . In Puritan theology, infant baptism was understood in terms of covenant theology—baptism replaced circumcision as a sign of the covenant and marked a child's admission into the visible church . It could not be assumed that baptism produces regeneration. The Westminster Confession states that
6615-454: The established Protestant Religion into down-right Popery". John Kenyon described it as "one of the most influential pamphlets of the decade" and G. M. Trevelyan called it: "A fine pamphlet, which throws light on causes provocative of the formation of the Whig party ". A 1678 work published anonymously ("by a Protestant") in defense of John Howe against the attack of his fellow-dissenter,
6720-809: The evidence of salvation in their lives. Puritan clergy wrote many spiritual guides to help their parishioners pursue personal piety and sanctification. These included Arthur Dent's The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven (1601), Richard Rogers's Seven Treatises (1603), Henry Scudder's Christian's Daily Walk (1627) and Richard Sibbes's The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax (1630). Too much emphasis on one's good works could be criticized for being too close to Arminianism , and too much emphasis on subjective religious experience could be criticized as Antinomianism . Many Puritans relied on both personal religious experience and self-examination to assess their spiritual condition. Puritanism's experiential piety would be inherited by
6825-578: The example of Reformed churches in other parts of Europe and adopt presbyterian polity , under which government by bishops would be replaced with government by elders . But all attempts to enact further reforms through Parliament were blocked by the Queen. Despite such setbacks, Puritan leaders such as John Field and Thomas Cartwright continued to promote presbyterianism through the formation of unofficial clerical conferences that allowed Puritan clergymen to organise and network. This covert Puritan network
6930-727: The first concerted European effort to colonize the Bahamas. The mid-17th century was a period of destruction and turmoil in England , culminating in the English Civil War . The first part of the conflict was fought between King Charles I and the Parliament of England and led ultimately to the Protectorship of the Puritan General Oliver Cromwell . This conflict spread to Bermuda, where
7035-438: The generation of Increase Mather , 1662–89 from the Restoration and the Halfway Covenant to the Glorious Revolution, years of struggle with the British crown; and the generation of Cotton Mather , 1689–1728 from the overthrow of Edmund Andros (in which Cotton Mather played a part) and the new charter, mediated by Increase Mather, to the death of Cotton Mather. Puritan leaders were political thinkers and writers who considered
7140-559: The grace of baptism is only effective for those who are among the elect, and its effects lie dormant until one experiences conversion later in life. Puritans wanted to do away with godparents , who made baptismal vows on behalf of infants, and give that responsibility to the child's father. Puritans also objected to priests making the sign of the cross in baptism. Private baptisms were opposed because Puritans believed that preaching should always accompany sacraments. Some Puritan clergy even refused to baptise dying infants because that implied
7245-530: The household, while women were to demonstrate religious piety and obedience under male authority. Furthermore, marriage represented not only the relationship between husband and wife, but also the relationship between spouses and God. Puritan husbands commanded authority through family direction and prayer. The female relationship to her husband and to God was marked by submissiveness and humility. Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell ( / ˈ m ɑːr v əl , m ɑːr ˈ v ɛ l / ; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678)
7350-461: The later personal and political satires "Flecknoe" and "The Character of Holland". Marvell was born in Winestead , East Riding of Yorkshire on 31 March 1621. He was the son of a Church of England clergyman also named Andrew Marvell. The family moved to Hull when his father was appointed Lecturer at Holy Trinity Church , and Marvell was educated at Hull Grammar School . Aged 13, Marvell attended Trinity College, Cambridge and eventually received
7455-568: The limited extent of the English Reformation and with the Church of England's toleration of certain practices associated with the Roman Catholic Church. They formed and identified with various religious groups advocating greater purity of worship and doctrine , as well as personal and corporate piety . Puritans adopted a covenant theology , and in that sense they were Calvinists (as were many of their earlier opponents). In church polity, Puritans were divided between supporters of episcopal , presbyterian , and congregational polities. Some believed
7560-405: The liturgy to allow more time for preaching. Puritan churchgoers attended two sermons on Sundays and as many weekday sermons and lectures they could find, often traveling for miles. Puritans were distinct for their adherence to Sabbatarianism . Puritans taught that there were two sacraments : baptism and the Lord's Supper. Puritans agreed with the church's practice of infant baptism . However,
7665-619: The middle of the 18th century. Some Puritans left for New England , particularly from 1629 to 1640 (the Eleven Years' Tyranny under King Charles I ), supporting the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other settlements among the northern colonies. The large-scale Puritan migration to New England ceased by 1641, with around 21,000 persons having moved across the Atlantic. This English-speaking population in
7770-557: The movement, even as sectarian groups like the Ranters , Levellers , and Quakers pulled from the left. The fragmentation created a collapse of the centre and, ultimately, sealed a political failure, while depositing an enduring spiritual legacy that would remain and grow in English-speaking Christianity. The Westminster Assembly was called in 1643, assembling clergy of the Church of England. The Assembly
7875-425: The other encompassing Russia, Sweden, and Denmark. He spent some time living in a cottage on Highgate Hill in north London. His stay there is now recorded by a bronze plaque that bears the following inscription: Four feet below this spot is the stone step, formerly the entrance to the cottage in which lived Andrew Marvell, poet, wit, and satirist; colleague with John Milton in the foreign or Latin secretaryship during
7980-570: The persons who began a voyage to the Bahamas in two different vessels. Sayle's vessel was called the William . During the voyage Butler and Sayle had an argument with each other about what religious freedom means. As a solution to this problem, Sayle left Butler and went forward to reach the Bahamian Islands. The settlers ran into trouble before they even landed, when they encountered a storm and their ship ran aground onto rocks, later called
8085-420: The prayer book. Puritans objected to bowing at the name of Jesus, the requirement that priests wear the surplice , and the use of written, set prayers in place of improvised prayers. The sermon was central to Puritan piety. It was not only a means of religious education; Puritans believed it was the most common way that God prepared a sinner's heart for conversion. On Sundays, Puritan ministers often shortened
8190-480: The presbyterians had limited success at reorganizing the Church of England. The Westminster Assembly proposed the creation of a presbyterian system, but the Long Parliament left implementation to local authorities. As a result, the Church of England never developed a complete presbyterian hierarchy. Congregationalists or Independents believed in the autonomy of the local church, which ideally would be
8295-470: The proceeds to Harvard University . Another source of trouble for the colony was dissent within its ranks from the beginning. Before they had even landed, Butler made so many problems by refusing to accept authority, that Sayle and others were obliged to find another island. They named the island they moved to Sayle Island, which was later renamed New Providence . The colony was not an immediate success in economic terms. Its soil yielded little production, and
8400-549: The relationship between the two former colleagues is indicated by the fact that Marvell contributed an eloquent prefatory poem, entitled " On Mr. Milton's Paradise Lost ", to the second edition of Milton's epic Paradise Lost . According to a biographer: "Skilled in the arts of self-preservation, he was not a toady." In 1661 Marvell was re-elected MP for Hull in the Cavalier Parliament . He eventually came to write several long and bitterly satirical verses against
8505-478: The sacrament contributed to salvation. Puritans rejected both Roman Catholic ( transubstantiation ) and Lutheran ( sacramental union ) teachings that Christ is physically present in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. Instead, Puritans embraced the Reformed doctrine of real spiritual presence , believing that in the Lord's Supper the faithful receive Christ spiritually. In agreement with Thomas Cranmer ,
8610-544: The sacraments would only be administered to those in the church covenant. Most congregational Puritans remained within the Church of England, hoping to reform it according to their own views. The New England Congregationalists were also adamant that they were not separating from the Church of England. However, some Puritans equated the Church of England with the Roman Catholic Church, and therefore considered it no Christian church at all. These groups, such as
8715-425: The settlers barely got by during their first years, being obliged to live by salvaging what they could from shipwrecks. Sayle was able to secure supplies from the mainland colonies. Despite this, the colony did not do much better in the following years, and in the end only a few determined settlers from the original Eleutherans were left. Sayle went on to become governor of South Carolina , but he continued to have
8820-463: The severe Calvinist Thomas Danson , is also probably by Marvell. Its full title is Remarks upon a late disingenuous discourse, writ by one T.D. under the pretence de causa Dei, and of answering Mr. John Howe's letter and postscript of God's prescience, &c., affirming, as the Protestant doctrine, that God doth by efficacious influence universally move and determine men to all their actions, even to those that are most wicked . Although Marvell became
8925-427: The teachings of four prominent Puritan leaders, including Laurence Chaderton , but largely sided with his bishops. He was well informed on theological matters by his education and Scottish upbringing, and he dealt shortly with the peevish legacy of Elizabethan Puritanism, pursuing an eirenic religious policy, in which he was arbiter. Many of James's episcopal appointments were Calvinists, notably James Montague , who
9030-569: The term Puritan includes both groups. Puritans should not be confused with other radical Protestant groups of the 16th and 17th centuries, such as Quakers , Seekers , and Familists , who believed that individuals could be directly guided by the Holy Spirit . The latter denominations give precedence to direct revelation over the Bible . In current English, puritan often means "against pleasure". In such usage, hedonism and puritanism are antonyms . William Shakespeare described
9135-644: The term Puritan itself was rarely used after the turn of the 18th century. The Congregationalist Churches , widely considered to be a part of the Reformed tradition of Christianity, are descended from the Puritans. Moreover, Puritan beliefs are enshrined in the Savoy Declaration , the confession of faith held by the Congregationalist churches. Some Puritan ideals, including the formal rejection of Roman Catholicism, were incorporated into
9240-469: The time of a secret marriage in 1667. Marvell is said to have adhered to the established stylized forms of his contemporary neoclassical tradition. These include the carpe diem lyric tradition which also forms the basis of his famous lyric "To His Coy Mistress". He adopted familiar forms and infused them with his unique conceits, analogies, reflections and preoccupations with larger questions about life and death. T.S. Eliot wrote of Marvell's style that "It
9345-477: The time to examine them properly. The marriage service was criticised for using a wedding ring (which implied that marriage was a sacrament) and having the groom vow to his bride "with my body I thee worship", which Puritans considered blasphemous . In the funeral service, the priest committed the body to the ground "in sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Puritans objected to this phrase because they did not believe it
9450-519: The vain, pompous killjoy Malvolio in Twelfth Night as "a kind of Puritan". H. L. Mencken defined Puritanism as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." Puritans embraced sexuality but placed it in the context of marriage. Peter Gay writes that the Puritans' standard reputation for "dour prudery" was a "misreading that went unquestioned in the nineteenth century". He said they were in favour of married sexuality, and opposed
9555-509: The word to 1564. Archbishop Matthew Parker of that time used it and precisian with a sense similar to the modern stickler . Puritans, then, were distinguished for being "more intensely protestant than their protestant neighbors or even the Church of England". As a term of abuse, Puritan was not used by Puritans themselves. Those referred to as Puritan called themselves terms such as "the godly", "saints", "professors", or "God's children". "Non-separating Puritans" were dissatisfied with
9660-688: Was able to agree to the Westminster Confession of Faith doctrinally, a consistent Reformed theological position. The Directory of Public Worship was made official in 1645, and the larger framework (now called the Westminster Standards ) was adopted by the Church of Scotland . In England, the Standards were contested by Independents up to 1660. The Westminster Divines , on the other hand, were divided over questions of church polity and split into factions supporting
9765-580: Was an English metaphysical poet , satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend of John Milton . His poems range from the love-song " To His Coy Mistress ", to evocations of an aristocratic country house and garden in " Upon Appleton House " and " The Garden ", the political address "An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland ", and
9870-614: Was an influential courtier. Puritans still opposed much of the Roman Catholic summation in the Church of England, notably the Book of Common Prayer , but also the use of non-secular vestments (cap and gown) during services, the sign of the Cross in baptism, and kneeling to receive Holy Communion. Some of the bishops under both Elizabeth and James tried to suppress Puritanism, though other bishops were more tolerant. In many places, individual ministers were able to omit disliked portions of
9975-426: Was commonly described as occurring in discrete phases. It began with a preparatory phase designed to produce contrition for sin through introspection, Bible study and listening to preaching . This was followed by humiliation, when the sinner realized that he or she was helpless to break free from sin and that their good works could never earn forgiveness. It was after reaching this point—the realization that salvation
10080-541: Was deputed to that Assembly, lamenting in his death the public loss, have erected this Monument of their Grief and their Gratitude, 1688. Marvell also wrote anonymous prose satires: criticizing the monarchy and Roman Catholicism, defending Puritan dissenters, and denouncing censorship. The Rehearsal Transpros'd , an attack on Samuel Parker , was published in two parts in 1672 and 1673. Mr. Smirke; or The Divine in Mode , (1676) criticised Church of England intolerance, and
10185-641: Was discovered and dismantled during the Marprelate controversy of the 1580s. For the remainder of Elizabeth's reign, Puritans ceased to agitate for further reform. The accession of James I to the English throne brought the Millenary Petition , a Puritan manifesto of 1603 for reform of the English church, but James wanted a religious settlement along different lines. He called the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, and heard
10290-533: Was extremely important to Puritans, and covenant theology was central to their beliefs. With roots in the writings of Reformed theologians John Calvin and Heinrich Bullinger , covenant theology was further developed by Puritan theologians Dudley Fenner , William Perkins , John Preston , Richard Sibbes , William Ames and, most fully by Ames's Dutch student, Johannes Cocceius . Covenant theology asserts that when God created Adam and Eve he promised them eternal life in return for perfect obedience; this promise
10395-642: Was not the theocratic state which leading Puritans had called for as "godly rule". At the time of the English Restoration in 1660, the Savoy Conference was called to determine a new religious settlement for England and Wales. Under the Act of Uniformity 1662 , the Church of England was restored to its pre- Civil War constitution with only minor changes, and the Puritans found themselves sidelined. A traditional estimate of historian Calamy
10500-521: Was now blind) in service as Latin secretary to Cromwell's Council of State at a salary of £200 a year. This was enough for decent financial security. Oliver Cromwell died in 1658 and was succeeded as Lord Protector by his son Richard . In 1659 Marvell was elected Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull in the Third Protectorate Parliament . He was paid a rate of 6 shillings, 8 pence per day during sittings of parliament,
10605-442: Was possible only because of divine mercy —that the person would experience justification , when the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the elect and their minds and hearts are regenerated. For some Puritans, this was a dramatic experience and they referred to it as being born again . Confirming that such a conversion had actually happened often required prolonged and continual introspection. Historian Perry Miller wrote that
10710-596: Was probably written after 1653, when Marvell took up residence in the house of John Oxenbridge , who had twice visited the Bermudas." The colony was to be governed by the Articles and Orders of 1647, drawn up by Sayle. The articles reflect the ambiguities of the English Civil War taking place at that time between Cavaliers and Roundheads . Therefore, while the preamble refers to the Raign of our Soveraign Lord Charles, by
10815-535: Was published together with a "Short Historical Essay, concerning General Councils, Creeds, and Impositions, in matters of Religion." Marvell's pamphlet An Account of the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government in England , published in late 1677, alleged that: "There has now for diverse Years, a design been carried on, to change the Lawfull Government of England into an Absolute Tyranny, and to convert
10920-653: Was termed the covenant of works . After the fall of man , human nature was corrupted by original sin and unable to fulfill the covenant of works, since each person inevitably violated God's law as expressed in the Ten Commandments . As sinners, every person deserved damnation . Puritans shared with other Calvinists a belief in double predestination , that some people (the elect ) were destined by God to receive grace and salvation while others were destined for Hell . No one, however, could merit salvation. According to covenant theology, Christ's sacrifice on
11025-504: Was true for everyone. They suggested it be rewritten as "we commit his body [etc.] believing a resurrection of the just and unjust, some to joy, and some to punishment." Puritans eliminated choral music and musical instruments in their religious services because these were associated with Roman Catholicism; however, singing the Psalms was considered appropriate (see Exclusive psalmody ). Church organs were commonly damaged or destroyed in
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