The Devil and Demonism in Early Modern England (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History)

by: Nathan Johnstone (Author) › Visit Amazon’s Nathan Johnstone Page See search results for this author Nathan Johnstone (Author)

Publisher: Cambridge University Press (12 Jan. 2006)

Language: English

Print length: 350 pages

ISBN-10: 0521802369

ISBN-13: 9780521802369

Book Description

An original book examining the concept of the Devil in English culture between the Reformation and the end of the English Civil War. Nathan Johnstone looks at the ways in which beliefs about the nature of the Devil and his power in human affairs changed as a consequence of the Reformation, and its impact on religious, literary and political culture. He moves away from the established focus on demonology as a component of the belief in witchcraft and examines a wide range of religious and political milieux, such as practical divinity, the interiority of Puritan godliness, anti-popery, polemic and propaganda, and popular culture. The concept of the Devil that emerged from the Reformation had a profound impact on the beliefs and practices of committed Protestants, but it also influenced both the political debates of the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I, and in popular culture more widely.