‘A Tongue-Combat betweene two English souldiers’: A Comparative Analysis of Catholic and Puritan Polemics, 1618-1628

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History (research) (MA)

Ewing, Alec (2013)

‘A Tongue-Combat betweene two English souldiers’: A Comparative Analysis of Catholic and Puritan Polemics, 1618-1628

Research master thesis | History: Societies and Institutions (research) (MA)

In this thesis a systematic comparison between the writings of two prominent English polemicists is made, both of whom were active in the period 1618 and 1628: the Catholic Richard Verstegan and the Puritan Thomas Scott, both of whom were in a religiously-tinted exile in the Low Countries in this period – the former in Antwerp, and the later in Utrecht. While of different generations and religious orientations, both urgently wanted to influence English public opinion on the continental conflicts of this period. Their polemics, such as Vox Populi and Londons Looking-glasse, are subjected to a comparative analysis. The goals and expectations of these polemicists in regards to the religious upheaval in Europe – such as the renewed conflict between Spain and the United Provinces and the escalating Bohemian crisis – are explored, as well as their subsequent appeals for war or peace.

Public opinion in England