In this Book
- Enlightening enthusiasm: Prophecy and religious experience in early eighteenth-century England
- Book
- 2015
- Published by: Manchester University Press
summary
In the early modern period, the term ‘enthusiasm’ was a smear word used to discredit the dissenters of the radical Reformation as dangerous religious fanatics. In England, the term gained prominence from the Civil War period and throughout the eighteenth century. Anglican ministers and the proponents of the Enlightenment used it more widely against Paracelsian chemists, experimental philosophers, religious dissenters and divines, astrologers or anyone claiming superior knowledge. But who exactly were these enthusiasts? What did they believe in and what impact did they have on their contemporaries? This book concentrates on the notorious case of the French Prophets as the epitome of religious enthusiasm in early Enlightenment England. Based on new archival research, it retraces the formation, development and evolution of their movement and sheds new light on key contemporary issues such as millenarianism, censorship and the press, blasphemy, dissent and toleration, and madness.
Table of Contents
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- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. i-v
- List of figures
- p. vii
- List of tables
- p. viii
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- List of abbreviations
- pp. xi-xii
- Note on style and dates
- p. xiii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-15
- 3. The final reformation
- pp. 78-120
- 4. Going public
- pp. 121-165
- 5. Enthusiasm, blasphemy and toleration
- pp. 166-203
- 6. Medicalising enthusiasm
- pp. 204-242
- Conclusion
- pp. 243-249
- Bibliography
- pp. 285-344
Additional Information
ISBN
9781784997250
Related ISBN(s)
9780719089886
MARC Record
OCLC
981866893
Pages
272
Launched on MUSE
2017-04-09
Language
English
Open Access
No