The subject of this dissertation is the ecclesiastical history of Scotland between 1660 and 1690. This work will examine the struggle between `presbytery' and `prelacy' in detail, and it will examine the role of the state in that conflict. The first three chapters deal with the post-Restoration church settlement and public reactions to that settlement, and these chapters are revisionist in approach. It is usually claimed that the decision to disestablish `presbytery' and revive `prelacy' in 1661 was unpopular, but the evidence in chapters one, two, and three suggests that the king's church polity--at least in the early years--aroused no great protest or outcry? Why? The war, turmoil, and taxes between 1637 and 1660 (the bitter harvest of the covenants) had left the Scots indifferent to religion in general and presbyterianism in particular, and although such attitudes would change in time, they were initially very real. Chapter four is an examination of the royal supremacy, one of the most controversial aspects of the post-Restoration church. In chapter four it will be argued that the presbyterians fundamentally misconstrued the nature of the royal supremacy--they exaggerated the king's ecclesiastical claims--but it will be shown that the crown's authority over the kirk was extensive nevertheless. Chapters five and six will examine the clergy of the post-Restoration kirk, the bishops and ministers that made it function. Chapters five and six will analyze the background and credentials of the clergy, and it will discuss the validity of the various charges made against them. Chapter seven will examine the ecclesiastical courts of the post-Restoration church, and it will discuss how the revival of prelacy affected these courts and changed their composition and function. It has been argued that the post-Restoration kirk was basically a `presbyterian church' with bishops superimposed for political purposes, but chapter seven will show that this opinion is incorrect, for in the period `church power' was clearly concentrated in the hands of the bishops, and, by and large, the church courts only existed in a mutated or abbreviated state. The changes in the church courts are important, for they help explain why the post-Restoration kirk could not accommodate presbyterians in the long run. Chapter eight is an analysis of the worship of the post-Restoration kirk. It will discuss the various developments in worship--the rejection of the Director of Public Worship, the resurrection of set forms of prayer, the repudiation of the lecture, the reinstitution of kneeling, the revival of the Perth Articles--and it will argue that the post-Restoration kirk was slowly drifting from the simple, spontaneous covenanter mode of worship to a more elaborate and structured mode that derived its inspiration from the Church of England. Chapters nine, ten and eleven are a history of presbyterian nonconformity. These chapters divide the history of dissent into three periods. First, a period of weakness (extending from early 1663 to roughly 1668-1669), when conventicles were few and most Scots conformed. This weakness was largely the result of the initial unpopularity of the covenanting cause and the traditional Scottish aversion to schism. Next, there was a period of vitality (extending from 1668-1669 to the Bothwell Bridge Rebellion), when dissent grew stronger and stronger and began to show some militant tendencies. The evidence suggests that this burst of vitality was inadvertently fostered by the government's `indulgence' policy. And finally, a third period (extending from the Rebellion to the granting of religious toleration in 1687), when conventicles again became rare and most Scots again conformed. This collapse, it will be argued, was the result of persecution (the traditional explanation) and the actions of certain radical sects who unwittingly undermined and disrupted presbyterianism with their `excesses.' Chapter twelve analyzes the persecution which the presbyterians endured. In the course of examing the various penalties used against dissenters--some of which were designed to deprive the nonconformist of his wealth and property, and others which were designed to affect the liberty, health, and even the life of the nonconformist--chapter twelve will correct some presbyterian hyperbole. The traditional presbyterian sources, such as the definitive work by Robert Wodrow, tend to emphasize the rigor of the persecution, but chapter twelve shows that the penal laws were often inconsistently applied. And finally, chapter thirteen will examine Scotland's last ecclesiastical revolution, the victory of presbyterianism in 1689-1690. The directors of the `revolution,' King William and his supporters, justified the charge on the grounds that presbyterianism was favored by the majority, but chapter thirteen questions the validity of that claim, and argues that political considerations, rather than demographic factors, were responsible for the presbyterian triumph.

The focus of this thesis is the repair and maintenance of parish churches between 1603 and 1677. As such it represents one of the first systematic studies of this topic to contribute to a variety of debates touching on Jacobean rebuilding programmes, the more famous Laudian initiatives of the 1630s, the notorious iconoclasm of the 1640s, and the impact of the Restoration; debates hitherto all too often approached in isolation from one another. It commences with a brief summary of the prevailing situation based on reports provided for Archbishop Whitgift's survey of 1602 and concludes on the death of Archbishop Sheldon. The geographical location is that covered by James I's 1615 proclamation that 'all persons without a lawful occupation were to leave London, Westminster and Southwark, and all places within 30 mile compass and return to their place where they were born ... ' The thesis refutes the general perception of the period as one of gross neglect of churches. It highlights the importance of local parish pride and initiative over mere compliance with ecclesiastical orders in maintaining, restoring and building churches. Unlike earlier studies of London and Westminster, this thesis has compared and contrasted these two cities with the surrounding rural areas. While the prosperous capital may have led the way in overall expenditure and initiatives, this study shows how the hinterland too experienced constant concern for churches throughout this period. A key finding of this thesis is that the parishioners continued to care for their churches during the civil wars and general unrest of the 1640s and 1650s, when no overall authority ordered or monitored the condition of churches. This care continued after the Restoration, although the re-establishment of the Church of England had little impact on churches outside London and Westminster. The importance of parochial pride is well captured through study of the huge sums spent by congregations on bells and church towers. The thesis is based heavily on systematic study of churchwardens' accounts, the problems of which are discussed fully at the outset. This is another valuable contribution of the thesis, for it addresses current concerns about the reliability and usefulness of these sources and is based on a comprehensive body of material for 242 parishes which are fully representative of communities in the region. Moreover, the scope of this study has enabled the creation of a building cost price index - a valuable companion to the famous Phelps Brown Hopkins Price Index of consumables which should allay the fears of many historians concerning the impact of inflation in studies of this kind.

The thesis examines the seasonality of baptisms, marriages and burials in early modern towns, and demonstrates that seasonality (which measures how the frequency of vital events varied through the year) is a useful method of examining aspects of social history. Chapter 1 looks at the background to the use of the demographic tool of seasonality and suggests how seasonality may be able to address some of the concerns of urban historians. Chapters 2 to 4 discuss the sources and methodology of the study, and the results are summarised in Chapter 5. The baptismal, burial and marriage seasonality patterns are described, and urban patterns are compared and contrasted with rural patterns. The results are discussed in Chapter 6, which seeks to explain the seasonality patterns, and the similarities and differences between urban and rural patterns, by looking at the context in which they arise, principally living conditions and the prevalence of diseases, and working and leisure patterns. Chapter 7 looks more closely at the transition between urban and rural seasonality patterns. Plague and intestinal disease, due to overcrowded and insanitary living conditions, created a divergent burial pattern in towns up to 1700. Otherwise, the urban and rural seasonality patterns of all events were basically similar in shape. The crucial distinction between urban and rural seasonality was in the much `flatter' patterns in towns, due largely to the more even and varied routines of urban occupations compared to farming, which was inherently seasonal in its labour demands. It is argued that population size was the significant factor in the development of urban seasonality, with small towns being transitional between the high seasonality of rural parishes and the low seasonality of larger towns.

The Westminster Assembly is a useful starting point for detailed discussions of the development of covenantal thought, particularly in view of the direction taken by recent studies which place a strong dichotomy between the early Reformers and their seventeenth-century successors, notably between John Calvin and those who have traditionally been designated 'Calvinists'. The most extreme, or virulent, of these is an unsparing attack upon the Westminster Confession as one of the principal reservoirs of 'a plague that had long infected the Reformed churches'. In seeking to overthrow what he described as 'the treasured confession of my mother church', the author made the astonishing claim, which puts this basic issue in a curious nutshell: 'It was Calvin who rescued me from the Calvinists". And the deadly virus identified as the cause of this plague was the Confession's covenantal statements, of which it was said, 'Calvin knew nothing, for these theological innovations were the work of his successors'. In order to set the scene, therefore, Part One of the thesis has been devoted to a consideration of the background to the Westminster Assembly and its documents, and examination of the sources and content of the theology of the covenant expressed in the standards, and also a critical survey of the historiography of the covenant from around the middle of the last century to the present time. The historical background to the Assembly as it relates to both the English and Scottish churches is designed to get the feel of the general ecclesiastical climate and theological orientation in which the divines and their immediate predecessors lived and moved, while the examination of sources and content more particularly indentifies the direction from which the doctrine of the covenant came to be embodied in the Confession and Catechisms, and also the issues which are emphasized in, and immediately related to, the chapters dealing specifically with the covenant. The scriptural origin of the Reformed doctrine of the covenant is indisputable , so that serious research in this area has never been considered necessary. The temptation to include a section on Scripture in this study has likewise been resisted, but its importance has been kept in mind throughout. In order to demonstrate that the idea of the covenant as held by the Reformed church, even in many of its particular aspects, was no new thing, Part Two picks up some of the threads offered by forerunners in the field. These include several of the church fathers, notably Augustine. The survival and use of the idea in both its political and theological applications during the medieval period has not been overlooked. It was found that the idea of the covenant had specific government, hermeneutical and sotcriological functions in medieval thought which were by no means despised or abandoned in the reaction of the Reformation against medieval scholasticism. Among the early reformers, Luther's theology held firmly to the basic concepts underlying covenantal theology, but it was in the Reformed camp that the importance of the doctrine was chiefly recognized and utilized in the controversies of the tome, first by Occolampadius and Zwingli and then more distinctly by Bullinger, whose little monograph De Testamento seu fordere tlei unico el aelerno was the first to appear on the subject. The findings of this research into Bullingcr's work interact strongly with those studies which regard Bullingcr's view of the covenant as strictly bilateral and consequently portray him as the founder of a separate Reformed tradition, distinct from that which emanated from Calvin and the Genevan school. Part Three is devoted entirely to Geneva, showing the seminal influence of Calvin's work in the development and transmission of covenantal though. In demonstrating that the covenant in both its unilateral and bilateral aspects was an essential part of Calvin's overall theological structure, the disputed questions as to whether Calvin was a 'convenant theologian', and whether he taught a covenant of works is carefully considered in its proper theological context and not merely with respect to the use of terms. For the first lime in any study of covenantal thought, detailed sttention has been given in this research to the work of Theodore Beza. Beza has been consistently singled out by those who oppose the Calvinists to Calvin, supralapsarian, scholastic orthodoxy which diverged manifestly from Calvin's warm, christocentric, humanistic, biblical theology. Just as consistently he has been denied any interest in the theology of the covencnt, with the result that 'covenant theology' has been interpreted as a reaction against Bezcan orthodoxy in an effort to recover a place for responsible man in the economy of salvation. The evidence, however, supplied by a wider consultation of Beza's works than his merely controversial writings, supports a contrary argument. Beza's basic fidelity to Calvin becomes apparent in controverted areas and the warm heart of a concerned pastor is heard to beat in his sermonic material. More importantly for this research Beza is found to have a keen interest in the covenant both unilaterally and bilaterally, particularly in relation to the doctrine of the union between Christ and his church, just as Calvin had before him and the Calvinists after him. In the final part of the thesis the issues and arguments already raised are followed through in representative writers from three main interrelated locations of post-reformation development in Reformed theology. One is the influence of the Heidelberg theologians, Ursinus and Olevianus, in the Palatinate Church of Germany. The others arc the English Puritan movement, dominated mainly by the influence of Willian Perkins, and the Scottish connection in the writings of Knox, Rollock anf Howie. It is the conclusion of this research that while covenantal theology inevitably underwent a process of refining and expansion, and was given fuller defination and varying emphases by later writers, that it nevertheless remained true to the central idea or ideas of the covenant as taught by the Reformers. Such a process cannot be constructed as constituting a fundamental shift or departure from the theology of the early Reformers. Rather there is a general agreement, a unity which makes the Westminster divines in this respect the worthy successors of Calvin and his colleagues.

Between 1660 and 1880 a number of Royal Patents were granted and Acts of ParI iament passed whose purpose and effect, it has generally been acknowledged, was to restrict the spread and availability of English theatre, in particular that within the two cities of the metropolis, and to limit its potential as a forum of debate for the examination of ideas or the promotion of political dissent. During the same period, although not necessarily at the same time, theatre came under fire from religious groups of many different denominations. This condemnation and the measures taken by this special interest group in society to combat the influence of the stage has also been held to have had a restrictive effect on the institution of theatre. This research has been primarily based on an examination and analysis oflegislation, parliamentary debates, religious tracts, papers and letters in Lambeth Palace Library, letters in the Manuscript Department of the British Library, theatre texts, the writings of contemporary theatre critics, articles in contemporary newspapers and journals specialising in theatrical topics, specialist reports and magazines published by various religious denominations, contemporary pamphlets, diaries, biographies, theatre ephemera and current critical writing in specialist magazines and books devoted to theatrical and religious topics. After discussing the reasons for setting the parameters of 1660 and the late 1880s for this research, the thesis considers the importance of the institution of theatre in the particular period studied and its relationship to the whole panorama of the history of theatre. After detailing a number of questions regarding the purpose of theatre and the effect it has and has had on society, this research examines the objects, effects and motivation behind the main statutes that were enacted to deal with the phenomenon of theatre between 1660 and 1880. In particular the genesis and context of The Restoration Patents, the Licensing Act (1737), the Disorderly Houses Act (1751), the Theatrical Representations Act (1788), the failed Sadler's Wells Bill (1788), and Interludes Bill (1788), and the Theatres Act (1843) have been examined, the aims of each debated and the effects of each of the legislative measures on theatre as a whole is explored. The opposition that came from religious forces within the country during the period under study is also examined and analysed. The complaints from Church and Chapel were various: blasphemy, indolence, vice, perversion (particularly of the young), consorting with unwholesome company and drawing people away from God were all cited as sins of the stage. The underlying causes ofthe censure of important religious figures as well as that which came from different denominations is examined. The various measures put into operation to combat the dangers perceived to be coming from theatre are explored and their efficiency debated. Finally the study examines the nature of the theatrical experience and how this has been affected by the legislation and condemnation of the religious interest in the country. A principal conclusion is that theatre in England was not repressed or rendered impotent by any of the legislation nor was it by the tactical opposition of the religious faction in society. Indeed theatre gained strength and potency by finding ways to circumvent the opposition it encountered. So successful was it in overcoming the ploys of the legislature and religious interests and so instrumental was theatre as a focus for life in England during the period under study that both of the forces of opposition eventually had to adopt theatre as an ally in the implementation of their own political agenda.

This thesis investigates cultural expressions of episcopal power in Anglo-Norman England. Bishops were powerful men who operated within a complex power structure. It addresses three key cultural themes: language, the body and space. Using a variety of source material this study offers a wide-ranging vision of episcopal power. It draws on a number of theoretical positions and confronts some of the most damaging historiographical narratives which have overshadowed the bishop. The central aim of this thesis is to investigate the performance of power. By studying how bishops used documents and rhetoric it is possible to understand episcopal power as a pragmatic force. In particular the symbols or representations of power are in fact acts of power which need to be interpreted within the broader historical context of post-Conquest England. Overall this thesis seeks to reposition bishops back in their cathedrals and in this way provide a comparative study of episcopal power.

This thesis explores the ways in which theatrical performances that take place within cathedrals are indelibly shaped by the space of the cathedral from the very beginning of the production process through to audience reception. Drawing on extensive archival research, the Records of Early English Drama, personal interviews, first hand experience as an audience member, and rehearsal observations, this work seeks to understand how these impacts are made and how best to understand the role of the cathedral in shaping such performances. Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the monument will be presented as a way in which one may look at cathedral performance, helping to explain how and why the space acts upon the production. Lefebvre’s theory also helps to situate the cathedral as a social identifier, showing how such performances can act to bring a community together, thereby further influencing the production. This thesis offers insights into how not only the tangible aspects of space affect performance (architecture, art, et cetera), but also how intangible qualities such as history, social identity, emotions, and spirituality/religion impact productions to the same, or similar, degree. Such performances leave indelible marks on the production including the shaping of texts, designs, staging, and the audience’s reception of the final piece; all of which are discussed in detail, with particular attention to case studies. The research concludes by demonstrating that one must not view the cathedral as a neutral vessel, but one that acts upon all aspects of the production of theatre, and in so doing unavoidably alters the performance in a way not possible in other spaces.

This thesis investigates the impact of the Christian clergy on daily life in Anglo-Saxon England in the seventh and eight centuries AD. Noting from the outset an interpretative impasse in historical sources, the archaeological record is explored for what it may reveal concerning those areas and peoples most hidden from historical scholarship. Noting problems with techniques that assume clear distinctions between Christian and pagan ritual - in particular funerary ritual - the anthropology of religious phenomena and religious conversion is introduced to support and expand that critique, but also to focus attention on the sophistication of the problem to be addressed. It is argued that the social sciences are ill-equipped to investigate religious phenomena and that a more subtle, if more complicated, approach is required. Considering the coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England as an encounter between missionaries and their audience, we are encouraged to investigate the subtle tensions implicit in that relationship. The relationship is thus recast in terms of access to literacy, since this is a distinguishing factor of the clergy in England in the seventh and eighth centuries. Literacy, modelled as a set of discursive practices embedded in and re-produced through social relationships, is investigated from the perspective of the archaeology of surveillance. Two cases from Hampshire - Micheldever and Saxon Southampton (or Hamwic) - support the view that literacy can be used as a means of investigating the missionary encounter. It is proposed that, by the first half of the eighth century, the populations of these two areas were drawn into an intricate engagement with the clergy, facilitated by the bureaucratic and discursive deployment of literacy practices. Though necessarily more complicated than approaches that depend on the archaeology of the cemeteries to investigate the relationship between the clergy and the laity, this insight does at least do justice to the complexity of the issue being discussed.

Most recent studies of religion and society have focussed on the period from c. 1880 to 1914, basing their investigations upon late-Victorian newspaper censuses of churchgoing. This thesis aims to study the development of religion in its economic and social context in a large northern industrial parish over a longer period of time from c. 1740 to 1914. In religious terms this period extends from the mid-eighteenth century Evangelical Revival to the decline of organised religion in the early twentieth century. In economic and social terms the period is characterised by the transformation of the parish from a semi-rural, proto-industrial society dominated by a relatively small but expanding market town, into a predominantly urban advanced industrial society dominated by a medium-sized textile manufacturing town and several smaller urban centres of textile production; supporting a wide diversity of associated industries and trades, but still containing within its boundaries sharply contrasting urban and semi-rural environments. The thesis aims to assess how religious expression within the parish of Halifax was affected by the changing economic and social environment, in particular the urban-industrial experience, and how religion helped shape the new urbanindustrial society during the period from the middle of the eighteenth century to the outbreak of the First World War. It argues that whilst the pessimistic view of a moribund Georgian Church of England can no longer be sustained by the Halifax evidence, the Established Church nevertheless lacked the logistical resources to respond effectively to the new urbanindustrial society as it emerged within the parish in the lateeighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, providing an opportunity for the growth of Evangelical Nonconformity, especially Methodism. It maintains that Evangelical Nonconformity and an Anglican Church renewed by Evangelical incumbencies during the period 1790-1827 and reformed as a consequence of national legislation in the 1840s played a vital role within the expanding urban-industrial society, surviving the experience of industrialisation and urbanisation and displaying a remarkable vibrancy, despite underlying downward trends in churchgoing in the late-Victorian era. It suggests that the causes of the decline of organised religion during this period were complex, but related more to the onset of industrial-urban stagnation and decline than to the experience of industrial-urban expansion.

This study looks at the responses of the Yorkshire Catholic gentry to the immense changes to their religious landscape in the early modem period, between 1536 and 1642. It examines how they continued to adhere to the Catholic religion, despite all attempts first to induce and then compel conformity and highlights the ways in which they managed to survive and prosper throughout the period, demonstrating that previously neglected groups such as women and younger sons had a crucial role to play in this process. The overwhelming theme to their actions was one of pragmatism, rather than the heroic and self-destructive behaviour that was much admired by earlier historians who wanted to identify martyrs to the Catholic cause. The areas that are to be examined reflect both public and private gentry activities. In the public sphere the Yorkshire gentry's part in the rebellions of the Tudor and Stuart eras are studied along with their rejection of plots. The importance of marriage as an early modem tool for building alliances and social advancement is acknowledged and the impact that a continuing adherence to Catholicism had on this is considered. The gentry and the church are examined through a study of the Catholic gentry's involvement with their local parishes, their reaction to the dissolution and their continuing adherence to monasticism, as shown through their devotion to English orders on the continent. To reflect the changes that were occurring in this period Catholic involvement in education, the law and medicine are also explored showing that the Catholic community was not isolated from the wider society. Lastly the role of Catholic women is given specific consideration in order both to redress the imbalance in previous studies and due to the crucial role that women played in the continuation of the Catholic community within Yorkshire.