On the Proper Interpretation of Hobbes’s Philosophy

This chapter responds to Edwin Curley’s criticisms of the author’s interpretation of Thomas Hobbes’s philosophy. The author discusses the importance of the intellectual context for understanding an author’s thought. Hobbes’s context is the political and religious doctrines of King James I. The key issue raised by Curley in his article concerns the conditions under which it is appropriate to interpret a text ironically. For example, he thinks that Hobbes’s defective theory of the Trinity is evidence of atheism. But in the seventeenth century, a botched theory of the Trinity cast doubt on the theory, not the doctrine, which Christians held tenaciously. Also, many of Hobbes’s biblical interpretations that seemed false to his contemporaries are not presented ironically. They were novel theories that biblical scholars today largely accept. Some other views that may seem today to be irreligious, such as that miracles no longer occur, were standard views in the seventeenth century.

Shows of Joy and Malice

The spread of the plague in Norwich in July 1603 disrupted the city’s celebrations of the coronation of King James I, and precipitated a conflict between the city’s mayor, Thomas Lane, and the alderman Robert Gibson, which culminated in Gibson taking Lane to the Star Chamber. Drawing on previously unexamined legal and civic documents, this essay reconstructs both Norwich’s planned and actual coronation festivities and their role in the dispute in July, including its longer legal aftermath in court. The essay examines the meanings and functions participants attributed to the celebrations in Norwich, and to what extent they can be understood as performances, and, if so, of what.

What Is ‘the Breath of Our Nostrils’? Ruach and Neshamah in John Donne’s 1622 Gunpowder Day Sermon

As King James I moved to censor Puritan opponents, he called upon John Donne to defend his policies from the pulpit. As text‚ then‚ for a sermon at St Paul’s, Donne chose Lamentations 4:20, a notorious crux. The Geneva Bible glosses ‘the anointed’ in this verse as a good king, Josiah; Calvin in his Institutes as a bad king, Zedekiah. The phrase ‘the breath of our nostrils’, an allusion to Genesis 2:7, introduces further complications. Is ‘breath’ here neshamah, nepesh, or ruach? pnoē, psychē, or pneuma? Drawing on fine distinctions between ‘breath,’ ‘soul’, and ‘spirit’ in the languages of Scripture, Donne crafts a defence of James’s ‘Directions concerning Preachers’ that is erudite, ingenious, equivocal, and disconcerting: an argument against such arguments as ‘things indifferent’ (adiaphora).

JAMES I AND GUNPOWDER TREASON DAY

The assumed source of the annual early modern English commemoration of Gunpowder treason day on 5 November – and its modern legacy, ‘Guy Fawkes day’ or ‘Bonfire night’ – has been an act of parliament in 1606. This article reveals the existence of earlier orders, explains how these orders alter understandings of the origin and initial purposes of the anniversary, and provides edited transcriptions of their texts. The first order revises the accepted date for the earliest publication of the special church services used for the occasion. The second order establishes that the anniversary thanksgiving was initiated not by parliament, but by King James I; it also shows that, in a striking innovation, he issued instructions for regular mid-week commemorations throughout England and Wales, expecting the bishops to change the Church of England's preaching practices. The annual thanksgivings were not just English, but ordered also in Scotland and observed in Protestant churches in Ireland. The motives for these religious thanksgivings are placed in a Stuart dynastic context, with Scottish antecedents and a British scope, rather than in the English ‘national’ setting assigned to the anniversary by English preachers and writers and by recent historians. The parliamentary act is best explained as an outcome of tensions between the king and the House of Commons.

The 1258 Earthquake in Onteniente (Southeast Spain) Not Reported until 2002 in Any Catalog

Historical seismicity is particularly important for the southeast region of the Iberian Peninsula, where large earthquakes are separated by long periods of time. The study of medieval earthquakes presents special difficulties. In this study, we review the earthquake of 1258 in the town of Onteniente, an event that was not present in regional catalogs of the Iberian Peninsula until 2002. Information about the earthquake is based on a contemporary letter by King James I of Aragon, who granted tax exemptions to the people of the town of Onteniente because of the damage.

ФЕНОМЕН ПРИДВОРНОЇ МАСКИ В КУЛЬТУРІ КОРОЛІВСЬКОГО ДВОРУ ЯКОВА І АНГЛІЙСЬКОГО

Виявлено, що жанр Маски – важливий елемент культури Англії першої половини XVII ст. Розкрито структура королівського двору Якова І, що характеризується фракційністю та існуванням центрів впливу, ворожі відносини яких були здатні запустити процес політичної нестабільності в країні. Встановлено різноманітність традицій культурного простору королівського двору Стюартів, в якому королівський двір Анни Датської був альтернативним напрямом. З’ясовано основний принцип правління Якова І, який розглядається крізь призму задоволення королівських амбіцій шляхом прояви «пишноти і розкоші» у придворній Масці. Розкрито сутність феномену придворної Маски Короля Якова І, який виявився в конструктивно-інтернаціональному, естетично-виховному, культурно-просвітницькому, консультативному та «пацифістсько-змирливому» аспектах, а також у демонстрації країнам Європи фінансової стабільності корони Англії. It was revealed that the Masque is an important element of the culture of England of first half of XVII century. The structure of the royal court of James I is revealed. It is characterized by factionalism and the existence of centers of influence, the hostile relations of which were capable of starting the process of political instability in the country. The diversity of traditions of the cultural space of the royal court of the Stuarts is indicated, in which the royal court of Anne of Denmark was an alternative direction. It has been established that the main principle of the reign of James I is viewed through the prism of satisfying royal ambitions by manifesting «splendour and luxury» in the court Masque. The essence of the phenomenon of the Court Masque of King James I is revealed, which was expressed in constructively-international, aesthetically-educational, cultural and educational, advisory, pacifist-reconciliatory aspects, as well as in demonstrating to Europe the financial stability of the crown of England.

We Faithful Few

This article focuses on the Jesuit missions into Elizabethan England and the Jesuit relationship with the Catholic gentry and why the gentry were crucial to Jesuit mission’s survival. This is done by looking at the various ways that the gentry class were involved with and supported the Jesuit’s efforts. Gentry homes were an important aspect of gentry support because of their multi-purpose functions in hiding the priests from state authorities, their ideal place for planning operations and for holding mass because of their hidden countryside location. The gentry class were also personally involved, aiding the Jesuits through their actions as escorts as well as running illegal printing presses and distributing catholic propaganda around England. They also served as a vital connection for the Jesuits to the laymen people and resulted in the development of local catholic communities structured around the gentry class which supported the Jesuit of goal of sustaining Catholic communities. While this shows how the gentry were important to the Jesuits, it also demonstrates how the Jesuit’s became increasingly reliant on the gentry class which opens up additional avenues of research into how their relationship evolved during the reign of King James I.