Puritanism

Historical Context Essay

Alison Searle (University of Leeds)
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  • The Literary Encyclopedia. WORLD HISTORY AND IDEAS: A CROSS-CULTURAL VOLUME.

Reformation and the Tudors

Puritans were “the hotter sort of Protestant” who emerged amongst English-speaking peoples in the aftermath of the Continental Reformation initiated by the German monk, Martin Luther (1483-1546), and the French lawyer, John Calvin (1509-64). The Reformation in many parts of Europe involved a clear-cut transformation of existing ecclesiastical structures and practices of worship but the situation in England was more complex. Henry VIII (r. 1509-47) initially broke with the Church of Rome for political rather than religious reasons: he desired to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon and the Pope refused to grant approval. Consequently Henry VIII, with the assistance of his Archbishop, Thomas Cramner, established himself as head of the Church

5745 words

Citation: Searle, Alison . "Puritanism". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 August 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=912, accessed 28 March 2024.]

912 Puritanism 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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