Ranters

Historical Context Note

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'Ranters' was a term of condemnation used to characterise one strand of the many radical sects that emerged during the Commonwealth period of the English civil wars. Many of the preachers, prophets and self-proclaimed messiahs who sprang up in these years were labelled as 'Ranters'. They grow out of the Leveller movement, but were angry at how the Levelling aims had been undermined by the political settlement after the execution of Charles I. Many 'Ranter' groups advocated free love and free speech as a means of reaching spiritual liberations, so in 1650, Acts against Adultery and Blasphemy were passed to try to quash Ranting practices.

104 words

929 Ranters 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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