Synopses & Reviews
Nathan Johnstone looks at the ways in which beliefs about the nature of the Devil and his power in human affairs changed as a consequence of the impact of the Reformation. Departing from the established focus on demonology as a component of witchcraft, he examines a wide range of religious and political milieux, such as practical divinity, Puritan godliness, anti-popery, polemic and propaganda, and popular culture. The concept of the Devil that emerges not only had a profound impact on the beliefs and practices of committed Protestants, but influenced the political debates of the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I, as well as popular culture,
Review
"engaging book"
- Jonathan Wright, Independent Scholar, Hartlepool, UK
Review
"Johnstone's ambitious book gets to the core of early modern English culture by giving serious attention to a society's gravest fears."
Gregory Dodds, Renaissance Quarterly
Review
"Johnstone has presented a lively and thoughtful piece of scholarship and has offered some stimulating perspectives from which to view the troubled minds and hearts of early modern English."
-David Parnham, Victoria, Australia, Church History
Review
"...Johnstone presents a valuable picture of the integral role of the devil and suggests new ways of analyzing demonism in the English Protestant experience." -Amy Rebok Rosenthal, The Historian
Synopsis
An original and powerful examination of the concept of the Devil in early modern England.
Synopsis
An original and powerful book examining the concept of the Devil in English culture between the Reformation and the end of the English Civil War. Nathan Johnstone looks at the ways in which beliefs about the nature of the Devil and his power in human affairs changed as a consequence of the Reformation, and its impact on religious, literary and political culture. He moves away from the established focus on demonology as a component of the belief in witchcraft and examines a wide range of religious and political milieux.
Table of Contents
Introduction; 1. The synagogue of Satan: anti-Catholicism, false doctrine and the construction of contrariety; 2. Temptation: the Protestant dynamic of diabolic agency and the resurgence of clerical mediation; 3. Satan and the godly in early modern England; 4. Incarnate devils: crime narratives, demonization and audience empathy; 5. 'What concord hath Christ with Belial': de facto satanism and the temptation of the body politic, 1570-1640; 6. 'Grand Pluto's progress through Great Britaine': the civil war and the zenith of satanic politics; 7. 'The Devil's Alpha and Omega': Temptation at the cutting edge of faith in the civil war and the interregnum; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.