A WHIPPER WHIPPED: THE SEDITION OF WILLIAM PRYNNE

• Published in: The Historical journal Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 603 - 627
• Main Author: KISHLANSKY, MARK
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.09.2013
• Subjects: 17th century; Biographies; Censorship; Conformism; Courts; European history; Hearing; Historians; History of law; Literary criticism; Prosecutions; Prynne, William; Puritanism; England
• ISSN: 0018-246X; 1469-5103
• DOI: 10.1017/S0018246X13000149

‘A whipper whipped’ is a thoroughly new account of the 1634 Star Chamber case against William Prynne for publishing the seditious work Histrio-mastix. It is based upon a hitherto unused manuscript account that provides previously undisclosed information about the proceedings and especially about the intentions of the prosecution. This case is one of the most celebrated events of the 1630s, often viewed as the watershed event in the history of Caroline censorship. It has also become a prime example of Archbishop William Laud's attack against puritan conformists. This article argues that Laud played little role in the case; that the issue before Star Chamber was primarily the charge of sedition; and that Prynne received every possible legal advantage during his hearing. Through a careful reconstruction of the legal proceedings, the case is seen in an entirely new light. Though historians and literary critics have accepted Prynne's self-serving accounts of his prosecution, this fuller record demonstrates their inadequacy.