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A Puritan And His Devil : Religious Conflict Between William Prynne And William Laud, 1625-1645, Faye Newton

Honors Theses

In the period between 1625 and 1645, William Prynne "issued nearly a score of tracts," attacking English prelacy in general and William Laud in particular, twice suffered the severest of penalties next to death, endured lengthy imprisonment, and vanquished one of England's most powerful men, all in the name of militant Puritanism. During those twenty years, Prynne's savage but effective pen was directed almost solely to one holy end, the irrevocable defeat of the Laudian interpretation of worship by the English successors of Calvin. For Prynne there could be no thought of compromise. The forces of darkness were at work …