Insolent proceedings explores new directions in the history of the English Revolution. Driven by the idea that historians have focused more on the causes of the Revolution than on its course and consequences, the collection rethinks the dynamics of the revolutionary decades.
Addressing the transformative effects of political and religious upheaval during the 1640s-50s, the chapters revise our understanding of public politics in terms of the practices, debates and communicative strategies associated with the print revolution, polemic and the mobilisation of opinion. Bridging the divide between elite and popular politics, they develop new approaches to participation: by soldiers and members of the parliamentarian army, ordinary Londoners and provincial parishioners. Critically, they analyse the involvement, agency and treatment of women from all walks of life in both activism and debate.
Building on and honouring the work of Ann Hughes, who has transformed scholarship on the mid-seventeenth century, this interdisciplinary collection provides fresh perspectives on political and religious radicalism, from canonical authors to sectarian activists, as well as on relations between centre and locality, and on connections between ideological endeavour and everyday politics.
