This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Green, Sarah L Title: 'Satan at Noon' John Pordage and the Politics of Heresy General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. ‘Satan at Noon’: John Pordage and the Politics of Heresy Sarah Lynn Green A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts, School of Historical Studies, May 2021 word count: seventy eight thousand, six hundred and fifty nine 1 Abstract The aim of this thesis is to re-evaluate the work of John Pordage (1607 – 1681), cleric, practitioner of medicine, spiritual visionary, admirer, and elucidator of the German philosopher and mystic Jacob Boehme, alleged ‘radical’, and pioneer of various eccentric spiritual movements that were considered ‘heterodox’. This study builds on and contributes to work in the intellectual history of Western esotericism, metaphysics, and theosophy. Although studies in early modern religious radicalism have examined the radical ideas of religious dissenters during this period, there has not been a detailed study devoted solely to the ideas of Pordage. To redress this dearth in the scholarship, this study provides additional insight into Pordage’s metaphysical thinking, the part he played in the transmission of Jacob Boehme’s ideas into England, and their subsequent evolution into Behmenism, the name given to the seventeenth-century Christian movement in England based on Boehme’s teaching. I argue that the persuasive nature of the attacks on Pordage’s alleged ‘heterodoxy’ – especially the fierce antagonism of Christopher Fowler – has led to a misleading undervaluation of Pordage’s oeuvre and resulted in the loss of many original pieces; and the ones that did survive did so only after being translated into German, and from German into Russian and Finnish. My major contribution to the scholarship is to provide English re-translations of a number of Pordage’s work’s that were posthumously published in German versions. Other original contributions I make are: • Discovering Pordage’s own doctoral dissertation and providing it in both the original Latin and a commissioned English translation; 2 • Uncovering excerpts from An Epitome of the Angelical World; and • Discussing the reception of Pordage’s writings in Russia and Finland. 3 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Professor Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1953–2012), late professor of Western Esotericism at Exeter University. Nicholas’ efforts to establish Western Esotericism as a legitimate academic field provided many people with the unique opportunity to study this intriguing area - especially those who studied part time and through distance learning. Figure 1: Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1953 – 2012). I would not have you dismayed, though I leave you in the Work that we have bin travailing in together: for do not think my being taken away shall stop it; for it shall live and flourish. And doubt not but God will raise up that good Spirit, that hath bin a guiding Light in and to me, in some others, that shall assist and go forward with you, for the finishing of that great Mysterie which we have mutually rejoiced in.1 1 John Pordage’s final words to Jane Lead, in Jane Lead ‘Preface’, Theologia Mystica, or The Mystic Divinitie of the Aeternal Invisibles (London: 1683), p. 3. 4 Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the help and support of the following: In particular, Professor Ronald Hutton (University of Bristol) for his expert supervision, patience and support. In addition, Dr Mark Hailwood (University of Bristol), Dr Noah Millstone (University of Birmingham), and Dr Evan Jones (University of Bristol) for second supervision contributions over the course of the Ph.D. programme. Academic support from: Professor Nils Langer (University of Bristol), Dr Ariel Hessayon (Goldsmiths University); Dr Lionel Laborie (Universiteit Leiden), Professor Andrew Weeks (Illinois State University), Professor Martin Muslow (Universität Erfurt), Dr Lucinda Martin (Universität Erfurt), Dr Peter Elmer (University of Exeter), Professor Tom Willard (University of Arizona), Professor György E. Szőnyi (Central European University and University of Szeged), Associate Professor Daniel Jütte (New York University), Professor Joscelyn Godwin (Colgate University), Dr Adrian Ailes (University of Bristol), Dr Alastair Wilson (University of Birmingham), Dr Andreas Bähr (Freie Universität Berlin), and Assistant Professor Peter Forshaw (Universiteit van Amsterdam). Archivists: Stewart Tiley (St Johns’ College Library, Oxford University), Michael Riordan (St John’s and The Queen’s Colleges, Oxford), Jayne Ringrose (Pembroke College, Cambridge), Michael Webb (Bodleian Libraries), Dr Lynsey Darby (College of Arms), Dr David Wykes and Jane Giscombe (Dr Williams’s Library), Gill Gough and Lisa Spurrier (Berkshire Record Office), Peter Aitkenhead (The Library and Museum of Freemasonry), Director of General Studies (High Council Library, Library and Museum of Freemasons Hall), Professor Yair 5 Mintzker (Princeton University), Adriaan Plak (Bibliotheek Universiteit van Amsterdam), Ernst- Jan Munnik, (Leiden University Libraries), Matthew Young (Library of Congress), Dr Philip Palmer (William Andrews Clark Memorial Library), Ilona Fors (The National Library of Finland), and Grand Secretary (Great Lodge of Russia). Libraries: University of Bristol Library, Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Library, The British Library, Dr Williams’s Library, The Wellcome Trust Library, The Warburg Institute and Library, The John Rylands Library, The University of Glasgow Library, The National Library of Scotland, The National Archives, The Ritman Library at the Embassy of the Free Mind, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of Queensland Library, The National Library of Finland, The Russian State Library, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn, Landesbibliothek Mecklenburg-Vorpommerrn Günther Uecker, and Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Professional translations are from Prestige Network Interpreting and Translation Services (https://www.prestigenetwork.com/). I also acknowledge the help and support of Philip Graves (www.astrolearn.com), Diane Guerrero (www.janelead.org), Pearl (www.passtheword.org), and Victoria Barlow (West Berkshire Museum). I am grateful for the generous funding support from: • The University of Bristol Alumni Association – conference travel bursary • The Society for the Social History of Medicine – conference travel bursary 6 • European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) – conference travel bursary • The German History Society – conference travel bursary 7 Author’s declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNED: SARAH GREEN DATE: 24.05.21 8 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Dedication 4 Acknowledgements 5 Author’s declaration 8 Table of Contents 9 List of Abbreviations 15 List of Tables and Illustrations 16 List of Institutions 18 The Spellings of ‘John Pordage’ 19 Introduction 24 Key research questions and topic discussion 24 Thesis Structure 26 Literature Review 28 The Early Pordage Texts Published in English 29 ‘Mundorum Explicatio’ – A Joint Venture with Samuel Pordage 32 Theologia Mystica and the Contribution of Arthur Versluis 33 The Later Pordage Texts Not Published in English 35 A Short Survey of Other Pertinent Primary Texts 39 Conclusion 40 Materials, Sources and Methods 42 Theoretical Framing 42 Translation and the Limitations of Working with Translated Materials 43 Information Assemblage and Limitations 46 SECTION I: Politics, Medicine, and Radicalism 50 Biography of Pordage 51 Pordage’s Medical Knowledge and Practice 60 Unlicenced Medical Practice 61 The Question of Pordage’s Doctorate 63 9 Analysis of Pordage’s Inaugural Medical Dissertation on Arthritis in General 67 Ambroise Paré