Ideas of Martyrdom in Early Stuart Public Debates, 1603 - 1649 Johannes Huhtinen Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, 12 December 2017 European University Institute Department of History and Civilization Ideas of Martyrdom in Early Stuart Public Debates, 1603 - 1649 Johannes Huhtinen Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Examining Board Professor Martin van Gelderen (Lichtenberg-Kolleg, University of Göttingen) Professor Luca Molà (EUI) Professor Peter Lake (Vanderbilt University) Professor Markku Peltonen (University of Helsinki) © Johannes Huhtinen, 2017 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of History and Civilization - Doctoral Programme I Johannes Kristian Huhtinen certify that I am the author of the work Ideas of Martyrdom in Early Stuart Public Debates, 1603 - 1649 I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297). The copyright of this work rests with its author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This work may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. This authorisation does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that this work consists of 102631 words. Statement of language correction: This thesis has been corrected for linguistic and stylistic errors. I certify that I have checked and approved all language corrections, and that these have not affected the content of this work. Signature and date: October 13, 2017 vi vii ABSTRACT The first Protestant martyrology was printed at London during the spring of 1563. This vernacular work by the humanist John Foxe, entitled Acts and Monuments, was the largest account of martyrs produced by the Reformation movement, being dedicated to the memory of hundreds of recently executed contemporaries. It was also an innovative ecclesiastical history, aiming to supersede many traditional frames of reference, notably by situating martyrs and other theological concepts within the context of Reformation history and doctrine. Even after the number of martyrs executed at the scaffold had diminished, educated elites, theologians, divines, and the common people still grew up surrounded by Foxe’s stories. While historians have rightly situated Acts and Monuments within the urgent debates of the martyrologist’s own time, relatively few scholars have explored the subsequent development of ideas of martyrdom in the context of the longer reformation. This doctoral thesis studies Foxe as a reformer and writer whose intellectual impact went beyond the sixteenth century. In this regard, it is important to acknowledge that his works left many traces on post-Reformation literary culture, and that the Foxeian martyrs continued to exercise a strong hold over the popular imagination during the Stuart period. This study is essentially an attempt to establish exactly how martyrs figured in historical understanding, and in what ways their example and authority determined patterns of reasoning. Focusing on a variety of literary sources written during the most famous disputes of the seventeenth century, I seek to demonstrate the crucial position that recently executed martyrs occupied within the language of historical argument. My aim is also to show that Foxe’s work provided a structure for much thinking during the early modern period, and that the examples of reformed martyrs were important in shaping public opinion throughout the Stuart dynasty. In short, this is a study of martyrs, their admirers, and the uses to which their stories were put in print. On a broader level, it is a study of ideas of martyrdom in the aftermath of the sixteenth-century British Reformations. viii ix Contents 1 Introduction: The English culture of martyrdom 1 1.1 The Foxeian reformation 2 1.2 Bringing martyrs into the Stuart public sphere 15 1.3 The key-concept and the scope of the work 19 2 The Jesuit mission and the martyrs of Jacobean England 31 2.1 Introduction 31 2.2 The Status of Catholic subjects under James 34 2.3 Martyred Romanists challenge the legitimacy of the government 41 2.4 Martyrdom after the Powder Plot 51 2.5 Catholic martyrs in reformed culture 60 2.6 Conclusion 70 3 Martyrdom during the Carolinian controversies of the 1620s 73 3.1 Introduction 73 3.2 The rise of the Arminian party and the battle for English Protestantism 76 3.3 Invoking the testimony of martyrs against the innovations of anti-Calvinists 86 x 3.4 Conservative reactions: parliamentary appeals to Reformation legacies 91 3.5 Resistance against ceremonialists 103 3.6 Defending the royal church against populist libellers 108 3.7 Conclusion 114 4 Remembering Marian martyrs during the Personal Rule of Charles I 117 4.1 Introduction 117 4.2 Laudian ritualism and its opponents 119 4.3 Foxeian themes in Caroline church reform 123 4.4 Puritans, Laudians and the electrifying appropriation of Foxeian martyrs 134 4.5 Puritan trials polarize the consensus in religion 147 4.6 Conclusion 155 5 Church government and bishop-martyrs during the Bishops’ Wars 159 5.1 Introduction 159 5.2 Scottish troubles in England: the fury against episcopacy 161 5.3 Martyrdom in the debate over church governance 166 5.4 The testimony of dead bishops 169 5.5 Radical reformation and the heritage of bishop-martyrs 178 5.6 Conclusion 190 6 The Culture of Martyrdom during the English Civil Wars: From persecution to toleration 193 6.1 Introduction 193 xi 6.2 Martyrs’ passivity and military aggression: Confronting the martyrological rhetoric of non-resistance 198 6.3 The founding of the Westminster Assembly and the reconsideration of the boundaries of toleration 207 6.4 Employing martyrs against heresiographers 216 6.5 Martyrdom, persecution, and the making of a royalist hagiography 225 6.6 Conclusion 235 Conclusion: The afterlife of the Foxeian worldview 237 Bibliography 245 xii xiii Acknowledgements Completion of this study would not have been possible without the help of many people. My greatest debt is to Martin van Gelderen, who guided and supported this project from its inception. I have been especially fortunate in having Martin as my supervisor. His wit, wisdom, and patience has been invaluable, as well as his intellectual and personal support. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Peter Lake for his indispensable advice and genuine warmth. Peter has been particularly generous in discussing at length the matters addressed in this work. I am very grateful to him for his immense generosity in reading and discussing my work in Florence, Nashville, Göttingen, and London. I also wish to express my gratitude to Luca Molà, who has always offered his help when needed. I must also express gratitude to Markku Peltonen and Auvo Kostiainen, who helped me to begin this project. I would also like to thank the staff of the Department of European and World History, University of Turku. I have had the good fortune to have Leila Koivunen, Taina Syrjämaa, Pertti Grönholm, Janne Tunturi, Raita Merivirta, Heli Paalumäki, Tuomas Räsänen, and Eero Kuparinen as teachers. They have encouraged me in so many ways. Special thanks to Antti-Jussi Nygård for his technical assistance. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support that many institutions have offered to my doctoral studies. I was able to study for several years thanks to the generosity of the Finnish Academy. The material assistance of the Finnish Cultural Foundation and TOP- säätiö have likewise facilitated my research. I benefited greatly from a visit to the Department of History, Vanderbilt University, and I particularly wish to thank Sandy Solomon, who welcomed me with a warmth that one rarely experiences. Thus, it is a true pleasure to thank Sandy for her hospitality during my stay in Nashville. I am also most thankful to Matthew, Nitin, and Jacob for making my visits to Vanderbilt such an enjoyable experience. xiv Over the last few years I have been fortunate enough to be part of a vibrant community of intellectual historians at the European University Institute. I would like to thank Kaarlo Havu, Jonas Gerlings, Brian Olesen, Matti La Mela, Giovanni Lista, and Tommaso Giordani for academic support and constructive criticism. They have shared their knowledge with me, given me new ideas, and will always remain inspiring friends. I owe far more than the usual debt to Alex Jordan. He has been a good friend, colleague, and an outstanding guide to London. He is also a sensitive and informed reader, and I would like to offer my special thanks to Alex for his thoughtful editing. The company of the researchers at the EUI has been a great support. A special note of gratitude goes to Haakon Ikonomou, Pernille Hansen, Lauri Tähtinen, Diana Natermann, Laura Almagor, David Freis, Florian Wagner, Julia Wambach, Diederik Boertien, Nicolás Castillo, Tim Bruyninckx, Johann Leiß, Per Tiedtke, Petri Koikkalainen, Jakob Lehne, Vedran Duancic, Pablo Abascal, Andrea Warnecke, Justiina Dahl, David Kleimann, and Kalle Kananoja. And, despite years of absence, I still have friends back home. Thanks too to many friends, especially Jarmo, Juho, Elli, Johannes, Anna-Riina, Jaakko, Krista, Veera, Mika, Heikki, Elisa, Henri, Laura, Sanna, Petra, Mikko, Ruut, and Eero.