Plenary III: Faiths

Abstract: "The world reproov'd": Writing Faith and History in England

Presented by: Elaine Beilin, Framingham State College

As recent scholarship has shown, women writers of Reformation England contributed significantly to public discourse on religious -political matters, repeatedly authorizing themselves to speak in the roles of prophet, preacher, or teacher. This paper focused on the work of three such writers--Anne Askew, Anne Lock, and Anne Dowriche--to propose additional cultural contexts for their texts. Each of these writers saw herself and her work in the frame of providential and political history and responded to contemporary debates and events with criticism and advice. More specifically, citing biblical texts, each wrote about the nature of ruler-subject relations and sketched an idea for a commonwealth. Rather than conceiving of their work as coming from the "margins," we might find a new metaphor to accomodate writers who imagine themselves at a cultural center.