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Prynne, William

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(prĭn), 1600–1669, English political figure and Puritan pamphleteer. Beginning his attacks on Arminian doctrine in 1627, he soon earned the enmity of William Laud . When Prynne's strictures on the theater in his book, Historiomastix (1632), were interpreted as an attack on Charles I and his queen, he was fined, imprisoned (1633), pilloried (1634), and partly shorn of his ears. He continued his pamphleteering in jail and in 1637 was again fined, sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of the remainder of his ears, and branded with the letters S.L. (for seditious libeler). He was released from prison by the Long Parliament in 1640 and was voted financial reparation. During the English civil war , Prynne strongly supported the parliamentary cause in his writings and took a vindictive part in prosecuting his old enemy, Laud. In defending his moderate theological position, however, he found himself opposing both Presbyterians and Independents. He also came into conflict with John Milton…
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Full text Article William Prynne (1600–1669)

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
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Full text Article Prynne

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary Full text Article Biographical Names
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Full text Article Prynne, William

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(prĭn), 1600–1669, English political figure and Puritan pamphleteer. Beginning his attacks on Arminian doctrine in 1627, he soon earned the enmity of William Laud . When Prynne's strictures on the theater in his book, Historiomastix (1632), were interpreted as an attack on Charles I and his queen, …
| 248 words
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Full text Article Prynne, William

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born 1600, Swainswick, Somerset, Eng.—died Oct. 24, 1669, London) English Puritan pamphleteer. Trained as a lawyer, he published Puritan tracts from 1627 and assailed Anglican ceremonialism. He attacked popular amusements, especially plays, in his book Histrio Mastix: The Players Scourge (1633). …
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English anti-theatrical polemicist. William Prynne was the most famous and vocal Puritan critic of the pre-Restoration English stage, best known for his virulently anti-theatrical volume Histrio-Mastix: The Player’s Scourge; or, Actor’s Tragedy . He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford, and studied…
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Full text Article 1600

From The Hutchinson Chronology of World History Full text Article 1600
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In his Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735), Alexander Pope responded to his friend, John Arbuthnot, who had asked Pope to moderate his satirical venom. Masterfully explaining himself and justifying his attacks with humor, Pope deftly deflected his own desire for fame while denouncing the grasping…
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Full text Article Star Chamber

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In English history, a civil and criminal court, named after the star-shaped ceiling decoration of the room in the Palace of Westminster, London, where its first meetings were held. Created in 1487 by Henry VII , the Star Chamber comprised some 20 or 30 judges. It was abolished in 1641 by the Long…
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Full text Article Laud, William

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born Oct. 7, 1573, Reading, Berkshire, Eng.—died Jan. 10, 1645, London) Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–45) and religious adviser to Charles I . He became a privy councillor in 1627 and bishop of London in 1628, devoting himself to combating Puritanism and enforcing strict Anglican ritual. By the…
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Full text Article Prynne, William

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
English Puritan. He published in 1632 Histriomastix , a work attacking stage plays; it contained aspersions on the queen, Henrietta Maria, for which he was pilloried and lost his ears. In 1637 he was again pilloried and branded for an attack on the bishops. He opposed the execution of Charles I, …
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