French Leave

Europe’s return to peace after 1604 re-established European travel as a rite of passage for the sons of the nobility and gentry. Encouraged by Henry, prince of Wales, Herbert joined other noblemen in leaving England to travel the continent; gain experience of other European courts and governments; improve their social, weapons handling, and equestrian skills; and acquire expertise in foreign languages. Chapter 3 explores Herbert’s visit to France and the educational and social activities he pursued while resident in Paris and the Île de France. It focuses on his experience of the French court, his introduction to the influential Montmorency family, his growing enthusiasm for duelling and riding the great horse, his attempts at writing satirical verse, his introduction to Isaac Casaubon and his scholarly circle, and the development of his views on monarchical rule and religious toleration. It counterpoises the courtly civility, honour, and confidence he gained in Paris to augment his performance and reputation as a courtier with the impact of his failure to persuade his wife to settle her estates on his heir or to avoid the socially and financially embarrassing remarriage of his mother to a well-connected but impecunious younger man.

‘The Kinge and His Cubbs’ in Peril

This chapter examines Elizabeth Stuart's ledger to show how her spending patterns reveal the rhythms of her life at Oatlands. It also considers several plots against her family. The first is a pair of overlapping plots whose combined intention was to overthrow King James in favour of his first cousin, the English-born Lady Arabella Stuart and thence install Thomas Grey, 15th Baron Grey of Hilton, as de facto king, and secure greater religious toleration for Catholics in England. The famed Elizabethan explorer and privateer Sir Walter Raleigh was amongst the backers of this plan. The conspirators escaped execution but not imprisonment. The second is the Gunpowder Plot. The confession of Guy Fawkes showed beyond doubt that although the primary aim had been to blow up parliament with James and Henry in attendance, this was merely a clearing of the way, as 'they intended that the king's daughter the Lady Elizabeth should have succeeded'. The chapter then explores Elizabeth Stuart's education, looking at how Henry and Elizabeth behaved and were in many ways treated as if they were twins.

Ṣulḥ-i Kul under Akbar: Reconstructing the Short Life of a Concept of Human Amity

Akbar’s policy of religious toleration from early in his reign (1556–1605) long remained in need of a theoretical justification, especially one from within the framework of Islamic tradition. At long last, the concept of Ṣulḥ-i Kul, derived from s[ūfic thought, was found to answer the need. Here we bring together evidence from contemporary texts to establish more precisely when the secular conversion of this mystic notion took place and how it came to be used as a justification for human amity and religious tolerance by Akbar’s administration. Its short reign, however, ended within a few years of Akbar’s death.

Popery, Arbitrary Government, and War, 1670–8

This chapter examines Charles II’s political and military problems during the Third Anglo-Dutch War as he once again attempted a policy of religious toleration. With the country at war, Charles was confronted with the dilemma of appointing a commander for his army and with the problem of how to discipline this newly increased force. But even more difficult was his relationship with parliament, which was intensely suspicious of the army. Parliament remained deeply concerned that the army had been infiltrated by Catholics. Moreover, parliament continued to be apprehensive of Charles’s plans for his army, particularly when the army was enlarged to fight a war with France in 1678.

Religious Toleration as a Subject for World Education? Past and Present Perspectives for Students the World Over Based on Literary-Historical Material

This study reexamines the meaning of education in global terms as the foundation of all open and democratic societies both in the past and the present. Literary studies create useful mirrors taking the learner into the past where parallel cases of human problems and conflicts existed. The learning experience then allows the individual to carry the new insights back to the own presence and to apply them to current situations. This process can and must be applied particularly to the principle of tolerance, one of the highest ideals in all of education. In order to illustrate this concept, this study examines Boccaccio’s Decameron and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Nathan the Wise as model cases for global education leading to a more peaceful and mutually respectful world. With all due respect for religion, hating and murdering other people for religious reasons betrays the very principles of that religion whatever denomination or creed it might be. Ignorance and lack of education make it possible for fanatics or zelots to whip the masses into violent actions against those who adhere to another faith. One of the major tasks by educators is to introduce rationality, mutual respect, honor, and dignity, which is all possible through an intensive study of well-chosen literary texts for class discussions addressing world religions.

Church and People in Interregnum Britain

The English Civil War was followed by a period of unprecedented religious toleration and the spread of new religious ideas and practices. From the Baptists, to the “government of saints”, Britain experienced a period of so-called ‘Godly religious rule’ and a breakdown of religious uniformity that was perceived as a threat to social order by some and a welcome innovation to others. The period of Godly religious rule has been significantly neglected by historians- we know remarkably little about religious organisation or experience at a parochial level in the 1640s and 1650s. This volume addresses these issues by investigating important questions concerning the relationship between religion and society in the years between the first Civil War and the Restoration.

The ‘Opinions of Religion and Divine Worship’ in the Seventeenth Century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from an English and Scottish Perspective

The ‘Opinions of Religion and Divine Worship’ in the Seventeenth Century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from an English and Scottish Perspective The article analyses English and Scottish travellers’ accounts of interdenominational relations, and specifically religious toleration, as observed in the seventeenth century Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. It traces the changing British perception of these matters over time, from when toleration was a subject of admiration until it began to be seen as a sign of anarchic religious liberty, a weakness; something to be, as Gilbert instigated, ‘abolished and removed from the body and the bounds’ of the English monarchy.