Prynne, William

Prynne, William
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). Archbishop William Laud had him imprisoned; after he wrote more pamphlets attacking Laud and other Anglicans, his ears were cut off. Released in 1640, Prynne brought about Laud's conviction and execution (1645). Elected to Parliament in 1648, he was expelled for attacks on radical Puritans and later imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes (1650–53). Disaffected with Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth, he became a supporter of Charles II.

* * *

▪ English pamphleteer
born 1600, Swainswick, Somerset, Eng.
died Oct. 24, 1669, London
 English Puritan pamphleteer whose persecution by the government of King Charles I (reigned 1625–49) intensified the antagonisms between the king and Parliament in the years preceding the English Civil Wars (1642–51).

      Though trained as a lawyer, Prynne began to publish Puritan tracts in 1627. Soon he was attacking the ceremonialism of the Anglican church and the alleged frivolous pastimes of his age. In his famous book Histrio Mastix: The Players Scourge, or, Actors tragoedie (1633), he tried to prove that stage plays provoked public immorality. Many believed his vigorous denunciation of actresses was directed at Charles I's theatrically inclined wife, and the powerful Anglican William Laud (Laud, William) (archbishop of Canterbury 1633–45) had him committed to prison in February 1633; a year later Prynne was sentenced to life imprisonment and his ears were partially cut off. Nevertheless, from his cell he issued anonymous pamphlets attacking Laud and other Anglican prelates, resulting in further punishments: the stumps of his ears were shorn (1637) and his cheeks were branded with the letters S.L., meaning “seditious libeler”—though he preferred “Stigmata Laudis” (“the marks of Laud”).

      Freed from prison by the Long Parliament in November 1640, Prynne devoted himself to bringing about the conviction and execution (January 1645) of Archbishop Laud. Then, as the Parliamentarians fragmented into Presbyterian (moderate Puritan) and Independent (radical Puritan) camps, Prynne wrote pamphlets attacking both factions and calling for a national Puritan church controlled by the king. This attack led to his expulsion from Parliament by the Independents in 1648, and from June 1650 to February 1653 he was imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes to the Commonwealth government, which he deemed unconstitutional and morally lax. As a member of the Convention Parliament of 1660, he supported the restoration of King Charles II to the throne; Charles rewarded him with the office of Keeper of the Records in the Tower of London in 1661. Prynne spent the last nine years of his life writing histories that contain valuable compilations of official documents.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • PRYNNE, WILLIAM° — (1600–1669), Puritan barrister and pamphleteer. Prynne first came to notice through his vehement opposition to the theater. A fierce tirade against the stage coincided, unfortunately for him, with Queen Henrietta Maria s appearance in a court… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Prynne, William — (1600–69)    Polemicist.    Prynne was born in Somerset, and he was educated at the University of Oxford. A determined Puritan, he was a prolific pamphlet writer. His Histriomastix, directed against the immorality of playacting, was understood as …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Prynne, William — (1600, Swainswick, Somerset, Inglaterra–24 oct. 1669, Londres). Panfletista puritano inglés. Formado como abogado, publicó panfletos puritanos desde 1627 y atacó el ceremonialismo anglicano. Condenó las diversiones populares, en especial las… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • PRYNNE, WILLIAM —    a Puritan censor morum, born near Bath, bred to the bar; wrote a book or pamphlet called Histrio Mastix, or the Player s Scourge, against the stage, for which and a reflection in it against the virtue of the queen he was brought before the… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Prynne, William — (1600 1669)    Controversial writer, b. near Bath, ed. at Oxf., studied law at Lincoln s Inn, of which he became a bencher, but soon became immersed in the writing of controversial pamphlets. After the Unloveliness of Lovelocks and Health s… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Prynne — Prynne, William, geb. 1600 zu Swanswick in Somersetshire, Sachwalter in London, wurde wegen tadelnder Äußerungen gegen die Königin eingesperrt u. gebrandmarkt. In Folge der Unruhen frei gelassen, wurde er zum Abgeordneten gewählt u. leitete die… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • William — /wil yeuhm/, n. 1. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter W. 2. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning will and helmet. * * * (as used in expressions) Huddie William Ledbetter Aberhart William George William… …   Universalium

  • William Prynne — (1600 ndash; 24 October 1669) was a seventeenth century English author, polemicist, and political figure. He was a prominent Puritan opponent of the church policy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Born at Swainswick, near Bath,… …   Wikipedia

  • Prynne — may refer to:* William Prynne (1600 ndash;1669), a British Puritan statesman * George Fellowes Prynne (1853 ndash;1927), a British architect * J. H. Prynne (1936 ndash; ), a British poet * Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the novel The Scarlet… …   Wikipedia

  • William Hakewill — (1574 ndash; 1655), was a legal antiquarian and M.P.Born in Exeter, Devon, son of John Hakewill and his wife Thomasine (née Periam). Educated, according to Anthony Wood at Exeter College, Oxford (though he did not take a degree), he later studied …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”