Governed by Opinion: Politics, Religion and the Dynamics of Communication in Stuart London 1637-1645

by Dagmar Freist

Overview

Based on archival research, using court records, literary sources and the reports of everyday talk, Governed by Opinion explores how political opinion was created and developed in Stuart Britain. Dagmar Freist explores the politics of censorship and the role of the London book trade in spreading and forming opinion, and argues that the events of the 1640s paved the way for political awareness among ordinary people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350183131
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/23/2021
Series:	Geographers
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Dagmar Freist was Research Fellow at the German Historical Institute in London.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Opinions under scrutiny - the politics of censorship: the practice and impact of censorship in the streets of London; change and continuity of censorship under the long parliament; competing censors - the king and the parliament. Part 2 Opinions "en vogue" - the London pamphlet market: critical voices of "male-female" authors, printers, booksellers, and hawkers; the politics of printing and the distribution network of the London pamphlet market. Part 3 Religion, politics and popular literary genres: "base pictures putting me in a cage" - woodcuts as opinion leaders; "to be sung to the tune of..." - ballads as popular political commentators; "religion's made a tennis ball" - satirical and other observations of the time. Part 4 Talking politics - opinions, rumour and gossip: verbal graffiti - discontent with high politics in statements from below; vox populi - genres of talk and common interpretations of politics and religion 1637 to 1645. Part 5 The dynamics of communication: interfaces of orality and literacy; people in communication; gender and communication.