University of Exeter Press

The Devil’s Book

Charles I, The Book of Sports and Puritanism in Tudor and Early Stuart England

Alistair Dougall

lieferbar · 256 S. · Geb. · 9780859898560 · GBP £ 50,00

The Book of Sports was the royal declaration which sanctioned popular participation in traditional pastimes after church attendance on Sunday. It was denounced by a vociferous opposition who viewed recreation on the Sabbath as the devil’s work. Alistair Dougall takes a fresh look at the events surrounding the re-publication of the Book of Sports in 1633 and reassesses the role of Charles I himself in the controversy. He re-examines the cultural battle that emerged as a result of the tension between Sunday observance and traditional revelry and demonstrates how a new form of ‘sabbatarianism’ became the hallmark of the radical Protestants who sought to suppress all Sunday recreations. The book also makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate surrounding the causes of division in English society which led to the outbreak of civil war in 1642.

‘Well-researched, cogent, extremely readable and likely to become the standard work upon its subject.’ – Ronald Hutton, Professor of History, Department of Historical Studies, Bristol University

The Black Legend of Prince Rupert’s Dog

Witchcraft and Propaganda during the English Civil War

Mark Stoyle

lieferbar · 320 S. · Geb. · 9780859898591 · GBP £ 45,00

This compelling new book from Mark Stoyle sets out to uncover the true history of Boy, the canine companion of Charles I’s famous nephew, Prince Rupert.  Like his master, Boy was held to possess dark powers and was elevated to celebrity status as a ‘dog-witch’ during the English Civil War of 1642-46.

Many scholars have remarked upon the fantastical rumours which circulated about Prince Rupert and his dog, but no-one has investigated the source of these rumours, or explored how the supernatural element of the prince’s public image developed over time. In this book, Mark Stoyle recounts the occult stories which centred upon Prince Rupert and his dog.  He shows how those stories grew out of, and contributed to, the changing pattern of witch-belief in England during the Civil War.

‘A cross-over book, appealing as it should to those who are obsessed by witchcraft and those who are keen followers of civil war studies.’ Professor Martyn Bennett, Nottingham Trent University