Manuscript Circulation and the Invention of Politics in Early Stuart England

376 Pages·2016·2.914 MB·English

by  Noah Millstone

MANUSCRIPT CIRCULATION AND THE
INVENTION OF POLITICS IN EARLY STUART
ENGLAND
In the decades before the Civil War, English readers confronted an
extensive and influential pamphlet literature. This literature
addressedcontemporaryeventsinscathinglycriticalterms,waspro-
duced in enormous quantities, and was devoured by the curious.
Despite widespread contemporary interest and large numbers of
surviving copies, this literature has remained almost entirely
unknowntoscholarsbecauseitwascirculatedinhandwritingrather
than printed with movable type. Drawing from book history, the
sociology of knowledge, and the history of political thought, Noah
Millstone provides the first systematic account of the production,
circulation,andreceptionofthesemanuscriptpamphlets.Byplacing
theminthecontextofsocialchange,stateformation,andtheemer-
gence of ‘politic’ expertise, Millstone uses the pamphlets to resolve
oneofthecentralproblemsofearlyStuarthistory:howandwhydid
the men and women of early seventeenth-century England come to
seetheirworldaspolitical?
noah millstone is Lecturer in Early Modern History at the
UniversityofBristol.
CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN BRITISH HISTORY
Serieseditors
johnmorrill,ProfessorofBritishandIrishHistory,UniversityofCambridge,and
FellowofSelwynCollege
ethanshagan,ProfessorofHistory,UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley
alexandrashepard,ProfessorofGenderHistory,UniversityofGlasgow
alexandrawalsham,ProfessorofModernHistory,UniversityofCambridge,and
FellowofTrinityCollege
Thisisaseriesofmonographsandstudiescoveringmanyaspectsofthehistoryof
the British Isles between the late fifteenth century and the early eighteenth
century. It includes the work of established scholars and pioneering work by a
newgenerationofscholars.Itincludesbothreviewsandrevisionsofmajortopics
and books which open up new historical terrain or which reveal startling new
perspectives on familiar subjects. All the volumes set detailed research within
broader perspectives, and the books are intended for the use of students as well
asoftheirteachers.
Foralistoftitlesintheseriesgotowww.cambridge.org/earlymodernbritishhistory
MANUSCRIPT CIRCULATION
AND THE INVENTION OF
POLITICS IN EARLY STUART
ENGLAND
NOAH MILLSTONE
UniversityofBristol
UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107120723
©NoahMillstone2016
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2016
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
isbn978-1-107-12072-3Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
For my parents

Contents
Listoffigures pageviii
Acknowledgements ix
Noteondates xi
Listofabbreviations xii
1 Introduction 1
part i conditions of production 23
2 Thesociallifeofhandwriting 25
3 Tuningtheinstrument 55
4 Performanceandparliament 94
part ii subjects and subjectivities 127
5 Bristol’srevenge 129
6 Historiansofthepresent 165
part iii the secret history of the state 195
7 Theantiquaryandthemalcontent 197
8 Thedriftofthepersonalrule 238
9 Theill-affected 275
Conclusion 316
SelectBibliography 325
Index 347
vii
Figures
2.1 ExaminationsstemmingfromtheSellerlibel.TNASP16/109/34. page27
3.1 Countycontributions1614–15vs.subsidypayments(average 84
of1610and1621).
3.2 Diocesancontributions1614–15,percentageoveror 85
underperformancevs1621subsidypayments.
3.3 Selectedindividualcontributions1614–15asequivalentnumber 86
of1621subsidies.
3.4 Marlboroughcontributions1614–15vssubsidyassessments 88
(averageof1610and1611).
4.1 Commons’declaration,February1629.TNAC103/34. 98
4.2 Pamphlettextsperparliament. 98
4.3 Pamphlettextspersessionadjustedforsessionlengthinweeks. 99
4.4 Numbersofcopiesoftextsbyparliamentaspercentagesofthe 101
wholesample.
4.5 Percentagesoftitlesvspercentagesofcopies,byparliament. 102
4.6 ‘Official’and‘unofficial’copiesofthesametext.HALSMS 108
XII.B.18.
8.1 Writtencopiesofthejudges’arguments,January–June1638. 267
10.1 StraffordsPlotDiscovered(1646).HoughtonEC65H100646s. 322
viii