The correspondence of William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645, provides revealing insights into his mind, methods and activities, especially in the 1630s, as he sought to remodel the church and the clerical estatein the three kingdoms. William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645, is a central figure in the history of seventeenth-century Britain. Laud's correspondence provides revealing insights into his mind, methods and activities, especially in the 1630s, as he sought to remodel the church and the clerical estate in the three kingdoms. The Further Correspondence of William Laud prints 223 letters, drawn from thirty-eight libraries and archives, which were not included in the nineteenth-century edition of his Works. It has real importance for our perception of Laud and the early Stuart church, greatly increasing the number of his letters for the 1620s and providing significant new information, such as the three earliest letters to his closest political ally, Thomas Wentworth, in 1630. Other correspondents include politicians such as Sir John Coke and Lord Keeper Coventry, the diplomat Sir William Boswell, numerous heads of colleges at both Oxford and Cambridge, and churchmen such as Bishops John Bridgeman of Chester and John Bramhall of Derry as well as Cyril Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople. A lengthy introduction assesses the waysin which these letters deepen our knowledge, broaden our understanding and refine our views of Laud's various roles, as chief ecclesiastical counsellor to Charles I, court politician and administrator, chancellor of Oxford University, and overseer of religious reformation in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland. An appendix lists all of Laud's correspondence in chronological order. Collectively, the letters attest to his extraordinary energy andtireless commitment to reform and point to the indelible impact that Laud made on his contemporaries. KENNETH FINCHAM is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Kent. He has written extensively on religion and politics in early modern Britain, including two monographs, Prelate as Pastor: the Episcopate of James I (1990) and, with Nicholas Tyacke, Altars Restored: the Changing Face of English Religious Worship 1547-c.1700 (2007); edited two collections of essays, The Early Stuart Church 1603-1642 (1993) and, with Peter Lake, Religious Politics in post-Reformation England (2006); and edited two volumes of Articles and Injunctions of the Early Stuart Church (1994-8) for the Church of England Record Society.
Reviews
A meticulously researched compilation of letters of the former Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud (1573-1645), many of which did not exist in print before the publication of this volume. * READING RELIGION *
A valuable addition to our understanding of the complexity and extent of the part that [Laud] played, especially in the 1630s when he was at the height of his power as principal ecclesiastical adviser to Charles I...[An] excellent publication enhanced with Professor Fincham's impeccable scholarship. * CHURCH TIMES *
Kenneth Fincham, a distinguished historian of the early modern Anglican Church, has gathered a rich collection of letters that do much to breathe new life into the wooden martinet we thought we knew. . . . This edition of Archbishop Laud's correspondence is masterfully edited and annotated, and greatth enhances our understanding of his life and character. -- Victor Stater * Anglican & Episcopal History *



Book Information
ISBN 9781783272679
Author Kenneth Fincham
Format Hardback
Page Count 355
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g