The Duke of Buckingham’s 1627 Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré: A Stuart PR Nightmare
When George Villiers’ siege of a French island didn’t go to plan, he turned to England’s printed news to salvage his image.
The Duke of Buckingham’s 1627 Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré: A Stuart PR Nightmare
George Villiers’ brief foray into early modern journalism.
Corrupt Cooks and Troublesome Tapsters in Early Modern England
Christmas compters, the art of drinking, and faculties in frothing.
Anthony Nixon: 17th Century Writer, Journalist, and Plagiarist
Hack writer? Master plagiarist? Man of many talents?
‘Which relation you can difficultly reade without sighs, nor understand without tears.‘
Widecombe-in-the-Moor’s 1638 Thunderstorm: A Case Study in Seventeenth-Century News Reporting
What a storm in Devon reveals about the nature of early modern journalism.
Joseph Swetnam and (Early) Modern Misogyny
Is the misogyny of the past alive and well?
Handguns in Early Modern England: Crime, Class, and Social Order
The dangers of ‘modern’ technology.
Tracing the Seventeenth-Century Roots of ‘Journalism’
How did early modern Londoners find out the news?
Radical Ideas in English Cheap Print
Gender Trouble in Early Modern England.
Windy Weather, Divine Providence, and
Spire-Toppling Devils
How storms from four hundred years ago reveal cultural changes and continuities.
Bowling, drinking, slipping, and snowball-fighting.
Rationalising a 17th-Century Ghost Story
Terrified Londoners, fiery ghosts, and unspeakable crimes.
The (Fictional) Pub That Saw Dozens Boiled Alive
The not-so-pleasant history of Thomas of Reading.
Plague, Trade, and Sin in Dekker’s ‘A Rod for Runaways’ (1625) and Other Works
Even if you can run from God, should you?
Pamphlet Wars, Graphic Satire, and Metacommentary: Anti-Laudian Cheap Print, 1641-5
Laudian pamphlets as a microcosm of the cheap print market in 17th-century London.
What Did Early Modern London Sound Like at Night?
What might stop an early modern Londoner from falling asleep?
The Murder of Sir John Tindall
Suing, shooting, and suicide.
Witchcraft, Demonism, and Agency in The Witch of Edmonton (1621)
Dekker, Rowley, and Ford present a sympathetic view of a powerless witch, tricked and damned by the Devil.
The Witch of Edmonton, Ballad-Mongers, and Early Modern Fake News
A 1621 case of witchcraft offers an insight into the world of 17th-century misinformation.
Woods and Witches: Two Unexplained Deaths in 17th-Century London
A body in the woods and a supposed witch murdered in her home, but not a suspect in sight.
From legendary creatures to battles in the sky, people in early modern London liked to cast their eyes to the heavens as much as we do.
‘In The Burning Flames of Fire I Should Fry’: Mariticide in Two Early Modern Execution Ballads.
For early modern balladeers, the death of an individual was only a small part of what made homicides wrong.
Jodie Turner-Smith, Anne Boleyn, and ‘Historical Accuracy’
Do those who oppose casting a black actor to play Anne Boleyn actually have a point? (Spoiler alert: no)
Morbid Print:
Bills of Mortality in Early Modern London
Bills of mortality were printed regularly in London from 1603 and can offer us an insight into the trials and tribulations of early modern Londoners.
Maids, Sausages, and Cross-Dressing: Gender in Crime Ballads.
Seemingly trivial stories can reveal lots about the world of their authors.
The Role of Woodcuts in Early Modern Print
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then woodcuts deserve a second look.
‘Feminism’ in Early Modern Writing
Early modern ‘feminism’ was often less about empowering feminine qualities and more about celebrating women for avoiding them.
What Caused Witchcraft Accusations in Early Modern England?
People in the seventeenth century weren’t just superstitious idiots who accused people for no reason.
17th-Century Crime and the Trivialization of Sexual Assault: The Case of “Whipping Tom”
‘Whipping Tom’ has gained some online fame as a humorous historical tidbit, but the real story is a lot less funny.
Holbein, Claesz, and Vanitas Paintings
Although intended as memento moris, vanitas paintings can tell us just as much about early modern life as they can about death.
How Accessible Were Early Modern Theatres?
Early modern playwrights such as Shakespeare remain popular to this day, but how accessible were they at the time?
The Rich Londoners Who Tried to Flee the Great Plague
Money can’t buy happiness, but can it help you
escape the pestilence?
Terrifying sea monsters, fantastical beasts, and… worms?
Might the famous statesman have been more than a little left-wing?
Travel Writing in 17th Century England: Geography or Morality?
Foreign animals and landscapes weren’t the only things being examined.
Who doesn’t love a good crime drama?
Featured Woodcut
Title page woodcut of a 1642 pamphlet, titled A Seasonable Lecture. Apparently, a written account of a sermon by ironmonger and pamphleteer Henry Walker. In reality, a satirical attack on Walker as a ‘tub’ preacher written by the self-styled ‘Water Poet’ John Taylor, under the acronymic pseudonym ‘Thorny Ailo’. The two were engaged in repeated literary spats during the 1640s, probably most notable for their use of woodcuts. (Source)
Early Modern Scribbling 