People and piety: protestant devotional identities in early modern England

Wary of engaging with devotional texts, which often focus on personal religious experience, for many years scholars approached the study of history with a clear division between polemics and piety. More recently, especially in the fields of literature and religion, there has been a greater recognition of the value of texts such as spiritual diaries, testimonies and autobiographies. As the editors of People and Piety suggest, this ‘devotional turn’ has offered new insight into a ‘lived religion’ and an opportunity to explore ‘devotional identities’. There are, of course, particular issues that emerge when evaluating material of such a personal nature. Not least, as the editors rightly point out, is the challenge of respecting the ‘otherness’ of the world of the subjects under consideration and the differences of categories of speech to our own ways of speaking. Much time and care must be given to becoming fully immersed in ‘their worlds (including their mental worlds), and learning their language’ (p. xix). The book is divided into two sections – ‘sites’ and ‘types’ – thus allowing for the study of both places and genres of religious devotions and writing. The section on ‘sites’ includes devotional identities in religious communities, the household, theatre and prison. The section devoted to ‘types’ explores autobiographies and religious poetry, as well as death-bed narratives. An example, of the creative approach taken in the chapters is found in Michael Durrant’s essay: “‘HERSCHEPT HET HERT’: Katherine Sutton’s Experiences (1663), the printer’s device and the making of devotion”. As the title suggests, Durrant’s approach is to examine this Calvinistic Baptist work from the perspective of the printed copy. Giving attention to the inclusion of an introductory address by the London Baptist pastor Hanserd Knollys (1599-1691), Durrant also suggests that the layout and ‘physicality of the text’ were deliberately intended to enhance the interiority of the text. While this is the only essay related specifically to Baptists, all of the fine essays in this volume reflect the considerable time given by the contributors to the ‘otherness’ of their subjects and, as a result, offer the reader fascinating insights into the variety of devotional identities in early modern England.