Reborn John
The Eighteenth-century Afterlife of John Lilburne
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4854083 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward Vallance (0000-0002-0622-2769, University of Roehampton, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 74 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-26 |
| Publication date | 2012-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History Workshop Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1363-3554 • E-ISSN: 1477-4569 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/hwj/dbs012 |
| OpenAlex | W2124454226 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 15 |
The Leveller writer John Lilburne (1615?–57) is today one of the most celebrated of England’s seventeenth-century radicals: his life has been commemorated in popular biography, television drama and even rock opera. However, scholars have generally argued that in the eighteenth century Lilburne’s connections with radical politics and in particular the Leveller movement were obscured. This article suggests instead that eighteenth-century representations of both Lilburne and the Levellers were often surprisingly faithful, avoiding the cliché that they were ‘social Levellers’ bent on the abolition of private property and instead focusing on their political ideals as encapsulated in documents such as the various versions of their manifesto, The Agreement of the People. This was evident even in unsympathetic treatments of Lilburne and the Levellers. The article contends that Lilburne persisted as a historical figure worthy of note largely because his radical ideals (especially his arguments for freedom of the press and the importance of trial by jury, and his attacks on slavery) remained relevant in the eighteenth century. Lilburne’s eighteenth-century ‘afterlife’ suggests that there may be greater continuities between seventeenth and eighteenth-century radicalism than historians have previously acknowledged.
Afterlife · Art · Biography · Drama · Jury · Literature · Manifesto · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · Classics · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Law · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Philosophy
Verdict According to Conscience
Die vielköpfige Hydra
An Ungovernable People
Gender and the English Revolution
The Rise and Fall of Revolutionary England
Reading History in Early Modern England
The Uses of History in Early Modern England
Radicalism in Civil War and Interregnum England
Celebrity
True Religion
John Lilburne and the Long Parliament
What Were Commonwealth Principles
The Experience of Revolution
Somerset's Caseand Its Antecedents in Imperial Perspective
The hunting of the Leveller
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,07 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2012 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |