A Collection of Ranter Writings

Spiritual Liberty and Sexual Freedom in the English Revolution

By (author) Nigel Smith Foreword by John Carey

Publication date:

20 April 2014

Length of book:

288 pages

Publisher

Pluto Press

ISBN-13: 9781783710102

The Ranters - like the Levellers and the Diggers - were a group of religious libertarians who flourished during the English Civil War (1642-1651), a period of social and religious turmoil which saw, in the words of the historian Christopher Hill, 'the world turned upside down'.

A Collection of Ranter Writings is the most notable attempt to anthologise the key Ranter writings, bringing together some of the most remarkable, visionary and unforgettable texts. The subjects range from the limits to pleasure and divine right, to social justice and collective action.

The Ranters have intrigued and captivated generations of scholars and philosophers. This carefully curated collection will be of great interest to historians, philosophers and all those trying to understand past radical traditions.

Foreword
Foreword to First Edition, 1983 by John Carey
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Further Reading
1. Abiezer Coppe
Preface to 'John the Divine's Divinity' (1648)
'Some Sweet Sips, of some Spiritual Wine' (1649)
'An Additional and Preambular Hint' to Richard Coppin's 'Divine Teachings' (1649)
'A Fiery Flying Roll' and 'A Second Fiery Flying Roule' (1649)
Letter from Coppe to Salmon and Wyke (c. April-June 1650)
'Divine Fire-Works' (1657)
2. Laurence Clarkson
'A Single Eye All Light, No Darkness' (1650)
Letter from Clarkson to William Rawlinson (mid-July-Oct 1650)
From 'The Lost Sheep Found' (1660)
3. Joseph Salmon
'A Rout, A Rout' (1649)
Letter from Salmon to Thomas Webbe (3 April 1650)
'Heights in Depths' (1651)
4. Jacob Bauthumley
'The Light and Dark Sides of God' (1650)
Index
Index of Biblical References

'As a primer in the strangeness of radical thought during the period, as well as a wildly entertaining (if slightly crazed) read'