Conforming to the word

About this book

This book remedies the lack of scholarly attention given to the conforming Church of England under James I (1603-25). The Jacobean church was not a lax hiatus between the Elizabethan and the Laudian, but a vibrant, positive force for writers like George Herbert and John Donne. Shown by recent historians to be clearly Protestant in its leadership, it maintained a middle way that included at its center both moderate and conforming puritans as well as Calvinist bishops. An examination of their writings reveals differences between Arminian "custodians of order" like Hooker and Andrewes, and Calvinist "preaching pastors" like Donne and Herbert. This book also explores significant resonances between Herbert and Richard Sibbes, a fully conforming puritan whose writings Herbert likely knew.