In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a multitude of dreams and dreamers claiming to be... more In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a multitude of dreams and dreamers claiming to be prophets gave rise to heated debate. In 1655, John Wilson, a minister of the 'Church of Christ' preached that there were too many 'filthy dreamers' and attempted to dissuade his parishioners from hearkening to the dreams and visions of Quakers and Seekers he believed were leading the people into apostasy and sin. Seeing dreams as aligned with prophesy and astrology, and other 'superstitious' and diabolocal practices, critics attacked dream interpretation as a dangerous spiritual and political 'observation' in need of reform.
(summary): While dreams as visions have received much attention from historians, less work has be... more (summary): While dreams as visions have received much attention from historians, less work has been undertaken on understanding more commonly experienced dreams that occurred in sleep. In this dissertation I seek to begin redressing this neglect. Two overarching questions focus the dissertation: How did early modern English people understand their dreams? And did these understandings change in response to significant developments in English culture? To answer these questions I explore early modern English theories, beliefs and experiences of dreams through a close study of key medical, demonological, philosophical, spiritual, oneirocritic and private writings. I suggest that in the period 1550-1750 there were three principal frameworks used to understand dreams: (1) health of the body and mind, (2) prediction and (3) spirituality. These three frameworks coexisted, either reinforcing or contesting one another throughout the period. The framework of health saw dreams as natural produ...
Division of Technology Information and Learning Support, 2001
In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a 'multitude' of dreams and dre... more In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a 'multitude' of dreams and drearncr> claiming to be prophets gave rise to heated debate. In 1655, John Wilson a minister of 'Church of Christ' fkrvently preached from the pulpit, 'there being to many filthy Dreamers cqw on ...
... Janine Riviere is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Department of History. ... more ... Janine Riviere is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Department of History. ... In the second, told in mock-epic fashion, Tom and his newest female companion have run afoul of the husband and wife who run an inn in Upton. ...
Christian perfection, the evangelical doctrine that gave rise to abstinence as it is understood a... more Christian perfection, the evangelical doctrine that gave rise to abstinence as it is understood and practiced in America, originated in Britain with John Wesley and the Methodists. We examine why that doctrine floundered in its country of origin, opening the door to a more pluralistic and evidence-based approach to problems such as alcohol and drug abuse. Although social and political factors were important (the stratification of British society stood in the way of holding everyone to the same moral standard, and the drink trade was far better organized than its American counterpart), Britain's intellectual elite also played a vital role, heaping ridicule on the temperance movement and subjecting it to a devastating critique.
Whether abstinence is good, bad or indifferent we leave to the reader; but we are convinced that ... more Whether abstinence is good, bad or indifferent we leave to the reader; but we are convinced that no purpose is served by dismissing the concept out of hand. To do this is to write America's history as HL Mencken might have done, as a series of unfortunate exchanges between ...
In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a multitude of dreams and dreamers claiming to be... more In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a multitude of dreams and dreamers claiming to be prophets gave rise to heated debate. In 1655, John Wilson, a minister of the 'Church of Christ' preached that there were too many 'filthy dreamers' and attempted to dissuade his parishioners from hearkening to the dreams and visions of Quakers and Seekers he believed were leading the people into apostasy and sin. Seeing dreams as aligned with prophesy and astrology, and other 'superstitious' and diabolocal practices, critics attacked dream interpretation as a dangerous spiritual and political 'observation' in need of reform.
(summary): While dreams as visions have received much attention from historians, less work has be... more (summary): While dreams as visions have received much attention from historians, less work has been undertaken on understanding more commonly experienced dreams that occurred in sleep. In this dissertation I seek to begin redressing this neglect. Two overarching questions focus the dissertation: How did early modern English people understand their dreams? And did these understandings change in response to significant developments in English culture? To answer these questions I explore early modern English theories, beliefs and experiences of dreams through a close study of key medical, demonological, philosophical, spiritual, oneirocritic and private writings. I suggest that in the period 1550-1750 there were three principal frameworks used to understand dreams: (1) health of the body and mind, (2) prediction and (3) spirituality. These three frameworks coexisted, either reinforcing or contesting one another throughout the period. The framework of health saw dreams as natural produ...
Division of Technology Information and Learning Support, 2001
In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a 'multitude' of dreams and dre... more In seventeenth-century England the emergence of a 'multitude' of dreams and drearncr> claiming to be prophets gave rise to heated debate. In 1655, John Wilson a minister of 'Church of Christ' fkrvently preached from the pulpit, 'there being to many filthy Dreamers cqw on ...
... Janine Riviere is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Department of History. ... more ... Janine Riviere is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Department of History. ... In the second, told in mock-epic fashion, Tom and his newest female companion have run afoul of the husband and wife who run an inn in Upton. ...
Christian perfection, the evangelical doctrine that gave rise to abstinence as it is understood a... more Christian perfection, the evangelical doctrine that gave rise to abstinence as it is understood and practiced in America, originated in Britain with John Wesley and the Methodists. We examine why that doctrine floundered in its country of origin, opening the door to a more pluralistic and evidence-based approach to problems such as alcohol and drug abuse. Although social and political factors were important (the stratification of British society stood in the way of holding everyone to the same moral standard, and the drink trade was far better organized than its American counterpart), Britain's intellectual elite also played a vital role, heaping ridicule on the temperance movement and subjecting it to a devastating critique.
Whether abstinence is good, bad or indifferent we leave to the reader; but we are convinced that ... more Whether abstinence is good, bad or indifferent we leave to the reader; but we are convinced that no purpose is served by dismissing the concept out of hand. To do this is to write America's history as HL Mencken might have done, as a series of unfortunate exchanges between ...
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