Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates : Renegade Identities in Early Modern English Writing

Examining tales of notorious figures in Renaissance England, including the mercenary Thomas Stukeley, the Barbary corsair John Ward, and the wandering adventurers the Sherley brothers, Laurie Ellinghausen sheds new light on the construction of the early modern renegade and its depiction in English prose, poetry, and drama during a period of capitalist expansion. Unlike previous scholarship which has focused heavily on positioning rogue behaviour within the dialogue of race, gender, religion, and nationalism, Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates: Renegade Identities in Early Modern England shows how domestic issues of class and occupation exerted a major influence on representations of renegades, and heightened their appeal to the diverse audiences of early modern England. By looking at renegade tales from this perspective, Ellinghausen reveals a renegade, who, despite being stigmatized as an outsider, becomes a major profiteer during the period of early expansion, and ultimately a key figure in the creation of a national English identity. Contents 5 Illustrations 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction: Running Down the “Runagate” 11 1. “Unquiet Hotspurs”: Stukeley, Vernon, and the Renegade Humour 33 2. “We Are of the Sea!”: Masterless Identity and Transnational Context in A Christian Turned Turk 57 3. “Lend Us Your Lament”: Purser and Clinton on the Scaffold 83 4. “Extravagant Thoughts”: The Sherley Brothers and the Future of Renegade England 109 Coda: “Skillful in Their Art”: Criminal Biography and the Renegade Inheritance 139 Notes 155 Bibliography 169 Index 185