The Quakers in English Society, 1655-1725 (Oxford Historical Monographs)

The early Quakers denounced the clergy and social élite but what of Friends' relationships with others? By examining Quaker attitudes to neighbourliness, the family, the rites of passage, business, and other links, this lively and original study demonstrates that Quakers were not the marginal and isolated people as often portrayed by contemporaries and historians, and explores the their wider and significant impact upon early modern society. By Using A Wide Range Of Primary Source Material From The Manuscript Records Of The Church And Parish To The Diaries And Pamphlets Of Ordinary Quakers, This Study Demonstrates That Quakers Were Not The Marginal And Isolated People Often Portrayed By Contemporaries And Historians. The Study Charts The Evolution Of The Sect Over A Seventy-year Period, During Which It Was To Adopt A Number Of Strategies In Its Dealings With Outsiders And Worldly Institutions. Indeed, In The Process Quakers Encouraged A Tolerance Of Diversity Which In Itself Contributed To A Sea Change In Contemporary Thought. The Study Also Examines Many Other Facets Of Quakerism - From The Literacy Rates Of Quakers, And The Level Of Persecution Suffered By Followers To The Reasons For The Sect's Decline - And Concludes With A Survey Of The Changes That Had Overcome The Movement Since The Heady Days Of Birth.--jacket. Spiritual Warriors -- The Quaker Tribe -- Body Language -- Levelling Quakers? -- A Community Of Worship -- The Brotherhood -- Love And Marriage -- Gospel Order -- Spreading Forth The Truth -- From Lollards To Quakers -- Dregs Of The People -- The Growth And Decline Of Quakerism -- A Suffering People -- The Quakers In Society. Adrian Davies. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [229]-253) And Index. "By using a wide range of primary source material from the manuscript records of the Church and parish to the diaries and pamphlets of ordinary Quakers, this study demonstrates that Quakers were not the marginal and isolated people often portrayed by contemporaries and historians. The study charts the evolution of the sect over a seventy-year period, during which it was to adopt a number of strategies in its dealings with outsiders and worldly institutions. Indeed, in the process Quakers encouraged a tolerance of diversity which in itself contributed to a sea change in contemporary thought. The study also examines many other facets of Quakerism - from the literacy rates of Quakers, and the level of persecution suffered by followers to the reasons for the sect's decline - and concludes with a survey of the changes that had overcome the movement since the heady days of birth."--BOOK JACKET. The early Quakers denounced the clergy and social elite but what of Friends' relationships with others? By examining Quaker attitudes to neighbourliness, the family, the rites of passage, business, and other links, this lively and original study demonstrates that Quakers were not the marginal and isolated people as often portrayed by contemporaries and historians, and explores the their wider and significant impact upon early modern society." The object of the next four chapters is to account for the chorus of disapproval that greeted the new sect of Quakers wherever it appeared.