Paul’s Cross and the culture of persuasion, 1520 – 1640
Conference at McGill University, 17 – 19 August 2012
The open-air pulpit situated in the precincts of St Paul’s Cathedral, commonly known as ‘Paul’s Cross’, counts among the most influential of all venues for public discourse between rulers and ruled in early-modern England. In a world where the sermon served as the principal means of adult education, as well as a major instrument of ethical guidance and political control, Paul’s Cross was the pulpit of pulpits; indeed it was the preeminent pulpit in England. The audience gathered there was to a great extent representative of the whole realm and frequently numbered in the thousands. By long tradition this was a place for the announcement of proclamations both civil and religious. Here authorised speakers expounded government policy and denounced heresy and rebellion. Yet, unlike the royal Abbey of Westminster, St Paul’s belonged more to subjects than to princes. Despite official regulation, Paul’s Cross provided a popular forum for the articulation of diverse viewpoints in a turbulent ‘market’ of religious and political ideas.
From as early as the 13th century the cathedral churchyard had been one of the favoured settings for popular protest – a place where public grievances could be aired, a stage where vital affairs of the nation were enacted. It has been said that the English Reformation was accomplished from Paul’s Cross. What was the precise role played by the public sermon in the formation of the fluctuating religious identities of early-modern England? Who were the principal agents and players? Who constituted the audiences? And what elements of continuity and change can be observed in the employment of this most public of pulpits in the unfolding series of reformations and counter-reformations, from the middle years of the reign of Henry VIII through that of Charles I?
A conference on the theme ‘Paul’s Cross and the culture of persuasion, 1520–1640’ will be hosted at McGill University in August 2012. Papers are invited on any aspect of this famous pulpit in the life of early-modern England, and especially with respect to the prominent role played by preaching at Paul’s Cross in shaping England’s early-modern religious and political identities. Our goal in particular is to initiate a reappraisal of the formation of 16th-century popular opinion on the hypothesis that Paul’s Cross sermons played a vital role in promoting the growth and development of a nascent ‘public sphere’ in Tudor and early-Stuart England. The Steering Committee expect to be able to offer participants reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses. Conference Steering Committee Torrance Kirby (McGill) and Paul Stanwood (University of British Columbia) Contact: Torrance Kirby, Birks Building, McGill University, 3520 University Street, Montreal, Canada, H3A 2A7. Tel (514) 398-4128 / Fax (514) 398-6665 / Email torrance.kirby@mcgill.ca.
