“British” and “European” texts and the Church of England 1560-1660: rethinking sources and categories

It is no news that European divines sometimes had an important impact on English Protestantism. But in this paper I would like to rethink more broadly the status of the texts and individuals that we use to investigate the Church of England in this period. This will take the form not only of trying to problematize our readings of the categories of ‘English’ and ‘foreign’ authors (not least by stressing the number of English authors publishing abroad) but also of casting a fresh eye on European discussions of English religion in this period. Not only were European assumptions about the English church sometimes shaped by authors whom we might not suspect, but non-English writers sometimes subjected English texts and ideas to much more systematic and searching analysis and criticism than English critics were able to muster. I therefore hope to give people who are interested in early modern English religion and who attend the seminar some new names and texts to think about and explore, and perhaps some different priorities to ponder.