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Robert the Puritan
Although it is possible to establish a number of basic
principles to which the majority of puritans in the 17th century would
have subscribed, a simple and universal definition of Puritanism is
difficult to formulate. Although Puritanism was not a coordinated
movement across the country, there were many highly influential puritan
preachers who travelled widely and served to bind together the individual
puritan communities. Although he was not a preacher, Robert Woodforde
certainly travelled widely and frequently and was able to find the
fellowship of like‑minded people in every town and village he visited.
The diarist had been born into a strong and close‑knit puritan community
in the village of Old. Later, as a young adult his legal career had again
brought him into the heart of one of the most dynamic puritan communities
in the country centred on the Church of All Saints, Northampton. In the
course of his legal duties he was free to travel widely and therefore to
keep in contact with other puritan groups and preachers in towns and
villages in Northamptonshire and beyond, exchanging news, experience and
information.
Robert's staunch puritan beliefs, which demanded much
self‑discipline, self‑analysis and self‑denial provided a most suitable
mental framework for his work as a steward and lawyer. He was painstaking
in his preparation of documents, frequently working through the night in
order to complete a lease or will. His scrupulous attention to detail
enabled him to detect subtle errors in the legal documents drawn up by
other clerks. His analytical mind was able to follow the drawn‑out
debates in Westminster Hall and to judge with considerable accuracy the
likely outcome.
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© Stephen Butt 2004 - rev
29/02/04
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The Diary of a
Puritan
It is clear from the diary that Robert Woodforde recognised the
basic tenets of Puritanism and was able to see the puritan struggle
within the context of a national movement. Many of his prayers
refer to the `nation' and a number of diary entries indicate his
vision of a church which is not only national but universal and
worldwide, as in the diary entry for 20 February 1640:‑
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" Lord we blesse thee for the
great fruitfullnes of the gentiles, the Lord increase us a thousandfold, but Lord let not the wife be allwayes barren,
& bringe in the remainder of the gentiles in America &
otherwhere, and let the spirit of reformacon passe through
this Island & Ireland & the adiacent kingdomes.
pull downe
that cursed Antichrist of Rome that Babilon the great may fall
in these o(u)r Dayes.Lord thou seest how the wicked
B(ishop) limbs of hime here in this kingdome have even darkned
the sunne in the heavens thereof & brought up a fog over the
whole nacon.
Lord cut them off roote & branch in one day
forever. extirpate their heirachy, & set the Lord Christ upon
his throne amongst us. Lord thou seest how they & some
of their adherents have sought to enslave us & bring us
into bondage both in respect of soule & body but Lord breake
the yoke of the oppressor as in the day of Midian.
Strengthen the parliam(en)t to
that end. Lord guide them & doe good to us for the Lord's
Sake. " |
Rarely in the diary does the writer
dare to express his religious convictions in such forthright
language, although the tone of his expression becomes less
controlled and more dramatic in the latter entries, perhaps
reflecting his anxiety at the great changes taking place in society
at that time.
In the diarist's personal life the beginning of each day was celebrated
in private prayer and meditation when many of his diary entries were
made. There were further sessions of prayer with his wife and later
with his entire household. Each Sunday he attended All Saints for
both the morning and afternoon services and when he was absent from
Northampton because of legal business he attended services at the
appropriate puritan church. On the 5 November 1637, in a diary
entry which commences with the title "Powder Treason Day", the
diarist expressed more fully his religious convictions and his
attitude to the Catholic church:‑
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" I
prayed and went (in London) to Dr Stoughton's
church morning & eveninge. A strange man
preached in the morninge very honestly & Dr Stoughton him self
in the afternoone very boldly & worthyly ... Blessed be thy
name oh Lord for p(ro)tectinge & defendinge thy holy
gospell & the p(ro)fession of it especially for keepinge us
from the cruelty of this hellish powder plot."
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