Research Catalog

Last witnesses : the Muggletonian history, 1652-1979

Title: Last witnesses : the Muggletonian history, 1652-1979 / William Lamont.
Author: Lamont, William M. (William Montgomerie)
Publication: Aldershot, Hampshire, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, ©2006.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	BX8698 .L36 2006	Off-site

Details

Description

xv, 267 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

On three successive mornings in February 1652 God spoke to a London tailor by the name of John Reeve, telling him that he and his cousin Lodowicke Muggleton were the Last Two Witnesses prophesied in the book of Revelation. Over the next six years the pair attracted a small but dedicated band of followers, that following the death of Reeve, became known as the Muggletonians. In this lively and engaging history, the origins of the sect during the religious turmoil and freedoms of the 1650s are described in detail. Their unique theology, beliefs and practices are described and traced throughout the changing circumstances of the century. Yet the book offers much more than a history of another puritan sect, for unlike many of their contemporaries, the Muggletonians persisted until the latter years of the twentieth century. Moreover, they preserved a comprehensive archive, rescued from the Blitz by a Kent farmer who transported the papers in empty apple boxes on his way back from market. Discovered by E.P Thompson in 1974 this archive paints a vivid picture of the Muggletonians from the earliest days until the death of their last member in 1979. By following the history of the Muggletonians from the heady post-civil war days through to the 1970s, this work offers a unique perspective on radical Christian belief and practice, and how it adapted to the changing world around it. More than this, however, it tells the fascinating story of how a small religious group, that eschewed active proselytising and believed in the mortality of the soul, managed to overcome persecution and obscurity, to survive for 320 years.

Subject

Genre/Form

Church history.
History.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-259) and index.

Contents

Introduction : the archive discovered -- 'Lodowick Muggleton was also included' : 1652-1658 -- Encounter with God -- The two last witnesses -- Blessings, curses, prison and death -- 'Great Muggleton' declares the truth : 1658-1661 -- Putting down Clarkson -- Changing a divine looking glass -- Rewriting Revelation -- The Prophet of letters : 1661-1698 -- The 1671 rebellion -- Delamaine's 'great book' -- Imaginary witches -- Prison, release, death -- Witnesses against the beast : 1698-1837 -- Life without a prophet -- William Blake, Benjamin Franklin and the London Muggletonians -- Putting down a false prophet -- The victorian crisis : 1837-1901 -- Redefining the faith : 'reevonians' versus 'old believers' -- Redefining the faith : from 'ancient' to 'modern' Muggletonianism -- Last curses -- Last days : 1901-1979 -- Conclusion : Muggletonians--the proper historical context?

ISBN

0754655326
9780754655329

LCCN

2005017268
9780754655329

OCLC

ocm60715132
60715132
SCSB-1403118

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library