Rachel Adcock, Loughborough University, Prose Studies, Sara Jones article.pdf (123.83 kB)
"As shee preachers hold forth christ" writing and speaking in Sara Jones's challenge to episcopacy, the Relation of a Gentlewoman (1642)
journal contribution
posted on 2014-06-19, 13:37 authored by Rachel C. AdcockWhen Sara Jones spoke in front of her separatist congregation in 1632, she was opening herself up to criticism for going against scriptural precedents: it was not divinely sanctioned that women should speak in church. Perhaps deriving confidence from having defended herself in front of the High Commission Court, led by William Laud, Jones supported women's liberty to speak so that they could be edified and then contribute to justifying and upholding their congregation's doctrines. This essay examines Jones's developing arguments in The Relation of a Gentlewoman (1641) and 'To Sions Lovers' (1644) and compares them with some accounts of women preaching within their separatist congregations. Women's words were considered, by Jones, as a major weapon in the fight against the Laudian bishops of the established church, and she would write to prove not only their validity, but also their importance. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.
History
School
- The Arts, English and Drama
Department
- English and Drama
Published in
Prose StudiesVolume
33Issue
1Pages
1 - 18Citation
ADCOCK, R.C., 2011. "As shee preachers hold forth christ" writing and speaking in Sara Jones's challenge to episcopacy, the Relation of a Gentlewoman (1642). Prose Studies, 33 (1), pp.1-18.Publisher
Routledge (© Taylor & Francis)Version
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publication date
2011Notes
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Prose Studies on 21st July 2011, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01440357.2011.568778ISSN
0144-0357eISSN
1743-9426Publisher version
Language
- en