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Informationen zum Autor David Colclough is Lecturer in English at Queen Mary! University of London. This is his first book. Klappentext This book discusses a central chapter in the history of free speech in the western world. The nature and limits of freedom of speech prompted sophisticated debate in a wide range of areas in the early seventeenth century; it was one of the 'liberties of the subject' fought for by individuals and groups across the political landscape. David Colclough argues that freedom of speech was considered to be a significant civic virtue during this period. Discussions of free speech raised serious questions about what it meant to live in a free state! and how far England was from being such a state. Examining a wide range of sources! from rhetorical handbooks to Parliamentary speeches and manuscript miscellanies! Dr Colclough demonstrates how freedom of speech was conceived positively in the period c. 1603-1628! rather than being defined in opposition to acts of censorship. Zusammenfassung Describing a central episode in the history of free speech! David Colclough demonstrates that in early seventeenth-century England people had a highly developed language in which to claim freedom of speech as a right and duty! uncovering an alternative tradition to the one that dominates much modern political theory. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Note on the text; Introduction; 1. Parrhesia, or licentiousness baptised freedom: the rhetoric of free speech; 2. Freedom of speech and religion; 3. Freedom of speech in early Stuart Parliaments; 4. 'A very paschall fit for Rome': freedom of speech and manuscript miscellanies; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.
