The Origins of the Quaker Pledge for Peace

'We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and
fighting with outward weapons for any end or under any pretense whatever; this is our testimony to the whole world'









On the 21st November 1660 George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, drew up a declaration for peace and presented it to the newly restored King, Charles II.

Fox's jounal indicates that the document was suppressed when he tried to publish it, saying that it was taken from the presses by the city authorities.

Notice how on the document, they refer to themselves as 'harmless and innocent' and say the declaration is against 'all plotters and fighters in the world.' These words are specifically to distance themselves from the Fifth Monarchists - a sect led by Thomas Venner who caused about forty deaths in an uprising in January of that year. In fact because of these uprisings the King outlawed Fifth Monarchists, Baptists and Quakers from holding public meetings and all members of these sects were required to take an Oath of Allegiance to the King.

The Fifth Monarchists were a radical religious movement that used both social and political pressure to effect their message and vision of a new religious "Golden Age" which they thought was about to begin, with the literal coming of the Messiah. 

The riot began whenThomas Venner and his men wanted to gain control of St Paul's Church (then not a cathedral) and took his men to a bookseller called Mr. Johnson to demand the Cathedral keys. (Pepy's diary)

Upon being refused they broke in to the shop and accosted passers-by asking who they were for, presumably meaning whether they were for the King (Anglicanism) or for the non-conformists. One answered him "King Charles" and they dispatched him with a shot through the heart. A scuffle ensued and trained bands of soldiers had to be brought in by the monarchy to quell the unrest.

In later days Venner tried to storm the Comptor Prison to liberate the inmates so they could increase their ranks, but they were repulsed in fierce fighting. To give an idea of the brutality of fighting in these times, Venner is said to have killed three men with a halberd in Threadneedle Street.

TheFifth Monarchists made their last stand in two pubs, the Helmet Tavern on Threadneedle Street and the Blue Anchor on Coleman Street. Esconced inside they were only routed when Royalist troops smashed through the clay roof tiles with musket butts and fired down through the ceiling. Venner was captured after being wounded nineteen times, and put to death alomst immediately by hanging.

No wonder Fox and his colleagues sought to dissassociate themselves from Venner's sect.

George Fox at Holker Hall 1662 

Since that time Quakers have kept their peace promise. I have often thought that in earlier times it must have been a much more difficult feat to achieve. In The Lady's Slipper  the Quaker, Richard Wheeler, struggles with the pledge of non-violence. He lives in a society where disputes are settled by the sword. How will he fare when he has to defend the life of the woman he loves?

More about the Peace Declaration can be found here, 

 

Picture from the Kendal Quaker Tapestry http://www.quaker-tapestry.co.uk

Thimbles - 17thCentury Engagement Rings

www.silive.com

Thinking about Valentine's Day ahead, I thought I'd share with you a snippet of research I discovered when I was writing my novel 'The Lady's Slipper' which features a woman who travels to the New World (ie America) in the 17th century.

I read that the Quakers and Puritans -some of the first settlers in the New World - did not like to wear jewellery, including wedding and engagement rings. This was because of their beliefs in living a simple and unostentatious life without embellishment or adornment - plain clothes in muted colours, and no unnecessary decoration.

17thC open-topped thimble www.treasurenet.com

Instead of the giving of a ring, it apparently became the custom for a betrothed couple to exchange a thimble. The thimble was something practical and was used by young women to sew household linens, and garments used as part of their dowry.

After the wedding, the man would cut off the cup of the thimble thus symbolizing that the young woman's sewing was over and the dowry was complete. The rim was then worn as a ring.

www.mercerieambulante.typepad.com

Some people dispute this claim, that thimbles were used as wedding rings, as a sort of 17th century urban myth. Click the link for the arguments against the idea.

Also, Quaker weddings at the time were not like the usual 17th century wedding in that they were agreed by the whole community of Quakers and subject to the feeling of the meeting as to whether the union was 'right.'

But being an old romantic, and loving a good story I like to think that young men would have used a romantic gesture like the giving of a thimble - so I prefer to believe this is true!

The King's Carver

CONGRATULATIONS to Susan who is the winner of The Lady's Slipper picked out of the hat today!
Many thanks to everone else who stopped by my blog and made the effort to enter, wasn't it a great idea of Amy's. Hope you might have won something in the other draws.


A short post today as I'm one of the stops on the Fantastic Historical Fiction Holiday Blog Hop.

THE LADY'S SLIPPER 
Top Pick! Swift's eye for detail and language augment this atypical debut. Compelling and intriguing, this is a well-told story full of wonderful prose and surprising events. It's a vivid addition to the genre.
--RT BookReviews
To win a copy of my debut novel THE LADY'S SLIPPER please leave a comment below. 
Giveaway Open Worldwide. Don't forget to leave an email address. One extra entry if you follow this blog, and another if you tweet my post.

As for the Historical Holiday Blog Hop - Just look at the fabulous prizes you can win! Click on the banner above to follow the other blogs on this hop.Historical Holiday Blog Hop Grand Prizes - $25 Amazon or Barnes and  Noble Gift Card - Prize package(s) from SIXTY historical novels. 

GRINLING GIBBONS

Grinling Gibbons - such a wonderful name - was the "King's Carver", in the Restoration period and was famous for beautiful carved wood decoration for St Paul's Cathedral, the Palace of Windsor, and the Earl of Essex's house. Legend had it that his carving was so fine that the wooden pot of carved flowers above his house in London would tremble from the motion of passing coaches.

Walpole later wrote about Gibbons: "There is no instance of a man before Gibbons who gave wood the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained together the various productions of the elements with the free disorder natural to each species."

Grinling Gibbons was introduced to Christopher Wren by the diarist John Evelyn who spotted him at work and was impressed by his talent. He was able to make wood appear to flow and move and was thus one of the master carvers of the Baroque style. More information about this seventeenth century sculptor in wood can be found at wanderings in eden

 or in the book, The Work of Grinling Gibbons by Geoffrey Beard

A Man's cravat, carved in lime wood by Gibbons,
courtesy of the V&A Museum

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My book is on my shelf!

The moment all writers hope for - my book is actually on my own bookshelf, alongside all the others I am currently reading. I am on the same shelf as Ruth Padel, Philip Pullman and Ian Mortimer! Of course I could have placed it next to something like "Plato's Republic" or "War and Peace" but unfortunately I don't own either.

And I have to say Macmillan's designers have done an absolutely gorgeous job inside and out and I couldn't be happier with the look and feel of it.

What is really strange is the burning desire to actually read it - even though I have already read it until my eyes hurt. But that will have to wait whilst I get the sparkling wine out to celebrate. To say I am chuffed would be an understatement.

The Lady's Slipper now available to pre-order on Amazon

I was thrilled to find that The Lady's Slipper is now available to pre-order on Amazon. It is also, bizarrely, available to pre-order in Japan on the japanese Amazon! Neither of them have a cover pic though, and the cover design is great as you can see. You can find a bit more info on my website http://www.deborahswift.webs.com/