History Confirmation Milestone: The English Exorcist: John Darrell and the Elizabethan Witchcraft Controversy

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 15 April 2016

Time:

10:30 am - 11:00 am

Room:

116 Sir Llew Edwards Building (14) St Lucia campus

UQ Location:

Sir Llew Edwards Building (St Lucia)

URL:

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Presenter: Brendan Walsh (Confirmation milestone)

John Darrell (c.1562—?) remains as one of the most controversial figures in the early modern period. Darrell, an Anglican clergyman with strong Puritan views, rose to prominence as an exorcist with a series of dramatic dispossessions, leading to the Church of England labelling him as a religious dissident. The subsequent 1598 trial became one of the defining points of the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods, evolving into a catalyst for far-reaching conflict over the direction of Anglican theology. This PhD dissertation will argue that the John Darrell controversy and the discourse surrounding him was a turning point in the development of Anglicanism, particularly as a major inspiration for the introduction of the Witchcraft Act and the Canon 72 of the Church of England in 1604. The contention of this project is that Darrell has been wrongly overlooked by historians and that by re-evaluating his place in this historical context, the development of Anglican thought can be more accurately studied and reflected upon.