Elizabeth Ferguson is an Assistant Professor in the History Department at the University of Toronto. She is currently preparing book on devotional literature and English Catholic practice c. 1570-1640, and most recently published an article on hagiographies and the cult of saints in seventeenth-century England. Her next major research project will explore the wider religio-political implications of English Catholic literature printed in the early modern period by looking at the relationship between the writer/translator, religious and polemical texts, and the system of patronage.
Abstract:
More than sixteen hundred English Catholic books were published between 1558 and 1640 and disseminated among the minority English Catholic population, both in England and abroad. This literature, while largely devotional in content, also served broader objectives. Using a few case studies, this talk will look beyond the devotional purposes of these books by exploring the wider political implications of their publication and dissemination. In particular, this paper will examine the relationship between text and dedication, and will seek to place this seemingly devotional literature in the context of religion, politics and loyalty to the crown in sixteenth and early seventeenth century England.
