[Milton-L] John Lilburne seminar

[Jerome de Groot]

London Renaissance Seminar
Birkbeck College, University of London
24 October 2009

On 25 October 1649, the charismatic Leveller leader John Lilburne was
dramatically acquitted of treason following a high profile trial at London's
Guildhall. The decision was greeted by jubilant crowds and celebratory
bonfires, and was quickly commemorated by a medal which explained that
Lilburne had been 'saved by the power of the Lord and the integrity of the
jury'. In the 360 years since that trial, Lilburne has become one of the
seventeenth century's most well-known characters, and one of few
contemporaries who have been capable of taking centre stage in both academic
and popular histories of the civil wars. However, Lilburne was a flagrant
self-publicist, who did much to mythologize his own story, while since his
death 'Freeborn John' has been made into a hero for a range of more or less
incompatible political causes. For Lilburne, more than for most of his
contemporaries, it is vital to try and separate myth from reality, and to
explore how his reputation has been made and moulded since the 1640s. This
event will contribute to this process by reconsidering Lilburne's 1649
trial, and by thinking about its importance for enhancing our understanding
the life and times of this most controversial character.  

Speakers:

Ted Vallance, Phil Baker, Rachel Foxley, Jason Peacey, Jerome de Groot

Details: Jerome.degroot at manchester.ac.uk



 

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