Thanksgiving in America celebrates the first arrival of a band of Puritans in the New World in 1620, having survived an arduous sea passage from England in a vessel called The Mayflower.
These Pilgrim Fathers had a distinct ambition of founding a godly kingdom on earth, away from the profane society which – in their eyes - the Church of England tolerated.
Departure of the ‘Mayflower’, 1620; British School. Photo credit: Southampton City Art Gallery
Puritans needed to band together with other ‘godly’ people to stiffen their resolve against temptation. They sought to fortify their own individual bond or ‘covenant’ with God by making a communal bond. According to theologian Richard Rogers, who wrote an early Puritan book called “Seven Treatises” (published in 1603), it was necessary to form into groups “for our reprooving, exhorting, and comforting one another”.
From this notion grew the idea of having closed, ‘restricted’ or ‘particular’ congregations. In English society, the Anglican parish church had to be open to everyone within its boundaries; the church was a cornerstone of governance and a vehicle of social control. But Puritans were not happy to be lumped together with bawdy, swearing, lewd people who made no effort to improve themselves. They formed closed groups, from which persistent sinners could be expelled.
Puritans exhorted one another to keep a diary – a daily record of their personal failings and struggles against temptation - in the hope of seeing a gradual elevation of moral standards through prayer and penance. They aimed to forge bonds with others doing the same.
Boston: Pilgrim Fathers aboard the Mayflower (British Railways Poster Artwork) by Lance Cattermole (1898-1992). Photo credit: National Railway Museum/Science and Society Picture Library
Reading extracts from Puritan diaries, it’s easy to see how they struggled against their own fun-loving drives and desires.
In “Religious Experiencia”, Mayflower Pilgrim John Winthrop describes making a resolution to be a better man:
“ …My heart beganne to breake, and my worldly delights which had heald my heart in such slaverye before, beganne to be distastefull and of meane account with me, I concluded with prayer in teares; and so to my family exercise, and then to Churche, my heart beinge still somewhat humbled under Gods hand, yet could not get at libertie from my vaine pleasures.”
Once again you provide new insights into the Puritan world. I hadn’t appreciated the meaning of ‘particular’ in the sense of being a ‘closed’, ‘restricted’ group or that they maintained the right to be exclusive or excluding. As Monique points out, this has a modern day parallel in the ‘Cancel’ culture, the social control of ideological opponents that is prevailing among university/fringe millennials.
The use of diaries seems to have a parallel in the Catholic confessional but as a ‘self confessional’ it offers no reward of forgiveness once the confession is made. My grandmother, born and baptised a Protestant, possibly but attracted to Christian Science, used to keep a diary. It seemed to help her to self manage in the absence of her parents or siblings and on the flyleaf, she would write uplifting quotes as well as exhortations to optimism: “Each day, week, month & year is a new chance given by God, a new leaf, a new life, that is the gift which each day offers you.” And “It does no good to brood over our troubles; it does not help matters out a bit. Be on the look out for bright rays, and you will certainly find them.” (1913 Diary AMP©) After she married my grandfather, he discouraged her from keeping a diary, I have no idea why.
Oh, I’m shocked and saddened that your grandfather discouraged his wife from diary-keeping. Maybe he saw it as too introspective? My grandmother likewise kept a book of uplifting quotes, some handwritten, some cut out of magazines and newspapers. I find them – on the whole – trite and annoying, but I concede that research by psychologists has shown that “always look on the bright side of life” and other such maxims do actually fit with the science.
Yes. I was a bit shocked too. I wondered whether he felt she would not need to talk to a diary when she had him as a sounding board. But to the modern eye it does feel a bit controlling. Maybe having grown up with servants about and now living in close proximity to his office employees and servants, he was only to aware of how their inner secrets might be revealed to others.
I know what you mean about some of the quotes being quite trite.
Thank you Jo, you are always educating us. Like Monique, I hadn’t fully understood the communal self-seclusion of the Puritans in quite the way you indicate here. And the almost impossible task of the internal wrestling with one’s own human tendencies – which we all experience in one way or another – is so movingly expressed in your choice of quotation.
Having learned from you, previously, something of the varieties of non-conformism, I was roused from slumbering with the radio on, one early morning recently by the word “Baptist” in Prayer for the Day. I had to go back to find it and listen in full. I hope you enjoy it! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0011lgh
There is also a programme about the Mayflower, “Behind the Myth” on BBC4 tonight, which I intend to watch. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084fmgq
And I do love that beautiful British Railways Poster!
“Behind the Myth” is excellent – I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I will have a listen to that Prayer for the Day. I’m glad you like the poster! Art UK is a fantastic source of artwork which can be used without cost, and it’s a great pleasure to browse through, looking for the best fit for the blog. The only danger is getting lost in the beautiful artwork and forgetting that I’m actually looking for something specific.
As with many of your blogs, Huguenot Jo, this was a revelatory insight into an aspect of the Puritans that I didn’t know about. While I was vaguely aware that they had a certain attitude towards sinners, I didn’t realise that they were different to the Anglicans in the way that they could physically exclude those they deemed sinners. It is a classic way of exerting control and reminiscent perhaps of the way in which today those with strong views especially on the internet are working to silence those who don’t agree with them. I was also fascinated by the use of a daily diary and loved the extract you quoted for its language if not entirely for its sentiments. The role of religion in society is endlessly interesting as was demonstrated by this week’s Start the Week on R4.
Yes! Start the Week was brilliant – link here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0011rsf
Here’s the link to Elle Hardy’s book Beyond Belief: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Belief-Elle-Hardy/dp/1787385531/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13PL4ULAL42VZ&keywords=elle+hardy+beyond+belief&qid=1637702323&sprefix=elle+hardy%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1