The Sacred and the Secular, as Evinced by English Printed Responses to the Death of William III in 1702

Nicholas Tyacke

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Chapter 12 The Sacred and the Secular, as Evinced by English Printed Responses to the Death of William III in 1702

In: Researching the English Reformation

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Nicholas Tyacke

Nicholas Tyacke
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 210–235

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004738355_013

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Abstract

This essay revisits the secularization thesis as originally advanced by the French historian Paul Hazard, with reference to late seventeenth century Europe, and recently revived in the debate between Tony Claydon and Steven Pincus about the ‘godly’ rule of William III. Focusing on the funeral sermons and poems generated by death of the king in 1702, it is argued here that a characteristic idiom at the time was in fact politico-religious, exemplified by the invocation of ‘providence,’ and deployed by members of the laity, like Daniel Defoe, as well as clergy. Thus the idea of resisting tyranny, whether domestically in the person of James II or abroad as represented by the armies of Louis XIV, frequently had a biblical dimension. Dissenters were prominent in the propagation of such views, but so too was Bishop Gilbert Burnet who described King William as ‘the man of God’s right hand.’ This way of thinking more generally can also be shown to have remained very much alive under Queen Anne, notably in the many sermons and poems celebrating the military victories of the Duke of Marlborough.

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Researching the English Reformation

Essays in Honour of W.B. Patterson

Series: Anglican-Episcopal Theology and History, Volume: 15

Cover Researching the English Reformation

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004738355

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 26 Sep 2025

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Front Matter

Introduction

Part 1 Historiography, I: Reformation England

Part 2 Within and beyond Early Modern England

Part 3 Negotiating Monarchy

Part 4 Historiography, II: Victorian Reformation

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Chapter 12 The Sacred and the Secular, as Evinced by English Printed Responses to the Death of William III in 1702

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Researching the English Reformation

Essays in Honour of W.B. Patterson

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