The divine right of kings tears at 17th-century England. Affairs of church and state are inextricably mingled, political corruption is cloaked in religious garments and religious institutions are riddled with political treachery.
Repression whets the appetite for free speech, uncensored publication and intellectual exploration.
Religious-political factions clash amid efforts to restore Catholicism as the state religion. At mid-century unrest spawns England's civil wars. Book burnings, widespread desecration of holy places and the pillaging of ancient estates ravage the country. Andrewes is the esteemed translator of the King James Bible, completed in 1611, and the erudite cleric whose brilliant sermons make him the favorite of James I. Twenty years after his death, in a much changed political scene, Andrewes' writings are resurrected and used by the champions of divine right. And in this changed setting, Milton blooms.