History of the Puritans under King James I

The reign of King James I of England (1603–1625) saw the continued rise of the Puritan movement in England, which had begun during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). During this period, Puritans continued to clash with the authorities of the Church of England. These tensions contributed to the later alienation of Anglicans and Puritans in the 17th century under King Charles I (1625–1649). This alienation and conflict eventually helped lead to the English Civil War (1642–1651), the brief rule of the Puritan Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658), the English Commonwealth (1649–1660), and, in time, political, religious, and civil liberties that later became important in English-speaking countries.

King James was raised in Scotland under strict Scottish Calvinist tutors such as George Buchanan, who tried to shape him as a committed Protestant ruler. After he became king of both England and Scotland, James wanted to keep the Church of England firmly under royal control and under the authority of bishops, continuing the pattern established under Elizabeth. He believed strongly in the Divine right of kings and even wrote about this doctrine. As a result, he continued to resist many Puritan aims, especially their Congregationalist and Presbyterian ideas about church government. At the same time, James knew that he needed Puritans to support the Protestant cause in England and to strengthen the kingdom’s religious, intellectual, and economic life. For that reason, he sometimes promoted Puritan pastors, scholars, and members of the gentry to influential positions, as Elizabeth had done, when they were willing to work within the Anglican system and accept episcopal authority. Because of this, the Puritan movement continued to grow and spread throughout England during his reign.

The Puritan movement was also affected by the three Archbishops of Canterbury who served under James. John Whitgift (1583–1604), appointed by Elizabeth, tried hard to suppress Puritanism. Richard Bancroft (1604–1610), who oversaw the early stages of the King James Bible, also opposed further Puritan reforms, but increasingly had to rely on Puritans because of the threat from Catholics. George Abbot (1611–1633) was often friendly toward Puritans and their reforming aims, and he promoted them to important church and academic positions. For this reason he was sometimes called “the Puritan Archbishop.”

One of the greatest joint achievements of Puritans and Anglicans in this period was the translation of the King James Bible (1611), often seen as one of the major literary and theological works of the English-speaking world. It was also during James’s reign that Puritans and Anglicans cooperated at the Synod of Dordt (1618–1619), an international Reformed council that produced the Canons of Dordt in defence of the Five Points of Calvinism against Arminianism. During the same reign, a separatist group within the broader Reformed world broke away from the Church of England and formed the Plymouth Colony (1620) in America, under leaders such as William Bradford and William Brewster. These developments show both the wide influence of Puritanism at the time and the different ways Puritans responded to royal authority: some, such as William Perkins, Master of Emmanuel College, worked within the established church; others, such as William Ames, left England and spent much of their careers in places like Holland.

The English Puritan movement, which had started under Elizabeth and grew under James, sought to push the Reformation in the Church of England further, to remove all remaining Roman Catholic influence, and to promote the interests of the English crown and people under a united Protestant confession that followed the Bible and Reformed theology closely. This Puritan vision, developed in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, would later lead to the Westminster Assembly and the Westminster Standards, including the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Shorter Catechism, the Larger Catechism, and the Directory for Public Worship.

Under James I of England, the Puritan movement and the conforming Church of England lived side by side within a generally accepted system of episcopal Protestant religion. This balance was disturbed toward the end of his reign by several developments: the doctrinal decisions of the Synod of Dort, political arguments over the Spanish Match soon after the start of the Thirty Years' War, and shifts within the Church of England away from strict Calvinism. Separatists who had never accepted James’s religious settlement began to migrate to New England from the Netherlands as well as from England.

The Millenary Petition (1603) and the Hampton Court Conference (1604)

Queen Elizabeth I died in March 1603 and was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, who had been King of Scots since the abdication of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1567, when he was only one year old. James had little contact with his mother and was brought up by guardians in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. John Knox had led the Scottish Reformation from 1560, and the Church of Scotland resembled the kind of church many English Puritans wanted. In his 1599 book Basilikon Doron, James had written harshly about Puritans, but his comments were mainly directed at the more extreme elements, and many Puritans hoped that he might still agree to moderate reforms.

In 1603, Puritan ministers organised a petition to the new king. This petition became known as the Millenary Petition, because it was signed by about 1,000 Puritan ministers. The Petition was careful not to attack the king’s royal supremacy in the Church of England, but it called for various reforms to remove ceremonies seen as popish. It complained about the use of the sign of the cross in baptism, which Puritans regarded as superstitious; it questioned the rite of confirmation, since it is not found explicitly in the Bible; it opposed the practice of baptism by midwives, which Puritans thought reflected a superstitious fear that unbaptised infants could not go to heaven; it objected to the exchanging of rings during marriage, again as unscriptural and superstitious; it criticised the ceremonial bowing at the Name of Jesus in worship; it attacked the requirement that clergy wear the surplice because it was not mentioned in Scripture; and it questioned the custom of clergy living in the church building.

The Petition also argued that each parish should have a preaching minister, rather than one who only read services from the Book of Common Prayer. Against Archbishop John Whitgift’s policy that clergy must subscribe to the Book of Common Prayer and use the prescribed vestments, the Petition claimed that ministers should be required to subscribe only to the Thirty-Nine Articles and to the royal supremacy. Finally, it called for the end of episcopacy and the introduction of a Presbyterian system of church government. The Petition was presented to James at Leicester so that he would not be influenced beforehand by the bishops.


James, who enjoyed theology and theological debate, agreed to hold a conference at Hampton Court Palace where supporters and critics of the Petition could present their views. After being delayed by an outbreak of the plague, the Hampton Court Conference met in January 1604. The king chose four Puritan representatives: John Rainolds, president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford; Laurence Chaderton, master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge; Thomas Sparke; and John Knewstubs. Archbishop Whitgift led the opposing side, made up of eight bishops, including his protégé Richard Bancroft, Bishop of London, seven deans, and two other clergymen.

On 14 January James met only with Whitgift’s party. On 16 January he met with the Puritans. That day ended badly for the Puritans when Rainolds mentioned their proposal to set up presbyteries in England. James saw this as an attempt to weaken his authority in the church and famously declared, “No bishop, no king!” He then ended the session early. On 18 January he first met Whitgift’s group and a number of ecclesiastical lawyers, and then summoned the Puritans to hear his decisions. James ruled that the Book of Common Prayer would remain in use and that there would be no general provision for a preaching ministry. However, he agreed to some limited changes: references to baptism by midwives were to be removed; the word “absolution”, which Puritans associated with the Catholic sacrament of penance, was to be replaced by the phrase “remission of sins”; the term “confirmation” was to be replaced by “laying on of hands” to distance it from Catholic sacramental theology; and a few other minor changes were accepted. James also agreed to support the Puritan proposal for a new authorised English translation of the Bible, which led to the translation and publication of the Authorized King James Version in 1611.

Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1604–1610

After the death of John Whitgift, James chose Richard Bancroft as Archbishop of Canterbury. Bancroft had argued against the Puritans at Hampton Court, and his appointment signalled that no major reforms would follow. Soon after, Bancroft presented a new book of canons to the Convocation of the English Clergy. These canons received royal approval and so became part of the Church of England’s canon law. However, the Parliament of England, which had passed the Act of Uniformity approving the Book of Common Prayer in 1559, claimed that Parliament, not Convocation, had power to make new canon law. Puritans argued that the bishops were trying to increase their own power at Parliament’s expense. In the end, James gave way to Parliament and withdrew the canons. The 1604 Parliament marks the first time that Puritans clearly allied themselves with Parliament against the bishops, a pattern that would become increasingly important in English politics and later in the English Civil War.

After the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, anti-Catholic feeling became especially intense. Since Puritans were often the most outspoken opponents of Catholics, they gained some influence in this climate. Even so, Bancroft continued to block their main reform proposals.

George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1611–1633


When Archbishop Bancroft died in 1610, James appointed George Abbot as his successor. James was at this time reintroducing bishops into the Church of Scotland, though with less power than bishops elsewhere, functioning mainly as permanent chairmen of presbyteries. In 1608 Abbot had impressed James when he went to Scotland with George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar as part of efforts to bring the English and Scottish churches closer together, and James had made him Bishop of Lichfield in 1609. His promotion to Archbishop of Canterbury was intended to support James’s project of church unity between England and Scotland.

All Archbishops of Canterbury since Matthew Parker had been broadly Calvinist, but Abbot is often seen as “the Calvinist Archbishop” or “the Puritan Archbishop.” He came closer than any other Archbishop of Canterbury to openly supporting Puritan reforms. The main point on which he differed from most Puritans was episcopacy: Abbot was a strong defender of apostolic succession and the authority of bishops in the Church of England.

The King James or Authorized Version of the Bible, 1611

In 1611 the King James, or Authorized, Version of the English Bible, begun in 1604, was published. It was officially an Anglican project, but many Puritan scholars helped with the work. It was first printed by Robert Barker, the King’s Printer. It was the third English translation approved by Church authorities, following the Great Bible of King Henry VIII’s reign (1535) and the Bishops’ Bible from Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1568). At the Hampton Court Conference in January 1604, the idea of a new translation had been raised in response to Puritan criticism of existing translations; many Puritans preferred the Geneva Bible. Over time, the King James Version gradually replaced the Geneva Bible among Puritans. The King James Bible became famous for its “majesty of style” and is often described as one of the most important books in English culture and a major influence on the English-speaking world.

The Book of Sports controversy, 1617

In England it had long been common for Sunday mornings to be used for Christian worship, followed by sports and games in the afternoon. Puritans strongly objected to Sunday sports, believing that playing games on the Sabbath broke the Fourth Commandment. Their Sabbatarian views became stricter than those of most other European Reformed churches.


In the early 17th century, Puritans gained influence in several localities and managed to ban Sunday sports. In 1617, in Lancashire, there was a sharp conflict between Puritans and local gentry (many of whom were Catholic recusants) over this issue. In response, Thomas Morton, Bishop of Chester, asked King James to issue a ruling.

James replied with the Book of Sports, a royal declaration stating that some Sunday sports were lawful and others were not. Criticising the “puritans and precise people,” it allowed activities such as archery, dancing, “leaping, vaulting, or any other such harmless recreation,” but forbade bear-baiting, bull-baiting, theatrical “interludes,” and bowling. The king ordered all Anglican clergy to read the declaration to their congregations, but Archbishop Abbot refused to support this and directed his clergy not to read the Book of Sports.

The Five Articles of Perth, 1618

In 1618, King James put forward the Five Articles of Perth, which required the Scottish church to adopt several English practices. The Articles required kneeling at Communion, allowed private baptism, allowed reservation of the sacrament for the sick, reserved the rite of confirmation to a bishop, and required the Church of Scotland, which had abolished all holy days, to observe certain holy days again.

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland eventually accepted the Five Articles, but a large minority of Scottish Presbyterians opposed them. To English Puritans, these measures looked like a move in the wrong direction, towards more ceremonial worship and away from simplicity.

The Pilgrims and the planting of Plymouth Colony, 1620

In 1620 a group of Puritan separatists, later known as the Pilgrims, crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower and established Plymouth Colony. They were led by governor William Bradford and church elder William Brewster. These Pilgrims had originally belonged to the Puritan separatist movement in England and had faced religious pressure and persecution in the village of Scrooby, near East Retford in Nottinghamshire. In 1607, Archbishop Tobias Matthew raided their homes and imprisoned some members of the congregation. As a result, the congregation left England in 1609 and moved to the Netherlands, first to Amsterdam and then to Leiden.

In Leiden they enjoyed freedom of worship, but Dutch society was unfamiliar to them and they feared losing their English identity. They therefore planned to establish a colony in America. Their first settlement in Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a site previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. New Plymouth became the capital of the colony and eventually developed into the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony included most of what is now southeastern Massachusetts. It was one of the earliest successful English settlements in North America, alongside Jamestown and other Virginia settlements, and the first substantial permanent English settlement in New England.

The colony concluded a treaty with Chief Massasoit, which greatly helped its survival. The Pilgrims also received important help from Squanto, a member of the Patuxet tribe, who acted as interpreter and guide. In 1691 Plymouth Colony was merged with the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony (founded in 1628 under John Winthrop) and other territories to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

The Thirty Years' War and the controversy over the Spanish Match, 1623–1624

King James liked to think of himself as a peacemaker in Europe, and royal propaganda presented him as a new Solomon. In his view, the Church of England offered a model “middle way” that could be acceptable to both Protestants and Catholics.


James believed that the Church of England represented a via media or middle way between Protestantism and Catholicism. When his son Charles was old enough to marry, James considered wedding him to a Catholic princess. The Thirty Years' War began in 1618, and many English Protestants demanded that James take military action on behalf of his Protestant son-in-law, Frederick V, Elector Palatine. James at first refused, but by 1620 he needed money for an expedition to help Frederick and so summoned Parliament for the first time since the 1614 Addled Parliament.

Led by Edward Coke, Parliament refused to grant adequate funds unless James promised that Charles would marry a Protestant. James insisted that Parliament had no right to interfere with royal prerogative. Parliament answered with a formal protest affirming its ancient rights. Under the influence of his favourite, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and the Spanish ambassador Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, James ordered this protest removed from the record and dissolved Parliament.

Buckingham became highly influential with both James and Prince Charles. In 1623 he persuaded the 23-year-old prince that England should ally with Spain and that Charles should marry a Spanish princess. Buckingham and Charles then travelled in disguise to Spain so that Charles could court Maria Anna of Spain, daughter of Philip III of Spain. This proposed marriage, known as the Spanish Match, was deeply unpopular with English Protestants and lent credibility to Puritan suspicions that there was a plot to bring England back to Catholicism. When James called another Parliament in 1623, the anti-Catholic feeling was so strong that it was clear Parliament would not support his policy.

In Spain, the authorities insisted that the marriage would only go ahead if Charles agreed to convert to Catholicism and to spend a year in Spain receiving Catholic instruction. Under these conditions, Charles broke off the negotiations in 1624. His return to England was greeted with public celebrations and treated almost as a national holiday.

After this failure, Charles favoured an alliance with France and war against Spain. At the largely Puritan 1624 Parliament, members impeached Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex, the minister most closely linked with support for the Spanish Match. The Parliament then agreed in principle to fund a war against Spain, although it did not actually provide the money needed.

The rise of the Arminian party and the New Gagg controversy (1624)

James remained a doctrinal Calvinist all his life. When the Quinquarticular Controversy broke out in the Dutch Republic after the death of Jacobus Arminius in 1609, he supported the Calvinist Gomarists against the Arminian Remonstrants. He personally chose the British delegates to the Synod of Dort in 1618 and agreed with its strongly Calvinist decisions.

However, as Puritans increasingly opposed his policies (over the Book of Sports, the Five Articles of Perth, the Spanish Match, and other issues), James began to look for churchmen who would support his more inclusive, ecumenical plans. Since Elizabeth’s reign there had been theologians in England who disliked the strict predestinarian views of high Calvinism associated with Theodore Beza and adopted by many Puritans. For example, Peter Baro, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, had resisted Archbishop Whitgift’s attempt to impose the Calvinistic Lambeth Articles on the Church of England in 1595. Some of Baro’s students at Cambridge, including Lancelot Andrewes, John Overall, and Samuel Harsnett, criticised rigid predestination in ways similar to Arminius. When James wanted allies against the Puritans, these theologians were willing, and although few of them were fully Arminian, Puritans soon began to label them the “Arminian party.”

In 1624, the Cambridge scholar Richard Montagu received royal permission to publish A New Gagg for an Old Goose. Written as a reply to a Catholic attack on the Church of England, Montagu’s book argued that the strict Calvinist positions under attack were held only by a small Puritan minority and that most clergy in the Church of England rejected high Calvinism. A New Gagg was a turning point in the history of Puritanism, because it was the first time Puritans were clearly identified with a particular set of doctrinal views (and not only with certain practices). George Carleton, Bishop of Chichester and a former English delegate to the Synod of Dort, was shocked to find that his own theological position was now being described as “Puritan.”

By the time James died in 1625, Puritanism had established itself in England as a powerful religious and political movement. Puritans influenced many English institutions and had spread to Holland and the American colonies, especially Plymouth Colony. They had also gained significant strength in Parliament. Under King Charles I the Puritan movement would become even more prominent and, for a time, would take control of the country through the English Commonwealth and the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War. But it was under James (1603–1625) that Puritanism gained major momentum.

Notable Puritan ministers

Many Puritan ministers and theologians during the reign of King James helped shape and expand the movement in England. Among the most important figures were Thomas Cartwright (1535–1603), a preacher, scholar, and controversialist who is often seen as the patriarch of Presbyterian Puritanism and is remembered for his disputations, letters, and his short commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians; Laurence Chaderton (1536–1640), the first Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, a translator of the King James Bible, who lived over a century and was widely regarded as a patriarch of Puritanism; and William Perkins (1558–1602), Master of Emmanuel College, one of the most prolific Puritan theologians and biblical expositors of the Elizabethan era, known especially for his “Golden Chain of Theology” and his commentary on Galatians, whose influence on later Puritanism was immense.

Other important figures included Richard Rogers (1550–1618), fellow of Emmanuel College, noted for strong biblical preaching and for his “Seven Treatises” on the Christian life; John Knewstub (1544–1624), preacher and scholar, a Puritan representative at the Hampton Court Conference and a Presbyterian-leaning but moderate Puritan; and Arthur Hildersham (1563–1632), a key promoter of the Millenary Petition and a noted nonconformist preacher. The Scottish scholar Andrew Melville (1545–1622), a leading Reformed theologian and church reformer after John Knox, also played a role in shaping the wider Reformed world and attracted many continental scholars to study at Glasgow and St Andrews.

John Dod (1549–1645) was a noted nonconformist preacher and biblical expositor, famous for his “Exposition of the Ten Commandments,” which earned him the nickname “Decalogue Dod.” George Abbot (1562–1633), Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633 and a translator of the King James Bible, acted as a partial protector of Puritan interests inside the Church of England. John Rogers (1570–1636), sometimes called “Roaring John Rogers,” was known for his fiery sermons. John Rainolds (1549–1607) was a leading Puritan scholar of the King James era, the most prominent Puritan at the Hampton Court Conference, and a major contributor to the King James Bible. Paul Baynes (1573–1616), a friend of William Perkins, was famed for his powerful preaching and his exposition of Ephesians.

Stephen Egerton (1555–1621) was one of the ministers chosen to present the Millenary Petition to King James in 1603. Henry Ainsworth (1571–1622), one of the period’s greatest Old Testament scholars and an avowed Congregationalist, is remembered for his “Annotations on the Pentateuch.” Henry Airay (1560–1616), a moderate Puritan, was known for his preaching and his commentary on Philippians. Robert Parker (1564–1614), a separatist Puritan praised by Cotton Mather as one of the greatest scholars and theologians of his time, left England for Holland because of persecution.

Nicholas Byfield (1579–1622) was a leading Puritan preacher and an important promoter of strict Sabbath observance, best known for his commentary on Colossians. William Pemble (1591–1623), a scholar and theologian and reader at Magdalene College, helped form Puritan thinking in the universities. John Robinson (1575–1625), pastor of the Pilgrims before their departure on the Mayflower, became an early leader of English Separatism and is often regarded, along with Robert Browne, as one of the founders of Congregationalist church government.

John Preston (1587–1628), who succeeded Laurence Chaderton as Master of Emmanuel College, was considered one of the most Christ-centred preachers of his time and wrote influential devotional works such as “The Breastplate of Faith and Love.” Robert Bolton (1572–1631) was a noted preacher and scholar, author of pastoral and devotional writings including “Directions for a Comfortable Walk with God.” William Ames (1576–1633), a strict Puritan and student of William Perkins, became one of the era’s greatest theologians through his work “The Marrow of Sacred Divinity.” A convinced Congregationalist, he migrated to Holland because of persecution and became connected with the Pilgrims.

Richard Sibbes (1577–1633), a moderate Puritan who remained within the Church of England, was famous for his warm, devotional preaching and biblical exposition; his book “The Bruised Reed” became a classic of Puritan spirituality. Thomas Taylor (1576–1633) was a powerful preacher and leader in the movement, known especially for his exposition of Titus. Samuel Ward (1577–1648), Master of Emmanuel College and student of Perkins, served as a delegate of the Church of England to the Synod of Dort.

Richard Bernard (1568–1641), a moderate Puritan, wrote an influential handbook for ministers entitled “The Faithful Shepherd” and a popular allegory, “The Isle of Man,” which greatly influenced John Bunyan and his Pilgrim’s Progress. Henry Jacob (1563–1624), a separatist Puritan associated with the Brownists and Congregationalism, became a friend and associate of John Robinson. John Downame (1572–1652), a London preacher and theologian who later worked closely with the Westminster Assembly, is remembered for works like “A Sum of Sacred Divinity” and “A Guide to Godliness.”

John Davenant (1572–1641), a respected Anglican scholar and moderate Calvinist, became bishop of Salisbury in 1621 and also served as an English delegate to the Synod of Dort. Though not always counted as a Puritan, his learning and conciliatory spirit influenced Puritan thought. He is especially known for his commentary on Colossians and for his “Dissertation on the Death of Christ,” in which he argued that Christ’s atonement was sufficient for all and effective for the elect: “Christ died sufficiently for all men, and effectually for His elect.” John White (1575–1648), a preacher and scholar chosen for the Westminster Assembly, helped obtain charters for the New England Company and the Massachusetts Bay Company and so played a key role in Puritan colonising ventures that led to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Daniel Rogers (1573–1652), a student of William Perkins, became known for his practical and devotional preaching and his book “Matrimonial Honor.” William Gouge (1575–1653), a prominent preacher and theologian and member of the Westminster Assembly, wrote many works including “Domestical Duties” and a large commentary on Hebrews. Richard Stock (1569–1626), one of the Puritan founders of the Feoffees for Impropriations, served as pastor and tutor to the future poet John Milton. Thomas Gataker (1574–1654), scholar and theologian, was also a member of the Westminster Assembly and a close associate of Richard Stock.

References

Further reading

Bremer, Francis. Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford. 
Brown, John. The English Puritans: The Rise and Fall of the Puritan Movement. Christian Heritage. 
Coffey, John and Paul C. H. Lim (2008). The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism. Cambridge University Press. 
Emerson, Everett (1968). English Puritanism from John Hooper to John Milton.
Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (1895). The First Two Stuarts and the Puritan Revolution. New York: C. Scribner's Sons.
Haller, William (1938). The Rise of Puritanism. Columbia University Press. 
Lewis, Peter (1977). The Genius of Puritanism. 
Neal, Daniel (1844). The History of the Puritans. New York: Harper. 
Packer, J. I. A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Crossway. 
Spurr, John. English Puritanism, 1603–1689. Macmillan. 

Category:17th-century Protestantism

Category:James VI and I