The History of Cobbett's "A History of the Protestant "Reformation' "

Author(s): Peter J. Manning

Source: Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 3/4 (2001), pp. 429-443
Published by: University of California Press
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The Historyof Cobbett's

A Historyof theProtestant"Reformation"
PETERJ. MANNING

y title points both to the view of historyand history-writingin

to the
WilliamCobbett'sHistoryof theProtestant
"Reformation"and
publishinghistoryof thework;at thecloseof theessayI willsuggest
thatthedetailsof thepublishinghistoryreplaythewiderhistorywithwhichthe
workdeals.Letme beginwith a conciserestatement,
by StevenOzment,of the
traditional
wisdomconcerningthe Reformation:

-M

as
Luther,a theologian,was fond of describingthe Reformation
theworkof God'sWord.Howevertruethatmayhavebeen,it was
certainlythe deedof theprintedword.As Lutheralsorecognized,
the printing press made it possible for a little mouse like
Wittenbergto roarlike a lion acrossthe lengthand breadthof
Europe.... ProtestantseagerlymultipliedvernacularBiblesand
literacyso
urgedthatall boysandgirlsbe educatedto vernacular
thattheycouldreadthe Bibledirectlyandmodeltheirliveson it.
in Scripture
Protestant
reformers
envisioneda laityknowledgeable
as the backboneof freeChristiancommonwealths.
Nowherewas
this truerthan in England....By 1538,Englishparsonswererein theirparishes"forevery
quiredto makeEnglishBiblesavailable
manthatwill look andreadthereon."The idealof universalvernacularliteracypersistedamongProtestants....Wasthe medium
more importantthan the message?It has been arguedthat the
printingpresswaslessthe instrumentof Protestantsuccessthan
the Reformation
the creationof the printingpress.'
This essay grew from talks delivered at a panel of the American Conference on Romanticism in October 1998
and at Simon FraserUniversity in February 1999. I should like to thank the organizers,Julie Carlson and
Stephen Collis, for their invitations, encouragement, and criticism.
1.

Steven Ozment, TheAge ofReform, 1250-155o (New Haven, Conn., 1980), 199-203, passim.

HUNTINGTON

LIBRARY QUARTERLY -

64.3 & 4

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" 429

430
0
430

PETER
PETER J.
MANNING
J. MANNING

in the earlyyearsof
The "affinity
betweenliteracy,printing,andProtestantism
the Reformation"
wasviewedentirelydifferentlyby LucienFebvreand HenriJeanMartinin theirmonumentalTheComingof theBook:
We must,of course,be carefulnot to ascribeto the bookor even
of
too importanta rolein thebirthanddevelopment
thepreacher
the Reformation.It would be wrongto regardpropaganda
and
as the maincauseof suchdevelopments.It is not
propagandists
intention
to revivethe ridiculousthesis that the
of
our
part
wasthe childof the printingpress.2
Reformation
Afterthis bracingbeginningit is somewhatanticlimacticto find Febvreand
Martinconcedinga few sentencesonwardthatafterall "booksplayeda critical
in the i6th Century,"but theiracpartin the developmentof Protestantism
knowledgmentindicateshow directlyWilliamCobbett'scombativeHistoryof
in his title, "Reformation"
is in scarequotestheProtestant"Reformation"
speaksto issuesof printculture.
When in 1824 Cobbettbeganthe seriesof monthlylettersthat became
A Historyof theProtestant
"it wasnot fromantiquarian
interest.
"Reformation,
I
have
The
The title of StevenOzment'sbook,fromwhich
justquoted, Ageof
that
the
eras
of theReformation
indicates
the
and
fortuitously
pairs
Reform,
logic
owntimes.Tothosewhoworkon early-nineteenth-century
Cobbett's
Britain,the
of
Reform"
the
between
the
defeat
of
Napoleonandthe
"Age
designates period
passageof thefirstReformBillin 1832.If the fierceconflictsof the Reformation
thathadremainedin theinconcernedtheaccessof thepeopleto theScriptures
controlof authority,
theconflictsof thenineteenthcenturyturnedon
terpretive
the people'sgainingaccessto the politicalpowerthat,in the unreformed
House
of Commons,remained
class.If thelocus
largelyin thehandsof theland-owning
of sixteenth-century
reformhadbeenthevernacular
the
Bible, meansof reform
continuedwithstillgreaterandmorewidelyspreadforcein thenineteenthcenthe tract,the book.
tury:the broadside,the pamphlet,the newspaper,
As Britishdebateoverthe FrenchRevolutionwascarriedout throughbattles overthe interpretationof the PuritanRevolutionof 1640and the expulsion of KingJamesin 1688,mostnotoriouslyin EdmundBurke's
on
Reflections
theRevolution
in France(1790),so the tumultuouscontemporary
questionof
a subsetof the generalquestionof the entryinto the
CatholicEmancipation,
politicalcommunityof thoseoutsidethe establishment,
reopenedthe contests
over the TudorReformation-that simultaneouslyreligiousand political
2.

LucienFebvreand Henri-JeanMartin,TheComingof theBook:TheImpactofPrinting,145o-1800,

trans.David Gerard(London,1976),z88.

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THE HISTORY OF COBBETT'S "HISTORY"

431

of Englandthathaddefinedthenationpreciselyas not-Catholic.
Bills
reshaping
for the Emancipationof Catholicshad passedin the Houseof Commonsin
in
1821and againin 1825,only to be defeatedby ProtestantConstitutionalists
the House of Lords.When Cobbett,followingchieflythe RomanCatholic
historianJohn Lingard,undertooka popularhistoryof the Reformation,he
abandoninto a centralcontroversyoverthe true
steppedwith characteristic
natureof England.3
"HereI hadsignedmyname,andwasaboutto putthedate,"Cobbettwrote
at the conclusionof the introductionto the secondvolumeof the Historyof the
Protestant
(1827):
"Reformation"
It wason its wayfrommy mindto my hand,whenI stoppedmy
handall at once andexclaimed:"GoodGod!The ninth of July!
in a
The anniversary
of my sentenceof two years'imprisonment
felon'sgaol,witha fineof a thousandpoundsto the King,and,at
the end of the two years,with sevenyears'bail, myselfin three
thousandpoundsand two wuretiesin a thousandpoundseach;
and all this monstrouspunishmentfor havingexpressedmy indignationat Englishmenhavingbeen flogged,in the heartof
England,undera guardof Germantroops!GoodGod!"exclaimed
I again:"What!Am I, on the anniversary
of thatday,whichcalled
forththeexultationof theHampshire
parsons,who (thoughI had
nevercommittedany offence,in privatelife, againstany one of
them)crowedout aloud,in thefulnessof theirjoy,'Ha!He'sgone
forever!He will nevertroubleus anymore!'Andwho, in a spirit
of theircorps,actuallyhad,asa standingtoast,
trulycharacteristic
of Cobbett."-What" exclaimedI
"Disgraceto the MEMORY
I
on
"and
am
the
of thatveryday,puttingthe
anniversary
again,
finishinghand;yea,sendingfromundermyfingersto thepress,the
last,theverylastwords,thecompletingwords,theclosingpointof
a work,whichdoestheJOBforthemandforall theirtribe;of the
formerpartof whichwork,I myself,havesold fortythousand
copies,containingsixhundredandfortythousandNumbers;and
whichworkis nowsoldin English,in twoStereotyped
Editionsin
the UnitedStatesof America;whichworkhasbeenpublishedat
Madridandat NewYorkin Spanish,at Paris,GenevaandAlostin
andat Romein Italian;andallthis
French,at Colognein German,
3.

John Lingard (1771-1851), born at Winchester, educated at Douai, ordained priest in 1795, published the
firstthreevolumesof A HistoryofEnglandin 1819(completedin eightvolumes,1830).

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432
432

PETERJ.
PETER
MANNING
J. MANNING

tookplacejustaboutsixteenyearsaftertheseHampshireparsons

had taken for a standing toast: "Disgrace to the MEMORY of

Cobbett!"
And,then,feelinghealthandvigourin everyveinand
in everynerve;seeing,lyingbeforeme,manuscript
(equalto twenty
of
me
this
written
veryday;knowingthe effects,
by
pages print)
whichin theend,thatmanuscript
musthaveon theseparsons,and
thegreatgoodthatit mustdo to thenation;reflecting,
feeling,seeing, knowing,thus, it is, that I, in justiceto our pious,sincere,
and in compassionto my suffering
brave,and wise forefathers,
countrymen,andto the childrenof us all, sendthislittlevolume
forthto theworld.4
No readerwhohadcomethatfarcouldhavemistakenforsoberhistoryCobbett's
violentlypolemicalinsistence,as the title pagedeclared,that the Protestant
Reformation
had "impoverished
the mainbodyof the people";but werethere
sucha reader,sucha passage,in whichCobbettdramatizes
himselftriumphing
overimaginedpersecutors,
wouldhaveawakenedevenhim. In placeof the reflectionandpolishusualin the elevatedgenreof history,Cobbettoffersa vernacularimmediacyhoned by yearsof politicaljournalismand oratory.His
denunciationof the institutionof Anglicanism,and of the constitutionof the
modernstateundertheTudorsit signaled,hadbrokenout in theveryfirstpages
of thework:
Now,my friends,a fairandhonestinquirywill teachus, thatthis

was an alterationgreatlyfor the worse;that the "REFORMATION"

as

it is called,was engenderedin beastlylust, broughtforth in

hypocrisyandperfidy,andcherishedandfedby plunder,devastation, andby riversof innocentEnglishandIrishblood;andthat,
as to its moreremoteconsequences,
theyare,someof them,now
beforeus in thatmisery,thatbeggary,
thatnakedness,
thathunger,
thateverlasting
wranglingandspite,whichnowstareus in theface
andstunourearsat everyturn,andwhichthe "Reformation"
has
in
us
for
the
ease
and
and
and
given
exchange
happiness harmony
Christiancharity,enjoyedso abundantly,
andforso manyages,by
ourCatholicforefathers.
4)
(History,1:para.

4.

I quotefromWilliamCobbett,A Historyof theProtestant"Reformation"

in EnglandandIreland,2 vols.
(London,1829),2:para.52; hereaftercitedin the text as History.The typographicformatof the original
is still moredramatic.This passageis quotedby LeonoraNattrass,who devotesa chapter
part-publication
of her WilliamCobbett:ThePoliticsof Style(Cambridge,1995)to the History(pp. 157-82).
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THE HISTORY

OF COBBETT'S

"HISTORY"

C-

433

Cobbetthadreasonto be smug.A HistoryoftheProtestant

first
Reformation,

publishedbetween 1824and 1826in sixteenseparate"lettersaddressedto all sensible and just Englishmen,"at three pence apiece, reacheda circulation even
greaterthan Cobbett here boasts:by 1828the total sale in Englandhad reached
seven hundred thousand, a figurethat did not include printingsin Irelandand
abroadfrom Romaniato Venezuelato Australia;the salesin Americaalone were
said to exceed one hundredthousand.5Publishedin 1826as a book, the History
became, Cobbett claimedfour yearslater,"unquestionablythe book of greatest
circulationin the whole world, the Bible only excepted."6It has been steadily
availableever since, most often from Catholic publishersto whom Cobbett's
view of the harmoniesof medieval Catholic England is sympathetic,a fact to
which I will returnat the close of the essay.
No work, it has been said, did more to counter the long-standingEnglish
prejudice against Catholicism. But to the intent of the Historythat goal was
subsidiary.Across a long and diverse careerCobbett's test of the worth of a
society remainedconstant:the materialconditions of the working man. In the
Historyhe deliberatelyset againstthe emphasison politicaland religioushistory
in such progressiveEnlightenmentwritersas David Hume an alternatenarrative, a people'shistory:
The far greaterpart of those books, which are called "Historiesof
England,"arelittle betterthan romances.They treatof battles,negociations, intriguesof courts, amours of kings, queens and nobles: they contain the gossip and scandal of former times, and
very little else.... The greatuse of history,is, to teach us how laws,
usagesand institutionsarose,what weretheireffectson the people,
how they promoted public happiness, or otherwise; and these
things arepreciselywhat the greaterpart of historians,as they call
themselves,seem to think of no consequence.(History,i:para.38)7
The argumentof the History,reiteratedin a rhetoricas inventiveas it is vehement, is that plunderdrovethe Reformation.8The wealthof the Church,once
5.
6.
7.

8.

George Spater, William Cobbett:The Poor Mans Friend, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1982), 2:445.

WilliamCobbett,Adviceto YoungMen(1830;reprinted., Oxford,1982),3.

The term"people's
history"is most closelyassociatedwith the HistoryWorkshopgrouparoundRaphael
Samuel;I takeit fromA. L. Morton,A PeoplesHistoryof England(1958;rev.ed. London,1965).Fora
trenchantspecificationof the runningargumentCobbettconductsagainstHume'sHistoryof Great
Britain (1754-61), see Ian Dyck, William Cobbettand Rural Popular Culture (Cambridge, 1992), 127-35.

Scholarsunattunedto Cobbett'spoliticalaimsand targetaudiences,and to his oralstyleand inheritance

of the popularnarrativetraditionsof balladand chapbook,havebeen dismissiveof the rhetoricof the
History:James Sambrook calls it "unremittingly shrill" (William Cobbett [London, 1973], 136); and John

W Osbornefindsthe History"oneof [his]leastedifyingbooks"(WilliamCobbett[New Brunswick,N.J.,

1966], 216).
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434
434 . ^

PETER J.
MANNING
PETER
J. MANNING

devotedto servingthe poor,hadbeenpillaged,divertedinto privaterichesand

the creationof a classforeverafterattachedto the state.In placeof the network
of schools,monasteries,
of allsortsthathad
foundations
convents,andcharitable
onceaccommodated
the poorcamethe brutalities
of the Elizabethan
poorlaw,
its main assumptionsstill operativein the 1820s, until supplantedby what in

manywayswasthe stillharsherNew PoorLawof 1834.To Cobbett,theworker

hadaninalienable
bymedieval
rightto supportoutof theland,a rightrecognized
socialinstitutionsanddeniedeverafterward.
As he succinctlyput it: "Thereis
now no hospitalityin England.Wordshavechangedtheirmeaning.We now
to thosewho entertainus in return.Weentertainpeoplebegiveentertainment
causewe likethempersonally;
and,veryseldom,becausetheystandin needof
entertainment"
(History,1:para.183).The charitythatbounddonorandrecipient in a commonfaithhadbeenreplaced,Cobbettinsisted,by degradingpauperismon the one sideandresentmentof poorrateson the other.
"Itwas not a reformation,"
maintainedCobbett, "buta devastation,of
which
at
the
time
when this event took place, the happiest
was,
England,
country,perhaps,thatthe worldhadeverseen;andit is my chiefbusinessto
and degradedthe mainbody of the
shew,that this devastationimpoverished
people"(History,i:para.37).As RaymondWilliamsobservedfortyyearsagoin
a suggestivejuxtapositionof Cobbettwith EdmundBurke,it is "surprising"
how muchresponsibility
Cobbett,the bluffEnglishfarmer,bears"forthatidealizationof theMiddleAgeswhichis so characteristic
of nineteenth-century
social criticism."
The idealization,however,was a tacticratherthanan illusion,
even for Cobbett;as Williamssaw,Cobbettand Burkeboth "attackedthe
new Englandfromtheirexperienceof the old England,"and the attackdeservesmoreemphasisthanthe questionable
veracityof the historicalportrait.9
in
a
Cobbett
of
Catholicism
is
aid
precariousmaneuver,thoughhe
Enlisting
himselfsigneda presentationcopyof the Historyto PopePius8th:"Thepresent headof thatHoly Churchunderthe influenceof whichEnglandenjoyed
so manyagesof Plenty,Freedom,Happiness,and Renown...."10Ratherthan
conviction of Catholic truth, it was contempt for Utilitarians,political
as he derisivelylabeledthem,a Churchemeconomists,"Scotchfeelosofers,"
bodiedforhimin Malthus's
attitudesto thepoor,andtheentiresystemof funding, of tax-eaters,sinecurists,placemen,and boroughmongersthat drove
Cobbett."1"THE THING" was his all-inclusiveterm for the politicalmonsterof a

9.
Raymond Williams, Cultureand Society,1780-1950(London, 1958), 19, 4.
10. Radicalism, Reaction,and Reform,Jarndyce Catalogue 115,winter 1996-97, item 1927.
11. To fight the influence of the History,opponents quickly reprinted Cobbett's earlier anti-Catholic writings.
CobbettsBook of the Roman Catholic Church(London, 1825)culled excerpts from the Political Register;

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THE HISTORY

OF COBBETT'S

"HISTORY"

- 435

centralizingeconomyand expandingnationaldebt,whichenrichedinvestors
whileheavilytaxingthepoor to whom it deniedthe vote. "THEWEN,"as Cobbett
calledLondon,wasvisibleproofof themonster's
triumph.Involvedin Irishpoliticsandthe questionof CatholicEmancipation,
he wasso asa levertowardthe
generalreformto whichhe devotedhimself,and soon fell out with the Irish
Catholics."Wewantgreatalteration,but we want nothingnew,"he had announcedin theveryfirstcheapeditionof thePoliticalRegister;
castinghiscritique
of contemporary
societyin termsof allegianceto thepast,Cobbettevadedboth
the appealto coldabstractions
thatdividedhim fromthephilosophical
radicals
andthe potentialchargesof French-tainted
seditionthathis flagrantattackson
Churchandgovernment
otherwise
have
incurred.
might
thefoundinggesture
Cobbett's
HistoryoftheProtestant
"Reformation"assaults
of the modernEnglishstate.Byrepudiating
HenryVIIIandhis
papalauthority,
henchmenCranmerandCromwellmadethatstatethesolerepository
of power,
to
it
wealth
the
of
the
monasteries
intopripurchasing
allegiance bytransferring
vatehands;CobbettpresentsElizabeth
asforcingthenewreligionontothenewly
in
immiserated
to
order
secure
herown positionandthatof herallies;
populace
eversincethe injusticehadbeensustainedby the rapacityof the profiteers.
His
emphasis,as the openingpagesof his workdeclared,wasto tracethe "remote
of theinaugurating
actin theundeniable,
immediate"now"of the
consequences"
currentconditionof Englishworkers,the "Friends"
to whomeachletterwasaddressed.Idealization
of the pastwasthe gambitto initiatea demonstration
that
led to the present.
ForCobbett,Englishhistoryis a seriesof repetitions.
TheTudorReformation
the overthrow
of CharlesI: "Nowthen,thisProtestant
Churchand
engendered
ProtestantKinghad to learnthat 'reformations,'
like comets,havetails."For
the Puritansdemandedwas the
Cobbett,the "thoroughgodly Reformation"
publishedin fourpartsat 3p each,its pricemarkedits readershipas identicalto Cobbett'sprimaryaudience.Addressingitselfon the title pageto "allsensibleandjust Catholics,"and counselingthat the work
had beenpublishedin fourpartsso that "whileone branchof a familyis readingthe firstpart,another
branchmay be readingthe second,"the advertisement
madeexplicitthe battleforworking-classreaders:
"youshouldformyourselfinto littleparties,and purchaseit. Twelveof you shouldsubscribea penny
The advertisement
furtherdeclaredthatthe
each,and buy one CobbettsBookof the CatholicChurch."
was
to
the
"National
Schools
the
most
favorable
terms,"and had no objecpublisher ready supply
upon
tion "tothe Clergyreadingit, partby partfromtheirpulpits,insteadof a sermon."If the Bookof the
CatholicChurchexposedCobbett'shostilityto Catholicism,the quotationsfromthe PoliticalRegister
also
underscoredthe consistentagitationfor reformthat underlaythe tacticalreconsideration
of the
Reformation:"Itis the BoroughSystem,and theBoroughSystemalone,which has restoredthe Pope,the
Inquisition, and all the other causes of tyranny and persecution. BUT,IF ONCETHECHAPELOF

ST. STEPHEN'S WERE TO CONTAIN A SET OF MEN REALLY ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE KINGDOM-AWAY
WOULD GO POPE, MONKS,

AND LEGATES, AS I NOW SEE THE DEAD STICKS AND LEAVES FLYING BEFORE A

STIFFBREEZEFROMTHE NORTH" (Political Register32, 1,055;quotedin Book of the Catholic Church,3:41).

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436
436 -

PETER J.
MANNING
PETER
J. MANNING

"ifit wererightto confiscatethe estatesof

extensionof its precursor:
"natural"
the monasteries,
andto turnadrift,or put to death,the abbots,priors,monks,
friars,andnuns,afterhavingplunderedthe latterof eventhe ear-ringsandsilverthimbles,couldit be soverywrongto takeawaymerelythetitlesof thosewho
possessedthe plunderedproperty?"..."if...one of'good Bess's'parsonshad
ousteda priestof QueenMary"with the aid of Germanbayonets,couldthat
parson"havereasonablycomplained"if ousted in turn by "theeasy toe of
one of Cromwell's
soldiers?"
(History,
i:para.361).The "glogodlybible-reading
riousrevolution"
laudedby Burke,whichchasedJamesII fromthe throneand
in
hisplace,markedforCobbett"Reformation
William
theThird"and
brought
a greaterincursionintoEnglishcivillibertiesthantheStuartshadeverattempted:
"themomentthat this 'glorious'affairhad takenplace,that momentwas the
Dutch'deliverer'
to putin prison,andto keepthere,anyEnglishmen
authorized
thathe or his Ministersmightsuspect!But,whytalkof this?We ourselveshave
seenthis'secondGreatCharter'of Englishlibertysuspendedforsevenyearsat a
time."Recitingwith gleefulferocitythe provisionsof the suspensionof habeas
corpusin 1794,the GaggingActsof 1795,and the notoriousSixActsof 1819,
Cobbettclimaxes:"Allthiswe haveseendonein ourowndearProtestant
times,
whileourParliament
houseandourpulpitsringwithpraisesof the 'gloriousrevolution'that'delivered
us fromPoperyandslavery"'
(History,1:para.
389).
shown
that
"Reformation
the
the
called
'Glorious
Third,
Having
commonly
the Second,"Cobbettproceeded
Revolution,'grewdirectlyout of Reformation
in his nextletterto arguethat"Reformation
the Fourth,commonlycalled'the
AmericanRevolution,'grewdirectlyout of Reformationthe Third"(History,
war"Williamhadto borrowmoney;need
i:para.393).Tosupporthis"no-Popery
ledto thefoundingof theBankof England,a schemeCobbettlaysto thecharge
of BishopBurnet,and thus the institutionof thatsystemof publicdebt that
Cobbettparticularly
execrated-forhim it wasalwaysa systemof publicdebt,
neveran energizingmultiplication
of credit-which he tirelesslyattackedasthe
root causeof the increasinglyinequitabledistributionof wealthin his own
to LetterXIV"succinctlylaysout:"Originof Banksand
day.As the "Argument
BankNotes.HeavyTaxes,Excise,Septennial
Bill."Andthen,thecunningof hisCobbettjoyouslysetsforththe parallels
tory:"Attemptto taxtheAmericans."
betweenthearguments
usedto justifytheoverthrow
of JamesII andthoseof the
k
"Inshort,theydrewup, la 'glorious,'
Americans:
chargesagainsttheirprotestant
his
late
and
as
the
king,
Majesty;
chargesagainstJamesII. arefoundin anActof
so the chargesagainstGeorgeIII.arefoundin anAct of Congress,
Parliament,
the
on
memorable
comes
4th ofJuly,1776"(History,
passed
i:para.425).Tyranny
home to roostin the Revolutionthat costsBritaina majorcolony,and, in a

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THE HISTORY OF COBBETT'S "HISTORY"

' 437

turn of the wheel that Cobbett relished, the delayed after-effectsof a

warto "Extinguish
... the Catholicreligionfor ever"reseventeenth-century
in
the
service
of
that
that
andscorns
quired,
patriotism Cobbettbothexemplifies
asexploitationof thepoor,thatthe Britainof 1778,beleaguered
byanAmerican
rebellionsupportedby France,easethe penalsanctionsagainstthe Catholics:
"ThuswasFeargratifiedin a moment,at the veryfirstdemand,with a surrenderof thatwhichhadforagesbeenrefusedto the incessantpleadingsof Justice
andHumanity"(History,i:para.441).
Cobbett'srepetitivestyleis the vehicleof thisviewof historyas repetition.
The sequenceof revisionary
namingsthatturnsthedistincteventsof thePuritan
Interregnuminto Reformationthe second, the GloriousRevolutioninto
Reformationthe third,and the AmericanRevolutioninto Reformationthe
fourth,culminatesin "anotherstill greater;namely,the FRENCHREVOLUTION, or,
'Reformation'the FIFTH":

[T]heFrenchRevolutiontaughtthe worldwhat"Reformations"
cando, whenpushedto theirfull andnaturalextent.In England
the "Reformation"
contenteditselfwith plunderingthe convents
and the poor of theirall, and the secularclergyin part.But, in
France,theyappliedthiswholeto the useof thepublic;a baduse,
perhaps;but to publicusetheyappliedthewholeof the plunder;
while,in England,the plunderwasscrambledfor,andremained
dividedamongstindividuals.(History,l:para.442)
Withanexuberance
thatis hardto resist,Cobbettfeignssurprise
thatthe"church
as by law established"did not welcomethe Frenchextensionof their own
principles:
What!Not likethis "reformation"!
Why,herewereconventsbroken up and monksand nuns dispersed;herewereabbey-lands
confiscated;herewasthe Catholicreligionabolished;herewere
Catholicpriestshuntedaboutandputto deathin almostassavage
a mannerasthoseof Englandhadbeen;herewerelaws,seemingly
translatedfrom our own code, againstsayingor hearingmass,
and againstpriests returninginto the kingdom;here was a
completeannihilation(asfaraslegislativeprovisionscouldgo) of
thatwhichour churchclergycalled"idolatrous
and damnable";
herewas a new religion"established
that no fealaw";
and,
by
ture might be defectivein the likeness,herewas a royalfamily
set asideforever,by whattheycalleda "gloriousrevolution";
and
therewouldhavebeenan abdicatingking, but he was,by mere
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PETER
J. MANNING
PETER J.
MANNING

438 v
438

accident,stoppedin his flight,broughtback,and put to death,

not, however,withoutan exampleto pleadin the deedsof the
Protestant
"Reformation"
Englishdouble-distilled
people.(History,
i:para. 443)

Cobbett'semphaticdeictic "here"is spatiallya "there,"France,but its import is

indeed "here,"England.Cobbett exposesthe historicalbasisof the Englishstate,
forgotten or denied in the war againstFrance,or, as he alwaysinsisted, against
Frenchideas.By invokingthe nine hundredyearsin which Englandwas Catholic
he revealshow recentwas the founding of that state,and how much some of the
institutionson which Englandprideditself,such as the ancientuniversities,owed
to the religion it repudiated and whose adherents it continued to penalize.
is less an idealization of the
Cobbett's Historyof the Protestant"Reformation"
Middle Ages than it is an act of anamnesia,an effort to combat, on behalf of
those excludedfrom it, the complexactsof selectivememoryon which the sense
of Englishnationhood depended.Paradoxically,
Englishto the core himself, he
determinedto write the historyof the Reformationas the pre-historyof his own
oppositionalpolitics.
That oppositional stance ran directly counter to the image of serenely
corporate Catholic, medieval England the Historywould seem to propound.
William Hazlitt declaredCobbett "not only unquestionablythe most powerful politicalwriterof the presentday,but one of the bestwritersin the language,"
proclaiminghim a one-man "fourthestate."12FrancisJeffreyadmitted that the
PoliticalRegister,which Cobbett produced single-handedlyfrom 1802 to 1835,
had acquiredmore influencethan any previousjournalupon "thatmost important and most independentclassof society,which standsjust abovethe lowest."13
When in 1816Cobbett produceda two-pennyversion (to avoid the stamp tax),
he reached"thelowest"as well. With a weekly circulationsoaringto fifty thousand, the "Two-PennyTrash"virtually formed the political consciousness of
the working classes. Cobbett thus fruitfully contradicted the vision of a stable society that he upheld. A self-made man, he owed his influence to his
writing-to his resourcefulability to exploit the new audiences,means of production, and systems of distribution that characterizedthe early-nineteenthcenturyprint market.

12. "Characterof Cobbett," Essay VI, Table-Talk:The CompleteWorksof William Hazlitt, ed. P. P. Howe,
vol. 8 (London, 1931),50-59.
13. EdinburghReview 0o (uly 1807), quoted in Sambrook, William Cobbett,74.

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THE HISTORY

OF COBBETT'S

"HISTORY"

439

The epitome of Cobbett as unstoppable "small-p"protestant is the vision of

himself triumphing over the Hampshire parsonsin the second volume of the
History,which I quoted at the outset. But this splendid passage is not to be
found in most editions of the History, an anomaly that will enable me to
move to a conclusion.In 1896FrancisAidan Gasquet,D.D., formerlythe superior of an English Benedictine monastery and subsequently created cardinal,
produced a one-volume annotated edition of the Historyintended to confirm
the essential rightness of Cobbett's argument that the Reformation had severely worsened the condition of the poor, and it is from this edition that
most modern ones are descended.'4 In the preface Gasquet claimed to have
printed the book "asit appearedin previous editions, with one or two slight
modifications":
The letter form is alteredto chapterheadings, the author'snicknameshave been freelycut out, and an occasionalstrongor coarse
objectionis replacedby anotherless objectionableword or phrase.
These, and the omission of some few allusions to people and
events telling, perhaps, at the time when Cobbett wrote, but
altogether useless now and unimportant in themselves, are the
chief changes which seemed calledfor in revisingthe text for this
edition. (P.xvi)
Dubbing Cobbett's letters-each of which began with an address to "My
Friends,"dated from Cobbett's home in Kensington-"chapters" shifts the
rhetoricalposition of the text from personalnarrativetowarddispassionatehistoricaldiscourse;reducingthe topical and cleaningup Cobbett'slanguagelikewise bolstersthe appearanceof responsibilityat the cost of authorialcharacter.
The excision of the boastful self-portraitin volume 2 is the culmination of
these smallerrevisionsmade throughout.At the end of his prefaceGasquetindicates that "the second part, which cataloguedthe names of the variousreligious housessuppressedin the reignof HenryVIII, is omittedaltogether"(p. xvi),
but he does not mention what else the dropping of the second part entailed.
The list "of the abbeys, priories, nunneries, hospitals, and other religious
foundations in England, and Wales, and Ireland, confiscated, seized on, and
alienated,by the Protestant'Reformation'Sovereignsand Parliaments,"as the
original title page blazoned,was the work of ReverendJeremiahO'Callaghan,
in EnglandandIreland,new ed., revised,with notes and preface,by
14. A Historyof theProtestant
Reformation
FrancisAidan Gasquet (London, 1896).

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440
440

PETER J.
PETER
MANNING
J. MANNING

"

perhapsa reasonforexclusion;buttheentireomissionof thesecondvolumenot

only removesCobbettat his mostprotestantbut alsoobscuresa salienttextual
history.'5

Cobbett'sHistory
by laterandmorecarefulscholarship,
Thoughsuperseded
who seek,likeGasquet,to convert
hasbeensteadilykeptin printby publishers
Cobbett's"blowat the church-parsons"
into a pro-Catholictract.'6In Britain
was
edition
Burnes
OatesandWashbourne,
"Publishers
Gasquet's
reprintedby
to the Holy See";in the UnitedStatesit formedthe basisof the long-livededitionby BenzigerBrothers,
alsoof"Standard
CatholicBooks."At prepublishers
sent an illustrated,abridged,and rearranged
versionof Gasquet'sedition is
availablein Britainin paperback
fromFisherPress,withan introductionby the
chairof theWilliamCobbettSociety.AlthoughFisherPressis on Blackwell's
approvallist of academicpublishers,the flavorof the book can be tastedin the
biographyof the abridgerwithwhichthe back-cover
copyconcludes:he is describedas"aretiredMasterMarinerandanantiquedealer.He is happilymarried
with twelvechildren."
In theUnitedStatesTANBooksandPublishers
of Rockford,
Illinois,hasofof
feredeversince1988a paperback
1896printphoto-reproduction Benziger's
of
TAN
Books
A.
redaction.
was
Thomas
Nelsonin
founded
by
ing Gasquet's
in
the
of
the
Church
initiated
Vatican
II,and
1967, protestagainst liberalizing
by
fundedby theprofitsof Nelson'ssaleof hispreviousreligiouspublishinghouse,
ThomasNelson,whichkeptthe rightsto his name.On the nightI checked,its
WebpageboastedthatTANhasoverfourhundredtitlesin print,each"personBible,transallychosenby Mr.Nelson."Amongthemarethe Douay-Rheims
latedfromSt.Jerome's
and
the
Roman
standard
Catholic
Bible,
Vulgate formerly
the worksof the RomanCatholicapologistHilaireBelloc,a defenseof the
InquisitionbyWilliamThomasWalsh,andothersof whichMr.Nelsonis particularlyproud:"hehasvigorouslypromotedSt. LouisDe Montfort'sSecretof
the Rosary,gettingout over4,000,000 copies,andOurLadyof Fatima's
Peace
PlanfromHeaven,over2,000,000 copies;plusTrueDevotionto Mary,over
350,000 copies."'7
contribution,see Spater,PoorMans Friend,2:592 n. 94. To be fair,it shouldbe noted that
15. On Callaghan's
theoriginalpart-publication,
available
asa boundsmalloctavoin 1824,alsolackedvolume2, whichwas

notaddeduntil1827.Butvolume2 containsmorethanO'Callaghan's
list.

16. Cobbett'sphraseis fromPoliticalRegister

70:954,quotedin Spater,PoorMansFriend,2:592 n.92.
17.

worksavailable
fromTANis Europe
andtheFaith,in whichthequestion"WhatWasthe
AmongBelloc's
Reformation?"
a "disaster"
is discussed
(thetitleof chapter
8) is answered,
(p.204);theTudorreformation
in chapter
(2ded.NewYork,1920).Theblurbon theWebpageforWalsh's
9, "TheDefectionof Britain"
Characters
in 1940,reads:"Refutes
themanyliesaboutthe
oftheInquisition,
originally
published
raisedbytheenemiesof theChurch.Showswhyit wasinstituted,
thepurpose
it served,its
Inquisition
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THE HISTORY

OF COBBETT'S

"HISTORY"

441

Thesenumbersarea reminderof the extentof bookpublishingbeyond,or

booktradeto whichacademics
below,themainsteam
usuallyconfinethemselves,
andindicatethe continuedflourishingof the sortof religiouscontroversy
associatedwithReformation
publishing.It mayseemlikestrangecompanyfora vigorouslyprejudicedEnglishProtestant,yet Cobbett'sHistorywas prominently
onTAN'shomepage:"Written
advertised
historian,thisbookexbya Protestant
the
infamous
events
that
andwhy Englandwasbetteroff beplains
transpired
forethe Reformation
thanafter.Regularprice:$18.Now Only$15!"'8
Or,asthe
copyon the backof the bookexpatiates:
Writtenbetween 1824and 1827by an EnglishProtestant,A History

in Englandand Irelandhas been

of the ProtestantReformation
because
reprinted
manytimesbyCatholicpublishers
itgivesthetrue
andusuallyuntoldstoryof theProtestant
Revolt[emphasismine]in
the
16th
Englandduring
century,revealingits disastrousconsequencesin the livesof thepeople.WilliamCobbett,the authorof
this book, is unabashedly
pro-Catholicin this writing,showing
thatEnglandwasfarbetteroff beforetheProtestant
"reformation"
of HenryVIIIandElizabethI thanshewasafterwards....The author showshow... direconsequencesfloweddirectlyfromEngland'scastingoff the ancientCatholicfaith.... [He] showshow
therevolutionaries
werenot onlysuccessful
in eradicating
theTrue
Faithfromtheirland,buthe spellsout thewoefulconsequences.19
This episodein the strangeafterlifeof Cobbett'sHistoryrevealshow thorlies in the convergingcircumstances
of its appearoughlya book'ssignificance
ance:publisher,
No one appreciated
morethanCobbettthe
place,cost,readers.
of
the
material
of
politicalimplications
particularities publication.I will close
with a deliciouslyinstructive
example,lostwhenthe secondvolumeis omitted.
In it Cobbettquotesfroma 1793workin two volumes,TheHistoryof thePoor,
writtenby-as he describeshimselfon the titlepage-"ThomasRuggles,EA.S.
One of His Majesty'sJusticesof the Peacefor the Countiesof Essexand
Suffolk."20
To Cobbett'sdelight, this exemplarygentleman"explainedthe
long-termeffects,andwhy it preservedCatholiccountriesfromthe infamouswitch-huntsbesmirching
Protestanthistory.... Exoneratesthe Churchof all wrong-doing.Reallydispelsthe lies aboutthis institution. Essentialhistory!"Quoted fromhttp://www.tanbooks.com,
1 February1999.
18. Quoted fromhttp://www.tanbooks.com,
1 February1999.Cobbett'sHistoryofthe Protestant
(andBellocandWalsh)remainson the Web site as of 2 January2003.
"Reformation"
19. Title pageidenticalto the Gasqueteditioncited above;Rockford,Ill., 1988.
20.
TheHistoryof ThePoor,2 vols. (London,1793).
History,2:para.32.ThomasRuggles(1787?-1813),

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442
442

PETER J.
J. MANNING

foundationof therightof thepoorto a maintenance

fromtheland;he explained
theprincipleon whichtheCatholicChurchtookchargeof thepoor,"andargued
that though "the claim had lain DORMANT
for a long while, it was BY NO MEANS

of Churchin
as
the
middle
crowed
"Observe,
now,"
property,
ages (History,2:para.32-33).
Cobbett, "thatit was no jacobin, no radical,no republican,who proposedthis;
but, in the first place, a land-owner;in the next place, a Justiceof the Peacein
two counties;in the next place,a most loyalgentleman;in the next place,one of
the adorersof the 'Heaven-born'Pitt, and lastly,a most zealousProtestant,assertingthat the Catholic Churchhad 'restedon fearand superstition,'and that
the 'Reformation,'springingup at the 'magictouch of HenryVIII.,' gaveriseto
a systemmoreconsonantto the principlesof soberpietyand good sense"(History,
2:para.34).
But whathappenedto Ruggles?With a graspof detailand contextthatwould
do a modern scholarproud, Cobbett points out that beforeappearingin book
BECOME

EXTINCT,"urging that the poor should be maintainedout

form in 1793 the matter of Ruggles' book had been published in 1792 in the

Annals ofAgriculture;the series, founded by Arthur Young, was the organ of

the agricultural improvers, in which even George III published (under a
pseudonym). "[O]bserve,"Cobbett directs, "the war against Francewas not
begun when this edition must have been in press.So that the reignof terrorhad
not commenced, and could not have been anticipated."But "the book came
out," Cobbett notes, "justbefore high Anti-Jacobintimes, when it was pretty
nearlyas much as a man'slife was worth to expressa doubt of the excellenceof
the church establishment.... The reign of terrorwas in full swing; the Act of
HabeasCorpuswas suspended;and therewas an act to empowerthe Ministers
to imprison,justwhereand when they pleased,any body ('Squiresnot excepted)
THAT THEY MIGHT SUSPECT OF TREASONABLE PRACTICES!" (History, 2:para.41).
Fearfulof the changed political climate, Ruggles alteredhis work. In 1797 he
"publishedhis [one-volume]'secondedition'in orderto savehimself,"Cobbett
gloated, "ifpossible."2'"[P]oor Thomas Ruggles,"Cobbett mock-sympathized,
acknowledged in the preface to the second edition that "'HISPRINCIPLES ASA
FRIEND TO THE HIERARCHY, HAD BEEN SOMEWHAT CALLED IN QUESTION,' in con-

sequence of his attempt 'to revive the claim' of the poor on the revenues of the
clergy. Poor fellow! That was enough for him!" (History, 2:para. 35). As Cobbett

reiterated,the parsonscompelled Rugglesto "eat [his] words,""to swallow all

this down again":"no wonder, therefore,that Mr. RUGGLES changed his tone,

21.

History, 2:para. 35. Thomas Ruggles, The History of the Poor, new ed., corrected and continued to the
present time (London, 1797).

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THE HISTORY OF COBBETT'S "HISTORY"

' 443

recanted,andexpungedthe passageswhichwereoffensiveto the parsons,who

nowsawplentyof barracks
andGermantroopsin the country,andwho, to use
theirown phraseology,
madethe 'enemiesof socialorderandourholyreligion'
shakein theirshoes"(History,2:para. 41).
Explodingwithin the second volume, in short, is the climacticdemonstration that Cobbett'sgoal was less to promote Catholicismthan to attackthe parsons, a dramaticepisode that, if included,would have complicatedthe attempt
to capturethe Historyby Gasquetand those who follow his edition. More important,Cobbett'sreadingof the publicationhistoryof Ruggles'work is a specimen demonstrationof the way in which the politics of print cultureis carried
within the detailsand circumstancesof publicationitself.22
State UniversityofNew York,StonyBrook

22.

A furthertwistto this publishinghistory:In 1998Chattoand Pickeringbroughtout a six-volumeselected

editionof Cobbett'sworksunderthe editorshipof LeonoraNattrassandJamesEpstein.High priceaside,
it is in manywaysan admirablemodernedition:reset,clearlyprinted,with scholarlyintroductionsto the
separatevolumes.Volume5 containswhat the publisherdescribesas "arareunabridgedreprint"of the
but thoughNattrassquotesfromvolume2 in herstudyof
1829 Historyof theProtestant"Reformation,"
Cobbett,the editionoffersonly volume 1.

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