A comprehensive collection of Gunpowder Treason, Fifth of November Sermons from 1605 to the present along with a history of Gunpowder Treason Day Literature including primary  documents. Also included  is an Anthropological framework for further analysis as well as  analysis of the sermons. Annotated, Many Illustrations. A primary reference. This book is an important textbook for the study of church, social, and political history via sermon and liturgy.

From the Book

Introduction

This work is designed primairly to gather up and present a comprehensive collection of primary documents. This is an essential first step toward further analysis.

While doing this work some thoughts occurred to me that appeared useful for an in-depth  understanding of the record. I have provided them here for your consideration. If they do not work for you I encourage you to reflect on this collection of materials to arrive at your own analysis.

Sermons are very complex artifacts composed of component artifacts which function on many levels. To fully appreciate them we must place them into an analytical context which is structured by eternal universals rather than particular histories and assumptions of the abilities of human beings to fully comprehend universal mysteries.  Each sermon is different. Some are more successful than others in disclosing the mysteries in question. In order to evaluate sermons one must also place the concept of religion or “constitution:” into an analytical context which is also structured by eternal universals rather than particular histories and assumptions.

Without intending to trivialize belief, I propose that religions be regarded as games or perhaps as languages. In sports, games are distinct. Baseball is not Soccer is not Tennis, each is a distinct game with its own rules and practices. In the same way languages are also distinct. French is not English or Spanish. They all enable communication equally distinctly.  There is no need therefore to deconstruct sports or languages to produce a one universal sport or one universal language. The Reformation and rise of Humanism as the tower of Babel created distinct  “languages” of Christianity resulted in the creation of a multitude of distinct Christian sects. Each individually works on its own.

Internally, games and languages can be tweaked and adapted. They change constantly but importantly they do not merge into one another. The boundaries between them are strongly maintained. There is no reason for a Tennis fan to recognize Baseball as an isomorphic equivalent. They are distinct independent sports.  As they say, when you compare sports you are comparing fruits but you cannot compare “apples and oranges.” Within a sport there are many teams just as within Christianity.  Thanks to the incomplete nature of the Reformation and rise of Humanism there are many distinct “constitutions.” Each is independent, unique. Sermonizers therefore, have no need to root for any other but the home team if they righteously maintain and follow their “constitution” it will work for them. The universal mysteries are not the individual faiths. They are much larger, universal and unknowable than the “constitutions” which are after all the artifacts of mere flawed mortals. Religions serve only as artifacts that approximately disclose universal mysteries. We disclose mysteries as best we can so that we can conduct our lives more efficiently and less painfully within their midst. 

We should not confuse the artifact as tool with its object the mystery if you will a  nail. A nail can be extracted equally well with a number of types of tool. The sermonizer therefore roots for the home “constitution,” his favorite tool, and argues how to keep it well-oiled and in adjustment. He also evaluates how it is being used by his “auditory.” Are they getting the task done? Are  they playing within the rules? The sermons which have been gathered up here provide opportunities to document changes in the Sport or “constitution” of the church. They point out violations in the way games are played and suggest tweaks in the rules to move closer to the intent of the Deity.

The sermon as complex artifact may be intended to disclose a host of mysteries. Here are a few.

1.      The mystery of the behavior of the Deity. Why have great deliverances occurred? Why has our Church been spared? How do we put ourselves on track for further deliverances? Can new analysis help us improve understanding of our relationship to the Deity?

2.      The mystery of the opposition of the ability of imperfect mortals to envision perfection and their inability to attain it. How do we move closer to righteousness? How do we keep our “constitution” on course?

3.      The mystery of division of religions. How do we interact with other religions and survive intolerance?

When reading these sermons, try to determine which if any universal mysteries the sermonizer wishes to disclose. Beware of the tendency of sermonizer to focus upon past history rather than universal mystery and focus upon returning to a past state of affairs. Has the sermonizer stuck to his “constitution” or has he attempted to apply a relativistic philosophy which inhibits his auditory to focus on their “constitution” as the best “tool for the job.” Is he rooting for only one home team or one language? What is the relationship of the sermon to politics? Are the arguments focused upon timeless universal mysteries or the political disputes of the day?

Analysis

The sermon sends forth its rays of causality, its energy for change from an institution known as the “Pulpit.”   Although generally associated with the dimension of society known as religion, the pulpit has been inhabited over the four centuries of celebration by a wide variety of players broadcasting on behalf of a wide variety of cultural groups  and socio-cultural concerns. The sermonizer or speaker may speak from the heart or for almost any other individual or group or point of view. The pulpit can be located anywhere in the realm or appear more ethereally in the written tract or book, the motion picture, mechanical recording or even the sound file on the Internet. It can even be a school assignment. The most important pulpits for the presentation of Gunpowder plot sermons were: Houses of Parliament, Residence of the King, the local Parish Church and St. Paul's Churchyard.

The celebrations started with sermons. The king and Parliament ordered that they be presented annually. As a result a great number of Gupowder Plot sermons were created.   They told us what we should think about it all and how we should react. Who were these conspirators? Saints or Sinners? Freedom Fighters or Followers of the Devil? Should we do more to remember?  Or should the Great Deliverance be remembered at all?  The sermon for the “auditory” or public was a sort of “state of the monarchy” address combined with a state of the celebration address. It answers important questions: Can we celebrate again this year? Are we still the chosen people? Is the monarch still in favor with God?  Are we celebrating for the same reason as last year? After all- we do have to get the chants and slogans right!  

For the people the sermon was not primarily a weapon of propaganda in a war or conflict. For them it was a statement of the obvious, a reaffirmation of what they already knew which was slightly updated from time to time. Enemies exist but only to define the people, the government and the homeland. The state of the nation is not always good. Often sermons call out for reform and change. Sermons always serve as structures which support the stage upon which celebrations are enacted.

The pulpit, weak or strong, radical or conservative, is always an important window upon the mechanisms responsible for the configuration of celebration.

Who listened to the sermons and why did so many gather to hear them? As with any crowd the "auditory" probably was made up of many different people with many different points of view and reasons for being there. What forces permitted their attendance? How did they get the day off from their traditional duties? Were they required to attend as an obligation or did they skillfully manage to sneak out of work to attend?  Perhaps they would not have been there at all had someone not brought them to the event. Maybe it was only crowd appeal or possibly the presence of peripheral activities--food vendors or was it just something to do while in the city.  Was it the preacher and the entertainment value--the fire and the brimstone or maybe the humor? This is the wonder of it all. The same performance of the same sermon can serve many divergent interests and needs.

As this diverse crowd went away from the sermon how would their lives be changed? Would they be motivated to more fervently celebrate? How would that celebration change?  Would they find a new effigy?  Might they compose a new chant or create innovative pageantry and hold a procession? We know that the sermon was meant to change behaviors but did it accomplish its mission in regard to celebration?

 History

The historical role of the sermon remains elusive. Can we ever hope to have a complete understanding? We are limited by the many filters which have kept many sermons from the historical record. However, we have benefited in that some sermons have managed to slip by the filters often even though they have been targets of the censors. Perhaps the most dramatic example is the sermon of Sacherville  which managed to be promptly printed in sufficient quantities by his patron the Lord Mayor of London so that copies survived the order that they be gathered up and burnt by the public hangman. Other sermons survived despite the fact that later editions were banned.  Sermons have also gleaned immortality in letters and diaries such as those of Evelyn and Pepys but these chance survivals are the exception rather than the rule. The fact remains that most Gunpowder Plot sermons have been lost or remain undiscovered. Much needs to be done to discover personal accounts of sermons of which only a  few have come to light.

The most prominent pulpits were censored by those who had captured them. The King, the Mayor, the Parliament and the special interests and even the religious all worked to personalize the messages which became propaganda for these dimensions of society. The people also knew what they wanted to hear and the preacher knew what they needed to hear to be entertained, motivated and manipulated. For these groups theology was not so important. Presentation was everything for them.  The preacher became author and playwright carefully crafting the drama.

By law each parish was required to produce a Gunpowder Plot Sermon each year until the late 19th century, for presentation on the fifth of November. In addition special sermons were created upon order from the King and the Houses of Parliament. It is these special sermons which were more likely to be published and preserved

Gunpowder Plot sermons were designed to give thanks for the deliverance of the country from a terrible plot, the likes of which had never been known. Some claimed that the deliverance from the Gunpowder Plot was more impressive than even those of the Old Testament. This particular deliverance was most important because it could not be explained in human terms and was of a huge and incomprehensible scale involving the high technology of gunpowder.

Before the seventeenth century was over England had,  it seemed, avoided several catastrophic destructions without the intervention of the hand of man. The Armada was blown off course by a great wind, the king's men stumbled upon Guy Fawkes by accident and William and Mary triumphed relatively peacefully over the last of England's truly absolute monarchs, an established king, James II. 

It seemed that England and its people were being protected by a higher power. But what power was this? And why was deliverance justified?

As a result of this state of wonder,  sermons not only offered up thanksgiving for deliverance but provided a forum for the explanation of the nature of God and the importance of a proper dialog between God and man. What was the nature of deliverance? Who was entitled to deliverance? Who is more important, God or temporal leaders and clergy?  Was there really a Chain of Being running directly from God to the King to his ministers and then to the people? How could England make sure that the deliverances would continue? The messages to be found in the sermons were therefore a product of waves of evolving political science, theology, and philosophy, changing as the pulpits were captured and lost by opposing points of view. These waves reached the land and the people via the pulpit. Often however, the force of opposing waves had to be reckoned with as public opinion energized by celebration and current events raced back towards the establishment. The blessing of wonder was often a double edged sword fanning the flames of disunity. There was, however. a force emanating from the sermons which would hold the people together as wars raged over possession of the pulpit.

Because of the mystery surrounding the great deliverance,. sermonizers could go beyond the tenets of specific philosophies and politics to provide a general framework of support and solidarity to a developing nation and empire. Preachers would be able to hold their auditories unified and strengthened.  Although factions could argue about the nature of the salvation, it was none the less easily recognized that the deliverance conveyed the designation of "chosen" to the religion of the English. They rather than their adversaries had been saved. What a better way to inspire confidence and unity and to strengthen the nation than to point out what appeared to be the obvious!  This relationship would last as long as God remained the God of the Old Testament.  This would be quite some time and some still in the 21^st century still remain fully convinced no change at all has occurred.  As long as you practice the chosen religion and maintain your status by your correct behavior it does not matter what form the threat takes nor the group that threatens.

Although much as been made of the nature of sermons as messages of Anglo-centrism and anti-Catholicism, it is important to get beyond the specific historical  messages  of specific sermons to discover the larger significance of these artifacts. Gunpowder Plot sermons, by and large, simply highlight the importance of a nation to become self- sufficient, to find unity in the face of threat and the strength to take risks.  Nationalism and proper conduct will keep all safe. Keep to the Chain of Being and follow the dictates of whatever leadership has evolved. Sermons are essentially manifestos of national solidarity- the glue that holds the nation together. 

The greatest danger to an evolving nation is foreign intervention. Competing political or cultural values must evolve down through the Chain of Being and cannot be imposed from outside.  Over the period since the plot, Britain has undergone many changes. According to conservative preachers of the 21^st century all too many changes have occurred, yet none of these changes have been imposed by external foes as a result of conquest.

Adversaries may be internal as well. Sermons were composed both to re-set the national compass and to preserve the nation from foreign intervention. Religion's role is not described in theological terms but as simply a thin veneer used by the adversaries to mask political intentions. For the homeland, religion stands for a code of shared values derived through faith from God and holy writings. With so many mysteries in the world, especially in the area of national deliverance, perhaps it is useful for the common good to "get right with God" and share the correct behaviors and attitudes so that the flow of deliverances is uninterrupted.

Gunpowder Plot sermons helped  to reinforce the positive values of nationalism that provide an umbrella under which diverse populations can live in prosperity and peace, while at the same time, behind the scenes, constantly updating those common values through the debate overthe mysteries of the nature of God and the relation of humans to him. 

Gunpowder Plot sermons therefore could be written against any adversary. It just so happened that Roman Catholicism was seen as the threat of the moment following 1605 and for a good long time to come, as actions of that church and its leadership continued to add energy to the bonfires of commemoration. A  Gunpowder Plot sermon therefore can focus on any current event, incident or threat and need not be Anti-Catholic. In fact, now that celebrations occur worldwide a Gunpowder Plot sermon need also not be Anglo-Centric. It can be about the solidarity of any group or nation. It need not limit itself to the powers of one “English God” but take into consideration  the cultures and gods of others, even those of your enemies.

Description click here

Table of Contents click here

Order Form click here