Perfection proclaimed

This compelling study traces the development of radical religious literature between 1640 and 1660 and offers a reorientation of how the sects are seen to rest in history. Introducing new evidence on religious individuals and groups, Smith argues that there are continuities between radicalism and the rest of mid-17th-century English society. He explores in detail such topics as the experiential and prophetic narratives in the "gathered churches," the centrality of the recounting of dreams and visions especially in the writings of women prophets, the reaction of radical Puritans to mystical and occult writings, and the theory and practice of radical religious language.