Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England
In 17th-century England, the notion of citizenship can only be understood by contradistinction with the definition of the subject. Englishmen of the time were aware that they were both subjects of the monarch and members of the common weal, defined as the web of relationships, privileges and obligat...
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
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Revue française de civilisation britannique
2016
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openedition-oai:revues.org:rfcb_735 |
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openedition |
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OpenEdition Journal |
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Anglais |
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Article ou chapitre numérique |
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0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
Social history citizenship republicanism Early Modern England commonweal commonwealth Angleterre moderne citoyenneté républicanisme commonweal commonwealth histoire sociale |
| spellingShingle |
Social history citizenship republicanism Early Modern England commonweal commonwealth Angleterre moderne citoyenneté républicanisme commonweal commonwealth histoire sociale Borot, Luc Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England |
| description |
In 17th-century England, the notion of citizenship can only be understood by contradistinction with the definition of the subject. Englishmen of the time were aware that they were both subjects of the monarch and members of the common weal, defined as the web of relationships, privileges and obligations that got society and its institutions working, down to the most local levels of the parish or the manor.Thus, some descriptions of English society and institutions in the late 16th century revealed a point that was confirmed by the crises in collective identification that raged in the 1640s. The soldiers of the New Model Army disagreed together, as they also disagreed with their generals, such as Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton, on the definition of the people who was to be represented in Parliament. The Putney debates of the Autumn of 1647 reveal such mutual misunderstandings, as well as the underlying fears.From 1653, the constitutions of the Cromwellian regime paint an increasingly detailed portrait of the active citizen, as they exclude some persons from the franchise for motives of personal morality or religious conformity, as well as economic reasons. As it raised the property qualifications and piling up conformity criteria, the regime keeps isolating itself from society.By the end of the 1650s, the struggle of the secular or religious republican theorists focuses on admission to citizenship, and on the size of the citizen body. Though they all agreed on the need for property qualifications, the polemic raged on the relevance of ideological and confessional criteria. |
| author |
Borot, Luc |
| author_facet |
Borot, Luc |
| author_sort |
Borot, Luc |
| title |
Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England |
| title_short |
Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England |
| title_full |
Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England |
| title_fullStr |
Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England |
| title_sort |
subject and citizen: the ambiguities of the political self in early modern england |
| publisher |
Revue française de civilisation britannique |
| publishDate |
2016 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/rfcb.735 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/735 |
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1877242554896875520 |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:rfcb_735 https://doi.org/10.4000/rfcb.735 urn:doi:10.4000/rfcb.735 en https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/735 2016-07-19T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/k13f https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Subject and Citizen: The Ambiguities of the Political Self in Early Modern England Revue française de civilisation britannique CRECIB - Centre de recherche et d'études en civilisation britannique info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2429-4373 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0248-9015 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb Borot, Luc Social history citizenship republicanism Early Modern England commonweal commonwealth Angleterre moderne citoyenneté républicanisme commonweal commonwealth histoire sociale In 17th-century England, the notion of citizenship can only be understood by contradistinction with the definition of the subject. Englishmen of the time were aware that they were both subjects of the monarch and members of the common weal, defined as the web of relationships, privileges and obligations that got society and its institutions working, down to the most local levels of the parish or the manor.Thus, some descriptions of English society and institutions in the late 16th century revealed a point that was confirmed by the crises in collective identification that raged in the 1640s. The soldiers of the New Model Army disagreed together, as they also disagreed with their generals, such as Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton, on the definition of the people who was to be represented in Parliament. The Putney debates of the Autumn of 1647 reveal such mutual misunderstandings, as well as the underlying fears.From 1653, the constitutions of the Cromwellian regime paint an increasingly detailed portrait of the active citizen, as they exclude some persons from the franchise for motives of personal morality or religious conformity, as well as economic reasons. As it raised the property qualifications and piling up conformity criteria, the regime keeps isolating itself from society.By the end of the 1650s, the struggle of the secular or religious republican theorists focuses on admission to citizenship, and on the size of the citizen body. Though they all agreed on the need for property qualifications, the polemic raged on the relevance of ideological and confessional criteria. Au XVIIe siècle, on ne peut comprendre la notion de citoyenneté sans la mettre en rapport avec la conception du sujet. Les Anglais du temps avaient conscience d’être à la fois sujets du monarque et membres du common weal, ce réseau de relations, de privilèges et d’obligations qui faisait marcher la société et ses institutions jusqu’au niveau le plus local de la paroisse ou du manoir. Ce que révélaient déjà certaines descriptions de la société et des institutions anglaises à la fin du XVIe siècle se voit confirmé dans les crises d’identification collectives des années 1640. Les soldats de l’Armée Nouveau Modèle de Cromwell s’opposent entre eux, et s’opposent à leurs généraux, comme Oliver Cromwell et Henry Ireton, sur la définition du peuple qui doit être représenté au Parlement. Les débats de Putney, à l’automne 1647, manifestent ces incompréhensions réciproques ainsi que les craintes qui les sous-tendent.Les constitutions du régime cromwellien à partir de 1653 brossent du citoyen actif un portrait économique et religieux de plus en plus précis, excluant de personnes du corps civique pour des raisons de moralité privée ou d’adhésion religieuse, autant que pour des motifs économiques. En élevant le cens électoral et en multipliant les critères de conformité, le régime ne fait que s’isoler de la société. À la fin des années 1650, le combat des théoriciens républicains, religieux ou séculiers, se concentre sur l’admission à la citoyenneté et sur l’étendue souhaitable du corps civique. Si tous s’accordent sur la nécessité d’un cens électoral, c’est sur la pertinence des critères idéologiques et confessionnels que la polémique s’est développée. |