Hierarchy and Community in the Elizabethan Parish: The Swallowfield Articles of 1596 (original) (raw)

1999, The Historical Journal

. The politics of the parish are increasingly attracting the attention of historians of early modern England. The exploration of the depth and extent of popular participation in the process of governance has disclosed sophisticated forms of political organization at relatively humble social levels. The locus classicus of innovation in parish governance is arguably the set of articles drawn up by the chief inhabitants of the Wiltshire community of Swallowfield in. The articles are printed here for the first time. The introduction seeks to place them in their geographical, chronological, and historiographical contexts. In particular, the articles have profound implications for current debates over the nature and meaning of ' community ', the dynamics of the growth of the state, and the scale and impulse of the reformation of manners. * I would like to thank Adam Fox for kindly providing a photocopy of the articles from the Huntington Library and for innumerable discussions of the text ; Peter Durrant and Martin Ingram for their help in piecing together the jurisdictional mosaic of Swallowfield and its environs ; and Mark Goldie for encouraging the preparation of this edition and commentary. Although the transcription is my own, the introduction has benefited from the constructive criticisms of Bernard Capp, Adam Fox, Peter Marshall, and Keith Wrightson. Thanks are also due to Mary Robertson, Archivist at the Huntington Library, for her prompt answers to last-minute queries. The staffs of the Berkshire and Wiltshire Record Offices (especially Lisa Spurrier), and of the Public Record Office (especially Amanda Bevan), have also provided invaluable assistance. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the archival assuidity, historical insight, and personal generosity of Patrick Collinson, who first discovered the document, elaborated its significance, and suggested that I undertake further work on the local context. The articles are printed by kind permission of the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, California, and have been numbered for ease of reference.