Rosemary Moore – författare

The Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, originated in England during the civil wars of the mid-seventeenth century. Early Quakers have been variously described as founders of a fundamentally new form of spiritual practice, as the radical end of the Protestant Reformation, and as political revolutionaries. In The Light in Their Consciences, which recounts the earliest history of the Friends in England, Rosemary Moore suggests that all of these characterizations are accurate and can help us grasp the true significance of Quakerism.Moore offers compelling portraits of the leading figures of the Quaker movement, notably George Fox, James Nayler, and Margaret Fell. She shows their interrelationships and documents the emergence of George Fox as the leading Friend, relying not so much on Fox’s own proclamations as on the perceptions of both his followers and his enemies as reflected in correspondence and printed pamphlets. Moore also charts the growth of a genuine denominational consciousness among Friends. This leads her to continue her account past the customary stopping point of 1660—the Restoration of Charles II—up through 1666. It was in that year that Fox initiated major organizational reforms that signaled the true dividing line between the early charismatic Quaker movement and the introverted sect of the later seventeenth century.The Light in Their Consciences combines a lively narrative with impeccable research. Moore draws upon unprecedented computer-based analysis of all the contemporary Quaker and anti-Quaker literature. Her account will interest historians, theologians, and members of the Society of Friends throughout the world.

This landmark volume is the first in a century to examine the “Second Period” of Quakerism, a time when the Religious Society of Friends experienced upheavals in theology, authority and institutional structures, and political trajectories as a result of the persecution Quakers faced in the first decades of the movement’s existence. The authors and special contributors explore the early growth of Quakerism, assess important developments in Quaker faith and practice, and show how Friends coped with the challenges posed by external and internal threats in the final years of the Stuart age—not only in Europe and North America but also in locations such as the Caribbean. This groundbreaking collection sheds new light on a range of subjects, including the often tense relations between Quakers and the authorities, the role of female Friends during the Second Period, the effect of major industrial development on Quakerism, and comparisons between founder George Fox and the younger generation of Quakers, such as Robert Barclay, George Keith, and William Penn.Accessible, well-researched, and seamlessly comprehensive, The Quakers, 1656–1723 promises to reinvigorate a conversation largely ignored by scholarship over the last century and to become the definitive work on this important era in Quaker history.In addition to the authors, the contributors are Erin Bell, Raymond Brown, J. William Frost, Emma Lapsansky-Werner, Robynne Rogers Healey, Alan P. F. Sell, and George Southcombe.

Hailed upon its publication as “history at its finest” by H. Larry Ingle and called “the essential foundation to explore early Quaker history” by Sixteenth Century Journal, Rosemary Moore’s The Light in Their Consciences is the most comprehensive, readable history of the first decades of the life and thought of The Society of Friends. This twentieth anniversary edition of Moore’s pathbreaking work reintroduces the book to a new generation of readers.Drawing on an innovative computer-based analysis of primary sources and Quaker and anti-Quaker literature, Moore provides compelling portraits of George Fox, James Nayler, Margaret Fell, and other leading figures; relates how the early Friends lived and worshipped; and traces the path this radical group followed as it began its development into a denomination. In doing so, she makes clear the origins and evolution of Quaker faith, details how they overcame differences in doctrinal interpretation and religious practice, and delves deeply into clashes between and among leaders and lay practitioners. Thoroughly researched, felicitously written, and featuring a new introduction, updated sources, and an enlightening outline of Moore’s research methodology, this edition of The Light in Their Consciences belongs in the collection of everyone interested in or studying Quaker history and the era in which the movement originated.

"There are many greater Quakers than Ellwood, but few more likeable," quips editor Rosemary Moore in her prologue. Her new edition of Thomas Ellwood's autobiography will be of interest to social and religious historians, Quakers, English literary scholars, and many others. Ellwood's story vividly recounts the early days of the Friends movement in seventeenth-century England and the persecution of its members. A student of Isaac Penington, an assistant to John Milton, and the editor of the journals of George Fox, Thomas Ellwood gives a moving account of his tumultuous life and times.

Like the other volumes in the four-volume series of which it is a part, this book breaks new ground in gathering and introducing texts relating to the origins of English and Welsh Dissent. Through contemporary writings it provides a lively insight into the life and thought of early Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, and Quakers, as well as of smaller groups no longer extant.