Much of the Civil War history can be seen as a cosy passage of our alleged noble past. The period, of late, has been taken by radical historians to prove or disprove particular personal theories. One movement however cannot only trace its origins to the period without strong imaginative leaps, and is now recapturing some of the spirit of its roots, that is the Religious Society of Friends, more plainly, Quakers.

The history of the Quaker Movement has often been seen from the eighteenth century form, that of dull, quite sober and plainly dressed honest folk, industrious and godly. This is not the case in its origins, (well not all of it). The movement was born in revolution and has a radicalism which has been seen throughout this century from refugee to Peace Corps. I hope to cover, in this three part article, the birth of the movement, the reaction by elite and commoners and finally the transformation of a radical sect into a more introverted body with restoration.

The birth of any movement is often linked with one man, and the Quakers are forever linked with George Fox, the giant who 'walked cheerfully across the face of the earth, looking for that of God in all men.' For the Quakers, of all organisations the search for a founding leader is a false exercise, although for while,-, the influence of Fox cannot be denied, the movement was far more a result of personal experience of individuals in the religious and political upheavals of the English revolution.

Quaker Seed

The seed of Quakerism was sown long before, as with many radical church movements. It was founded in the spirit of Lollards, Familists and Anabaptist traditions. It was induced by the ideological flux of the mid seventeenth century. The tenets of Quakerism are not carved in tablets of stone, but within the living spirit. Much of the ideas can be seen within the light of current experience. Quakerism may be seen as the conclusion of the reformation, although it lacked Calvin's pessimism, seeing man, as basically good. Friends saw that the clergy had intervened between people and God. The spirit of God is accessible to all people if they listen for his promptings. The clergy interfere with peoples' understanding of the spirit of God. In this spirit, the ceremony and grandeur of the Anglicans was rejected as mere surplus trappings. Further to this, Quakerism preached simplicity in faith and in lifestyle. To live in the word of God meant just that, to capture the lifestyle of the early Christians, to be a part of this world without being its slave, this was the essence of Quakerism.

As I have said, Quakerism drew its ideas from the recent and more distant past, but it owed a lot to the present. The spur of the Civil War cannot be underestimated. The death of the Archbishop of Canterbury ushered in a period of seeking amongst many people who sought a new explanation of God in their lives. The end of bishopric restrictive bonds open up the flood gates to new paths and the living experience of Christ. Many became seekers, later to join one sect or another, the parallel with Ranters is close although Ranters listened to themselves and not to God. Many Ranters left to become Friends.

It was into this world of doubt, especially amongst the middling sort of person, came the preachers from the north, such as George Fox, they spread his message of love and light, and attracted adherents. These early Friends were not all quiet folk, but ecstatic preachers, they listened quietly to be moved by the spirit but were not silent in proclaiming the word of God. They spread the word to all, but it is recognised that support came mainly among the husband and ale traders. The movement was strongest in the north, its birth place, but spread gradually throughout the country.

One thing must be made clear from the outset, Friends, unlike most religions, never was an exclusively male religion. As Fox said 'Christ is the male, and in the female is one.' The subjection of women was the result of the fall of man. Women preached as vigorously as men, some 45% of the Quaker 'ministers' who arrived in America between 1656-63 were women.

The Quaker faith was one of simplicity, but also of equality. Just as no man may show another to God, so then on one is above another in the eyes of God. Such a belief is indeed radical and was held to be so by Friend and Foe alike. One General Winstanley said in 1654, that the Quakers continued the work of the Diggers. Many Quakers were active for the good old cause. One Edward Billing declared, as levellers before him, that the law was the 'badge of the conqueror'.

Certainly Quakerism was the child of a revolution. Friends rejected the old hierarchy of bishops and by implication the old forms of government. To treat all men as equals was decidedly radical as was it to suggest that you didn't need a priest to lead you to God. It was a faith that appealed to those dissatisfied literates who wanted a new alternative which the commonwealth couldn't give.

Sources

The Quakers and the English Revolution. B. Reav
Worship and Theology in England 1603-1690. H. Davis
World Turned Upside Down. C. Hill
Cromwell and Communism. E. Bernstein As yet unpublished:
Researches on the Cornish Friends. P. Griffith

Quakers Part II

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