William Walwyn
Encyclopedia
William Walwyn was an English pamphleteer, a Leveller and a medical practitioner.
Walwyn was a silkman in London who took the parliamentary side in the English Civil War
. He advocated religious toleration and emerged as a leader of the Levellers
in 1647 which led to his imprisonment in 1649. During 1646 he wrote five pamphlets in response to Thomas Edwards'
Gangraena
in which Walwyn was described as "a Seeker
, a dangerous man, a strong head". In 1649, whilst held in the Tower of London
on a charge of Treason
, he published "The Fountain of Slaunder Discovered" and "Walwyns Just Defence" to defend his character against the publication of "Walwyn's Wiles". The pamphlet had seven authors who were the leading Baptist and Independent preachers in London at the time Arnald, Burnet, Foster, Kiffin
, Lordall, Price, and Rosier, but was mainly drafted by John Price who had previously attack Walwyn in print after four of the Leveller petitions were burnt by the common hangman in June 1647 (see "Gold Tried in the Fire"). In Price's opinion it was Walwyn not Lilburne who was the most dangerous of the Leveller leaders. In 1653 when Lilburne
was arrested having returned from exile in Bruges
, Overton
and Prince rallied support, Walwyn however was arrested and held in the tower
until after Lilburne's trial was concluded.
. The full title was "Walwyn's Wiles, or the Manifestators manifested, ... declaring the subtle and crafy wiles, the atheistical, blasphemous soul-murdering principles and practices of Mr William Walwyn". Walwyn's Wiles was a response to the jointly signed Leveller pamphlet "A Manifestation" (April 14, 1649) which whilst it denied that they intended to level men's estates also stood firm on the principles outlined in The Agreement of the People.
In the ten pages of Wiles Walwyn is variously described as a Jesuit, a bigamist, of having persuaded a woman to commit suicide, and that he would "destroy all government", that he had said "that it would never be well until all things were common", and that he had also said that there would be "no need for judges ... take any other tradesman that is an honest and just man and let him hear the case".
In response Walwyn published two pamphlets "The Fountain of Slaunder Discovered" in which he defended his morality, and which had written a year before but held back from publication. The second pamphlet was a direct response to Wiles as its full title "Walwyns Just Defence against the Aspertions Cast upon him, in a Late Un-Christian Pamphlet Entitled, Walwyns Wiles" makes clear. The Just Defence contains a great deal of detail of the Leveller movement and the Independents from 1646 onwards.
Medical Writing
Walwyn was a silkman in London who took the parliamentary side in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. He advocated religious toleration and emerged as a leader of the Levellers
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil Wars which emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, all of which were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People". They came to prominence at the end of the First...
in 1647 which led to his imprisonment in 1649. During 1646 he wrote five pamphlets in response to Thomas Edwards'
Thomas Edwards (Heresiographer)
Thomas Edwards was an English Puritan clergyman. He was a very influential preacher in London of the 1640s, and also one of the most ferocious polemical writers of the time, arguing from a conservative Presbyterian point of view against the Independents.-Life:He graduated M.A. from Queens'...
Gangraena
Gangraena
Gangraena is a book by Thomas Edwards, published in 1646. A notorious work of "heresiography", i.e. the description in detail of heresy, it appeared the year after Ephraim Pagitt's Heresiography. These two books attempted to catalogue the fissiparous Protestant congregations of the time, in England...
in which Walwyn was described as "a Seeker
Seekers
The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were a Protestant dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Arguably, they are best thought of as forerunners of the Quakers, with whom...
, a dangerous man, a strong head". In 1649, whilst held in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
on a charge of Treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, he published "The Fountain of Slaunder Discovered" and "Walwyns Just Defence" to defend his character against the publication of "Walwyn's Wiles". The pamphlet had seven authors who were the leading Baptist and Independent preachers in London at the time Arnald, Burnet, Foster, Kiffin
William Kiffin
William Kiffin , sometimes spelled William Kiffen, was a seventeenth-century English Baptist minister. He was also a successful merchant in the woolen trade.-Life:...
, Lordall, Price, and Rosier, but was mainly drafted by John Price who had previously attack Walwyn in print after four of the Leveller petitions were burnt by the common hangman in June 1647 (see "Gold Tried in the Fire"). In Price's opinion it was Walwyn not Lilburne who was the most dangerous of the Leveller leaders. In 1653 when Lilburne
John Lilburne
John Lilburne , also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after English Civil Wars 1642-1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law...
was arrested having returned from exile in Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Overton
Richard Overton
Richard Overton was an English pamphleteer and Leveller during the Civil War. Little is known of the early life of Overton, but he is believed to have matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge, before working as an actor and playwright in Southwark. Here he picked up Leveller sympathies, and...
and Prince rallied support, Walwyn however was arrested and held in the tower
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
until after Lilburne's trial was concluded.
Walwyn's Wiles
This pamphlet was written by seven of the leading London Independent and Baptist preachers and published whilst Walwyn and the other Leveller leaders were held in the towerTower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. The full title was "Walwyn's Wiles, or the Manifestators manifested, ... declaring the subtle and crafy wiles, the atheistical, blasphemous soul-murdering principles and practices of Mr William Walwyn". Walwyn's Wiles was a response to the jointly signed Leveller pamphlet "A Manifestation" (April 14, 1649) which whilst it denied that they intended to level men's estates also stood firm on the principles outlined in The Agreement of the People.
In the ten pages of Wiles Walwyn is variously described as a Jesuit, a bigamist, of having persuaded a woman to commit suicide, and that he would "destroy all government", that he had said "that it would never be well until all things were common", and that he had also said that there would be "no need for judges ... take any other tradesman that is an honest and just man and let him hear the case".
In response Walwyn published two pamphlets "The Fountain of Slaunder Discovered" in which he defended his morality, and which had written a year before but held back from publication. The second pamphlet was a direct response to Wiles as its full title "Walwyns Just Defence against the Aspertions Cast upon him, in a Late Un-Christian Pamphlet Entitled, Walwyns Wiles" makes clear. The Just Defence contains a great deal of detail of the Leveller movement and the Independents from 1646 onwards.
Works
Political and Religious Writing- A New Petition of the Papists 1641
- Some Considerations Tending to the Undeceiving Those, Whose Judgements Are Misinformed 1642
- The Power of Love 1643
- The Compassionate Samaritane 1644
- Good Counsell to All 1644
- A Help to the Right Understanding of a Discourse Concerning Independency 1644/5
- Englands Lamentable Slaverie 1645
- Tolleration Justified and Persecution Condemned 1645/6
- A Whisper in the Eare of Mr. Thomas Edwards, Minister 1645/6
- A Word More to Mr Thomas Edwards ... Concerning the National Covenant 1645/6
- A Word in Season: To All Sorts of Well Minded People 1646
- An Antidote against Master Edwards 1646
- The Just Man in Bonds 1646
- A Remonstrance of many Thousand Citizens (a collaboration with Richard OvertonRichard OvertonRichard Overton was an English pamphleteer and Leveller during the Civil War. Little is known of the early life of Overton, but he is believed to have matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge, before working as an actor and playwright in Southwark. Here he picked up Leveller sympathies, and...
) 1646 - A Prediction of Mr Edwards His Conversion and Recantation 1646
- A Demurre to the Bill for Preventing the Growth and Spreading of Heresie 1646
- A Parable, or Consultation of Physitians upon Master Edwards 1646
- A Still and Soft Voice from the Scripture 1647
- Gold Tried in the Fire; or, The Burnt Petitions Revived 1647
- The Bloody Project 1648
- The Vanitie of the Present Churches 1648/9
- A Manifestation (jointly signed) 1649
- An Agreement of the Free People of England (jointly signed) 1649
- The Fountain of Slaunder Discovered 1649
- Walwyns Just Defence 1649
- Juries Justified 1651
- W Walwyns Conceptions; For a Free Trade 1652
Medical Writing
- Spirits Moderated 1654
- Healths New Store-House Opened 1661
- A Touch-Stone for Physick 1667
- A Physick for Families 1669