Cambridge University Transactions during the Puritan Controversies of the 16th and 17th Centuries

First published in 1854, this is the first of a two-volume collection of historical sources relating to the University of Cambridge during the religious upheavals from the Elizabethan period to the Restoration. This volume covers the period 1570-90, and documents the long-running debate between the Puritans in the University Senate, who sought to regulate forms of worship, and the heads of colleges, who accepted the new University Statutes of 1570. It also reveals other areas of controversy including religious tests on graduation, dress, and even public bathing. Letters and diary entries provide additional insights into less contentious aspects of ‘the manners and pursuits of the University’ at the time. The book will be of interest to historians of the Elizabethan period and its turbulent religious currents, and to historians of education.