Religious Intent and the Art of Courteous Pleasantry: A Few Letters from Englishwomen to Heinrich Bullinger (1543-1562)

Abstract

"Religious Intend and the Art of Courteous Pleasantry" explores the possibility of gender inclusive Reformations-narrative in light of the exchanges between Heinrich Bullinger and English women from the perspective of microhistory and the history of culture. Particularly the linguistic, historical, and theological content of the thirteen-letter correspondence between Heinrich Bullinger and Anna Hilles, Lady Jane Grey, Anne Hooper and Margaret Parkhurst is considered. Inserting the women's letters and Bullinger's replies into the larger Reformation context reveals English women of remarkable independence and dedication to the religious and political Reformation of England. The women's religious and political language signifies a collective identity of co-combatants in a missionary struggle to reform England influenced by Zurich.