ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the case of Edward Greswold, and discusses its implications for the wider history of radical Protestantism in England. It attempts to reconstruct the events which form the basis of Samuel Clarke’s account. The chapter draws on Clarke’s testimony, supplemented by independent sources which confirm his central assertions. It focuses on the relationship between Greswold and the separatist preacher John Canne, who first persuaded him to leave the Church of England. The chapter argues that Greswold’s behaviour was an extreme but consistent extension of Canne’s teachings. It explains Greswold’s case in a wider context. The chapter also argues that the episode, despite its gruesome peculiarities, sheds much light on the relationship between mainstream puritans and separatists in the early Stuart period. In the 1630s it was common for Laudian divines to argue that all forms of Protestant dissent led to fragmentation and heresy. Following his separation from the church, Greswold withdrew from the company of his godly friends.
