ABSTRACT
The politica l identit y o f apprentices , articulate d an d celebrate d b y Edmun d Bolton, an d that o f women, whic h began to emerge in the writings o f Aemilia Lanyer an d Rache l Speght , foun d furthe r discursiv e expressio n accompanie d by politica l actio n durin g th e Englis h Revolution . Ye t whil e th e politica l identity o f their predecessor s wa s available t o the apprentices - thoug h the y took pain s t o dissociat e themselve s fro m it s disorderl y aspec t - wome n petitioners were most likely not building upon the works of earlier writer s such as Lanye r an d Speght; th e lack o f access to such example s - thoug h the y did have access to the discourse o f misogyny - indicate s how the process o f their subjectification wa s mor e discontinuou s an d difficult . I n the absenc e o f thes e proximate models, they were compelled to refer to more remote examples fro m the Bible and medieval history .
