ABSTRACT
The obscurity of Gerrard Winstanley (1609–76) has long intrigued and puzzled scholars of seventeenth-century Britain. The absence of firm knowledge, particularly outside the critical years of 1649–51, has led to much speculation and occasionally ill-informed judgement. In particular, Winstanley’s participation in the events of 1649–50 has been portrayed within a biographical context which is unsupported by surviving evidence. This investigation sets out to unearth what can be known with reasonable certitude from documentary sources about Gerrard Winstanley, the man. This is not all that is worth knowing, or speculating, about this enigmatic figure, but it is a critical starting point.
