ABSTRACT
Elizabeth Poole, a woman who is known to have prophesied in the halls of power, provides us with an example of the complex dynamics of prophetic reception. The work and public exposure of prophetess Elizabeth Poole was circumscribed by a transcendent occasion in the history of England: the intervening weeks between December 1648 and January 1649 in which the Army Council debated the possible execution of Charles I. On the eve of Poole's first public intervention in Whitehall she was offered temporary lodgings there as was customary for sympathisers of the army. Poole is faithful to her role as prophetess in that she refers the gentlemen to the authority of her written prophecy, but she is on occasion willing to provide her own informed opinion, which is rich in nuances on contract theory. Like most of her contemporary prophetesses, there is scant biographical data about the origins and personal circumstances of Elizabeth Poole.
