Introduction -- 1. Attitudes to Images from the Reformation to the Meeting of the Long Parliament c.1536-1640 -- 2. The Argument for Reform: the Literature of Iconoclasm -- 3. Official Iconoclasm: the Long Parliament and the Reformation of Images -- 4. The Enforcement of Iconoclastic Legislation in the Localities -- 5. The Response in London -- 6. The Reformation of the Cathedrals -- 7. Iconoclasm at the Universities; Conclusion
Summary
This work offers a detailed analysis of Puritan iconoclasm in England during the 1640s. It looks at the reasons for the resurgence of image-breaking a hundred years after the break with Rome, and the extent of the phenomenon. Initially a reaction to the emphasis on ceremony and the 'beauty of holiness' under Archbishop Laud, the attack on 'innovations', such as communion rails, images and stained glass windows, developed into a major campaign driven forward by the Long Parliament as part of its religious reformation
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-304) and index