William the Conqueror, Henry III, Richard II et al., or English history recycled by seventeenth-century republican newsbooks

Abstract

The material used for this contribution consists of two series of editorials published in two different “republican” newsbooks during the English Revolution : The Moderate, a radical newspaper, and Mercurius Politicus, an official middle-of-the-road publication. This paper looks into the way the authors of many of these editorials recycle English history to beef up their criticism of the Stuart monarchy as well as give weight to their defence of popular sovereignty. Ironically, it seems that not all kings deserve condemnation, and one of the authors distinguishes between legitimate monarchs and usurpers. The reason why some of these English kings were held to be less evil than the others is examined here. This paper finally assesses how far the authors’ recycling and reconstruction of English history helped them to outline a republican historical narrative that was still to be completed when they wrote.