1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910778861703321

Autore

Middlekauff Robert

Titolo

The Mathers [[electronic resource] ] : three generations of Puritan intellectuals, 1596-1728 / / Robert Middlekauff

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, 1999

ISBN

1-280-08963-6

9786613520333

0-520-92311-1

0-585-07910-2

Edizione

[1st University of California Press paperback.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (459 p.)

Disciplina

285/.8/0922744

B

Soggetti

Puritans - Massachusetts

Massachusetts Intellectual life 17th century

Massachusetts Intellectual life 18th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Originally published: New York : Oxford University Press, 1971.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographic references (p. 369-427) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Preface to the Paperback Edition -- Notes -- Preface -- Contents -- BOOK ONE. RICHARD MATHER (1596-1669): HISTORY -- BOOK TWO. INCREASE MATHER (1639-1723): TYPOLOGY -- BOOK THREE. COTTON MATHER (1663-1728): PROPHECY -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In this classic work of American religious history, Robert Middlekauff traces the evolution of Puritan thought and theology in America from its origins in New England through the early eighteenth century. He focuses on three generations of intellectual ministers-Richard, Increase, and Cotton Mather-in order to challenge the traditional telling of the secularization of Puritanism, a story of faith transformed by reason, science, and business. Delving into the Mathers' private papers and unpublished writings as well as their sermons and published works, Middlekauff describes a Puritan theory of religious experience that is more creative, complex, and uncompromising than traditional accounts have allowed. At the same time, he portrays changing ideas and patterns of behavior that reveal much about the first hundred years of American life.