3 - Mysticism, Melancholy and Pagano-Papism, 1630–1670

Summary

Our previous two chapters have explored the positive reception of mysticism in both English Protestant and Catholic circles in the early to mid-seventeenth century. The outcome of this was a rich variety of works such as the Sancta Sophia of Augustine Baker, The Mysticall Marriage of Francis Rous and The Gospel treasury opened of John Everard. Each of these works was a unique account of mystical experience. Yet, we also saw that criticism soon followed when these groups veered too close to the established hierarchy of authority. Baker's mysticism was viewed as a source of disruption by confessors and leaders of the Benedictine order, while accusations that he ‘lived as he pleased’ and was extravagant in his private devotions were likely part of an attempt to diminish his authority. Similarly, groups of Familists and Ranters harnessed mysticism in their writings in such a way that challenged a wide range of societal norms and ecclesiastical structures, which prompted critics to warn of how their mystical beliefs had the potential to turn the world ‘upside down’.

This confidence in citing mystical works such as those of Pseudo-Dionysius to legitimize personal and mystical experience would dissipate during the Interregnum and Restoration. This chapter explores two major reasons for this shift. The first is the inclusion of mysticism within an emerging narrative that attacked certain spiritual and ecstatic experiences by converting medical theory into polemical weaponry. Through this, writers could denounce those claiming authority through visions and prophetic experiences as suffering from ‘religious melancholy’, a dangerous mix of body illness and mental incapacitation. Many seventeenth-century writers considered melancholy to be an epidemic condition, seen everywhere and experienced by most in the early modern period. Two authors discussed in this chapter, Robert Burton and Meric Casaubon, developed this concept as a way to disavow the claims of both Catholics and sectarians to religious authority and reassert the Church of England as a stable middle ground. For Burton, medical knowledge underpinned his attack on superstitious Catholic rituals and overzealous Puritan sermons, both of which he argued preyed on those who naturally suffered from melancholy and frightened them into states of delusion. For Casaubon, enthusiasm and melancholy extended much further, now also including beliefs in mysticism, alchemy and the occult.