Defending female authorship in Elizabeth Poole's "A Vision" (1648): 'The cure of the Kingdome'

Abstract

A Vision: Wherein is Manifested the Disease and Cure of the Kingdome (1648) is Elizabeth Poole's account of the prophecies she delivered before Cromwell and the Puritan Army's General Council as they debated the regicide of Charles I at the end of the first English Civil War in 1648-49. In her "message", Poole invokes the analogy between king and husband to advise the Army officers not to execute the "head" of their "body"; however, she gives this analogy a radical twist when she adds that the Council should divorce the king instead, since he had violated the terms of his "marriage" by behaving abusively and tyrannically. While the circumstances surrounding Poole's participation in the Whitehall deliberations are unclear, her appearance represents a rare case of a woman's direct involvement in the mid-seventeenth-century discussions of the scope and legitimacy of government. This article discusses the reception of Elizabeth Poole's text by her contemporaries, as seen in her own defence of her right to relaying her divinely inspired opinion in print. ; A Vision: Wherein is Manifested the Disease and Cure of the Kingdome (1648) es el relato de Elizabeth Poole de las profecías que comunicó ante Cromwell y el Consejo General del Ejército puritano mientras se debatía el regicidio de Carlos I de Inglaterra al término de la primera Guerra Civil en 1648-49. En su "mensaje", Poole invoca la analogía entre rey y esposo para aconsejar a los miembros del ejército que no ejecuten la "cabeza" de su "cuerpo"; no obstante, Poole da un giro radical a esta analogía cuando añade que Cromwell debería divorciarse del rey ya que éste ha violado los términos de su "matrimonio" al comportarse de forma tiránica y abusiva. Aunque las circunstancias que rodearon la participación de Poole en las deliberaciones de Whitehall son poco claras, su comparecencia supone un caso único de implicación directa de una mujer en los debates sobre el alcance y la legitimidad del gobierno a mediados del siglo XVII. Este artículo aborda la recepción del texto de Elizabeth Poole por parte de sus contemporáneos, tal como se aprecia en la defensa que la autora hace de su derecho a comunicar y publicar una opinion de inspiración divina.