The seventeenth-century diary of Ralph Josselin recorded local weather conditions in Earls Colne, Essex, during a period when some of the most severe weather of the Little Ice Age occurred. A comparison of information extracted from the journal with the instrumental findings of Josselin's contemporaries, the natural proxy of tree rings, and the highly regarded Central England Temperature series corroborates current knowledge about weather conditions during an era for which sources are problematical.
This article examines in detail the sustained campaign of character assassination run by Mercurius Britanicus against Charles I. It illustrates the substance, style and provenance of Britanicus's arguments; it then assesses the newsbook's attacks in their chronological context.The article argues that Britanicus worked closely with the parliamentary war party grandees to discredit Charles publicly, to divide royalist opinion by revealing his weaknesses and mistakes, and to pressurize him into making peace on the radicals' terms. Although Britanicus stopped short of calling outright for Charles's deposition, this was the logical conclusion to be drawn from the newsbook's comments.
London newsbook coverage of the Marston Moor campaign is the first example of regular extended military reporting in English journalism. This article demonstrates the value of early newsbooks as historical sources for giving a fresh perspective on previously well-researched events. It investigates the mechanics of the Marston Moor news coverage: its sources, the speed of relaying information to the public, and the accuracy of reporting. The article reveals an increasing awareness by the military of the value of the serial press for raising their public profile and it suggests that leaders of the parliamentary war party, already appreciative of the newsbooks as political tools, were using revelations of vital military intelligence in specific journals to exacerbate royalist divisions.
Marchamont Nedham, the English revolutionary journalist, for whom ostentatious side-changing became an occupational hazard, has earned a reputation among both contemporaries and many historians for perfidy and venality. This article proposes another interpretation of his career. A close contextualization of his canon of works and his professional circumstances with the varying political climates shows that his apparent changes of allegiance can be explained by his long-standing attachments to political patrons. Such fidelity is also evident in his duty to his family and in his personal friendships. His career exemplified professionalism, rational pragmatism and loyalty, often in difficult circumstances.
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