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Godly Preaching, in Sickness and Ill-Health, in Seventeenth-Century England

This article examines the myriad ways that sickness affected, and was exacerbated by, puritan preaching in seventeenth-century England. The term ‘puritan’ is deployed here to encompass Church of England, and later Nonconformist, ministers who espoused the significance of preaching God's word as a pastoral duty. By exploring occasions of, and motivations for, sermonizing when sick, such a study reveals that illness played a much larger role in the pulpit performances of England's preachers, especially amongst puritan clerics, than has hitherto been acknowledged.