John Lilburne

Jeff Wheatley

John Lilburne 1615-1657

I. Biographical Information and History

Lilburne was left by his father at the age of fourteen to be an apprentice to a Puritan master, Thomas Hewson. This Puritan influenece stressed to Lilburne the importance of the Bible and more importantly, printed pamphlets and books. The practice of illegal printing of books and pamphlets occurred during this time and a major influence in this was Dr. John Bastwick. Lilburne was taken to meet Bastwick by his master in 1636. Lilburne began writing and distributing illegal Puritan pamphlets which eventually led to his sentencing by the Star Camber. He was led through the city of London by a cart and flogged. He then spent the next two-and-a-half years in prison. After his release from prison, he served as a Captain in the English Civil War. In 1645, he met two other men, Richard Overton and William Walwyn, who were spokesmen for popular radicalism and often clashed with the Long Parliament. This is the beginnin g of a new political faction called the Levellers. The Levellers grew out of the Puritan pamphleteers and their major call was for democratic reform. They wanted elections for future parliaments, drastic reform of the legal system, the abolition of all monopolies, equal legal rights and liberties for all , and protection from all dissenting Puritan sects (this signals the beginning of a movement towards separation of Church and State).

II. Major Relevant Works.

A. Englands Birth Right Justified, October 10, 1645

1. The first of his publications covers a wide range of secular and religious beliefs and grievances.

2. The main concern in this work is with the nature of law and its role in preserving the individual's rights in society.

3. The Monopoly, an infringement upon the common right of all free men.

a. Patent of Preaching the word to all men.

b. Patent of Merchant Adventures (specifically wollen and cloth commodities).

c. The Monopoly of Printing.

4. Parliamentary Reform.

a. Annual parliaments.

b. The elimination of lawyers from the commons

c. All public officials should change hands annually by people volunteering in turns and receiving minimal salaries.

B. Londons Liberty in Chains, October, 1646

1. Deals with Lilburne's political beliefs.

2. "...to maintain the liberties and priviledges established in a Land, by Law, against the incroaching usurpations of some great and mighty Nimrods of the world."

3. Calls for a doctrine of political rights which is democratic and highly individualist.

C. Englands New Chains Discovered, February 26, 1649

1. Intended as a form of petition to Parliament to take action against the military dictatorship the Levellers were fighting at the time.

2. Also called for the stopping of the Monoply of Printing. Lilburne says that the monopoly is meant "to gag us from speaking truth, and discovering the tyrannies of bad men."

3. It was later recognized that this work was an attempt by the Levellers to gain some control over the Army.

III. Contribution to Free Speech Theory

Above all, Lilburne valued liberty first. Many of his works center on truth and the ways in which liberty can acheive truth. He was a strong proponent of a democratic society where the government was held responsible by the people of the land. Many of the governmental reforms he proposed called for terms to be annual so that more people could be heard from and damaging dictatorships could be avoided. He believed in a free press system, especially for religious printing. There is no doubt he was stron gly influenced by his Puritan background, but the events of the English Civil War and the Leveller trio of Richard Overton, William Walwyn, and John Wildman were the major driving influences in the thoughts and works of John Lilburne. 

IV. Bibliography

Aylmer, G. E. The Levellers in the English Revolution. Ed. Heinz Lubasz. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1975. (Contains all major Works)

Gregg, Pauline. Free-Born John, a biography of John Lilburne. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1986.