![]() ![]() ![]() It draws upon a variety of weeklies, ranging from Parliamentary newspapers, and official Commonwealth periodicals after the passing of a stringent licensing law in September 1649, to underground and unlicensed royalist mercuries. This essay focuses on the way these two sects were represented in contemporary newsbooks, from the time of the regicide and the establishment of the Commonwealth to the passing of the “Act against severall Atheisticall, Blasphemous and Execrable Opinions” in August 1650, and the interrogation by a parliamentary committee of Ranter Abiezer Coppe for alleged blasphemy in October 1650. Yet, the Diggers and the Ranters held similar heterodox views – although there were significant differences between them, and they both made a point of distancing themselves from each other both arguably advocated and practised a form of mystical radicalism. While the former were members of organised communities that pursued a communistic agenda, the latter were more of a loose group of individuals who produced prophetic tracts. The years 1649-1650 witnessed the emergence of two prominent radical sects of the British Civil Wars – the Diggers and the Ranters. ![]()
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