Conscience, Equity and the Court of Chancery in Early Modern England

'... diligent readers can learn much from his [Klinck's] wide-ranging and penetrating analysis of shifting and alternative meanings of conscience in legal and religious texts and works of political and moral philosophy.' Journal of British Studies 'It is this breadth of perspective that sets Klinck's book apart. It will be of great interest to historians of law, religion, theology, philosophy, and culture, because it provides a fresh and thoughtful perspective on a perennially difficult issue: understanding how one of the most important operative concepts in the Christian society of medieval and early-modern England was assumed, understood, and applied in a judicial manner.' Law and History Review 'Readers in legal history will welcome the author's clarity of thought; literary historians will profit from his reasoned examination of relevant texts.' Renaissance Quarterly 'As a work of substantive legal history, this work excels in many areas. But what is in it for the generalists? Plenty. ...Those interested in legal history, contemporary legal scholars, and political historians will find this work most interesting, and generalists at the graduate level will find this work rewarding.' Sixteenth Century Journal 'In his rich study Professor Klinck considers whether the shift [in the restriction of the potential claims of Chancery] might have been related to changing concepts of conscience as understood by divines writing or preaching on ethical theory and moral casuistry. Two of his chapters, Five and Seven, provide a splendid survey of these changes in the course of the seventeenth century. These are chapters that should be required reading for historians of English religion interested in the consequences of the Protestant Reformation and of the battles over 'freedom of conscience' from the mid-century.' English Historical Review