A Following Holy Life

Jeremy Taylor (1613 -1667) rose to prominence in the Golden Age of Anglicanism. After a time in which Calvinist influences had been dominant, a group of writers, collectively known as the Caroline Divines, could write assuredly from a position of having rejected both the claims of Rome and the reformers of Continental Europe. It was a time when a distinctive Anglican doctrine and piety could flourish and Jeremy Taylor was a key voice. His devotional books, Holy Living and Holy Dying, are spiritual classics, noted for the beauty of their prose and reflecting his celebrated preaching skills. He was a noted moral theologian and this volume draws on his large body of writings - theological and devotional - to introduce students to the breadth of his thought and his lasting influence. An introductory essay provides a biography, an exploration of his style, sources and influences and an overview of his prolific works. Chaplain to Charles I, Taylor spent the years of the Commonwealth in exile in Wales where he wrote many of his works. At the Restoration he became Bishop of Down and Connor, and Vice-Chancellor of Dublin University.