Governed by opinion

"In this first extensive analysis of communication in mid-seventeenth-century London, Dagmar Freist analyses the impact of public opinion on politics. She argues that, in a society with a still massive oral residue, political debate was influenced by print and oral cultures, and traditional imagery merged with the public discourse on national politics and religion."--BOOK JACKET. "The political symbolism of the period was based on gender stereotypes. In sharp contrast, however, women played a prominent role in the dissemination of news."--BOOK JACKET. "Drawing on the rich material of court records on sedition, Freist provides fascinating detail about the 'language of conflict' and how ordinary people discussed political and religious issues. Her findings are set in a wider context through the study of censorship, the professionalisation of the news trade, and the analysis of popular news genres."--BOOK JACKET.