Lodowicke Muggleton
Lodowicke Muggleton (1609–1698) was an English religious thinker who gave his name to Muggletonianism, a Protestant sect which was always small, but survived until the death of its last follower in 1979.
On his father's remarriage, Lodowicke was put out to nurse in the country, the common practice in such family restructuring at the time.
Muggleton fell away from the Puritan faith, "for all the zeal we formerly had was quite worn out,"[7] and this cost his business dearly in terms of lost customers from that congregation.
"It came to pass in the year 1650, I heard of several prophets and prophetess that were about the streets and declared the Day of the Lord, and many other wonderful things.
Robins displayed considerable talents as a magus; presenting the appearance of angels, burning shining lights, half-moons and stars in chambers, thick darkness with his head in a flame of fire and his person riding on the wings of the wind.
Muggleton makes it clear that he believed Robins was guilty of self-deification and of indulging in dangerous powers when he had no grounds to consider them of divine origin.
"[10] On 3 February 1651 (1652 in the new style or Gregorian calendar) John Reeve was addressed by the voice of God giving him the Third Commission.
It may seem incredible to modern readers that two ordinary tailors could walk around London considering themselves to be transcendental characters out of the Book of Revelation.
As a result, the exchange of letters and pamphlets rarely rises above contradiction, quibbling and name-calling; the latter Muggleton employs with great verve.
"[20] One of Muggleton's more telling criticisms of the Quakers is that they try too hard to entice God to move in their direction, thus falling into the trap of seeing their own lights and fancies as coming to them from without.
[21] Samuel Hooten enquires if Muggleton should not pay heed to the instruction Christ gave to his disciples, "Bless and curse not"?
Richard Farnesworth also taxes Muggleton about the failure of John Reeve and himself to live out their part from the book of Revelation.
In 1675, Muggleton, as executor of the estate of Deborah Brunt, became involved in property litigation against Alderman John James.
He seems largely to have been successful until his opponent hit upon the idea of trying to get him excommunicated in the Court of Arches so that he could no longer have defence of law in civil matters.
Muggleton was bailed to appear to answer charges arising from his book The Neck of the Quakers broken, specifically that he did curse Dr Edward Bourne of Worcester, therein.
Muggleton's problem was that it was common practice for recently published dissenting books to bear false dates and places of publication to escape the law.
Muggleton's bore a false place (Amsterdam, not London) but a true date, some 13 years earlier, and he should have escaped prosecution.
[24][25] At each of his three two-hourly appearances in the pillory (at Temple Gate, outside the Royal Exchange and at the market in West Smithfield) a selection of the books seized from Muggleton were burnt by the common hangman.
[26] Muggleton was advised to get Ann Lowe to sue him for debt so that a writ of habeas corpus would remove him from Newgate to the Fleet prison.
Eventually, the Sheriff of London, Sir John Peak was persuaded to release Muggleton for a payment of £100 cash down.
A copy of one of his books seized by the Stationers' Company and now in the Lambeth Palace Library, London is inscribed, "he had yellow hair and a ruddy complexion."
Mr Morgan had bought it from a family of Derbyshire Muggletonians but it is not known how it came to be painted and, although possessing the yellow hair, does give the appearance of being a stock portrait of a Puritan type.
[30] It was subsequently purchased by Isaac Frost for the London congregation and now, extensively and beautifully restored, belongs to the University of Sussex.
From this painting an engraving was made in 1829 by J. Kennerley at the expense of the Frost family for use as a frontispiece to publications and to be sold as a separate card.
Charles Leslie said, "it has been observed of great enthusiasts that their hair is generally slank, without any curl, which proceeds from a moisture of brain that inclines to folly.
Muggleton himself says his intention is to prophesy anew: "whereby is unfolded, and plainly declared, the whole counsel of God concerning Himself, the Devil and all Mankind from the foundation of the world to all eternity.
In 1653, the weekly newspaper Mercurius Politicus sent their ace-reporter Marchamont Nedham down Bow Lane to investigate "the world of the Muggletonians".
After all, the proof that John Reeve's calling had been authentic was supposed to have been because it was by voice of God, "as a man speaks to his friend" and not by visions which might be self-deceiving.
In Jewish practice of John's time, visions came through meditation upon a message and a favourite vehicle was the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel which is a centre-piece of Revelation.
When John is spoken to, it is to explain the meaning of what he has seen; just as Mary Magdalene had seen Jesus in the garden but did not recognise him until she heard his voice.
