The Triall of Lieut. Collonell John Lilburne
- Title
- The Triall of Lieut. Collonell John Lilburne
- Heading
- Print and Protest
- Description
-
Published in the year of the execution of Charles I, The Triall of Lieut. Collonell John Lilburne publicised the prosecution and eventual acquittal of the radical political activist John Lilburne for high treason. A leading figure among the Levellers, Lilburne argued for legal equality, parliamentary reform, and the rights of ordinary English subjects. Printed accounts of his trial transformed courtroom proceedings into a public political event, enabling readers far beyond London to follow and debate the case.
The illustration shows Lilburne reading from a printed commentary on the laws of England during his trial. The image captures the printed book’s power to authorise political argument and mobilise resistance to authority, presenting legal knowledge as something that could be consulted, cited, and contested outside traditional institutions of power.
Cheap pamphlets and trial accounts such as this helped disseminate radical political ideas during the Civil War and Interregnum periods, contributing to an increasingly participatory print culture in which political debate extended well beyond parliament and court. - Place of Publication
- London
- Publisher
- Henry Hills
- Date of Publication
- 1649
- Format
- 4to
- Century
- 17th
- Illustrations
- Woodcut