John Knox, First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women

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Inception, Composition, Contemporary Response

The question of the ultimate legitimacy of rule by a female sovereign was one that had occupied Knox’s mind some years before the composition of what is, undoubtedly, his most infamous and controversial tract, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. Before proceeding, however, it is important to point out that, here, “regiment” is not to be understood in its most common and vague modern sense. To Knox, it did not mean “clan, group, miscellaneous conglomeration” or any such thing. He understood the term to mean, simply, “government”, in a political sense (whatever his views about domestic and personal relationships between the sexes). Of course, he did address the role of women in society in

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Citation: Farrow, Kenneth D. . "First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 November 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5142, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5142 First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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