Millenarism in the English Civil War: The Case of the Diggers (1648 1652)

Abstract

The Millenarianism is essential in Christian rhetoric, encouraging the dreams of the men, especially those of the opressed classes, who saw in the millenial dream a way to destroy the enemy (the privileged) and the prevailing s ystem. Norman Cohn called the link between social crisis and millenarianism as 'anarchist revolutionary millenarianism'. This article analyzes the discourse of diggers and its leader, Gerrard Winstanley, under this concept, as well as to discover the mille narian discourse digger leader through different social expressions that emerge from his works such as relating religious, historical and social,
among others.