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St Paul’s and London News Culture, 1618–1632

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Old St Paul’s and Culture

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Abstract

During the early years of the Thirty Years’ War, reports of the conflict flooded into London, where they were gathered, reshaped, discussed, and utilised. It was crucial for news consumers to pay attention to the city’s news culture, and the role of different spaces within it. St Paul’s was at the heart of London’s news market. By examining a range of texts that deal with ‘foreign affairs’—from news texts to sermons and polemics—this chapter examines the place of St Paul’s within the topography of England’s news market. It argues that St Paul’s was key to the consumption and dissemination of foreign news, and to the forms of ideological connection this news fostered. At the same time, those who frequented the cathedral precinct in search of news were satirised, their activities stigmatised as unprofitable, disruptive, and ignorant.

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Correspondence to Kirsty Rolfe .

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Rolfe, K. (2021). St Paul’s and London News Culture, 1618–1632. In: Altman, S., Buckner, J. (eds) Old St Paul’s and Culture. Early Modern Literature in History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77267-3_14

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