The Sorrows of the Quaker Jesus: James Nayler and the Puritan Crackdown on the Free Spirit

In October 1656 James Nayler, a prominent Quaker leader - second only to George Fox in the nascent movement - rode into Bristol surrounded by followers singing hosannas in deliberate imitation of Jesus entry into Jerusalem. In Leo DamroschsMoreIn October 1656 James Nayler, a prominent Quaker leader - second only to George Fox in the nascent movement - rode into Bristol surrounded by followers singing hosannas in deliberate imitation of Jesus entry into Jerusalem. In Leo Damroschs trenchant reading this incident and the extraordinary outrage it ignited shed new light on Cromwells England and on religious thought and spirituality in a turbulent period.