- Gerrard Winstanley in translation Hessayon, Ariel. 2019. Gerrard Winstanley in translation. Notes and Queries, 66(4), pp. 544-546. ISSN 0029-3970
- The Jews, Instructions for Use: Four Eighteenth-Century Projects for the Emancipation of European Jews. By Bernardini, Paolo L. and Lucci, Diego. Academic Studies Press. 2012 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2017. The Jews, Instructions for Use: Four Eighteenth-Century Projects for the Emancipation of European Jews. By Bernardini, Paolo L. and Lucci, Diego. Academic Studies Press. 2012 [Book Review]. History: The Journal of the Historical Association, 102(351), pp. 514-516. ISSN 0018-2648
- Gerrard Winstanley: The Digger’s Life and Legacy. By John Gurney. London: Pluto Press, 2013 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2015. Gerrard Winstanley: The Digger’s Life and Legacy. By John Gurney. London: Pluto Press, 2013 [Book Review]. The Historian, 77(3), pp. 607-608. ISSN 0018-2370
- Paul C. Lim. Mystery Unveiled: The Crisis of the Trinity in Early Modern England. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2014. Paul C. Lim. Mystery Unveiled: The Crisis of the Trinity in Early Modern England. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012 [Book Review]. Journal of British Studies, 53(4), pp. 1048-1049. ISSN 0021-9371
- Winstanley and Baptist thought Hessayon, Ariel. 2014. Winstanley and Baptist thought. Prose Studies, 36(1), pp. 15-31. ISSN 0144-0357
- "The Faustian Century. German Literature and Culture in the Age of Luther and Faustus". Laan, J.M. van der and Weeks, Andrew, eds. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2013 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2014. "The Faustian Century. German Literature and Culture in the Age of Luther and Faustus". Laan, J.M. van der and Weeks, Andrew, eds. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2013 [Book Review]. Cromohs - Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 18, pp. 145-148. ISSN 1123-7023
- Paul Kléber Monod, Solomon’s Secret Arts: The Occult in the Age of Enlightenment, New Haven and London: Yale University Press 2013 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2014. Paul Kléber Monod, Solomon’s Secret Arts: The Occult in the Age of Enlightenment, New Haven and London: Yale University Press 2013 [Book Review]. Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, 14(2), pp. 260-263. ISSN 1567-9896
- Revelation Restored: The Apocalypse in later Seventeenth-Century England, by Warren Johnston [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2013. Revelation Restored: The Apocalypse in later Seventeenth-Century England, by Warren Johnston [Book Review]. The English Historical Review, 128(530), pp. 155-157. ISSN 0013-8266
- ‘Gerrard Winstanley and Jacob Boehme’ Hessayon, Ariel. 2013. ‘Gerrard Winstanley and Jacob Boehme’. Cromohs – Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 18, pp. 1-28. ISSN 1123-7023
- Women, Feminism and Religion in Early Enlightenment England, Sarah Apetrei. Cambridge University Press, 2010 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2011. Women, Feminism and Religion in Early Enlightenment England, Sarah Apetrei. Cambridge University Press, 2010 [Book Review]. Women's Studies International Forum, 34(6), pp. 613-614. ISSN 0277-5395
- John Selden. A life in scholarship. By G. J. Toomer. (Warburg Studies.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2011. John Selden. A life in scholarship. By G. J. Toomer. (Warburg Studies.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009 [Book Review]. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 62(3), pp. 624-625. ISSN 0022-0469
- Jews and crypto-Jews in sixteenth and seventeenth century England Hessayon, Ariel. 2011. Jews and crypto-Jews in sixteenth and seventeenth century England. Cromohs: Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 16, pp. 1-26.
- The Complete Works of Gerrard Winstanley edited by: Thomas N. Corns, Ann Hughes, David Loewenstein (2 volumes), Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2011. The Complete Works of Gerrard Winstanley edited by: Thomas N. Corns, Ann Hughes, David Loewenstein (2 volumes), Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009 [Book Review]. Reviews in History(1043), ISSN 1749-8155
- The making of Abiezer Coppe Hessayon, Ariel. 2011. The making of Abiezer Coppe. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 62(1), pp. 38-58. ISSN 0022-0469
- Biblical Scholarship, Science and Politics in Early Modern England: Thomas Browne and the Thorny Place of Knowledge by Kevin Killeen [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2011. Biblical Scholarship, Science and Politics in Early Modern England: Thomas Browne and the Thorny Place of Knowledge by Kevin Killeen [Book Review]. Sixteenth Century Journal, 42(4), pp. 1106-1108. ISSN 0361-0160
- Stephen Wright, The Early English Baptists, 1603–1649, Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2006 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2011. Stephen Wright, The Early English Baptists, 1603–1649, Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2006 [Book Review]. Cromohs - Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 16, ISSN 1123-7023
- Apocalypse Then: Prophecy and the Making of the Modern World, by Arthur H. Williamson (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008) [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2010. Apocalypse Then: Prophecy and the Making of the Modern World, by Arthur H. Williamson (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008) [Book Review]. The English Historical Review, 125(516), pp. 1250-1252. ISSN 0013-8266
- Marvin Perry and Frederick M. Schweitzer, eds, Antisemitic Myths: A Historical and Contemporary Anthology, Indiana University Press: Bloomington IN, 2008 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2010. Marvin Perry and Frederick M. Schweitzer, eds, Antisemitic Myths: A Historical and Contemporary Anthology, Indiana University Press: Bloomington IN, 2008 [Book Review]. European History Quarterly, 40(3), pp. 548-550. ISSN 0265-6914
- A Radical History of Britain. Visionaries, Rebels and Revolutionaries: the Men and Women who Fought for Our Freedoms. London: Little, Brown and Company, 2009 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2010. A Radical History of Britain. Visionaries, Rebels and Revolutionaries: the Men and Women who Fought for Our Freedoms. London: Little, Brown and Company, 2009 [Book Review]. Reviews in History(888), ISSN 1749-8155
- Peter Lake and Steven Pincus (eds.), The politics of the public sphere in early modern England. Manchester University Press, 2007 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. Peter Lake and Steven Pincus (eds.), The politics of the public sphere in early modern England. Manchester University Press, 2007 [Book Review]. Archives: The Journal of the British Records Association, 34(121), pp. 72-73. ISSN 0003-9535
- François Soyer, The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal. King Manuel I and the End of Religious Tolerance (1496–7) [The Medieval Mediterranean. Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400–1500. Volume 69] (Leiden, Brill, 2007) [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. François Soyer, The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal. King Manuel I and the End of Religious Tolerance (1496–7) [The Medieval Mediterranean. Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400–1500. Volume 69] (Leiden, Brill, 2007) [Book Review]. Reviews in History(797), ISSN 1749-8155
- Eliane Glaser, Judaism without Jews: Philosemitism and Christian Polemic in Early Modern England. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. Eliane Glaser, Judaism without Jews: Philosemitism and Christian Polemic in Early Modern England. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007 [Book Review]. Reviews in History(798), ISSN 1749-8155
- The Face of the City: Civic Portraiture and Civic Identity in Early Modern England By Robert Tittler [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. The Face of the City: Civic Portraiture and Civic Identity in Early Modern England By Robert Tittler [Book Review]. History: The Journal of the Historical Association, 94(314), pp. 236-237. ISSN 0018-2648
- William Blake and the Cultures of Radical Christianity, by Robert Rix (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007) [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. William Blake and the Cultures of Radical Christianity, by Robert Rix (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007) [Book Review]. The English Historical Review, 124(506), pp. 195-196. ISSN 0013-8266
- English Radicalism, 1550-1850 by Glenn Burgess, Matthew Festenstein [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. English Radicalism, 1550-1850 by Glenn Burgess, Matthew Festenstein [Book Review]. Sixteenth Century Journal, 40(3), pp. 873-874. ISSN 0361-0160
- Early modern communism: The Diggers and community of goods Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. Early modern communism: The Diggers and community of goods. Journal for the Study of Radicalism, 3(2), pp. 1-49. ISSN 19301189
- Restoring the Garden of Eden in England’s Green and Pleasant Land: The Diggers and the Fruits of the Earth Hessayon, Ariel. 2009. Restoring the Garden of Eden in England’s Green and Pleasant Land: The Diggers and the Fruits of the Earth. Journal for the Study of Radicalism, 2(2), pp. 1-25.
- Brave community. The Digger movement in the English Revolution. By John Gurney. (Politics, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain.) Manchester–New York: Manchester University Press, 2007 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2008. Brave community. The Digger movement in the English Revolution. By John Gurney. (Politics, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain.) Manchester–New York: Manchester University Press, 2007 [Book Review]. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 59(4), pp. 778-779. ISSN 0022-0469
- Christopher Duston, Judith Maltby, eds. Religion in Revolutionary England. Manchester: Manchester University Press [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2008. Christopher Duston, Judith Maltby, eds. Religion in Revolutionary England. Manchester: Manchester University Press [Book Review]. H-Albion, H-Net Reviews,
- Miracles in Enlightenment England. By Jane Shaw. New Haven–London: Yale University Press, 2006 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2008. Miracles in Enlightenment England. By Jane Shaw. New Haven–London: Yale University Press, 2006 [Book Review]. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 59(2), pp. 355-357. ISSN 0022-0469
- Heterodoxy in Early Modern Science and Religion - Edited by John Brooke and Ian Maclean [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2008. Heterodoxy in Early Modern Science and Religion - Edited by John Brooke and Ian Maclean [Book Review]. History: The Journal of the Historical Association, 93(309), pp. 124-126. ISSN 0018-2648
- Windows of the Soul: The Art of Physiognomy in European Culture 1470-1780 by Martin Porter [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2008. Windows of the Soul: The Art of Physiognomy in European Culture 1470-1780 by Martin Porter [Book Review]. Sixteenth Century Journal, 39(2), pp. 571-572. ISSN 0361-0160
- Kate Peters, Print Culture and the Early Quakers. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2007. Kate Peters, Print Culture and the Early Quakers. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005 [Book Review]. Reviews in History(626), ISSN 1749-8155
- Blown by the Spirit: Puritanism and the Emergence of an Antinomian Underground in Pre-Civil-War England By David R. Como [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2007. Blown by the Spirit: Puritanism and the Emergence of an Antinomian Underground in Pre-Civil-War England By David R. Como [Book Review]. History: The Journal of the Historical Association, 92(305), pp. 118-119. ISSN 0018-2648
- "The Teutonicks writings": translating Jacob Boehme into English and Welsh Hessayon, Ariel. 2007. "The Teutonicks writings": translating Jacob Boehme into English and Welsh. Esoterica, 9, pp. 129-165.
- "The refiner’s fire": TheaurauJohn Tany (1608–1659) e la Rivoluzione Inglese Hessayon, Ariel. 2007. "The refiner’s fire": TheaurauJohn Tany (1608–1659) e la Rivoluzione Inglese. Rivista Storica Italiana, 119, pp. 359-384.
- Incendiary texts: book burning in England, c.1640–c.1660 Hessayon, Ariel. 2007. Incendiary texts: book burning in England, c.1640–c.1660. Cromohs – Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 12, pp. 1-25.
- Making Heretics: Militant Protestantism and Free Grace in Massachusetts, 1636–1641. By Michael P. Winship. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2002 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2006. Making Heretics: Militant Protestantism and Free Grace in Massachusetts, 1636–1641. By Michael P. Winship. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2002 [Book Review]. Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, 75(1), pp. 206-208. ISSN 0009-6407
- A Textual History of the King James Bible by David Norton; The New Cambridge Paragraph Bible with the Apocrypha: King James Version by David Norton [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2006. A Textual History of the King James Bible by David Norton; The New Cambridge Paragraph Bible with the Apocrypha: King James Version by David Norton [Book Review]. Sixteenth Century Journal, 37(4), pp. 1109-1111. ISSN 0361-0160
- Ann Hughes, Gangraena and the Struggle for the English Revolution. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004 [Book Review] Hessayon, Ariel. 2005. Ann Hughes, Gangraena and the Struggle for the English Revolution. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004 [Book Review]. Reviews in History(479), ISSN 1749-8155
- Jacob Boehme and the early Quakers Hessayon, Ariel. 2005. Jacob Boehme and the early Quakers. Journal of the Friends Historical Society, 60(3), pp. 191-223.
- Og, re di Basan, Enoc e i Libri di Enoc: testi non canonici e intrepretazioni di Genesi 6, 1–4 Hessayon, Ariel. 2005. Og, re di Basan, Enoc e i Libri di Enoc: testi non canonici e intrepretazioni di Genesi 6, 1–4. Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa, 41, pp. 249-295.
Dr Ariel Hessayon
Staff details
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Reader in early modern history
Dr Ariel Hessayon is primarily an early modern historian, although he occasionally ranges outside that chronological boundary. He has written extensively on a variety of topics including antiscripturism, anti-Trinitarianism, anticlericalism, ball games, book burning, communism, environmentalism, esotericism, extra-canonical texts, heresy, crypto-Jews, Judaizing, millenarianism, monstrous births, mysticism, prophecy and religious radicalism.
His work is based on extensive research and quite often utilises sources unknown to other historians since it draws upon a great many archival discoveries. Consequently, Dr Hessayon tends to offer very detailed accounts coupled with original observations based on engagement with these recovered sources.
Academic qualifications
- BA History, Trinity College, Oxford University 1990
- PhD History, Selwyn College, Cambridge University 1996
Teaching and supervision
- London's History through Literature
- Early Modern European philosophy
- Introduction to the late medieval and early modern European world
- Heresy, the Occult and the Apocalypse in Early Modern Europe
- Radicalism during the English Revolution, 1641–60
Research interests
Dr Hessayon's current research consists of several aspects.
Firstly, a monograph on the reception of Jacob Boehme's writings in the English-speaking world during the seventeenth century. This is under contract with Brill and scheduled for publication towards the end of 2022.
Secondly, a major project entitled 'Providence, Mission, Race and Settlement in the Atlantic World, c.1580-c.1690. This is being undertaken with the collaboration of Luís Filipe Silvério Lima.
Thirdly, a book-length study on Enoch and the books of Enoch in the British Isles and beyond, c.1450-c.1850.
Fourthly, a book aimed at general readers on The history of football in the British Isles, c.1250-c.1900.
Finally, a study of Radicalism and the occult during the English Revolution, 1641-1660.
Featured publications
2022: The reception of Jacob Boehme’s writings in the English-speaking world: the seventeenth century. Part one
2020:
Early Modern Prophecies in Regional and National Contexts
Edited with Lionel Laborie (3 volumes)
2018: The Refiner’s Fire: the Collected Works of TheaurauJohn Tany
2016: Jane Lead and her transnational legacy
2007: ‘Gold Tried in the Fire’: The prophet TheaurauJohn Tany and the English Revolution
Grants and awards
2022:
Visiting fellowship at Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas/ EFLCH / UNIFESP, Guarulhos, Brazil
Awarded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
2014:
‘“All in All”: the prophetic thought and legacies of Jacob Boehme and Jane Lead’
Grant of £225,000 from the Panacea Society as principal investigator on a four year research project
2008:
University of London Research Fellowship at School of Advanced Study
Grant for teaching replacement to enable research on ‘Jews and secret Jews in sixteenth and seventeenth century England’
Publications and research outputs
Book
- ‘Gold Tried in the Fire’: The prophet TheaurauJohn Tany and the English Revolution Hessayon, Ariel. 2007. ‘Gold Tried in the Fire’: The prophet TheaurauJohn Tany and the English Revolution. Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-5597-8
Edited Book
- Rediscovering Enoch? The Antediluvian Past from the Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries Hessayon, Ariel; Reed, Annette Yoshiko and Boccaccini, Gabriele, eds. 2023. Rediscovering Enoch? The Antediluvian Past from the Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004529793
- Early Modern Prophecies in Transnational, National and Regional Contexts, vol. 1: Continental Europe Hessayon, Ariel and Laborie, Lionel, eds. 2020. Early Modern Prophecies in Transnational, National and Regional Contexts, vol. 1: Continental Europe. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004443631
- Early Modern Prophecies in Transnational, National and Regional Contexts, vol. 3: The British Isles Hessayon, Ariel and Laborie, Lionel, eds. 2020. Early Modern Prophecies in Transnational, National and Regional Contexts, vol. 3: The British Isles. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004443631
Edited Journal
- Gerrard Winstanley: Theology, Rhetoric, Politics Hessayon, Ariel; Corns, Thomas and Hughes, Ann, eds. 2014. Gerrard Winstanley: Theology, Rhetoric, Politics, Prose Studies, 36(1). 0144-0357
Book Section
- The tasks of the translators: social networks and the publication of continental European writings during the English Revolution, 1641–1660 Hessayon, Ariel. 2024. The tasks of the translators: social networks and the publication of continental European writings during the English Revolution, 1641–1660. In: Gaby Mahlberg and Thomas Munck, eds. Ideas Across Borders. Translating Visions of Authority and Civil Society in Europe c.1600–1840. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 65-82. ISBN 9781032343679
- ‘To make such things known in my Native Language’: acquiring, translating and disseminating Boehme’s writings in England and Wales Hessayon, Ariel. 2023. ‘To make such things known in my Native Language’: acquiring, translating and disseminating Boehme’s writings in England and Wales. In: Lucinda Martin and Cecilia Muratori, eds. Jacob Böhme in Three Worlds: The Reception in Central-Eastern Europe, the Netherlands, and Britain. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 301-322. ISBN 9783110720495
- A “Rich and Unparalleled Collection”. The Afterlives of James Bruce’s Manuscripts and Drawings Hessayon, Ariel. 2023. A “Rich and Unparalleled Collection”. The Afterlives of James Bruce’s Manuscripts and Drawings. In: Ariel Hessayon; Annette Yoshiko Reed and Gabriele Boccaccini, eds. Rediscovering Enoch? The Antediluvian Past from the Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries. 27 Leiden: Brill, pp. 258-275. ISBN 9789004529793
Article
- The Diggers’ song Hessayon, Ariel. 2023. The Diggers’ song. Notes & Queries, 70(3), pp. 189-193. ISSN 0029-3970
- The Supposed Burning of the Racovian Catechism in 1614: A Historiographical Myth Exposed Hessayon, Ariel and Lucci, Diego. 2022. The Supposed Burning of the Racovian Catechism in 1614: A Historiographical Myth Exposed. History: The Journal of the Historical Association, 107(374), pp. 25-50. ISSN 0018-2648
- ‘Teutonicus': Knowledge of Boehme among English Speakers before the English Civil War’ Hessayon, Ariel. 2020. ‘Teutonicus': Knowledge of Boehme among English Speakers before the English Civil War’. Daphnis, 48, pp. 247-269. ISSN 0300-693X
Research projects
'Providence, Mission, Race and Settlement in the Atlantic World, c.1580-c.1690
In collaboration with Luís Filipe Silvério Lima
Media engagements
2018:
‘What might Hell look or sound like?’
Broadcast on BBC Ideas
2017:
'Why Football is the World’s Game’
Broadcast on BBC World Service
2012:
‘Roundhead or Cavalier: Which one are you?’
Broadcast on BBC Four
Fellowships
Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (since 2009)
University of London Research Fellowship at School of Advanced Study (2008)
Leverhulme Special Research Fellowship at Royal Holloway, University of London (1998–2000)
New Hall, Cambridge University, Research Fellowship (1995–1998)
