trial of the Seven Bishops (1688)

E52909

historical event legal case political trial

The trial of the Seven Bishops (1688) was a landmark English legal and political case in which seven Anglican bishops were prosecuted for seditious libel after petitioning against King James II’s Declaration of Indulgence, becoming a key event leading to the Glorious Revolution.

Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
Trial of the Seven Bishops	2
King's Bench trial of 1688	1
Petition against the Declaration of Indulgence	1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	historical event ⓘ legal case ⓘ political trial ⓘ
charge	seditious libel ⓘ
chronologicalContext	reign of James II (1685–1688) ⓘ
country	Kingdom of England ⓘ
defendant	Francis Turner ⓘ John Lake ⓘ Jonathan Trelawny ⓘ Thomas Ken ⓘ Thomas White ⓘ William Lloyd ⓘ Archbishop William Sancroft ⓘ surface form: William Sancroft
describedIn	contemporary pamphlets and broadsides ⓘ later histories of the Glorious Revolution ⓘ
followedBy	Glorious Revolution ⓘ overthrow of James II ⓘ
hasCause	attempt by James II to enforce reading of the Declaration of Indulgence in churches ⓘ petition against the Declaration of Indulgence ⓘ
hasPart	arrest of the Seven Bishops ⓘ imprisonment in the Tower of London ⓘ jury trial and acquittal ⓘ
impact	contributed to invitation to William of Orange ⓘ strengthened public support for the Church of England ⓘ undermined political authority of James II ⓘ
legalSignificance	affirmed importance of jury independence in political trials ⓘ limited use of seditious libel charges against political petitioning ⓘ
location	Court of King’s Bench ⓘ Palace of Westminster ⓘ surface form: Westminster Hall
mainSubject	Declaration of Indulgence ⓘ religious toleration in England ⓘ royal dispensing power ⓘ seditious libel ⓘ
opposed	exercise of royal dispensing power by James II ⓘ
outcome	acquittal of all seven bishops ⓘ
partOf	constitutional conflict between Crown and Parliament in late 17th‑century England ⓘ
pointInTime	1688 ⓘ
precededBy	issuance of the Declaration of Indulgence (1687–1688) ⓘ order to have the Declaration of Indulgence read in churches ⓘ
presidedOverBy	Sir Robert Wright ⓘ
prosecutedBy	Crown of England ⓘ
prosecutor	Attorney General for England and Wales ⓘ surface form: Attorney General of England and Wales
religiousContext	debates over toleration for Catholics and Protestant Dissenters ⓘ tensions between Anglican establishment and Catholic monarchy ⓘ
significantEventFor	Church of England ⓘ Glorious Revolution ⓘ history of English constitutional law ⓘ reign of James II of England ⓘ

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Seven Bishops → legalProceeding → trial of the Seven Bishops (1688) ⓘ

this entity surface form: King's Bench trial of 1688

Archbishop William Sancroft → participantIn → trial of the Seven Bishops (1688) ⓘ

subject surface form: William Sancroft

Declaration of Indulgence → relatedEvent → trial of the Seven Bishops (1688) ⓘ

this entity surface form: Trial of the Seven Bishops

Seven Bishops → significantEvent → trial of the Seven Bishops (1688) ⓘ

this entity surface form: Petition against the Declaration of Indulgence

Seven Bishops → significantEvent → trial of the Seven Bishops (1688) ⓘ

this entity surface form: Trial of the Seven Bishops