Broadside regarding an old prophecy

Commentary

This account begins: 'MERLIN Reviv'd: / OR, / An Old PROPHECY / Lately found in a Manuscript in Pontefract-Castle in York-shire.'

During the period of unrest surrounding Charles I's arrest and execution, Pontefract Castle remained staunchly loyal to the royalist cause and so was besieged for about a year. Setting this text within the context of Pontefract Castle would have given the piece royalist connotations. The text then goes on to 'prophesise' the actual history of the Protectorate and reassure the readers that the monarchy will triumph yet again.

This style of text, with its implicit political propaganda, would not only have made for compelling entertainment, but would also perhaps have stimulated political thought, reasoning and debate.

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