History Daily - John Bunyan’s Arrest

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

November 12, 1660. English nonconformist preacher John Bunyan is arrested. During the 12 years he spends in prison, he starts writing his famous book The Pilgrim’s Progress. Support the show! Join��Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

Oh, how much been there's been a day. I'm good. What you laid out? What you laid out of? I laid this one elamics, and then a pair of lachycourtia. Maista. Vaasan Club.

Osta Vaasan tuottees, get paste, and lunasta palkintoe. It's November 12th, 1660, in Samsel, a tiny hamlet in central England. 31-year-old John Bunyan wraps on the door of a farmhouse. There's a chill to the early winter air. John rubs his arms to keep from shivering. He's visited.

this home to preach before, but he's never had to wait like this to be invited in. He knocks again, and for a brief moment, John wonders if he's gotten himself mixed up and arrived on the wrong day. But then the door suddenly swings open, and an arm reaches out and pulls John roughly inside. John takes a moment to straighten his jacket while the homeowner apologizes. He says he wasn't sure who it was, and he thinks his house is being watched. He's heard there's a warrant out for John's arrest, too. In recent months, many nonconformists like them have been arrested for practicing any faith other than that approved by the Anglican Church.

So John knows that by continuing to preach, he is breaking the law, but he believes it's God's will. And despite his host's fears, he insists that they go ahead as planned. The host leads John down a narrow hall to the meeting room. A small group of worshippers waits there in silence. Like John, they're all dressed in simple and somber, clothes, clutching Bibles in their hands. John looks from face to face and smiles. He's just about to begin when there's another knock on the door. John exchanges glances with his host. Everyone

grips their Bibles a little tighter because they have uninvited guests and they've not come to hear John preach. The men at the door are from the local magistrate and they arrest John Bunyan before he can preach one word. At first, being jailed will seem like a catastrophe to John, But soon he will come to see his imprisonment as part of God's plan. Because within the confines of his cramp cell, John Bunyan will write one of the most widely read books of all time, an achievement that might never have happened had he not been arrested on November 12, 1660. Now, how much did you put it in the oven?

What you laidoed on? I laid down one elamics, and then parliacortia. Maista. Vaasan Club. From Noisan toottees, carry pistees and lunasta palkintoes. From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham,

and this is History Daily. History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is November 12th, 1660, John Bunyan's arrest. It's May 29th, 1660, in the small town of Bedford, England,

six months before the arrest of preacher John Bunyan. As church bells ring out in celebration, John struggles through the throng of the town square. He's trying to get home, but his usual route is blocked. Men, women, and children have poured out into the streets to join some unplanned festivities. Everyone John passes seems to have a broad smile on their face or a tankard of ale in their hands. Some sing raucous, patriotic songs, and the jubilant cry of God Save the King rings around the town. Today, Charles II has returned to England to reclaim his throne. After decades of division and civil war, many ordinary people hope that Charles II's return

would be the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity. But John is conflicted. He wants peace, of course, but he also wants the freedom to preach and practice his religion. When Charles II's father, Charles I was on the throne, he imposed a strict religious regime on England. Anglicanism was the only. permitted faith, nonconformist Protestants like John were often fined, were imprisoned, and those who continued to defy the king's orders were branded. Some even had their ears cut off.

But after Charles was overthrown and an English republic was established, the old Anglican hierarchy of bishops and archbishops was also swept away. In that new era, there were far greater freedoms for non-conformists, and John could even use the local parish church for his prayer meetings. But now that the Republic has collapsed and the monarchy has returned, John is worried about the future. Charles II has promised to maintain the religious freedoms England has grown used to, but John will believe that when he sees it. So John slips away from the crowd of revelers as quickly as he can. Located on the outskirts of Bedford, his home is a small cottage that backs onto fields, and as he steps through its door into the gloomy hall, he can smell dinner

cooking. His second wife, Elizabeth, takes good care of John and his four children. He married her two years ago after the death of his first wife. Now she helps raise his young family while he spends his days preaching the gospel. John Bunyan's religious journey began with the birth of his eldest child, Mary, in 1650. She was born blind, and the discovery of this led to a crisis of faith for John. Before then, he'd had a wild youth. As he later put it, I had few equals and cursings. swearing, lying, and blaspheming the holy name of God. But the arrival of Mary changed all that. It made him reflect on his life and eventually lead him to abandon his carousing ways and join an independent church in Bedford. It was there that he discovered he had a gift for preaching,

and now, ten years after Mary's birth, John is well known across the region as a theologian and speaker. He often travels far beyond Bedford to spread the word of God and meet fellow nonconformists, but he's always glad to come home. So when he greets Elizabeth today, he tries to put on a brave face, but she can spot his worries instantly. She shares them. Trying to comfort John, she suggests they pray together. So on their knees, they ask God to ensure that all will be well, and that they will be left to practice their religion and peace. But it doesn't take long for John's worst fears to be realized.

Now Charles II has secured his throne, step by step, Anglicanism and England is restored. The hierarchy of archbishops and bishops is re-established, and people are told they must attend their local Anglican church each and every Sunday. From there, things will only get worse. Soon, Charles II will go back on his word not to persecute those of different faiths. Unsanctioned religious gatherings of five or more people will be made illegal. Anyone caught preaching at such events will face arrest and possible deportation. And under these draconian new rules, John Bunyan will have to make a sense. series of terrible choices. First, between his family's well-being and what he sees as his

calling in life, and then between his faith and his freedom. It's been a day. What did you? What do you? What do you laid out? What's you laid out of a leavening point? I laid down one elamuxen and then a parliacortia. Maista. Vaasan Club. Osta Vaasan tuottees, kerapiste, and lunasta palkintoes. It's late on November 2nd, 1660 in Bedford, England. Six months after Charles II reclaimed his crown. Heavily pregnant, Elizabeth Bunyan guides her stepdaughter Mary through the family's cottage to the bedchamber. Blind since birth, 10-year-old Mary requires special care, and Elizabeth helps her out of her clothes and into the bed. Once she's settled beneath the sheets, Elizabeth takes out the family Bible and reads aloud.

As she does, Elizabeth tries her best to keep anxiety out of her voice, and she thinks it's fortunate that Mary cannot see the desperate look on her face. Elizabeth's husband, John Bunyan, set off this morning to preach on a farm 10 miles away, but he's yet to return, and Elizabeth fears the day she hoped would never come has finally arrived. After the monarchy was restored earlier this year, independent religious gatherings were outlawed, and John and Elizabeth had many late-night debates over how to respond. If John continued to preach, they both knew he could be arrested. He would then lose his livelihood, and the family would be left destitute. But preaching was an essential part of John's faith, and Elizabeth knew that he couldn't stop. So all she's been able to do

is urge John to be careful and then pray that his activities go unnoticed. So as Mary's sleep soundly, Elizabeth tiptoes down the stairs and waits in hope by the front door. But as the hours creep by, the feeling of dread keeps growing until she feels a sharp stabbing pain in her abdomen. Gasping, she grabs her pregnant belly and calls out for help from her neighbors who rush to her aid. Elizabeth is told she must rest, but the news which comes the following day makes that impossible. Just as she feared, John has been arrested. Having refused to stop preaching, he's been denied bail and must remain behind bars until his case can be heard in two months' time. Elizabeth knows that if John renounces his faith at trial and pledges to attend Anglican services every Sunday, then he will be freed. But if he doesn't do

this, he could face banishment or even execution. Elizabeth has no doubt what John's choice will be. He will never give up his faith. He'd rather die. And the dread of what will happen next grips Elizabeth like a vice. The pain in her abdomen gets worse, and a week later, she loses her baby. Despite this devastating turn of events, Elizabeth is determined to help her husband as soon as she's able. As expected, at his trial in January 1661, John is found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison. After that, he will be expected to recant or face and even worse punishment. And when that time comes, he again, of course, refuses to abandon his faith. But the end of his sentence coincides with the coronation of King Charles II.

And to commemorate the occasion, it is a tradition that people in jail for minor offenses are released or shown mercy. So when his sentence ends, John is not executed or banished overseas. Instead, he's given a year to secure a pardon and Elizabeth sets to work at once. First, she appeals to a member of the House of Lords who she hopes might be sympathetic to their case. When he can't help, she makes repeated petitions to the courts, claiming irregularities in John's conviction. But as John has knowingly broken the law in the past and refuses to adhere to it in the future, the judges all reject calls for his release. Elizabeth does achieve one victory, though.

Her efforts help make John's case so well known that the authorities don't want to make a martyr of him. So instead of deporting or executing John, they decide to leave him in jail indefinitely. Months turn into years. Conditions inside the Bedford jail are squalid, but Elizabeth ensures John is as comfortable as possible. And with the help of others in the non-conformist community, she brings him food to supplement his meager rations, as well as pens, ink, and paper, because if he can't preach, then at least John can write. At first, he focuses on an account of his own spiritual journey. That becomes the successful memoir, Grace Abounding.

But soon after completing that book, John begins a very different project. On every visit, he tells Elizabeth about it. It's an allegorical story about the life of a Christian man seeking a path to heaven. John calls it the Pilgrim's Progress from this world to that which is to come, and he fills its pages with larger-than-life characters and memorable set pieces. The book will take years to write, but when it's finally finished, the Pilgrim's progress will be John Bunyan's masterpiece. It will transform his legacy and make the jailed preacher from a small town in England

one of the most influential writers of all time. It's been a day. What did you put it on? What you laid out of the leaven. I laid down one elamics and then a pair of lachiacortia. Maista. Vaasan Club. Osta Vaasan tuotteeta,

kerapiste, and lunasta palkintoa. It's December 21, 1671 in Bedford, England. years after John Bunyan was in prison for preaching. John still languishes in his jail cell, but in his mind he's far away. He imagines himself halfway between two fictional places he's invented for his book, The Pilgrim's Progress. One is the city of destruction, symbolizing everything that is sinful in the world. The other is celestial city, John's idea of heaven. His quill flies across the paper as he describes two ferocious lions, the latest danger encountered by his main character Christian. But then suddenly, John has snapped back to reality by a familiar voice,

his wife Elizabeth. Through the bars and the door, John can see the smile on her face. She brings good news. John is to be made the pastor of their church. In the past few years, John's jailers have treated him well. He's been led out of his cell to see his family, and on occasion he's even been allowed to preach. The publication of his first book, Grace Abounding, has inspired a following John could never have dreamed of when he first began preaching, and now he has been given the honor of leading his church. John just hopes he won't have to do it from behind bars. Elizabeth has been telling him that the authorities have been easing persecution of non-conformists,

and for the first time in years, John is beginning to imagine a future outside the walls of Bedford Jail. In March of 1672, those hopes become reality. King Charles II issues a declaration of indulgence, that officially allows nonconformists and other Christian minorities to practice their faiths. Thousands are released from prison, including John Bunyan. He leaves his cell with one prize possession above all, an unfinished manuscript. It takes John another six years to finally complete and publish the Pilgrim's Progress, but the book is an immediate success, and not just in England.

It's soon published across the Atlantic in the American colonies and has then translated into other languages, spreading John's fame even. farther. The Pilgrim's progress will later be described as the first novel ever written in the English language, and other scholars will argue that only the Bible has a greater influence on the development of English literature, with authors as diverse as Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, John Steinbeck, and Charlotte Bronte, all drawing on John Bunyan's groundbreaking work. But the Pilgrim's progress might never have existed had John not been in jail. It was only in his cell that he had the time and focus to come up with his incredible creation. And he would never have been there if he

hadn't been arrested on November 12, 1660. Next on History Daily, November 25th, 1960. In the Dominican Republic, three siblings are killed by soldiers acting on the orders of the country's president. From Noisor and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham, audio editing by Jake Samson, sound designed by Molly Bond, music, by Throm. This episode is written and research by Owen Paul Nichols, edited by William Simpson, managing producer Emily Byrne, executive producers

are William Simpson for airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser. Oh, how much? What did you laid up? What you laitoyed? I laid this one elamics, and then pari lachiacortia. Maista. Vaasan Club.

Osta Vaasan Tuotteita, get paste, and lunasta palkintoa.