The Thirty-Nine Articles, 1563 (subscription to the thirty-nine articles was required of all clergy in the Church of England)

The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in controversies of faith: And yet it is not lawful for the church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s word written, neither may it so expound one place of scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the church be a witness and a keeper of holy writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing against the same…

It is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minister the sacraments in a tongue not understanded of the people.

The Homily Against Contention and Brawling (1623)

…among all kinds of contention, none is more hurtful than is contention in matters of religion. Eschew (saith Saint Paul) foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they breed strife. It becometh not the servant of God to fight, or strive, but to be meek toward all men This contention and strife was in St. Paul’s time among the Corinthians, and is at this time among us English men, For too many there be which upon the ale-benches or other places delight to set forth certain questions, not so much pertaining to edification as to vain glory, and showing forth of their cunning, and so unsoberly to reason and dispute that when neither part will give place to other, they fall to chiding and contention, and sometimes from hot words, to further inconvenience

Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical, 1604

No ecclesiastical person shall at any time, other than for their honest necessities, resort to any taverns or ale-houses, neither shall they board or lodge in any place. Furthermore, they shall not vive themselves to any base or servile labour, or to drinking or riot, spending their time idly by day or by night, playing at dice, cards, or tables, or any other unlawful games.

The Diary of Lady Anne Clifford, 1617

January 18^th I went presently after dinner to the Queen, to the Drawing Chamber where my Lady Derby told the Queen how my Business stood, & that I was to go to the King; so she promised me she would do all the good in it she could. When I had stay’d but a little while there I was sent for out, my Lord and I going through my Lord Buckingham’s Chamber, who brought us into the King. {The Queen gave me a warning not to trust my matters absolutely to the King lest he should deceive me.)

March, 15…This day I spent walking in the Park with Judith, carrying my Bible with me, thinking on my present Fortunes & what troubles I have passed through..

April 26. I spent the evening in working and going down to my Lord’s Closet where I sat and read much in the Turkish history and Chaucer.

The King’s Declaration of Sports, 1633 (Charles I, reissue)

… we heard the general complaint of our people, that they were barred from all lawful recreation and exercise upon the Sunday’s afternoon, after the ending of all divine serve, which cannot but produce two evils: the one the hindering of the conversion of many, whom their priest will take occasion thereby to vex, persuading them that no honest mirth or creation is lawful or tolerable in our religion, which cannot but breed a great discontentment in our people’s hearts, especially of such as are peradventure upon the point of turning. The other inconvenience is, that this prohibition barreth the common and meaner sort of people from using such exercises as may make their bodies more able for war, when we or our successor shall have occasion to use them; and in place thereof sets up filthy tipplings, and drunkenness, and breeds a number of idle and discontented speeches in their alehouses. For when shall the common people have leave to exercise, if not upon the Sundays and holy days? seeing they must apply their labour and win their living in all working days? [Those who don’t allow lawful pastimes will be prosecuted…] And as for our good people’s lawful recreation, our pleasure likewise is, that after the end of divine service our good people be not disturbed, letted or discouraged from any lawful recreation, such as dancing, either men or women, archery for men, leaping, vaulting, or any other such harmless recreation, nor from having of May games, Whitsun ales, and morris dances, and the setting up of maypoles and other sports therewith used: so as the same be had in due and convenient time, without impediment or neglect of divine service; and that women shall have leave to carry rushes to the church for the decorating of it, according to their old custom. But withal we do here account still as prohibited all unlawful games to be used upon Sundays only, as bear- and bull-baitings, interludes, and at all times in the meaner sort of people by law prohibited, bowling.

Henry Burton. A Divine Tragedy Lately Acted, 1636

Example I. A woman about Northhampton, the same day that she heard the book for sports read, went immediately, and having three pence in her purse, hired a fellow to go to the next town to fetch a minstrel, who coming, she with others fell a-dancing, which continued within night; at which time which was got with child, which at the birth she murdering, was detected and apprehended, and being convented before the justice, she confessed it, and withal told the occasion of it, saying it was her falling to sport on the Sabbath, upon reading of the book, so as for this treble sinful act, her presumptuous profaning of the Sabbath which brought her adultery and that murder.

Archbishop Laud’s Visitation of Leicestershire, 1634

Appleby: Hugh Foster, for a popish recusant, and for not bringing his child to public baptism

Bittewell: Robert Lord the younger, for playing at nine men’s morris in the churchyard on Sunday

St. Mary in Arden: Mary, the wife of Thomas Pope, for refusing to be churched according to the order of the church, and for standing excommunicate

The Root and Branches Petition, 1640 (urban Puritan reaction to Laudian episcopacy)

8. The swarming of lascivious, idle, and unprofitable books and pamphlets, play-books and ballads; as namely, Ovid’s Fits of Love, The Parliament of Women, which came out at the dissolving of the last parliament; Barn’s Poems, Parker’s Ballads, in disgrace of religion, to the increase of all vice, and withdrawing of people from reading studying, and hearing the word of God, and other good books.

9. The hindering of godly books to be printed, the blotting out or perverting of those which they suffer, all or most of that which strike either at popery or Arminianism…

10. The publishing and venting of popish, Arminian, and other dangerous books and tenets; as namely, ‘That the Church of Rome is a true Church, and in the worst time never erred in fundamentals’; ‘that the subjects have no propriety in their estates, but that the king may take from them what he pleaseth’; ‘that all is the king’s and that he is bound by no law’ and many other…

11. The growth of popery and increase of Papists, priests and Jesuits, in sundry places, but especially about London since the Reformation; the frequent venting of crucifixes and popish pictures both engraven and printed and the placing of such in bibles.

William Dowsing’s Destructions in East Anglia, 1643-4

Sotterly. There were divers superstitious pictures painted, which they promised to take down; and I have order to level the steps, and to break to pieces the rails, which I have seen done, and to take off a cross on the church.

Benacre, April 6. There was six superstitious pictures, one crucifix, and the Virgin Mary twice, with Christ in her arms, and Christ lying in the manger, and the Three Kings coming to Christ with their presents, and St. Catherine twice pictures…O Christ govern me by thy Mother’s Prayers! and three bishops with their mitres, and the steps to be levelled within six weeks. And eighteen JESUS’s written in capital letters on the roof, which we gave order to do out

Thomas Edwards, Gangraena: or A Catalogue and Discovery of many of the Errours, Heresies, Blasphemies, and Pernicious Practices of the Sectaries of this time, 1646.

They use to ascribe and attribute all the success of things, all that’s done in field, at leaguers, all victories, brave actions to their party, crying them up in pulpits, news-books, conferences, calling them the saviours of the kingdomes, and for this purpose they have certain men that are criers and trumpeters between the army, city and country, who trumpet forth their praises…they appropriate to themselves the name of the godly and well-affected party, the title of saints, calling themselves the saints, that they only preach Jesus Christ, and though they be Anabaptists, Seekers, etc. yet they are the saints: this is common in printed books, petitions, sermons, discourses; what, speak against the saints? Be against toleration for the saints? meaning themselves only