1-649-032 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Medal of the Seven Bishops, 18th century (19th century). The Seven Bishops were seven bishops of the Church of England. When King James II issued his second Declaration of Indulgence in 1688 (which granted expansive religious freedoms by suspending penal laws enforcing conformity to the Church of England, allowing persons to worship in their homes or chapels as they saw fit, and ending the requirement of affirming religious oaths before gaining employment in government offices) the Seven Bishops petitioned the King against it. James ordered them imprisoned in the Tower of London for seditious libel. They were brought to trial before the Court of King's Bench, and found not guilty. From Cassell's Illustrated History of England, volume IV, published by Cassell, Petter, Galpin and Co. (London, Paris and New York, 19th century).