Brief history

Origin of name

They were labelled 'Levellers' by their enemies, who claimed that they were intent on bringing all down to the lowest common level. This was a charge that they vehemently denied, but ironically after their arrest and imprisonment in 1649 four of the 'Leveller' leaders- Thomas Prince, William Walwyn and John Lilburne signed a manifesto which called themselves Levellers.

Political ambitions

The Levellers had no coherent agenda. Before 1649, there is no record of their having sat down together to develop a manifesto. However, they were committed broadly to the abolition of corruption within the Parliamentary and judicial process, toleration of religious differences, the translation of law into the common tongue, and some kind of expansion of the suffrage. These aims fluctuated. Some Levellers like John Lilburne argued that the English Common law, particularly Magna Carta, were the foundation of English rights and liberties, but others, like William Walwyn, compared Magna Carta to a 'mess of potage'.

Secular foundation

Levellers tended to hold fast to a notion of "natural rights" that had been violated by the king's side in the Civil Wars. At Putney in 1647, Colonel Rainborough defended natural rights as being coextensive with the law of God. Michael Mendle has demonstrated the development of Leveller ideas from elements of early Parliamentarian thought as expressed by men such as Henry Parker.

Timeline

In July 1645, John Lilburne was imprisoned for denouncing Members of Parliament who lived in comfort while the common soldiers fought and died for the Parliamentary cause. His offence was slandering William Lenthall, the Speaker of the House of Commons, whom he accused of corresponding with Royalists. He was freed in October after a petition requesting his release, and signed by over two thousand leading London citizens, was presented to the House of Commons.

Other usage

In 1724 there was a rising against enclosures in Galloway, and a number of men who took part in it were called “Levellers” or “Dykebreakers” (A. Lang, History of Scotland, vol. iv). The word was also used in Ireland during the eighteenth century to describe a secret revolutionary society similar to the Whiteboys.

Footnotes