Paradise or purgatory?
QUESTION How did John Milton, a famous proponent of free speech, become involved in censoring documents for Oliver Cromwell?
SURPRISINGLY, the rise of printing from the 15th century did not lead to a dissemination of opinions because of censorship by kings, bishops and the church.
In England during the 1630s, this was through the Court of Star Chamber, which could imprison unlicensed printers and destroy presses. Censorship was effective because there were just 20 printers in London. The aim was to restrict books, but also pamphlets, a main source of opinion before newspapers.
The Star Chamber was abolished in the 1640s and Milton wrote against further censorship in Areopagitica, which took its name from the Areopagus, a hill in ancient Athens, which functioned as a Supreme Court. Milton’s point was that in matters of controversy, public opinion should be the supreme court.
Milton criticised censorship for its ‘discouragement of all learning’ and believed a good book to be ‘the precious lifeblood of a master spirit’. However, he did not support all writing; he believed the motive should be a religious one ‘to justify the way of God to Man’ and that ‘scandalous, seditious and libellous books’ should be suppressed.
It has been said that Milton believed God had a special destiny for him and for England, hence his support for Cromwell and Parliament against Charles I. He was appointed to the Council of State during the Commonwealth and he corresponded with foreign governments.
His official position meant he had to accept censorship because it was forbidden to publish or print any news or intelligence without the approval of the Secretary of State, i.e. Cromwell.
Areopagitica, though addressed to Parliament, had no apparent effect on legislation. Censorship continued after the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II and even Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) bore the imprimatur ‘licensed and registered’ to show that it had been screened.
Areopagitica did have a long-term effect in liberating opinion. When the Licensing Act lapsed in 1694, it was extinguished and not renewed by Parliament.
N. J. N. Probert, Portmadog, Gwynedd.
QUESTION Are there any British umpires adjudicating international cricket matches?
THERE are 18 Test match umpires. Of these, 12 are regular and six are reserves who can be called upon to officiate in busy years.
Of the 12 regulars, four are English: Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Nigel Long and Richard Kettleborough. England also has Michael Gough on the reserve list.
Of the remaining umpires, five are from Australia, two from Sri Lanka, with India, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies each supplying one umpire.
In total, there have been 481 Test match umpires, with 112 from England. Of this total, 11 have officiated in 50 or more Tests and three have officiated in more than 100 Tests. These include Steve Bucknor from the West Indies, officiating in 128 Tests, and Rudi Koertzen, who took charge of 108 Tests.
Of the current umpires, Aleem Dar has officiated in 113 Tests, with Ian Gould next in the list with 61 matches.
Of today’s umpires, four — Richard Illingworth, Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Enamul Haque (Bangladesh), and Paul Reiffel (Australia) — played Test cricket. Ian Gould played one-day internationals for England, but did not make a Test match appearance.
Richard Kettleborough won the ICC Umpire of the Year award, 2013-2015, to join an elite list of five umpires to receive this award. The current holder is Marais Erasmus of South Africa.
There is also a list of 12 third umpires, which includes England’s Tim Robinson, and seven Test match referees, including Chris Broad, father of England player Stuart Broad.
From the start of Test cricket in 1877 to 1994, umpires were always from the home country of the Test series.
In 1994, the International Cricket Council launched an international umpires panel of 20 umpires. Of these, four were English with two coming from each of Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe. Ian Tyrer, Wellington, Shropshire.
QUESTION The Gherkin building is on St Mary Axe in the City of London. What is this street name’s origin?
IT IS named after the church of St Mary Axe, which was built sometime before 1197, but was suppressed in 1560 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and converted into a warehouse.
Its full name, quoted by renowned London historian John Stow (1525-1605), was St Mary the Virgin and St Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins.
It took its name from the legend that a certain English king, perhaps Dionotus of Dumnonia in south-west Britain, gave his daughter and 11,000 of her handmaidens permission to make a pilgrimage to Rome in 451.
On their return journey, when they had reached near what is now Cologne in Germany, their journey was interrupted by Attila the Hun, who wanted to marry Ursula. When she refused, Attila beheaded her and all her handmaidens with two or three axes.
According to Stow, the church was so called because it bore the sign of an axe over its eastern end.
Ken Drake, Cambridge.