London: W. White, 1615
[H.P.L.] Nun RBC
Whilst pamphlets had been printed from the 1450s onwards, when printing from moveable type began, the Reformation was a principal stimulus to their production. They became a common form of (primarily Protestant) propaganda, being quick and cheap to print and, as they were thin, easy to disguise and smuggle if necessary. Not only was direct theology published, but matters such as murders, monstrous births and heavenly portents could be turned to Protestant purposes. The anonymous pamphlet shown would have required just three sheets of paper and cost a very few pence. It falls into a common category of crude anti-Popery, represented also by such titles as The Merchandises of Popish Priests: Laying open to the World, how Cunningly they Cheate and Abuse Poore People … (Jean de Chassagnon, 1604) and The Fabulous Foundation of Popedom (1619). The woodcut on the title page reinforces a message within, with a section headed ‘the Vnicorne shall thrust the Popes triple Crowne from his head’. This states that the Pope has become ruler of the world through subtlety and cunning, with the help of the Devil, and that, his enemies having become as strong as unicorns, he shall be destroyed by God.