Speaking of Puritans and 1600's -- Neil Stephenson's latest book Quicksilver has a hilarious and I guess more or less historically accurate take on that. 900+ pages of great yarn and chuckles... What a crazy time period that was, what with the 30 year war, Black Death, the forever shifting alliances, the tremendous advancement in scientific discovery and alchemic nonsense.



>>Ahhh - but if you read the historical detail regarding Puritans, you would find that they were actually naughty little buggers!
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>>In fact, Ryken records that when a New England wife complained, first to her pastor and then to the whole congregation, that her husband was neglecting their sex life, the church excommunicated the man. So much for the "puritanical" stereotype.
>>http://www.christianity.ca/family/marriage/2003/08.000.html
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>Ah, but don't forget who was King of England in the early 16th century: Henry VIII. I mean this cat was kickin'. He was the orginal "party animal". He was a musician (he wrote the music "Greenselves"). He had that tam thing goin' on. And where do you think the term "Lady Killer" came from?
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>I think you can see why he'd consider the Puritans "uptight".:-)