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Katherine Evans (1618- 1692) and Sarah Cheevers (1608-1664) were English Quaker activists who were held captive during the Spanish Inquisition in Malta, between December 1658 and August 1663.〔Catie Gill, "Evans and Cheevers's A Short Relation in Context: Flesh, Spirit, and Authority in Quaker Prison Writings, 1650-1662". Huntington Library Quarterly. 72, no. 2 (2009): 257-272.〕 During and following their captivity, Evans and Cheevers published multiple books critical of the Catholic Church and the Spanish Inquisition and promoting their Quaker faith. ==Life and Family== Not much is known about the early lives of Evans and Cheevers. However, by the time of their arrest, both Evans and Cheevers were married with children. They did not have extensive educations, but did know how to read and write fluently. This was not unusual for middle-class women in the interregnum period.〔Carme Font Paz,““I have written the things which I did hear, see, tasted and handled:” Selfhood and Voice in Katherine Evans’ and Sarah Cheevers’ A Short Relation of Their Sufferings (1662),” Sederi 20 (2010), 32.〕 Neither Evans nor Cheevers left a full documentation of their conversion to Quakerism, but were both missionaries in Scotland by 1653. They did not yet know each other. By 1655, Evans encountered her first trouble with the law when she was banished from the Isle of Wight. Later in 1655, with other prominent Quaker activists, she was put on trial and eventually imprisoned for visiting Quaker prisoners.〔Besse, Joseph and Michael Gandy, Sufferings of Early Quakers: Ireland, Scotland and Wales Including Monmouthshire and Shropshire 1653- 1691 Vol 5. London (2003):〕 John Evans and Katherine had multiple children, and lived in Inglesbatch near Bath, England.〔Paz, "I Have Written," 34.〕 John Evans was a Quaker minister, and appeared to share Katherine’s religious fervor as indicated by letters that she wrote while in jail that referenced religion heavily. She urged her family to respond to “a holy calling.”〔Paz, "I Have Written," 34.〕 Letters from Katherine to John also indicate they had a strong, affectionate relationship, with Katherine referring to John with terms of endearment such as "my right dear and precious husband," and "my dear heart.”〔Evans, A True Account, 105, 106.〕 Henry Cheevers was the husband of Sarah Cheevers and the father of her children. The Cheevers family was settled in Slaughterford, Wiltshire.〔Genelle Gertz, “Exporting inquisition : Katherine Evans and Sarah Cheevers at Malta, 1659-1663,” in Heresy Trials and English Women Writers, 1400-1670. New York (2012): 159.〕 Henry Cheever’s religious beliefs are unclear, though in some letters, Sarah seems to be attempting to persuade him towards Quakerism. She wrote, “I am a witness of… the messengers of Christ, who ()... directing you where you may find your saviour to purge and cleanse you from your sins, and to reconcile you to his Father.” ''〔Evans, Katherine and Sarah Cheevers, A True Account of the Great Tryals and Cruel Sufferings Undergone by Those Two Faithful Servants of God, Katherine Evans and Sarah Cheevers, in the Time of Their above Three Years and a Halfs Confinement in the Island Malta, London:1663, 112-113.〕'' Some historians believe that this indicates that her husband and children may not have been practicing Quakers, and might have been Protestants of a different denomination. Though families generally shared the same religious beliefs, various forms of Protestantism were popular in England in the period immediately following the English Civil War.〔Robert Bucholz and Newton Key ''Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History,'' (West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), 250-277 .〕 Private writings by both Evans and Cheevers indicate that their dedication did not preclude or interfere with their duties as a wife or mother. It was not unusual for women in the mid-seventeenth Century to show a deep devotion to religion, and mothers were often responsible for teaching and raising children according to the basic tenets of their religion. Because of this, some scholars believe it is possible that Evans and Cheevers viewed their journey as an extension as their accepted roles as devoted Christian wives.〔Paz, "I Have Written," 34-35.〕 Quaker marriages were exceptional for the seventeenth century for viewing spouses as “spiritual equals,” and for allowing each marriage partner to explore and advocate for their own faith.〔Mack, Visionary Women, 227-228.〕 The religious dedication exhibited by Cheevers and Evans was not entirely unusual for women of the seventeenth century. Women religious communities were somewhat common, such as nunneries or sisterhood organizations, though they were in the decline by the middle of the century.〔Amy Leonard, Nails in the Wall: Catholic Nuns in Reformation Germany, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005), viii〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Katherine Evans and Sarah Cheevers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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