The Protestation Returns of 1641–1642 are lists of English males over the age of 18 who took, or did not take, an oath of allegiance "to live and die for the true Protestant religion, the liberties and rights of subjects and the privilege of Parliaments." These lists were usually compiled by parish, or township, within hundred, or wapentake. They are of importance to local historians for estimating populations, to genealogists trying to find an ancestor immediately before the English Civil War and for scholars interested in surname distributions. Records survive for about one-third of the lists.
Background
In May 1641, reacting to scares, rumours of plots and anxiety that the Protestant reformation was in danger of being undone, a 10-man committee of the House of Commons, in the Long Parliament, was appointed to draft a national declaration. It was the first of three oaths of loyalty imposed by the Long Parliament, between May 1641 and September 1643. The others were the Vow and covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant. All males above the age of 18 were asked to sign the declaration by order of the House of Commons, all adult men were asked to swear the oath to the Protestant religion. In each parish, their names were inscribed in a list and sent back to parliament. Typically a local official wrote out all the names, although in some areas the signees wrote their own names. The declaration, or Protestation, read: It was taken by the members of the House of Commons on 3 May 1641. The following day the Protestant peers in the House of Lords also swore it. Subsequently on 18 January 1642, perhaps prompted by the King’s attempt on 4 January to arrest the Five Members of parliament, the Speaker, William Lenthall, sent out a letter to the effect that all males of eighteen or over should take the oath. The idea was that those that refused to take the oath would be presumed to be Catholics and so unfit to hold office in Church or state. In fact it was not a particularly effective way of distinguishing Catholics from Protestants, as in some areas Catholics took the oath with reservations concerning their religion, and others that were known from recusancy lists, appeared on the returns. Many county returns have been published; Cornwall, Devon, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Lincolnshire amongst them. A guide to the returns has been published by the Federation of Family History Societies.
