June –
Scottish-born
PresbyterianAlexander Leighton is brought before
ArchbishopWilliam Laud's
Star Chamber court for publishing the
seditious pamphlet An Appeale to the Parliament, or, Sions Plea Against the Prelacy (printed in the Netherlands, 1628). He is sentenced to be pilloried and whipped, have his ears cropped, one side of his nose slit, and his face branded with "SS" (for "sower of sedition"), to be imprisoned, and be degraded from holy orders.[2]
5 May – a royal proclamation confines flying of the
Union Flag (the first recorded reference to it by this name) to the king's ships; English merchant vessels are to fly the
flag of England.[6]
7 May – William Prynne sentenced by the
Star Chamber to a £5,000 fine, life imprisonment,
pillorying and the loss of part of his ears when his Histriomastix is viewed as an attack on King
Charles I and Queen
Henrietta Maria.[5]
20 October – King Charles I issues writs to raise
ship money from coastal ports to finance the
Royal Navy.[5]
Member of Parliament
John Hampden continues to refuse to pay ship money although a 7-5 majority verdict among a group of judges supports its legality.[5]
1638
18 April – flogging of
John Lilburne for refusing to swear an oath when brought before the court of
Star Chamber for distributing Puritan publications.[8]
12 June – trial of John Hampden for non-payment of ship money concludes.[8]