Mary Cary (prophetess)

Mary Cary Rand (or Rande;[1] c. 1621 – 1653) was an English writer, prophetess and pamphleteer supporting the Fifth Monarchists during the English Civil War.

Mary Cary Rand
Native name
Mary Cary
Bornc. 1621
Died1653 (aged 31–32)
Pen nameM.C.
OccupationWriter
Prophetess
Pamphleteer
LanguageEnglish
NationalityEnglish
CitizenshipKingdom of England
SubjectFifth Monarchists

Work

During the English Civil War, Cary lived in London. A Presbyterian, she became a Fifth Monarchist and started prophesying and writing about church reform, equality for women, and poverty.[2] She was a follower of Thomas Brightman and Henry Archer.[3] She believed the New Model Army was a sign of the arrival of the Two witnesses and that Charles I was the little horn found in Daniel 7.[1][3] She believed Charles I's death to be the sign of the impending return of Christ.[1] Her prophecies focused around Parliamentarian victory, believing it would result in the building of God's kingdom on earth in 1701.[1][3] This would be summarized in her first pamphlet, The Resurrection of the Two Witnesses in 1648.[1]

Her major works, The Little Horns Doom and Downfall and A New and Exact Mappe or Description of New Jerusalems Glory, were released in 1651. Hugh Peters and Christopher Feake wrote introductions to the books. The books were dedicated to Elizabeth Cromwell, Bridget Ireton and Margaret Rolle. In her many additional works, she expressed interest in Parliament providing more support to the poor, including ending tithing, and universities providing scholarships to fund impoverished preachers and scholars.[1]

Her last work, published in 1653, was The Resurrection of the Witnesses and England's Fall. The work stated that Christianity would spread across Europe in the wake of England losing the Anglo-Dutch Wars.[3]

Until 1651, she wrote as "M.C.", before which her gender was unknown to her readers.[3]

Personal life

Little is known of Cary's personal life. She is believed to have started developing her theories and prophecies in the wake of studying the Bible starting at the age of 15.[4] She was born Mary Cary around 1621 and died in 1653. She was married to a man with the surname "Rand" or "Rande."[1]

Works
  • A Word in Season to the Kingdom of England (1647)
  • The Resurrection of the Witness (1648)
  • England's Fall from The Mystical Babylon—Rome (1648)
  • The Little Horn's Doom and Downfall (1651)
  • A New and More Exact Mappe or Description of New Jerusalem's Glory, When Jesus Christ and His Saints with Him Shall Reign on Earth a Thousand Years, and Possess all Kingdoms (1651)
  • Twelve New Proposals to the Supreme Governours of the Three Nations now assembled at Westminster (1653).
  • The Resurrection of the Witnesses and England's Fall (1653)

References
  1. Stephen C. Manganiello (2004). The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639-1660. Scarecrow Press. pp. 96–97. ISBN 978-0-8108-5100-9.
  2. "Cary, Mary (c. 1621–after 1653) | Encyclopedia.com". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  3. Carole Levin; Anna Riehl Bertolet; Jo Eldridge Carney (3 November 2016). A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen: Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650. Taylor & Francis. p. 440. ISBN 978-1-315-44071-2.
  4. Cathy Hartley (15 April 2013). A Historical Dictionary of British Women. Routledge. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-135-35534-0.
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