Abstract
ABSTRACT Thomas Tillam lived in the middle of the seventeenth century and stands out as one of the most intriguing figures among the religious dissenters of the time. Having had short-term success establishing Baptist churches at Hexham and Colchester, he encouraged 100–200 families to emigrate to Southern Germany and set up a Judaeo-Christian community. In 1660–1665 his publications entitled Temple of Lively Stones and The Unequal Yoke Unloosed, reveal his attitude to marriage and divorce. He seems to have moved from his declaration that ‘I know not any door of divorce (opened in the Gospel) except adultery’ to defending the divorce of ‘unacceptable wives’ and supporting polygamy by Old Testament precedents. The reason for this change of belief is considered in the light of rumours and accusations from contemporary commentators and the marital situation of his benefactor, Karl I Ludwig.
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