Far from London, where the Popish Plot was still in the full fury of investigation, accusation, trials, and execution, two Catholic priests, John Wall and John Kemble, suffered and died in Wales.

The convulsions of 17th-century England are familiar: a civil war, a regicide and, eventually, a restoration of the monarchy. Not long after came another episode of agitation and unrest, less familiar ...

The painful reality of conspiracy theories has a long and fabled history. Perhaps one of the more instructive cases for us is a religious conspiracy theory, but the principles apply to any belief ...