Editing Charles II of England (section)

=== Clarendon Code ===
[[File:Charles II by John Michael Wright.jpg|thumb|Coronation portrait: Charles was crowned at [[Westminster Abbey]] on 23 April 1661.<ref>Diary of [[Samuel Pepys]], [http://www.pepys.info/coronation.html 23 April 1661] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429202445/http://www.pepys.info/coronation.html |date=29 April 2018}}</ref>|alt=Charles wearing a crown and ermine-lined robe]]
The Convention Parliament was dissolved in December 1660, and, shortly after Charles's [[Coronation of the British monarch|English coronation]], the second English Parliament of the reign assembled. Dubbed the [[Cavalier Parliament]], it was overwhelmingly Royalist and Anglican. It sought to discourage [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformity]] to the [[Church of England]] and passed several acts to secure Anglican dominance. The [[Corporation Act 1661]] required municipal officeholders to swear allegiance;{{sfn|Hutton|1989|p=169}} the [[Act of Uniformity 1662]] made the use of the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']] compulsory; the [[Conventicle Act 1664]] prohibited religious assemblies of more than five people, except under the auspices of the Church of England; and the [[Five Mile Act 1665]] prohibited expelled non-conforming clergymen from coming within five&nbsp;miles (8&nbsp;km) of a parish from which they had been banished. The Conventicle and Five Mile Acts remained in effect for the remainder of Charles's reign. The Acts became known as the [[Clarendon Code]], after Lord Clarendon, even though he was not directly responsible for them and even spoke against the Five Mile Act.{{sfn|Hutton|1989|p=229}}

The Restoration was accompanied by social change. [[Puritanism]] lost its momentum. Theatres reopened after having been closed during the [[Interregnum (England)|protectorship]] of Oliver Cromwell, and bawdy "[[Restoration comedy]]" became a recognisable genre. Theatre licences granted by Charles required that female parts be played by "their natural performers", rather than by boys as was often the practice before;{{sfn|Hutton|1989|p=185}} and [[Restoration literature]] celebrated or reacted to the restored court, which included [[libertine]]s such as [[John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester|Lord Rochester]]. Of Charles II, Rochester supposedly said:

{{Poemquote|We have a pretty, witty king,
Whose word no man relies on,
He never said a foolish thing,
And never did a wise one<ref>Papers of [[Thomas Hearne (antiquarian)|Thomas Hearne]] (17 November 1706) quoted in {{harvnb|Doble|1885|p=308}}.</ref>}}

To which Charles is reputed to have replied "that the matter was easily accounted for: For that his discourse was his own, his actions were the ministry's".{{sfn|Hume|1778|p=212}}