Overview

This groundbreaking study of early modern English preaching was the first to take full account of the sermon as heard by the listener as well as uttered by the preacher. It draws on a wide range of printed and manuscript sources, but also seeks to read behind the texts in order to reconstruct what was actually delivered from the pulpit, with due attention to the differences between oral, written and printed versions. In showing how sermons were interpreted and appropriated by their hearers, often in ways that their authors never intended, it poses wider questions about the transmission of religious and political ideas in the post-Reformation period. Offering a richer understanding of sermons as complex and ambiguous texts, and opening up new avenues for their interpretation, it will be essential reading for all students of the religious and cultural history of early modern England.

Full Product Details

9781107679825

Table of Contents

Reviews

'This wonderful book takes us into one of English preaching's golden ages, and tries to find out what actually happened when preachers stood up and cleared their throats.' The Times Higher Education Supplement 'Beautifully written, with some wonderfully observed allusions to contemporary culture and church life which will resonate with readers ... this is indeed an important book for scholars, and will greatly reward the generalists, preachers and the preached to alike.' Church Times 'A brilliant and original re-examination of the importance of preaching in later Reformation England ... provides an exceptionally stimulating discussion of what came to fill people's minds after the statues had been burned and the altars stripped.' The Times Literary Supplement

Author Information

Arnold Hunt is Curator of Manuscripts at The British Library. He was the co-editor of The Book Trade and its Customers 1450–1900: Historical Essays (1997).

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available