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DEVOTIONAL BOOKS

LAITY.

in the 'Dirige;' but the Lessons of this service are changed for others, declaring the miserable state of man's life, the condition of the dead, and the general resurrection. It contains an in- FOR THE struction of the manner of hearing of the mass,' opposing the doctrine of the sacramentaries. The book follows three main divisions, faith, prayer (the Hours, with the xv. Oes1, the vii. and the xv. psalms, and the Litany, &c.) and works, concluding after passages of Scripture upon the relative duties, with an extract from 2 Pet. ii., headed, 'The bishop of Rome with his adherences, destroyers of all estates.' This with all preceding Primers was superseded in 1545 by 'The Primer set forth by the King's Ma- K. Henry's jesty, and his Clergy, to be taught, learned, and read; and none other to be used throughout all his dominions?.'

1 These were fifteen meditations on Christ's Passion, each beginning with 'O Jesu,' 'O blessed Jesu,' &c. composed, and said daily by St. Bridget before the crucifix in St. Paul's church at Rome: Hortulus animæ, p. 175. They occur in the larger Prymers: Maskell, Mon. Rit. II. xli. and 255. Marshall rejected them as superstitious, and they were not placed in K. Henry's Primer (1545). Bishop Hilsey retained them in their usual place, before the vii. Psalms and the Litany, with an admonition prefixed: The xv. prayers following, called commonly the xv. Oes, are set forth in divers

Latin primers, with goodly printed
prefaces, promising to the sayers
thereof many things both foolish
and false, as the deliverance of xv.
souls out of purgatory, with other
like vanities; yet are the prayers
self right, good, and virtuous, if
they be said without any such
superstitious trust or blind confi-
dence.' Burton, Three Primers,
p. 371. We find them again in
the time of Q. Elizabeth: see
Private Prayers put forth in that
Reign (Park. Soc.), and Mr. Clay's
note, p. 507.

2 Burton, Three Primers, pp.
437-526.

Primer.

CHANGES
IN THE

UNDER

HENRY

VIII.

CHAPTER II.

The Prayer-Book in the Reign of Edward VI.

[A. D. 1547-1553.]

In the latter years of Henry VIII. reformed opinions SERVICE were steadily progressing. A truly great event was the order (1540) to set up the English Bible in the churches', where it might be read by the people, although it was not as yet read in the public service. In 1542 it was proposed in Convocation that certain church-books2 should be examined and corrected, and especially that the names and titles of popes, and of Thomas Becket, should be carefully erased3. A new edition of the Sarum Breviary' was issued at the same time; and the House of

1 Strype, Cranmer, I. 21. See an account of Early English translations of the Bible in Joyce, England's Sacred Synods, pp. 404 sqq.; Hardwick, Reformation, p. 196, note 5.

6

2 These books, which the archbishop signified it was the King's pleasure they should be examined, were all mass-books, antiphoners and portuises: that they should be corrected, reformed and castigated from all manner of mention of the Bishop of Rome's name; and from all apocryphas, feigned legends, superstitious oraisons, collects, versicles, and responses: and that the names and memories of all saints, which be not mentioned in the scriptures, or other authentic doctors, be put away... It was ordered that the examination and correction of the said books of service should be committed to the

bishops of Sarum and Ely, taking to each of them three of the lower house, such as should be appointed for that purpose. But that the lower house released. (A gentle refusal to have anything to do therein).' Strype, Mem. Eccles. Hen. VIII. bk. i. ch. 50.

8 Wilkins, Concil. II. 861. 4 Portiforium secundum usum Sarum noviter impressum, et a plurimis purgatum mendis. In quo nomen Romano pontifici falso adscriptum omittitur, una cum aliis quæ Christianissimo nostri Regis statuto repugnant. Excusum Londini per Edvardum Whytchurch, 1541 (1542). Joyce, p. 409. The Pars Estivalis is in the library of Queen's College, Cambridge: Hardwick, Reformation, p. 206, note. Improved editions had appeared in 1516 and 1531: Freeman, p. 343.

IN THE

UNDER

VIII.

read in En

Bishops decided that its use should be observed through- CHANGES out the province of Canterbury', and also ordered that SERVICE 'every Sunday and holiday throughout the year, the HENRY curate of every parish-church, after the Te Deum and Magnificat, should openly read to the people one chapter of the New Testament in English, without exposition; and when the New Testament was read over, then to begin the Old2. Thus the first step was taken towards The Bible liturgical reformation by introducing the reading of scrip- glish. ture in English into the Public Service of the Church: and this was done by the authority of the House of Bishops in Convocation, who had also received the proposal to correct the Service-books. The way was thus prepared for the further substitution of English for Latin in the prayers. The first change in this respect was made in the Litany. This form of petition, used in English solemn processions, had been in the hands of the people in their own tongue in the Primer, certainly for a hundred and fifty years; but in 1544 it was revised by Cranmer, who, besides the old litanies of the English Church, had also before him the litany, formed from the same ancient model, which had been prepared by Melancthon and Bucer (1543) for Hermann, the Archbishop of Cologne3. The chief alteration consisted in the omission of the long list of names of saints, which had gradually been inserted in the Western litanies; although Cranmer still retained three clauses, in which the prayers of the Virgin Mary, the angels, and the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, were desired. With this exception our English Litany

1 'Reverendissimus de consensu patrum decrevit usum et morem ecclesiæ Sarum. observandum esse ab omnibus et singulis clericis per provinciam Cantuar. in horis suis

canonicis dicendis.' Sess. VIII.
(Martii 3.) Wilkins, III. 861.
2 Strype, Hen. VIII. i. 50.
3 See Appendix to this chapter.

§ 3.

C

Litany.

ROYAL VISITA

TION.

Accession of
Edward VI.

Homilies published.

was set forth for public use by command of Henry VIII.' (June 11, 1544) in its present form, and very nearly in its present words. All the other parts of Divine Service continued to be celebrated according to the several books and Uses which have been noticed.

On the accession of Edward VI. (Jan. 28, 1547), the first progressive measure towards reformation was to provide scriptural instruction for the people, that should be independent of the opinions of the parish priests, by the publication of the First Book of Homilies, to be read in the churches on Sunday, and a translation of the Paraphrase of Erasmus on the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, to be studied by the clergy, and to be set up in the Articles and churches together with the great Bible. Injunctions and Articles of Enquiry were also issued with a royal Visitation in September, which renewed the orders of Henry against superstition and the pope; and besides

Injunctions.

1 This Litany has been reprinted by Mr. Clay for the Parker Society, as an Appendix to the volume of Private Prayers of the reign of Q. Elizabeth.

An ex

hortation unto prayer was prefixed,
'thought meet by the king's ma-
jesty, and his clergy, to be read to
the people in every church afore
processions.' See Mr. Clay's Pre-
face, p. xxiii. It seems that Cran-
mer continued his work by ex-
amining the different Litanies and
processional services that he could
find, and made a selection of some
proper Litanies for festivals, which,
however, were not taken into use.
The letter sent with the book to
the King (Cranmer, Works, 11.412,
ed. Park. Soc.) shows the method
in which he compiled, or revised,
the prayers, and also mentions the
musical notation, which now had
to be transferred from the Latin

to English words: '...I have translated...certain processions to be used upon festival days... I was constrained to use more than the liberty of a translator; for in some processions I have altered divers words; in some I have added part in some taken part away; some have left out whole, either for by cause the matter appeared to me to be little to purpose, or by cause the days be not with us festival days; and some processions I have added whole... If your grace command some devout and solemn note to be made thereunto (as is to the procession which your majesty hath already set forth in English), I trust it will much stir the hearts of all men unto devotion...' Oct. 7. [most prob. 1544].

2 Cardwell, Documentary Annals, II. §§ 7, 20, 32.

ORDER OF

MUNION,

one chapter of the New Testament to be read at Matins, THE and at Evensong one chapter of the Old Testament, on THE COMevery Sunday and holiday, the significant direction was (1548.) now added, that the Epistle and Gospel at high mass Epistle and should be in English'.

Gospel in

English.

In issuing these injunctions, the royal council acted under the authority of the late king's will, and the statutes which empowered the advisers of Edward during his minority to direct ecclesiastical affairs by proclamation". But changes were aimed at, which went far beyond the intention of those statutes, and which therefore awaited the meeting of Parliament and Convocation in the beginning of November (1547). Among other matters of ecclesiastical law, the Lower House of Con- Communion vocation now turned their attention to reforms in the sanctioned by church service, which had been for some time in contemplation, and approved a proposition, introduced by the archbishop, for administering the Communion in both kinds3. This change was accepted by the Parliament*; and Parlia

1 Cardwell, Doc. Ann. § 21. To make room for the reading of the chapter, a further change was directed, that when ix. lessons should be read in the church, three of them shall be omitted and left out with their responds; and at Evensong time the responds with all the memories shall be left off for that purpose.'

2 Ibid. See p. 4, note.

3 Convocation met, Nov. 5. Session III. Nov. 22, the Lower House presented some petitions to the archbishop, and among them, 'that the works of the bishops and others, who by the command of the convocation have laboured in examining, reforming, and publishing the divine service, may be produced, and laid before the examination of this house.' Nov. ult. 'a form of a cer

tain ordinance,' delivered by the
archbishop, for the receiving of
the body of our Lord under both
kinds, viz. of bread and wine,' was
read, and subscribed by several
members: and Session VI. Dec. 2,
'all this whole session, in number
64, by their mouths did approve
the proposition made the last ses-
sion, of taking the Lord's body
in both kinds, nullo reclamante.'
Strype, Cranmer, II. 4.

4 Stat. 1 Edw. VI. c. 1, passed
both Houses, Dec. 20: two Acts
being joined together, it was en-
tituled, 'An Act against such as
shall unreverently speak against
the sacrament of the body and
blood of Christ, commonly called
the Sacrament of the Altar, and for
the receiving thereof in both kinds.'
Strype, Eccl. Mem. Ed. VI. 1. 8.

in both kinds

Convocation,

ment.

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