DOCSLIB.ORG

HUGH LATIMER's HOMILETICAL HERMENEUTICS Jason

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
HUGH LATIMER's HOMILETICAL HERMENEUTICS Jason CHAPTER NINE ‘LORDS AND LABOURERS’: HUGH LATIMER’S HOMILETICAL HERMENEUTICS Jason Zuidema One month after the death of Henry VIII in late January 1547, Hugh Latimer was released from the Tower of London, apparently by the terms of the general pardon issued in the name of Edward VI on his coronation day.1 It is unclear what Latimer did following his release until the close of 1547 when we see his name among several prominent English reformers, John Knox, Matthew Parker, Edmund Grindal and others who had, since July, been re-licensed to preach under the ecclesiastical seal. Latimer had not preached in eight years, ever since renouncing his bishopric of Worchester in 1539 and spending several difficult years under house arrest and impris- onment, silenced by Henry VIII’s concern with the increasing diversity of doctrine in his realm.2 Though he had not ministered publicly for the bet- ter part of a decade, his presence in the pulpit was not diminished.3 Testifying to the importance of Latimer’s voice behind the new govern- ment and its reforming agenda, Latimer was one of the first to occupy the pulpit at Paul’s Cross. Indeed, in January 1548 (possibly late December 1547) Latimer was called on for as many as four Sunday sermons and four mid-week sermons.4 The four mid-week sermons compared agricultural 1 Allan G. Chester, Hugh Latimer: Apostle to the English (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1954), 162. See also the details provided in Sermons and Remains of Hugh Latimer, Sometime Bishop of Worcester, Martyr, 1555, ed. George E. Corrie for the Parker Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1844), I.xii and II.xx–xxi. Cited hereafter LS. 2 Lucy Wooding, Henry VIII (London: Routledge, 2009), 250–57. Also see her ‘From Tudor Humanism to Reformation Preaching,’ in The Oxford Handbook of The Early Modern Sermon, ed. P. McCullough, H. Adlington and E. Rhatigan (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 341–44. 3 Latimer’s activities in this period are described in part in Susan Wabuda, ‘Shunamites and Nurses in the English Reformation: the Activities of Mary Glover, Niece of Hugh Latimer,’ in Women in the Church, Studies in Church History 27, ed. W.J. Sheils and Diana Wood (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990), 335–344. 4 Chester, Hugh Latimer, 163. The 16th-century chronicler John Stow adds some detail of other sermons: ‘In the I. of January doctor Latimer preached at Paules crosse, which was <UN> <UN> 176 jason zuidema labour to the Church, the last of which, the only sermon from January 1548 extant, focused specifically on the image of the plougher. Latimer was already well known as a forceful, if not controversial preacher. His most recent stay in the Tower was not his first. In fact, he had run afoul of the more conservative clergy on a number of occasions since his first attraction to the ideas of reform in 1524.5 Under the influence of Cambridge scholars Thomas Bilney and George Stafford, both important catalysts for the renewal of the Church, Latimer’s perspectives began to shift—though perhaps not as radically as he would later remember.6 Though these men wished to ‘preach Christ’, as influenced by humanists like Erasmus, they began to argue points of doctrine and a practice that landed them into trouble.7 the first sermon by him preached in almost eight yeeres before, for at the making of the sixe articles, he being bishop of Worchester would not consent unto them, and therefore was commanded to silence, and gave up his bishoprike: he also preached at Pauls crosse on the 8. of January; where he affirmed, that whatsoever the cleargie commanded, ought to be obeyed, but he also declared that the cleargie are such as sit in Moyses chaire, and breake not their masters commission: adding nothing thereto, nor taking any thing there from: and such a cleargy must be obeied of all men, both high and lowe. He also preached at Paules on the 15. and on the 29. of January.’ John Stow, Annals of England (London: John Windet, 1603), 1002. Though he acknowledges that Chester and Stow list more, MacLure notes only five entries in his 1958 register of sermons at Paul’s Cross: Millar MacLure, The Paul’s Cross Sermons, 1534–1642 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1958), 192. No addi- tional information is given in the updated register based on MacLure’s: Register of Sermons Preached at Paul’s Cross, 1534–1642, rev. ed. Peter Pauls and Jackson Campbell Boswell (Ottawa: Dovehouse, 1989), 28–9. The ‘sermon on the plougher’ examined here is the fourth mid-week sermon preached by Latimer in January (see text history below). Since it was preached on January 18 in the third Wednesday of January 1548, it can be inferred that he preached at the Cross on the last Wednesday of December 1547. However, as cited above, Stow highlights that the 1 January sermon was his first. We have no additional infor- mation with which to solve this apparent discrepancy. 5 Latimer recounts his conversion while a student at Cambridge in a sermon before Katherine of Suffolk in 1552: ‘Master Bilney … was the instrument whereby God called me to knowledge, for I may thanke him, next to God, for that knowledge that I have in the word of God. For I was as obstinate a Papist as any was in England, insomuch that when I should be made Batcheler of divinity, my whole Oration went against Philip Melanchthon, and against his opinions…Then Bilney took me aside and taught me more than I had learned to that point…So from that time forward I beganne to smell the word of GOD, and forsooke the school doctors: and such fooleries.’ Hugh Latimer, Fruitfull Sermons (London: Thomas Cotes, 1635), 125r. 6 On the state of ideas for reform at Cambridge in this period see: Alec Ryrie, The Gospel and Henry VIII: Evangelicals in the Early English Reformation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), ch. 5. See also a 16th-century testimony in LS II. xxvii–xxxi. 7 Susan Wabuda, Preaching during the English Reformation (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002), 81 and Michael Pasquarello, ‘Evangelizing England: The Importance of the Book of Homilies for the Popular Preaching of Hugh Latimer & John Wesley,’ The Asbury Theological Journal (Oct, 2004), 154. <UN> <UN>.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018
    Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 Conforming to General Convention 2018 1 Preface Christians have since ancient times honored men and women whose lives represent heroic commitment to Christ and who have borne witness to their faith even at the cost of their lives. Such witnesses, by the grace of God, live in every age. The criteria used in the selection of those to be commemorated in the Episcopal Church are set out below and represent a growing consensus among provinces of the Anglican Communion also engaged in enriching their calendars. What we celebrate in the lives of the saints is the presence of Christ expressing itself in and through particular lives lived in the midst of specific historical circumstances. In the saints we are not dealing primarily with absolutes of perfection but human lives, in all their diversity, open to the motions of the Holy Spirit. Many a holy life, when carefully examined, will reveal flaws or the bias of a particular moment in history or ecclesial perspective. It should encourage us to realize that the saints, like us, are first and foremost redeemed sinners in whom the risen Christ’s words to St. Paul come to fulfillment, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The “lesser feasts” provide opportunities for optional observance. They are not intended to replace the fundamental celebration of Sunday and major Holy Days. As the Standing Liturgical Commission and the General Convention add or delete names from the calendar, successive editions of this volume will be published, each edition bearing in the title the date of the General Convention to which it is a response.
    [Show full text]
  • Vagrants and Vagrancy in England, 1485-1553
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1986 Basilisks of the Commonwealth: Vagrants and Vagrancy in England, 1485-1553 Christopher Thomas Daly College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Daly, Christopher Thomas, "Basilisks of the Commonwealth: Vagrants and Vagrancy in England, 1485-1553" (1986). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625366. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-y42p-8r81 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BASILISKS OF THE COMMONWEALTH: Vagrants and Vagrancy in England, 1485-1553 A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts fcy Christopher T. Daly 1986 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts . s F J i z L s _____________ Author Approved, August 1986 James L. Axtell Dale E. Hoak JamesEL McCord, IjrT DEDICATION To my brother, grandmother, mother and father, with love and respect. iii TABLE OE CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................. v ABSTRACT.......................................... vi INTRODUCTION ...................................... 2 CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM OE VAGRANCY AND GOVERNMENTAL RESPONSES TO IT, 1485-1553 7 CHAPTER II.
    [Show full text]
  • The Beginnings of English Protestantism
    THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH PROTESTANTISM PETER MARSHALL ALEC RYRIE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge ,UK West th Street, New York, -, USA Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, , Australia Ruiz de Alarc´on , Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town , South Africa http://www.cambridge.org C Cambridge University Press This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typeface Baskerville Monotype /. pt. System LATEX ε [TB] A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library hardback paperback Contents List of illustrations page ix Notes on contributors x List of abbreviations xi Introduction: Protestantisms and their beginnings Peter Marshall and Alec Ryrie Evangelical conversion in the reign of Henry VIII Peter Marshall The friars in the English Reformation Richard Rex Clement Armstrong and the godly commonwealth: radical religion in early Tudor England Ethan H. Shagan Counting sheep, counting shepherds: the problem of allegiance in the English Reformation Alec Ryrie Sanctified by the believing spouse: women, men and the marital yoke in the early Reformation Susan Wabuda Dissenters from a dissenting Church: the challenge of the Freewillers – Thomas Freeman Printing and the Reformation: the English exception Andrew Pettegree vii viii Contents John Day: master printer of the English Reformation John N. King Night schools, conventicles and churches: continuities and discontinuities in early Protestant ecclesiology Patrick Collinson Index Illustrations Coat of arms of Catherine Brandon, duchess of Suffolk.
    [Show full text]
  • An Erasmian Pilgrimage to Walsingham
    Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture Volume 2 Issue 2 1-16 2007 An Erasmian Pilgrimage to Walsingham Gary Waller State University of New York, Purchase College Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal Part of the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons Recommended Citation Waller, Gary. "An Erasmian Pilgrimage to Walsingham." Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture 2, 2 (2007): 1-16. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol2/iss2/4 This Feature Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Art History at Digital Kenyon: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture by an authorized editor of Digital Kenyon: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Waller 1 An Erasmian Pilgrimage to Walsingham By Gary Waller Professor of Literature, Cultural Studies and Drama Studies Purchase College, State University of New York In the summer of 2006, I undertook what I will explain was an ‘Erasmian’ pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, in remote northern Norfolk. I did so partly for scholarly purposes, partly from nostalgia for peregrinations there in student days. What I discovered--as in the case of so many folk who longen “to goon on pilgrimages”--was an unexpected measure of the uncanny and I think that fellow peregrinators, scholars and travelers alike, might be amused by sharing my discoveries. Erasmus, who made pilgrimages to Walsingham in 1512 and 1524, traveling (as I did) from Cambridge, gave a detailed, though fictionalized, description in one of the dialogues of his Colloquies.1 He went to Walsingham when it was England’s most important medieval Marian pilgrimage site, surpassed only by the shrine of St Thomas a Becket in Canterbury as the most popular place of pilgrimage in England,.
    [Show full text]
  • DISSERTATION-Submission Reformatted
    The Dilemma of Obedience: Persecution, Dissimulation, and Memory in Early Modern England, 1553-1603 By Robert Lee Harkins A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Ethan Shagan, Chair Professor Jonathan Sheehan Professor David Bates Fall 2013 © Robert Lee Harkins 2013 All Rights Reserved 1 Abstract The Dilemma of Obedience: Persecution, Dissimulation, and Memory in Early Modern England, 1553-1603 by Robert Lee Harkins Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Ethan Shagan, Chair This study examines the problem of religious and political obedience in early modern England. Drawing upon extensive manuscript research, it focuses on the reign of Mary I (1553-1558), when the official return to Roman Catholicism was accompanied by the prosecution of Protestants for heresy, and the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), when the state religion again shifted to Protestantism. I argue that the cognitive dissonance created by these seesaw changes of official doctrine necessitated a society in which religious mutability became standard operating procedure. For most early modern men and women it was impossible to navigate between the competing and contradictory dictates of Tudor religion and politics without conforming, dissimulating, or changing important points of conscience and belief. Although early modern theologians and polemicists widely declared religious conformists to be shameless apostates, when we examine specific cases in context it becomes apparent that most individuals found ways to positively rationalize and justify their respective actions. This fraught history continued to have long-term effects on England’s religious, political, and intellectual culture.
    [Show full text]
  • David M. Whitchurch, “Thomas Bilney: a Prelude to the Restoration,” In
    David M. Whitchurch, “Thomas Bilney: A Prelude to the Restoration,” in Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church (Provo, UT and Salt Lake City: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University and Deseret Book, 2004), 250–268. Thomas Bilney: A Prelude to the Restoration David M. Whitchurch David M. Whitchurch is an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University Much has been said about the Restoration and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and rightfully so. Joseph Smith had the faith and courage necessary to part the heavens, see the Father and the Son, and once again reconstitute the Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth. Persecution and opposition ensued. From the First Vision to the death of the Prophet Joseph, the very “elements” combined to “hedge up the way” (D&C 122:7). Even those within the newly restored Church struggled to retain their newfound way of life. Just one year before his martyrdom, the Prophet Joseph Smith stated, “Many men will say, ‘I will never forsake you, but will stand by you at all times.’ But the moment you teach them some of the mysteries of the kingdom of God that are retained in the heavens and are to be revealed to the children of men when they are prepared for them, they will be the first to stone you and put you to death. It was this same principle that crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, and will [1] cause the people to kill the prophets in this generation.” In another sermon delivered to the Saints at Nauvoo, the Prophet told the congregants: “But there has been a great difficulty in getting anything into the heads of this generation.
    [Show full text]
  • Hugh Latimer (1485-1555) John Bradford (1520-1556) Martyrs of the English Reformation by Art Lindsley C.S.Lewis Institute Senior Fellow
    KNOWING & DOING A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind This article originally appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Knowing & Doing. C.S. LEWIS INSTITUTE PROFILES IN FAITH Hugh Latimer (1485-1555) John Bradford (1520-1556) Martyrs of the English Reformation by Art Lindsley C.S.Lewis Institute Senior Fellow UGH LATIMER i s Latimer began an intense study of the Scriptures. known as the greatest He often took long walks with Bilney, and they visited preacher of the English prisoners and those who were sick. Reformation. He was Latimer began preaching in the university pul- HHoften asked to speak before King pits, having a great impact on many who heard him. Henry VIII and King Edward VI. Becon, later Cranmer’s chaplain, said of Latimer’s He was a man who showed great preaching: courage and faith. Prior to his conversion, None except the stiff-necked and uncircumcised in Latimer was a leader of the op- Art Lindsley heart went away from it without being affected with position to Reformation doc- high detestation of sin, and moved unto all godliness trines at Cambridge University. He later wrote of that and virtue. period of his life: Preaching was important to Latimer because it I was an obstinate a papist as any was in England, in- was the means of salvation. Latimer said, “Take away somuch that when I should be made bachelor of divin- preaching and take away salvation.” He was also ity, my whole oration went against Philip Melanchthon strongly opposed to those ministers of his time who and his opinions.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Religious Liberty
    American advocates of freedom did not believe in religious liberty in Early spite of their Christianity, but explicitly because of their individual faith in Christ, which had been molded and instructed by the Bible. The greatest evidence of their commitment to liberty can be found in their willingness to support the cause of freedom for those different from themselves. The assertion that the Enlightenment is responsible for the American Bill of Rights may be common, but it is devoid of any meaningful connection to the actual historical account. History reveals a different story, intricately gathered from the following: 1 Influence of William Tyndale’s translation work and the court intrigues of Henry VIII 1 Spread of the Reformation through the eyes of Martin Luther, John Knox, and John Calvin 1 The fight to establish a bill of rights that would guarantee every American citizen the free exercise of their religion. James Madison played a key role in the founding of America and in the establishment of religious liberty. But the true heroes of our story are the common people whom Tyndale inspired and Madison marshaled for political victory. These individuals read the Word of God for themselves and truly understood both the liberty of the soul and the liberty of the mind. The History of Religious Liberty is a sweeping literary work that passionately traces the epic history of religious liberty across three centuries, from the turbulent days of medieval Europe to colonial America and the birth pangs of a new nation. Michael Farris is a constitutional lawyer, as well as founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College.
    [Show full text]
  • STORY of ANGLICANISM
    STORY of ANGLICANISM PART 1 (26th May 2018) ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL FOUNDATIONS When does Anglican history begin? The 16th century division of medieval Christendom into national and denominational jurisdictions marked the beginning of separate development in English religion. But to understand the particular shape of Anglicanism, it is helpful to know the pre-Reformation church from which it evolved. Our study of the ancient and medieval English Church will not only illumine generic topics of Christian history (eg. conversion of the barbarians, the monastic ideal the struggles of bishops and kings, etc.), but it will also reveal certain Anglican traits rooted deeply in the past of Britain’s relatively pragmatic and moderate peoples. This is perhaps a point not to be pressed too far, lest the increasingly diverse branches of the Anglican Communion begin to slight the particulars of their own local histories in favour of a romanticised pedigree of Celts, cathedrals and kings. Nevertheless, the English reformers repeatedly stressed that theirs was not a new church, but one that had its origins in earliest centuries of the faith. And while a majority of the Communion no longer confuses being Anglican with being English, we may still find considerable pleasure in claiming these stories as part of our family lore. The Church and History 1. Why do we study history? What do these stories have to do with us? What was your favourite part of the video? Why? 2. What makes you a Christian? Can you be a Christian by yourself? What are the essential components of the Christian life? 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Crossword Puzzle Maker
    Tudor Churchmen Wordsearch C X T E X O F D R A W D E T P R R U Y E L D I R S A L O H C I N V X T M T A T Z R L J X Q T R W G R R H A H D J H R O M O D R I Z R M T B H O R N N O K W Y H N L E J F Y E R M E X I N M R L C N K M I D E R A A V R V C G A H A R S G T D M T W S O K E Y H E S A N T K M N K T M C C R B T S O P W I D U I C D U A R S J E T S W L H O N L O P Q N I A E V E T E E W A D L C E L P S L N L R W H S N H B S L S M E V T L M Y V T Y H E O C A H D E J J A I E M T P O N N C N O J E R Y X L W R A Y J K N D H R V R Y A Y Y L L M W J D E R O X M O M K Q T Y D N Y K V R V J M M K D W B D M H 1 This man served Anne Boleyn as a preached a controversial sermon on chaplain and Elizabeth I as Archbishop of Passion Sunday 1536.
    [Show full text]
  • Backgrounds to the English Reformation: Three Views
    MAJT 22 (2011): 77-87 BACKGROUNDS TO THE ENGLISH REFORMATION: THREE VIEWS by Ian Hugh Clary Introduction THE QUESTION of the nature of the English Reformation has been something that historians have wrestled with since the sixteenth century.1 The purpose of this article will not be to trace the debate since that time.2 Rather a more modest proposal is offered. What follows is a description of the viewpoints of three recent historians—A. G. Dickens, Eamon Duffy and Diarmaid MacCul- loch—in regard to aspects of the Reformation in England. Though their stud- ies overlap, the three offer differing interpretations of the English Refor- mation, the latter two considered to be—in varying degree—revisionist against the first. The purpose of focusing on Dickens, Duffy and MacCulloch is to highlight the difference of opinions each has in relation to one another, to the late Middle Ages and the reception of the Reformation. Due to the influence of Dickens‟ work, the theme addressed in the early part of his book regarding late-medieval religion in England will inform the basic structure of this essay. This is a subject to which Duffy responds and thus warrants closer examination. Therefore this essay will address the na- ture of medieval England before the Reformation and the question of whether the country, both politically and popularly, was ready for change. If so, why and what kind of change did they need? Was the ecclesiastical system so cor- rupt and the religion so superstitious that the people were ready for a new establishment? How influential were heretical groups like the Lollards in set- ting the stage for eventual change? A.
    [Show full text]
  • The 1548 Dissolution of the Chantries and Clergy of the Midland County Surveys
    MANAGING CHANGE IN THE ENGLISH REFORMATION: THE 1548 DISSOLUTION OF THE CHANTRIES AND CLERGY OF THE MIDLAND COUNTY SURVEYS BY SYLVIA MAY GILL A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Modern History College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham March 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. INFORMATION FOR ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING SERVICES The information on this form will be published. To minimize any risk of inaccuracy, please type your text. Please supply two copies of this abstract page. Full name (surname first): Gill, Sylvia May School/Department: School of History and Cultures/Modern History Full title of thesis/dissertation: Managing Change in The English Reformation: The 1548 Dissolution of the Chantries and Clergy of the Midland County Surveys Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Date of submission: March 2010 Date of award of degree (leave blank): Abstract (not to exceed 200 words - any continuation sheets must contain the author's full name and full title of the thesis/dissertation): The English Reformation was undeniably a period of change; this thesis seeks to consider how that change was managed by those who were responsible for its realisation and by individuals it affected directly, principally during the reign of Edward VI.
    [Show full text]