Matthew Parker: , Scholar and Collector. A conference on collaborative scholarship, the retrieval of the past and the cultures of the book in sixteenth-century . Anthony Grafton, Princeton University; Scott Mandelbrote, University of ; Bill Sherman, Victoria & Albert Museum, / University of , 17.03.2016–19.03.2016.

Reviewed by Stefan Bauer

Published on H-Soz-u-Kult (May, 2016)

As the subtitle of a recent conference in Cam‐ the ecclesiastical policy under Elizabeth was legit‐ bridge succinctly states, (1504– imate. The oldest complete copy of the Gospels in 1575) was an ‘archbishop, scholar and collector’. the West Saxon dialect of Old English (MS 140), for As archbishop of , Parker was expect‐ example, proved that the vernacular was used for ed by Queen Elizabeth to make Protestant reform Bible translations before the of irrevocable in England. One of his key achieve‐ England in 1066. Thus English had traditionally ments in this capacity was editing the “Thirty- been an integral part of religious life. Parker also Nine Articles of Religion” of 1563, which ofcially put together a rich collection of chronicles with defned the beliefs of the English Church. These the aim of documenting the unbroken continuity articles made it clear that the king or queen of of the English Church from the early Middle Ages England was also the head of the Church and that onwards. Parker, it seems, was convinced that re‐ the authority of the was not to be recog‐ ligious autonomy was taken away in 1066 when nised; they also stated that the Bible and religious England became an outpost of Europe and that services could be in English. the country had previously preserved the truest Since ecclesiastical reform in England had not form of Christianity. De Hamel, pp. 9, 15. As Park‐ yet been fully established and accepted by the er’s contemporary stated, Parker’s book population, Parker looked for examples from his‐ collection showed that ‘religion presently … is no tory to justify the independence of the English new reformation of thinges … but rather a reduc‐ Church. He set in motion a research project which tion of the Church to the pristine state of olde con‐ resulted in a collection of over 450 medieval formitie’. Gospels of the Fower Evangelistes, Lon‐ manuscripts, including ‘many (if not most) of the don 1571, sig. oldest of all books in English history’. See Christo‐ ¶ iir. See also David J. Crankshaw and Alexandra pher de Hamel, The Parker Library, Corpus Christi Gillespie, ‘Parker, Matthew’, in Dictionary College Cambridge, London 2010, p. 9. Many of of National Biography, Oxford 2004 (online edi‐ these manuscripts came from which tion). MADELINE MCMAHON (Princeton) ex‐ had been suppressed under Henry VIII from pressed this idea beautifully in her paper by say‐ around 1540 and, particularly, from pri‐ ing that it was Parker’s aim to supply ‘origin sto‐ ories where important libraries had been pre‐ ries for the English episcopacy’. served. These manuscripts provided proof that H-Net Reviews

Parker’s relationship with German Protes‐ DELBROTE (Cambridge) reminded us, subjected to tantism was infuenced by (d. 1551), constant revision. DEBORA SHUGER (Los Angeles) who became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cam‐ in her talk concentrated on the paratexts in this bridge in 1549 and was involved in the revision of Bible and found that Parker’s own religious posi‐ the (this was explained tion is difcult to pin down. In some respects, he well in the paper by BRIAN CUMMINGS (York)). seems to have broken with Reformed readings of But it was a letter from Matthias Flacius, forward‐ the Bible; Shuger questioned, in conclusion, ed to Parker in 1560, which arguably gave a whether Elizabethans thought of their own reli‐ strong stimulus to his research and collecting – or, giosity in confessional terms at all. as ANTHONY GRAFTON (Princeton) put it, ‘trans‐ Apart from DAVID CRANKSHAW’S (London) formed his life’. Flacius had requested material on opening paper, Parker’s functions as a religious English history for his own collaborative project, administrator and leader were only lightly the Magdeburg Centuries, in which a large-scale touched upon during this conference; one won‐ Protestant version of ecclesiastical history was ders if a more thorough investigation of these produced. This new kind of history was essential‐ roles might add to our understanding of his activi‐ ly based on manuscript research. In Flacius’s case, ty as a scholar and collector. a team of about 15 scholars was involved. Grafton Conference Overview: (going beyond an article by Norman Jones Nor‐ man L. Jones, ‘Matthew Parker, John Bale, and the Welcome and introduction: Anthony Grafton, Magdeburg Centuriators’, Sixteenth Century Jour‐ Scott Mandelbrote, Bill Sherman nal 12 (1981), pp. 35-49. ), found similarities and David Crankshaw (King’s College, London): “A diferences between Flacius’s and Parker’s teams. Man of Stomach”: Matthew Parker's Reputation Both teams recognised the importance of histori‐ Parker’s Sense of History I cal arguments for present-day . Both Thomas Roebuck (UEA): Matthew Parker and Parker and Flacius used a characteristic red cray‐ Anglo- Historiography on or pencil to mark manuscripts. The English team, however, was much smaller, i.e. only about Elizabeth Evenden (Brunel): Matthew Parker three persons were involved, notably John and Arthurian Romance in Early Modern Europe Joscelin and Stephen Batman (SIMON HOROBIN Parker and the Religious Book (Oxford) presented an in-depth paper about the Scott Mandelbrote: Parker and the Bible latter). According to Grafton, the Magdeburg team Brian Cummings (York): Parker, Bucer, and was highly systematic, whereas Parker’s team, the Book of Common Prayer lacking manpower, followed the rule of improvi‐ sation. PAUL NELLES (Carleton), in his talk, con‐ Plenary: Matthew Parker, Sacred Geography frmed that our knowledge about Parker’s team and the British Past (Alexandra Walsham, Cam‐ and how they organised their work is very limit‐ bridge) ed. Parker’s Sense of History II Parker not only collected manuscripts but Stefan Bauer (York), Chair was also responsible for publications and edi‐ Madeline McMahon (Princeton): Parker and tions. Most famous among these are his “De antiq‐ Ecclesiastical History uitate Britannicae ecclesiae” of 1572 (tracing the Anthony Grafton (Princeton): Parker and fortunes of the Church in Britain from late antiq‐ Flacius uity onwards) as well as his edition of the “Bish‐ Parker As Collector And Reader op’s Bible” (1568). This Bible was, as SCOTT MAN‐

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Paul Nelles (Carleton): Parker as Collector: The View from the Continent Simon Horobin (Oxford): Batman and his As‐ sociates Mirjam Foot: Matthew Parker and the Book‐ binders of his Time Parker as Annotator: From Scribal to Digital Culture Bill Sherman (V&A/York): In the Margins of Parker Alexandra Gillespie (Toronto): Digital Ap‐ proaches to Parker Jefrey Todd Knight (Washington): Parker and the Working Copy. With a presentation of the digi‐ tal project on Parker’s printed books by Andrew Dunning (BL) and Alexandra Gillespie Plenary: Matthew Parker and the (Debora Shuger, UCLA) Plenary: Matthew Parker’s Scholarship (James Carley (Toronto/ ) History’s Sense of Parker Kathryn James (Yale): Parker in the 18th and 19th Centuries Lori Anne Ferrell (Claremont): How the Park‐ er Society Got its Name Roundtable on Parkerian Legacies: Confrmed speakers include: Elisabeth Leedham-Green (Cam‐ bridge); Stephen Archer (Cambridge); Arnold Hunt (London). David McKitterick to chair.

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Citation: Stefan Bauer. Review of Matthew Parker: Archbishop, Scholar and Collector. A conference on collaborative scholarship, the retrieval of the past and the cultures of the book in sixteenth-century England. H-Soz-u-Kult, H-Net Reviews. May, 2016.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=47046

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