'In the midst of life we are in death.' The words of the Book of Common Prayer have permeated deep into the English language all over the world. For nearly 500 years, and for countless people, it has provided a background fanfare for a marriage or a funeral march at a burial. Yet this familiarity also hides a violent and controversial history. When it was first produced the Book of Common Prayer provoked riots and rebellion, and it was banned before being translated into a host of global languages and adopted as the basis for worship in the USA and elsewhere to the present day. This edition presents the work in three different states: the first edition of 1549, which brought the Reformation into people's homes; the Elizabethan prayer book of 1559, familiar to Shakespeare and Milton; and the edition of 1662, which embodies the religious temper of the nation down to modern times. 'magnificent edition'
Diarmaid MacCulloch
London Review of Books
'superb edition...excellent notes and introduction'
Rowan Williams
Times Literary Supplement
- A unique edition of the Book of Common Prayer that brings together the texts of three different versions - 1549, 1559, and 1662 - to provide a panorama of the history of ritual in England from the Reformation to the twentieth century.
- The first edition for the common reader, regardless of religious background, providing full notes and a comprehensive glossary of vocabulary and technical terms.
- The full text of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and the full divine services for the 1549 and 1559 texts; all texts freshly edited from original copies, preserving much of their original appearance, orthography, and punctuation, with limited modernization to aid the modern reader.
- The Introduction explains the historical significance of the book and the controversial process by which it was put together and revised, the changes to the text from the Reformation to the Restoration of Charles II and the 1662 version, and the significance of the book for everyday life and the history of the English language and its literature.
- Two appendices, one with material unique to the 1552 Book of Common Prayer, the other with ancillary material from the 1662 text, including the 39 Articles of Religion and the service for the King's Healing.
- A Note on the Texts explains the complex printing history and the principles of this edition.
- A Note on Music explains this aspect of the performance of the liturgy in England.
- Full Explanatory Notes include historical discussion of the origins of baptism, communion etc, the controversial meaning of gestures, words etc and the doctrinal and political arguments which have accompanied the different versions.
- Comprehensive Glossary covering difficult vocabulary, changes in historical meaning, and technical terms in liturgy and theology.
</