M R James -The Uncommon Prayer Book
'The Uncommon Prayer Book' and Psalm 109
New years greetings to all visitors this blog and hope that you all have an inspiring 2019. Have spent a great deal of the festive season researching my other interest, World War 2 poetry, and also have written a short article for The Cromwell Association newsletter.
To start the year off with a consideration - how should the Psalms be treated when considering whether or not there is such a genre as 16th or 17th century war poetry ? Of course Psalters, personal collection of selected psalms, sometimes illustrated, had been in circulation for centuries, often copied out by hand. But in Latin or Greek. When and why did the Psalms start to have wider circulation and influence?
Christopher Hill in his seminal work 'The English Bible and the Seventeenth Century Revolution' looked at the use of the Psalms . His case was that there was a growing interest in them as from the 1530s onward. Sir Thomas Wyatt, and Sir Thomas Smith translated psalms whilst in prison in the 1540's.Hill also cited two sons of the Duke of Northumberland translating psalms in prison in 1533. Sir Philip Sidney's collection of psalms, were completed by his sister Mary and published by 1599. Though the Sidney texts were very poetic interpretations, presented to Queen Elizabeth, and proved to be a great influence on John Donne.
The growing interest in The Psalms were largely associated with the Reformation, the rise of printing. Calvin particularly showed an interest ; Calvinists could be opposed to hymns and the use of instruments in Church and the Psalms are lyrical enough to be chanted or sung in the form of responses. In fact ideal Christian texts to use amongst Dissenters.
Hill looked at examples such as Cromwell quoting from Psalm 119 in a speech in 1651, Bunyan's quoting from Psalm 58, which Hill maintains was a "favourite with critics of monarchy'. Regicide Hugh Peters on trial in 1662 was accused of quoting from Psalm 149 -" Bind your kings with chains and your nobles with iron.", during a particularly inflammatory sermon. Religious radicals could find relevant themes such as tyrants being subjected to the higher authority of God, and the persecution of the righteous.
Cromwell's forces at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 went into battle, chanting Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, consisting of two verses
O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
2For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.
Montague Rhodes James ( 1862- 1936) - better known as M.R.James , was born in Kent but was brought up in Suffolk as from the age of three. He won a scholarship to Eton, then to King's College, where he achieved a double first in classics. As well as being a renowned Medievalist, M.R. James became provost of both Eton and Kings at different times in his life. But most know for his ghost stories. Moving the genre away from a Gothic past into more contemporary times. His first volume of short stories was published in 1904, His final volume, 'A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories ' appeared in 1925.
The latter collection included The Uncommon Prayer Book with an eerie English Civil War theme.Not considered as M.R.James finest work by any means. The story reaches its peak with the discovery of a haunted chapel with several prayer books, part of an edition secretly published in 1653, open to Psalm 109
Versus 8-15 are particularly harrowing.
8Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
9Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
In 'The Uncommon Prayer Book' , it is disaffected Royalists who are using a psalm to curse Cromwell and his son in law Henry Ireton. There is a hint of irony as it was the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer to Scotland in 1637 that caused so much mayhem during the reign of Charles I. It's almost as if the chaos of the Civil War is being diverted back towards the rebels.An audio version of 'The Uncommon Prayer Book' read by Michael Hordern can be found on Youtube
I would like to particularly acknowledge the help of my friend Mark Foster from Brighton in drawing my attention to 'The Book of Uncommon Prayer' and for offering further information concerning M.R. James.
UPDATE There is now a further blogpost about M R James, looking at his short story Martin's Close
As I also work on the World War 2 Poetry blog,
A You Tube audio version of The Uncommon Prayer Book read by Michael Horden
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