Royalist Hymnody and KJB: George Wither and the Hymns of the English Civil War
Location
Room B
Start Date
1-10-2011 10:45 AM
End Date
1-10-2011 12:00 PM
Abstract
Shortly after the release of the King James Bible in 1611 George Withers published one of the first collections of English hymns as a supplement to the new scripture translation. His Hymns and Songs of the Church, endorsed by James I and originally granted a patent to be bound and published with the metrical Psalms, was released in 1623 and later set to music by Orlando Gibbons. In 1641, Withers followed his first hymnal with the publication of Hallelujah: Britain’s Second Remembrancer. These two collections of hymns demonstrate the earliest attempts at English hymn writing from the King James translation. Despite early support of the Anglican cause, Wither did not maintain loyalty in his support of the English government, and eventually took up Puritan grievances to fight alongside the Roundheads, even to the point of imprisonment by the Royalists during the English Civil War. Wither’s work, on the cusp of Civil War, exemplifies not only early attempts at English hymnody but also an interesting paradigm shift in the focus of religious songs. Early hymns, and Wither’s work specifically, centered primarily around the ritual of the Anglican Church with an emphasis on religious custom and a reinforcement of the English establishment focusing on holidays of the Anglican Calendar, the English government, and social welfare in an attempt to rescue English religious establishment on the verge of turmoil. An analysis of Wither’s work set within the religious and political climate leading up to the English Civil War adds greater understanding to the political significance of the King James translation and the eventual power of later hymns that would emphasize evangelical faith in the place of established norms. This paper, thus assesses Wither’s work as a reinforcement of royalist sentiment on the eve of the religious strife to demonstrate the role of hymnody in the ensuing English Civil War.
Royalist Hymnody and KJB: George Wither and the Hymns of the English Civil War
Room B
Shortly after the release of the King James Bible in 1611 George Withers published one of the first collections of English hymns as a supplement to the new scripture translation. His Hymns and Songs of the Church, endorsed by James I and originally granted a patent to be bound and published with the metrical Psalms, was released in 1623 and later set to music by Orlando Gibbons. In 1641, Withers followed his first hymnal with the publication of Hallelujah: Britain’s Second Remembrancer. These two collections of hymns demonstrate the earliest attempts at English hymn writing from the King James translation. Despite early support of the Anglican cause, Wither did not maintain loyalty in his support of the English government, and eventually took up Puritan grievances to fight alongside the Roundheads, even to the point of imprisonment by the Royalists during the English Civil War. Wither’s work, on the cusp of Civil War, exemplifies not only early attempts at English hymnody but also an interesting paradigm shift in the focus of religious songs. Early hymns, and Wither’s work specifically, centered primarily around the ritual of the Anglican Church with an emphasis on religious custom and a reinforcement of the English establishment focusing on holidays of the Anglican Calendar, the English government, and social welfare in an attempt to rescue English religious establishment on the verge of turmoil. An analysis of Wither’s work set within the religious and political climate leading up to the English Civil War adds greater understanding to the political significance of the King James translation and the eventual power of later hymns that would emphasize evangelical faith in the place of established norms. This paper, thus assesses Wither’s work as a reinforcement of royalist sentiment on the eve of the religious strife to demonstrate the role of hymnody in the ensuing English Civil War.
Comments
Virginia Love is working on her doctorate in History at the University of South Carolina. She earned her M.A. in History at Liberty.