Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T10:25:32.239Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

20 - Gesture, Meaning and Memory in the English Reformation

from Part IV - Rituals and Bodies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2020

Alexandra Walsham
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Ceri Law
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Brian Cummings
Affiliation:
University of York
Get access

Summary

Richard Hooker wrote in 1594 that public worship was performed ‘not only with words, but also with certain sensible actions, the memory whereof is far more easy and durable than the memory of speech can be’. This chapter explores some of the ‘sensible actions’ which the post-Reformation Church of England inherited from the liturgy and worship of the medieval church, such as kneeling at communion, the sign of the cross in baptism and bowing at the name of Jesus. The significance of these gestures was widely acknowledged by Protestant reformers, who feared that they allowed elements of Catholic doctrine and worship to retain a foothold in popular memory. Some reformers argued that they should be abolished altogether, while others sought to harness their mnemonic power by giving them new meanings. The chapter argues that by looking at how the reformed Church remade its bodily regime, we can gain crucial insights into how it remembered and renegotiated its past.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×