Syon Abbey and its Books: Reading, Writing and Religion, c.1400-1700

289 Pages·2010·2.63 MB·English

by  E. A. Jones

spine 25mm P
9 Mar 10
Studies in W J Syon Abbey
o
Modern British n
Founded in 1415, the double monastery of a
l e
Syon Abbey was the only English foundation Religious History sh s
of the order established by the fourteenth- am an and its Books
century mystic St Bridget of Sweden. After its d

(
dispersal at the Dissolution, the community e
d
survived in exile and was briefly restored s
)
during the reign of Mary I; with Elizabeth’s
accession, some of the nuns and brothers once
again sought refuge on the Continent, first in
the Netherlands and later in Lisbon.
This volume of essays traces the fortunes of
Contributors
Syon Abbey and the Bridgettine order between
Virginia BainBridge
1400 and 1700, examining the various ways in
Caroline Bowden
which reading and writing shaped its identity
S
Peter CuniCh
and defined its experience. It explores the Y
Claes gejrot
B
interconnections between late medieval and
VinCent gillesPie O
post-Reformation monastic history and the O
C. annette grise
rapidly evolving world of communication, N
ann M. hutChison O
learning, and books. The essays extend
e. a. jones
our understanding of religious culture and Claire walker K A
institutions on the eve of the Reformation and
alexandra walshaM SB
the impulses that inspired initiatives for early
,
modern Catholic renewal. They illuminate the B
Cover: The Syon bookplate, BL MS c
spread of literacy and the gradual and uneven .E
transition from manuscript to print, in the C.11.b.8 (British Library); Series logo: 1
Y
King’s College Chapel by Walter Hoyle 4
process engaging with larger questions about
(Artist’s estate/Fry Art Gallery). 0
the origins and consequences of religious, A
0
intellectual and cultural change in late medieval
N
and early modern Europe. –
1
E. A. JONES is Senior Lecturer in English, D
7
University of Exeter; ALExANDRA WALSHAM
0
is Professor of Reformation History, University I
0T
of Exeter.
S
reading, writing and religion
c. 1400 –1700
an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge IP12 3DF (GB) and
668 Mt Hope Ave, Rochester NY 14620-2731 (US)
edited by e. a. Jones and alexandra walsham
www.boydellandbrewer.com
STUDIES IN MODERN BRITISH RELIGIOUS HISTORY
Volume 24
SYON ABBEY AND ITS BOOKS
READING, WRITING AND RELIGION,
c.1400–1700
STUDIES IN MODERN BRITISH RELIGIOUS HISTORY
ISSN: 1464–6625
General editors
Stephen Taylor
Arthur Burns
Kenneth Fincham
Thisseriesaimstodifferentiate‘religioushistory’fromthenarrowconfinesof
churchhistory,investigatingnotonlythesocialandculturalhistoryofreligion,
butalsotheological,politicalandinstitutionalthemes,whileremainingsensi-
tive to the wider historical context; it thus advances an understanding of the
importanceofreligionforthehistoryofmodernBritain,coveringallperiodsof
British history since the Reformation.
Previously published volumes in this series are listed at the
back of this volume.
SYON ABBEY AND ITS BOOKS
READING, WRITING AND RELIGION,
c.1400–1700
Edited by E. A. Jones and Alexandra Walsham
THE BOYDELL PRESS
© Contributors 2010
All Rights Reserved.Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
First published 2010
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 978–1–84383–547–9
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of
URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Notes on Contributors x
List of Abbreviations xiii
Syon Abbey: An Outline Chronology xv
Introduction: Syon Abbey and its Books: Origins, Influences and Transitions 1
E. A. Jones and Alexandra Walsham
I Brothers and Sisters
1. The Brothers of Syon, 1420–1695 39
Peter Cunich
2. Syon Abbey: Women and Learning c.1415–1600 82
Virginia R. Bainbridge
II Syon Abbey and the Book Trade
3. Syon and the English Market for Continental Printed Books: 104
The Incunable Phase
Vincent Gillespie
4. ‘Moche profitable unto religious persones, gathered by a brother 129
of Syon’: Syon Abbey and English Books
C. Annette Grisé
III The Bridgettines in Exile
5. Continuity and Isolation: The Bridgettines of Syon in the Sixteenth 155
and Seventeenth Centuries
Claire Walker
6. BooksandReadingatSyonAbbey,Lisbon,intheSeventeenthCentury 177
Caroline Bowden
IV History and Memory
7. The Syon Martiloge 203
Claes Gejrot
8. Syon Abbey Preserved: Some Historians of Syon 228
Ann M. Hutchison
Appendix: Syon Abbey’s Books at the University of Exeter 252
Index 255
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure1.1:ThomasRobinson,TheanatomieoftheEnglishnunneryatLisbonin
Portugall:dissectedandlaidopenbyonethatwassometimeayongerbrotherof
the covent (London, 1630), title page. © The British Library Board. All rights
reserved. British Library shelfmark RB23.a.9192.
Figure 1.2: William Bonde, Here begynneth a deuout treatyse in Englysshe,
called the Pylgrimage of perfection very p[ro]fitable for all christen people to
rede: and in especiall, to all relygious p[er]sons moche necessary (London,
1526),sig.A6v.©TheBritishLibraryBoard.Allrightsreserved.BritishLibrary
shelfmark G.11740.
Figure1.3:HerebegynneththeorchardeofSyoninthewhicheisconteynedthe
reuelacyonsofseynt[sic]KatheryneofSene,withghostlyfruytes[and]precyous
plantesfortheheltheofmannessoule(London,[1519]),sig.A1v.©TheBritish
Library Board. All rights reserved.
Figure4.1:HerebegynneththeorchardeofSyoninthewhicheisconteynedthe
reuelacyonsofseynt[sic]KatheryneofSene,withghostlyfruytes[and]precyous
plantes for the helthe of mannes soule (London, [1519]), title page, sig. A1r.
© The British Library Board. All rights reserved. British Library shelfmark
C.11.b.6.
Figure 4.2: William Bonde, Here begynneth a deuout treatyse in Englysshe,
called the Pylgrimage of perfection very p[ro]fitable for all christen people to
rede: and in especiall, to all relygious p[er]sons moche necessary (London,
1526),sig.A1v.©TheBritishLibraryBoard.Allrightsreserved.BritishLibrary
shelfmark G.11740.
Figure4.3:HereafterfolowiththebokecallydthemyrroureofOureLadyvery
necessary for all relygyous persones (London, 1530), sig. A1r. © The British
Library Board. All rights reserved. British Library shelfmark C.11.b.8.
Figure6.1:N.Caussin,Theholycourtfourthtome(Rouen,1638).ExeterUniver-
sityLibraryshelfmarkSyonAbbey1638/CAU/X.BypermissionoftheAbbess
of Syon Abbey, South Brent, Devon.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 6.2: Exeter University Library, Syon Abbey unnumbered MS: ‘English
Saintes of Kinges & Bishopps in the primitive times of the Catholique Church
when our Countrie of England was governed by Heptarchie of seaven Kinges
translated out of Surius Carthusianus his eight tomes of the lifes of Saintes by
revrdFatherBrotherBibianusaliasJohnBibianmonckeoftheholyorderofSt
BirgittourHolyMother.Revivedbythehelpe&industrieofPFreyEstevanof
theconceptionMonckeofthesameorderonthe41yearofhisprofessionbeing
69 yeares of age, borne in 1593 the yeare before this monasterie removed to
Lisbon1594’,titlepageofvol.2.BypermissionoftheAbbessofSyonAbbey,
South Brent, Devon.
Figure7.1:TheSyonMartiloge:BritishLibrary,MSAdditional22,285,fol.55v:
(Septembris). © The British Library Board. All rights reserved.
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thisvolumearoseoutofaconferenceon‘SyonAbbeyanditsBooks’heldatthe
UniversityofExeterinOctober2005tomarkthedepositforsafe-keepinginthe
University’s library of medieval and early modern manuscripts from Syon
Abbey.Italsocommemoratesthefurtherdepositofsome150manuscriptsdating
from the sixteenth through to the twentieth century, which took place in March
2009.
WeareindebtedtotheBritishAcademyforitsgeneroussupportoftheconfer-
ence.Theeditorsaregratefultoallwhoattended,offeredpapers,andparticipated
inthelivelydiscussionsthatfollowedthesessions.Wethankthecontributorsto
thevolumeforrespondingtotheinvitationtocontributetothecollectionandfor
tolerating considerable delays. We also wish to thank Jessica Gardner, Special
CollectionsLibrarianattheUniversityofExeter,andCharlotteBerryandChris-
tine Faunch, Archivists, for their support and assistance over many years. At
Boydell & Brewer, we are indebted to Caroline Palmer for her interest in the
projectattheoutsetandfortheexemplarypatienceshehasdemonstratedinthe
intervening years.
Chapter 3 is reprinted by permission of the University of Notre Dame, from
Religion and Literature,37.2 (Summer 2005).
WededicatethiscollectiontotheAbbessandnunsofSyonAbbey.Wethank
themforentrustingthecareoftheirpreciousbooksandmanuscriptstothelibrary
of the University of Exeter.
E. A. Jones and Alexandra Walsham
(University of Exeter)
ix