The Book of Common Prayer

• 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.

Readership: Any readers interested in British history and the English language, churchgoers, students and teachers of British history from 1500, English literature, theology, interdisciplinary courses in religious culture and experience, religion and literature.

Edited by Brian Cummings, Anniversary Professor at the University of York

Brian Cummings received his BA at Cambridge University, where he also took his PhD under the supervision of the poet Geoffrey Hill and the church historian Eamon Duffy. He was previously a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge before moving to Sussex. He was a British Academy Exchange Fellow at the Huntington Library, California, in 2007 and is currently a research professor holding a three-year Major Research Fellowship with the Leverhulme Trust (2009-12).

"the best modern edition" - New Statesman

"Everything has been planned and executed faultlessly, from the massive undertaking of the editions themselves (for which Cummings consulted hundreds of copies of the Book of Common Prayer), right down to the details, like the glossary, and the enriching features, like the note on music. The result is a book that is at once accessible to a lay reader with little knowledge of the history of the Book of Common Prayer and stimulating to academics working in the fields of church history, book history," - Ruth Ahnert, Cambridge Quarterly

"This book is an exemplary text ... the reproduction of the three different prayer books is immaculate, and the introductory commentary is original and thought provoking." - Marcus Harmes, Parergon - Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Introduction
Note on the Texts
Note on Music
Select Bibliography
Biblical Abbreviations
THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, 1549
THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, 1559
THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, 1662
Appendix A: The Black Rubric, 1552
Appendix B: Additional Orders of Service, Articles, and Tables 1662-85
Explanatory Notes
Glossary
Index of Services and Orders