6 A bit of parish trouble and a manual on giving
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Amy G. Tan
Abstract
The first portion of Chapter 6 outlines a complex web of interpersonal-cum-religious-cum-financial disputes that rose to a head in 1634 during an episcopal visitation of Bernard’s parish. Then, the chapter addresses Bernard’s manual on giving, Ready Way to Good Works, published just a few months later. Though Ready Way made no explicit mention of the local controversy, this context clearly influenced the work. The chapter identifies several passages that gesture subtly – but meaningfully for those in the know – to Bernard’s local situation; it also highlights several additional passages that explained parts of Bernard’s personal and financial history. Both of these, in different ways, can be read as a sort of life writing which not only intended to provide readers with a positive view of Bernard himself, but also functioned symbiotically with the publication’s overarching aim of encouraging charity. As we will see, this has important relevance for the ways we conceive of authors’ self-presentation before different sorts of audiences.
Abstract
The first portion of Chapter 6 outlines a complex web of interpersonal-cum-religious-cum-financial disputes that rose to a head in 1634 during an episcopal visitation of Bernard’s parish. Then, the chapter addresses Bernard’s manual on giving, Ready Way to Good Works, published just a few months later. Though Ready Way made no explicit mention of the local controversy, this context clearly influenced the work. The chapter identifies several passages that gesture subtly – but meaningfully for those in the know – to Bernard’s local situation; it also highlights several additional passages that explained parts of Bernard’s personal and financial history. Both of these, in different ways, can be read as a sort of life writing which not only intended to provide readers with a positive view of Bernard himself, but also functioned symbiotically with the publication’s overarching aim of encouraging charity. As we will see, this has important relevance for the ways we conceive of authors’ self-presentation before different sorts of audiences.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Acknowledgements x
- List of abbreviations xii
- Select chronology xiii
- Introduction 1
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Part I: Religious goals: pastoral approaches to devotion, vocation, and print
- 1 The ubiquity of ‘the devotional’ 31
- 2 The making of a pastor-author 54
- 3 The call to preach and the question of printed sermons 75
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Part II: Audiences: imagining and fostering relationships with readers
- 4 If you learn nothing else 101
- 5 Different audiences, different messages 122
- 6 A bit of parish trouble and a manual on giving 145
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Part III: Innovation: adapting content, genre, and format
- 7 A trial, a guide for jurors, and an allegory 161
- 8 A puritan pastor-author in the 1630s 178
- 9 ‘That all the Lord’s people could prophesy’ 195
- 10 The paradigm of the ‘pastor-author’ beyond Bernard 216
- Bibliography 241
- Index 259
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Acknowledgements x
- List of abbreviations xii
- Select chronology xiii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Religious goals: pastoral approaches to devotion, vocation, and print
- 1 The ubiquity of ‘the devotional’ 31
- 2 The making of a pastor-author 54
- 3 The call to preach and the question of printed sermons 75
-
Part II: Audiences: imagining and fostering relationships with readers
- 4 If you learn nothing else 101
- 5 Different audiences, different messages 122
- 6 A bit of parish trouble and a manual on giving 145
-
Part III: Innovation: adapting content, genre, and format
- 7 A trial, a guide for jurors, and an allegory 161
- 8 A puritan pastor-author in the 1630s 178
- 9 ‘That all the Lord’s people could prophesy’ 195
- 10 The paradigm of the ‘pastor-author’ beyond Bernard 216
- Bibliography 241
- Index 259
