Church Services And Service-Books Before The Reformation.
Published by Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge: London 1920
"Church Services And Service-Books Before The Reformation is one of the classic early twentieth-century studies of medieval Christian liturgy, written by the distinguished Cambridge theologian Henry Barclay Swete, Regius Professor of Divinity. First published in 1896 and presented here in the Fourth Issue (1920), the work grew from Swete's lectures to candidates for ordination and was intended not only for theological students but also for educated readers seeking to understand the origins of the Church of England's worship. It remains an authoritative introduction to the liturgical books that shaped Christian worship before the English Reformation.
Swete traces the development, purpose and use of the principal medieval service books, explaining how the Breviary, Missal, Manual, Processional and Pontifical were employed in the daily life of the Church before many of their functions were incorporated into the Book of Common Prayer. Drawing upon medieval manuscripts preserved in Cambridge and other historic collections, he combines careful historical scholarship with accessible explanations, helping readers understand the evolution of Christian liturgy and the profound changes brought about during the sixteenth-century Reformation.
Published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in its original navy blue cloth bindings, this 1920 fourth issue is a desirable early printing of a standard reference work on Anglican and medieval liturgical history. Well organised with extensive notes and index, it continues to be valued by collectors of ecclesiastical history, students of medieval manuscripts, Anglican theology, and the history of the Book of Common Prayer, remaining an important scholarly resource more than a century after its publication."
