The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-25
The Old Service Books OF the English
Church.

The interest in the present visit to Amer
ica Of the illustrious head Of the great his
torio Church Of England. the Archbishop OF
Canterbury, Is increasing 80 mt Oh on bota
sides OF the Atlantic that the appearance
of fascinating book on The Old Serrice
Books of the English Church, published in
London by Methuen d Co., written by two
Englishmen. Mr.. CHRISTOPHER WORDS
WORTH and Mr.. HENRY LIrTLEHALEs,
the former bearing an honored name In the
English Church. will be- heartily welcomed
In this country.
The work throughout reveals a vast
amount Of research, presented In a most
scholarly manner. The general reading
public, no less than the antiquary and &C.
of highly important facts relating to the
services and customs in the English Church
before the Reformation. And the large
and influential body Of American Episcopal
Church people, from the fact that their
Prayer Book was derived from that OF the
Church OF England, from which 1t differs
only in a few non -essential points, will see
much In the book to interest them, espe-
cially from the connection between the old
service books and the Book OF Common
Prayer, which is a book remark able not
only for the grace and beauty Of its Ian
guage but also for the fact that 1t repre-
sents In a large measure a certain number
Of the ancient services OF the pre-Reforma-
ton English Church. Almost every Sec
don OF the Book Of Common Prayer rep
resenta more or less clearly one Of the an
cient service books though some OF the old
books. as is to he expected, as, for instance
the Benedctional, do not appear. With
the reservation that the sole difference in
much OF the matter Is the distinction OF
language, 1t may safely be said that the
whole OF the Prayer Book Is to be found
In the old service books.
In this volume Q clear description of the
plan, range and contents Of all the books
in use has been given, and whole page OF
every important and common service book
Is produced in facsimile. With the aid
Of these facsimiles, which have in every
case been successfully produced readers
and students will experience no great diff
Guilty In determining at any time the name
and nature OF any Of the common medieval
service books in which they may be in
terested. The set Of nine books described
by Dean Stanley as 4the mother books OF
England, the first beginning Of English
literature, Of English learning, OF English
education" have, alasl persisted An in
structive account is igven of the different
Uses or services in the Churoh-the
Uses" Of Salisbury. Hereford, Bangor,
York and Lincoln with their various books.
In the fourteenth and subsequent centu-
ries the ordinary lay folk were expected to
be present in church at Mathis and Mass,
and at Second Evensong on Sundays and
holy days. To be shrived (confessedN In
Lent and houselled communicated at
Easter and to join in litany OF procession
now and then. was good and sufficient
ohurchgoing, From the summary Of the
time table OF the summer services in Lin
coin Cathedral, it would seem that mathis
were said at A. NJ. or daybreak; masses
from O to 10 o o'clock. at the latter hour n
high mass; at II o'clock, dinner; at u o'clock,
the choir boys at school; p. NJ evensong;
p. NJ, boys at supper. Prayers in dormi-
tory at p. NJ or shutdown. A Waterman
played the flute to mark the hours. The
danger Of thieves. who were constantly
on the look for an opportunity to slip
into the Cathedral during the night SER
Woes in winter, was no great that three
watchers, including the lay sacrist. the
Waterman and the candle lighter, were
obliged to search through the great edihce
The minimum OF one yearly communion,
at EastAr- uAa Out forward by the Lateran