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The Book of Common Prayer: The Texts of 1549, 1559, and 1662 (Oxford World's Classics)
The Book of Common Prayer The Texts of 1549 1559 and 1662 - Oxford World's Classics Author:Brian Cummings 'In the midst of life we are in death.' — The words of the Book of Common Prayer have permeated deep into the English language all over the world. For nearly 500 years, and for countless people, it has provided a background fanfare for a marriage or a funeral march at a burial. Yet this familiarity also hides a violent and controversial history... more ». When it was first produced the Book of Common Prayer provoked riots and rebellion, and it was banned before being translated into a host of global languages and adopted as the basis for worship in the USA and elsewhere to the present day.
This edition presents the work in three different states: the first edition of 1549, which brought the Reformation into people's homes; the Elizabethan prayer book of 1559, familiar to Shakespeare and Milton; and the edition of 1662, which embodies the religious temper of the nation down to modern times.« less