Preachers, Hearers, Readers & Scribes Conference

The Congregational Library & Archives was pleased to partner with GEMMS (Gateway to Early Modern Manuscript Sermons) and Harvard Divinity School to host the Preachers, Hearers, Readers, and Scribes Conference, which included a diverse range of panels and keynote speakers considering sermons in manuscript from 1530 to 1715.

The conference explored early modern sermon manuscripts from the British Isles, including Scotland and Wales, and North America, including present-day Mexico. Speakers considered a wide range of sermon manuscripts, from full sermons, sermon notes and notebooks, to mock sermons, sermon parodies, and sermons reports. They considered the perspectives of not only preachers from a range of persuasions, both Protestant and Catholic, but also of lay readers and hearers, women preachers, and indigenous preachers and auditors.

Conference participants reflected on the use of sermons at different occasions, such as at communion, elections, university ad clerum, and civic events; at moments of conflict and controversy, such as the period of the English Revolution and debates about doctrine and orthodoxy; and on different themes, such as godly mourning, poverty, sacriliege, and community affection. Further, papers considered the occasional and performative context of preaching events, the relationship of print and manuscript sermons, and the reception of sermons by hearers and readers.

The conference also considered how resources like the GEMMS database allow researchers to ask new questions about sermon manuscripts to further our understanding of early modern sermons and preaching.

FEATURED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Dr. Frank Bremer (Millersville University of Pensylvania) on “John Winthrop and his Sermon Notebook.”

Dr. David Hall (Harvard University) on “Beyond ‘Doctrine‘: What was Being Said in Early New England?”

Professor Ann Hughes (Keele University) on “‘The Churches cordiall in her fainting fitts‘: Lay People Recording Sermons in the English Revolution.”