Browsing by Subject "Devotional literature."
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Item To ask “fit things fitly” : the prayers of John Donne’s Devotions upon Emergent Occasions.(2013-05-15) Marshall, Adam Bryant.; Ray, Robert H.; English.; Baylor University. Dept. of English.John Donne’s 'Devotions upon Emergent Occasions' is often read alongside the many devotionals that shaped religious life during the early part of the seventeenth century. One subset of this literature, however, has often been overlooked: the array of devotional manuals purporting to provide instruction on the art of Christian prayer. When considered alongside this tradition, it becomes apparent that the prayers in Donne’s 'Devotions' can be read as evidence of its author’s participation in the project of the prayer manualists, as well as his simultaneous departure from them in one key area of concern: the importance of the pray-er’s distinct voice. As his comments on prayer in his sermons and the prayer-texts in the 'Devotions' illustrate, while Donne agreed with many of the central components of seventeenth-century prayer theory, his adoption of an adapted Augustinian prayer voice highlights the importance of the pray-er in the act of divine supplication.Item "Verie needfull for this time" : representations of women in sixteenth-century English prayer manuals.(2014-06-11) Mazzola, Taylor A.; Barr, Beth Allison.; History.; Baylor University. Dept. of History.Using three texts written by different authors, this thesis argues that sixteenth-century English prayer manuals set rigid boundaries for women by representing them in limited ways. Analyzing and comparing Thomas Becon's The Flour of Godly Praiers (1550), Thomas Bentley's The Monument of Matrones (1582), and Anne Wheathill’s A Handfull of Holesome (1584) highlights the various ways scripted prayer could confine women readers. In the intimate arena of prayer, women using these manuals would have encountered narrow categories to occupy. Becon, Bentley, and Wheathill employed gender exclusive language, presented restrictive categories, and tailored biblical examples to be proper models for Englishwomen in a changing world. These manuals have been overlooked in the study of women and religion, and this thesis aims to emphasize the importance of prayer scripts as valuable sources that show how English writers perceived and portrayed women in the sixteenth century.