Negotiating the Jacobean Printed Book (review)

The efficacy of the research presented in Negotiating the Jacobean Printed Book is by no means limited or unsubstantial. Born out of a 2007 conference, the book's chapters, all written by established scholars, have had time to mature and grow into pieces of considerable scholarly merit. Pete Langman's 'Introduction', which is entertaining and cogent, sets the scene well. The Jacobean era produced some of the most influential books ever printed, not least the King James Bible of 1611. More than any monarch before him, James I lent new power to, and exploited, the printed word, as he embarked on a 'bibliographical campaign to assert his intellectual and monarchical authority' (p. 1). However while James I sought to control and close down debates, other figures of the time, such as Francis Bacon, used print and manuscript to open up debates to the public: to some, such as Bacon, 'the real knowledge was found in the margins, where negotiations and transactions take place' (p. 7). At the volume's core, then, is a concern with the text as a site of conflict or negotiation, and that each negotiation 'shines a raking light onto Jacobean society' (p. 9).

The volume's eight essays and an 'Epilogue' are linked roughly by topic, with many of the essays helping to inform or contextualise its predecessor and successor. Draw ing on his substantial knowledge of James I's printers, Graham Rees explores the King James Bible monopoly — and disputes — held by Robert Barker, Bonham Norton, and John Bill. By exploring Chancery records and surviving copies of editions of bibles, Rees details a tangled web of competition between the King's printers, as well as the reasons for that competition: according to Rees's estimates, the financial value of Bible production was 'enormous' (p. 26), grossing £143,625 in bound copies of the KJB, and £133,175 in unbound copies. The figures are an eye-opener, even if provisional and estimates, as Rees is careful to state, and lead him to conclude that 'in good hands the King's Printer patent was a licence to print money on a pretty substantial scale, and certainly on a scale that far exceeded the capacities of other printers' (p. 28).

Natalie Mears makes a strong case for the study of a neglected area of scholarly enquiry: the functions of special prayer books, or Forms of prayer, which were smaller and cheaper than compulsory texts such as the Book of Common Prayer, but nonetheless formed a regular part of parish worship. These books, which went through a number of formats (including single sheets containing one prayer, to 'some thing more akin to a pamphlet' (p. 32)) and 'enjoyed a wide geographical distribution' (p. 37) until the 1560s, provided prayers that were re-used, either verbatim or in edited form. Importantly, Mears argues that Prayer Books emphasize the 'centrality of the text in protestant belief and worship' (p. 43). This is an idea furthered by Sharon Arnoult, whose essay discusses the Book of Common Prayer: a heavily con tested book in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Arnoult maintains that although the contest stems from the Elizabethan era, the Jacobean era saw two developments: a new esteem for the Prayer Book, and 'concern on the part of the episcopate with the behaviour of the laity during divine service' (p. 45). Clergy were obliged to conduct their services by the Prayer Book and observe its directions and rubric — in no way were they allowed to deviate from the text printed. The Book of Common Prayer was used as part of ceremonies in order to ritualize lay behaviour and by extension increase Christian devotion by instilling religious belief and attitude.

Going against the grain of previous scholarship, Cyndia Susan Clegg demonstrates that printed texts could and would intermingle with Jacobean politics. Clegg carefully argues that numerous types of books, such as printed controversy and books for Parliament's work, sought often to influence parliament — such...