David\u27s “fruytfull saynges”: The Penitential Psalms in late -medieval and early -modern England

My dissertation examines the history of the seven Penitential Psalms in England between about 1480 and the early seventeenth century. The Penitential Psalms (those numbered 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 in the Vulgate Bible) were first grouped together in the Patristic period. By the end of the Middle Ages they were associated with the sacrament of penance. They were also included in Books of Hours (primers) and were recited as prayers for the dead (suffrages). In the sixteenth century Protestants rejected both the sacrament of penance and suffrages as vain attempts to bargain with God. Yet the Penitential Psalms were not devalued in Protestant culture—at least, not for a century or more. In fact, Reformers turned to the seven psalms to redefine the nature of repentance, arguing that penitents were saved not by doing good works or participating in a sacrament, but rather by receiving God\u27s grace. While the Penitential Psalms became a site for theological dispute in the Reformation, they continued to play a significant part in English devotional life. Moreover, they began to be used in contexts beyond those that had been established by the primers: they were translated in prose, paraphrased in verse, and adapted for singing. My four chapters constitute a series of interdisciplinary case studies, each one focusing on a different transformation of the seven psalms. Chapter One looks at the illustrations of David and Bathsheba that accompanied the Penitential Psalms in Books of Hours; Chapter Two reads the divergent theological commentaries of John Fisher and Martin Luther against each other; Chapter Three explores Thomas Wyatt\u27s paraphrase of the Penitential Psalms in the context of changing attitudes towards penance; and Chapter Four looks at devotional and political adaptations of the Penitential Psalms by figures as diverse as Elizabeth I, John Stubbs, and Richard Verstegan. Throughout my dissertation I investigate how penance intersected with developments in the book trade. And I argue that although the Penitential Psalms played a central role in Reformation controversy, they also functioned as a devotional resource that was able to cross the confessional divide with surprising ease