English Bibles and their Paratexts, 1525-1611

CMRS Roundtable

The King James version, as we all know, has no illustrations, no glosses, no indices, no chronologies, and, basically, no nuttin except for a rather long and dull preface by Miles Smith, the soon-to-be Bishop of Gloucester. Earlier English bibles are much more interesting. They have multi-page charts that look like amusement park rides; woodcuts of the Annunciation with a star-faced Moses perched on the windowsill of Mary’s bedroom; patristic encomia on church music, celebrating its power to build community and expel demons; plus all sorts of serious and illuminating theological stuff. This talk by Professor Debora Shuger (English, UCLA) is a whirlwind tour through some of this material.