Sermon Notes : Religious writing 1679-1683.

Format:

Book

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kent (England).

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Notes:

AMDigital Reference:Add. MS 78440

British Library Add. MS 78440 is a box of manuscripts and loose papers transcribed by and relating to Mary Evelyn, eldest daughter of Mary and John Evelyn. Only one of the documents in the box is a compilation by Mary Evelyn. The manuscript, which is unfoliated, consists of a single gathering of 22 leaves. It has a paper wrapper, on the outside of which is written 'Mary Evelyn her Book of sermon notes 1679', followed by the initials 'ME' and a pentacle symbol. Fols [1r-5v] and [6v-10r] consist of notes on sermons transcribed by Mary Evelyn between 1679 and 1683. Most of the notes relate to sermons heard by Evelyn at her local church in Deptford, Kent. The notes do not follow an invariable pattern, but Evelyn typically records the date and place of the sermon; in most but not all cases she also provides a summary of the main points covered by the preacher. The manuscript is much corrected, suggesting that it represents Evelyn's first continuous draft, worked up from shorter notes copied down at the service itself. Fols [6r] and [10v-22] are blank. Pages measure approximately 187 x 129 mm. Mary Evelyn's practice of compiling sermon notes was presumably influenced by her father, whose own book of sermon notes also survives among the British Library's collections (Add. MS 78364). Most of the sermons she records in her notebook reflect the serious-minded piety favoured by her father and the moderate Anglican clergy he preferred. Subjects covered in the sermons include a defence of set forms of prayer (fol.[1r]), a discussion of Jewish dietary laws (fol.[3v]), the human nature of Christ (fol.[4r-v]), repentance (fol.[5r]), the resurrection (fols [6v-7v]), the delusions of earthly pleasures (fol.[8r]), brotherly love (fol.[8v]), and Christian meekness (fol.[9v]). Evelyn was also in church to hear the reading of Charles II's declaration to all his loving subjects on the occasion of the Rye House plot, which she describes as 'being founded upon Schismatical and wicked dissenting Principles' (fol.[8v]). Very few value judgements are expressed in the notes, and none disagree with the substance of the sermons she has heard. The other items in the box include letters to Mary Evelyn from her brother John, her parents, and her brother's tutor, Ralph Bohun; a paper addressed to Mary by her father, ''Directions for the employment of your time'; Mary's 'Necessary Additions to those Directions of my Father when I was at Sayes Court'; a list in John Evelyn's hand headed 'A Note of what Books and papers were found written by my late Daughter Mary E. after her decease'; and the beginning of a romance, entitled 'The History of Melinda'. The sermon notes manuscript was formerly Christ Church Evelyn MS 108; while the box Add. MS 78440 was temporarily catalogued as Evelyn MS ME 12 after its acquisition by the British Library.