February 1952 remembered

Here are two online articles describing the events around the death of King George VI and the accession of Queen Elizabeth II sixty years ago today.

The first is from the Sunday Telegraph and is a series of extracts from autobiographies and memoirs and can be read here.

The other is from today's internet:'The King Is Dead': How Princess Elizabeth and the nation heard of the monarch's passing

Accession Day service

To mark the Diamond Jubilee the Clever Boy betook himself to one of his old haunts, Pusey House, which was marking the day with Sung Evensong as laid down in the Book of Common Prayer for the anniversary of the Monarch's accession.

This was a well attended and suitably splendid occasion in the main chapel of the House and presided over by the Principal, resplendent in his Convocation habit as Bishop of Ebbsfleet. The Te Deum was sung solemnly, complete with a 360 of the thurible on cue at "Thou art the King of Glory..."

The text of the service is a fine example of the tradition of state prayers in the Anglican tradition and expresses in elevated language those human aspirations for good governance that are so well served by monarchy as a system and so lacking in other forms of government.

Afterwards there was a reception under the watchful eye of a portrait of Her Majesty against the backdrop of a draped Union Jack, and the display of a chasuble and stole made from the blue and gold hangings used in Westminster Abbey at the coronation of her parents.

It was a good occasion, in both senses, on which to meet up with old friends from the House, St Barnabas and St Thomas'.

This is the prayer composed for the Jubilee which was used at the service:

God of time and eternity

whose Son reigns as servant, not master;

we give you thanks and praise

that you have blessed this Nation, the Realms and

Territories

with ELIZABETH,

our beloved and glorious Queen.

In this year of Jubilee,

grant her your gifts of love and joy and peace

as she continues in faithful obedience to you, her Lord

and God

and in devoted service to her lands and peoples,

and those of the Commonwealth,

now and all the days of her life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Joining a select monarchical club

With her Diamond Jubilee The Queen joins a select monarchical club of monarchs who have reigned for sixty and more years - indeed she has been in relatively select company of her predecessors since her Golden Jubilee having long since passed Queen Elizabeth I, and then, in turn, King Edward III, King Henry III, King James VI and King George III.

How many belong to the 60+ group amongst monarchs? Well it is easy to think of Queen Victoria (63 years 216 days), Emperor Francis Joseph (67 years 355 days) and King Louis XIV ( 72 years 110 days ) , and to think of the King of Thailand who succeeded to the throne in 1946, or famous figures from the distant past such as Pharoah Ramesses II , 1279-1213 BC (66 years and two months).

A quick look on line produces others amongst the sovereigns of Europe and the princes of the Empire and medieval France - including Eleanor of Aquitaine's 66 years and 358 days as Duchess (never mind being Queen of France and then of England...) and includes King James I of Aragon 1213-1276 (62 years 319 days), King Ferdinand III ( I of the Two Sicilies) of Sicily 1759-1825 ( 65 years 90 days) , King Friedrich August I (III) of Saxony 1763-1827 ( 63 years 139 days) and Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein 1858-1929 (70 years 91 days).

Asia and Africa yields even greater examples of longevity, the record being held by the King of Swaziland who reigned from 1899 until 1982. That would, however, have been exceeded by Otto of Austria who, had he been free to exercise his legitimate rights as Emperror Otto I and King Otto II, and had not voluntarily abdicated them due to age, can be deemed to have reigned from his father's death in 1922 until his death last year - over 89 years.

To find a complete list of monarchs with reigns exceeding fify years look at the article here.

The Diamond Jubilee

Today is the sixtieth anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty The Queen to the throne, and an occasion to express loyalty, gratitude and appreciation to her on this very significant anniversary and achievement.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Message

Today, as I mark 60 years as your Queen, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years and to tell you how deeply moved we have been to receive so many kind messages about the Diamond Jubilee.

In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign and which my family and I look forward to seeing in many forms as we travel throughout the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth.

I hope also that this Jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear head and warm heart as we join together in our celebrations.

I send my sincere good wishes to you all.

ELIZABETH R.

Long may she reign!

Image and message text from thre British Monarchy website

The development of the Candlemas liturgy

Before we move into Septuagesima here is one final post for this year relating to Candlemas. The New Liturgical Movement has reposted an article by Shawn Tribe on the development of the liturgy for the feast which can be read at NLM Reprint: Historical Notes on Candlemas.

The article also includes a reproduction this rather fine painting from the late middle ages of the Presentation in the Temple:

St Gilbert of Sempringham in glass

Last year on this day I posted St Gilbert of Sempringham about the life of this centenarian Lincolnshire saint and monastic founder with various weblinks.

To those I would definitely add Brian Golding's life of St Gilbert in the Oxford DNB which can be read here.

St Gilbert is depicted at bottom left in modern stained glass in this window:

Stained glass on the north side of Selwyn College chapel, Cambridge.
The figures at the bottom are (left to right) St. Gilbert of Sempringham, St. Francis of Assisi, and St Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely

Image:TheRevSteve on Flickr

The Romance of the Middle Ages

As today is National Libraries Day ( go on, hug a librarian...) it seems an appropriate one on which to publicise the new exhibition at the Bodleian here in Oxford, which I have not so far visited.

The Romance of the Middle Ages celebrates the stories of medieval romance and how they have influenced our culture, literature and art over the last thousand years. It includes the dramatic love stories about King Arthur and Tristan and Isolde as they are illustrated in sumptuous medieval manuscripts, alongside works of art and draft papers by J.R.R. Tolkien, Philip Pullman and Monty Python, the last on public display for first time.

The exhibition draws on the Bodleian’s outstanding collection of manuscripts and early printed books containing medieval romances. These range from lavishly-illustrated volumes to personal notebooks and fragments only saved by chance. Alongside these will be works of art from across Europe that illustrate romance legends; these include ivory carvings, jewellery and caskets, on loan from national museums and collections.

Romance writing developed in Britain after the Norman Conquest and flourished as a form of storytelling right through to the Middle Ages, forming the basis for many kinds of later drama, poetry and prose fiction. This colourful exhibition tells how these compelling medieval stories have inspired writers and artists across the centuries; from the early modern period (including Shakespeare, Ariosto and Cervantes) through to medievalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (including Walter Scott, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris) and, finally, to contemporary versions and adaptations (including manuscripts and drafts by J.R.R. Tolkien, Philip Pullman and the Monty Python team). From the Knights of the Round Table to the Knights that say ‘Ni!’, The Romance of the Middle Ages exhibition tells the fascinating story of medieval romance across the ages.

Highlights of the exhibition include:

• The Song of Roland – the earliest copy of France’s national epic (mid-12th century)
• Exquisite ivory carvings from France (14th century)
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – One of the most precious manuscripts of Middle English poetry. On loan from the British Library (c.1400)
• The Red Book of Hergest – amongst the most important books written in Welsh, containing The Mabinogion and many other texts, on loan from Jesus College, Oxford (c.1400)
• William Caxton’s The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye – a copy of the first book ever printed in the English language (1473/4)
• A draft illustrated page from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (1946)
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail – Terry Jones’s own working copy of the screenplay for the film, never shown to the public before (1973)

An online exhibition (http://medievalromance.bodleian.ox.ac.uk) with the same title was launched on 29 January. It features nearly all the items on display in the exhibition room, along with many additional items. A 12-min video with the curator of the exhibition and scholars from the University of Oxford introducing the exhibition and the ideas behind it is also available. Twitter hashtag is #BODromance

Events accompanying the exhibition include lunchtime talks, special school activities and a show A Love Like Salt inspired by the exhibition to be held in the Divinity School, Bodleian Library on 20 April.

The companion volume of the same title, The Romance of the Middle Ages by Nicholas Perkins and Alison Wiggins is published by Bodleian Library Publishing and can be purchased in the Bodleian Shop or online at www.bodleianbookshop.co.uk Paperback, 152 pp, 70 colour illustrations, ISBN: 9781851242955I, £19.99

The exhibition is free and is located in the Schools Quad of the Old Bodleian. It is open Monday to Friday 9-5, Saturdays 9-4.30 and Sundays 11-5. It will be closed on Easter Day.

Adapted from the Bodleian website

A move in the right direction

Yesterday evening at the Solemn Mass at the Oxford Oratory for Candlemas the Fathers re -instituted the practice of the celebrant and sacred ministers facing ad Dominum - one cannot say ad orientem as the church, due to its site, is arranged facing westwards; perhaps ad occidentum? - at such celebrations of the Novus ordo liturgy. The practice will be followed at the 11 am Solemn Mass on Sundays amd other similar celebrations in the Novus ordo, but the Sunday 9.30 and 6.30 as well as weekday Masses will continue to be ad populum.

We have had occasional celebrations beforehand in this manner - the Masses at the Forty Hours Devotion or in preparation for days of Exposition in Lent for example when the altar is arranged for the monstrance - but this is a significant move. It is one which I very much welcome, and, trite as this may appear as a statement, it looked and seemed right - indeed dignum et justus est.