Words: The Power and the Glory

 

The church of my childhood was St. Mary’s, Handsworth, just outside Birmingham, in England. Although I probably attended services there only a few dozen times, while we stayed with Granny and Grandpa during my father’s infrequent “leave” periods from the Colonial Service in Nigeria, it was a bulwark of stability in my life.

Like the thousands of churches dotting the English landscape, St. Mary’s has had a presence on its site since the time of William the Conqueror, with the first known building being erected in about 1150. There are still a few surviving Norman bits in the current church, most of which dates from the mid-sixteenth century. It’s a cool, quiet church on a busy road with a terribly neglected churchyard, and memorials inside to Matthew Bolton, James Watt and William Murdoch–memorials and connections which have led to its being known as the Cathedral of the Industrial Revolution.

It’s the church where my grandparents were married, where my parents were married, and where I was christened. It’s the church where Grandpa, a talented pianist, filled in for the organist when needed, and where my formidable granny and great-granny were stalwarts of the parish for decades.

It’s the church where I first recited The Lord’s Prayer. And learned how to talk to God.

Now, I’m not a scholar of the Bible, nor of the Talmud. There are many such here on Ricochet, and I’m not eager to tangle with them on matter of origin, derivation, translation, nomenclature, eschatology, or any of the other myriad scholarly debates and disagreements that surround the tradition of what we know as The Lord’s Prayer. I’d end up looking pretty silly if I did, although I’ll certainly welcome any and all insights and observations in the comments.

I’m just writing about what I know. And what I know are words.

The Reverend James Charles Harrison Tompkins, Rector of St. Mary’s when I was a child, was a great storyteller. I learned, quite early on, that there are two passages in the New Testament that deal with The Lord’s Prayer. The stories that are told in them are framed quite differently:

In Matthew 6, Jesus is in the throes of his longest teaching moment, the Sermon on the Mount, explaining to his disciples that showing off, advertising one’s righteousness and charity, and praying ostentatiously and loudly is emphatically not the way to win God’s favor. Instead, he tells them, be quiet, go into a room, close the door and pray, not babbling like pagans, but peacefully and reverently. And he gives them the words they need to pray in that way.

In Luke 11, Jesus is explicitly asked by one of the disciples how they should pray. And he answers as a patient teacher or gentle parent would, “Do it this way. Say this.” He doesn’t say, “pray by dancing.” Or “pray by drawing a picture,” or “pray by barking at the moon.” He says something” like, “keep it simple, for Heaven’s sake. Just use your words.”

And it’s the words he gives his disciples that have come to be known as The Lord’s Prayer.

By the time it made its first appearance in English, around AD 1000, the Prayer had been through several translations from the Aramaic, starting with Matthew’s translation into Greek (much debate about the hash he might have made of it, but his translation set the stage for all versions to follow), and the subsequent rendering into the Latin Pater Noster by (mostly) St. Jerome in the fourth century Vulgate, which version and Bible remained an authoritative text of the Roman Catholic church until well into the twentieth century.

But even while the monks in the abbeys and monasteries of England were studying the ancient texts and polishing up the finer points of the verbiage, Fathers and Brothers without quite so much learning were pounding the pavements, rounding up the faithful, and beseeching them to pray. And they often found it easier to do so the vernacular, which was better understood by both themselves and their congregations.

So, for example, by the end of the tenth century, the Wessex Gospels, the first full translation of all four books into Old English, were in widespread use across large parts of England. And, perhaps they were sometimes brought to bear in the first incarnation of my church, St. Mary’s, Handsworth. If that’s true, The Lord’s Prayer spoken during the service might have sounded something like this (shout out to Mr. She):

Almost certainly, by 1394, when the unauthorized, but wildly popular, Wycliffe Bible came into widespread use, The Lord’s Prayer was often recited in English (I expect the elites found this practice pretty deplorable, but there it was). And, perhaps the little congregation at St. Mary’s Handsworth, said it this way:

Two hundred fifty years later, Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer (1549) set the text of The Lord’s Prayer in the Church of England for the next four hundred years. It needs no translation, still today:

After much debate and to-ing and fro-ing about whether it was authentic, legitimate, or timely, the Doxology was appended to the end of The Lord’s Prayer before the final “Amen,” in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, and that remains the way that it is usually recited in the Church of England to this day.

And thus, the prayer of my childhood came into being. For all the tortuous years in between, the acrimony, the politics, the schisms the councils, the wars, the arguments about angels dancing on the head of a pin, excepting the last three lines, it’s hardly different from the version painstakingly translated from the Latin by those “Dark Ages” (them’s fighting words, in this house) monks at the end of the first millennium A.D.

When I remember the church of my childhood, I like to think that there’s an unbroken chain of people, like me, who’ve been talking to God, in the same way I did, in the same place I did, for over a thousand years. Asking for help. Asking for sustenance. Petitioning for forgiveness, and the strength to forgive, both for themselves and for others. Trusting in the life to come.

Such simple words. such plain words.

And therein lies their paradox. And their power, their glory, and their truth.

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  1. Pugshot Inactive
    Pugshot
    @Pugshot

    Loved hearing the Lord’s Prayer in Anglo-Saxon and Middle English! Thanks!

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    One of the interesting things to me is that it has become a ritual done in public, like the prayers that Jesus was saying not to do.

    Big J: “Hey, here are some examples of what not to do. Prayer shouldn’t be a big public show.  Instead, do it in private. As for the words, how about something like this:…”

    Followers: “So we should say these exact words in a showy way every time we get together in a group?”


    This delightful conversation full of history of both place and language has come to you as part of the Group Writing Series under May’s theme of The Power of Words. Group Writing was created to allow an easy way for newer and quieter members to write on topics they know, rather than having to know more than the punditocracy in writing about politics. So, if you know something about words, have words you love, or have a story about the power of words in your life, why not share it with us? The more you write, the better you get at it. Come get better with us.

    • #2
  3. Nanda Pajama-Tantrum Member
    Nanda Pajama-Tantrum
    @

    Truly lovely, @she!  Please convey appreciation and enjoyment to Mr. She, as well…Thanks so much for this!

    • #3
  4. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

     What a lovely voice you have! I love the history and hearing how the language shifts. Some of the “English” words sound like German. Thank you for this post!

    • #4
  5. Pugshot Inactive
    Pugshot
    @Pugshot

    Arahant

    One of the interesting things to me is that it has become a ritual done in public, like the prayers that Jesus was saying not to do.

    Big J: “Hey, here are some examples of what not to do. Prayer shouldn’t be a big public show. Instead, do it in private. As for the words, how about something likethis:…”

    Followers: “So we should say these exact words in a showy way every time we get together in a group?”

    I love this observation! And the picture had me snorting my drink out my nose!

    Susan Quinn 

     What a lovely voice you have! I love the history and hearing how the language shifts. Some of the “English” words sound like German. Thank you for this post!

    I was hearing Scandinavian!

     

    • #5
  6. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Pugshot (View Comment):

     What a lovely voice you have! I love the history and hearing how the language shifts. Some of the “English” words sound like German. Thank you for this post!

    I was hearing Scandinavian!

    The original “English” (the languages of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes), Scandinavian languages, and German are all in the same language group. Long, long ago, they started as a single language. English has probably diverged the furthest through admixture with Romance languages and the Great Vowel Shift.

    • #6
  7. She Member
    She
    @She

    Arahant (View Comment):

    One of the interesting things to me is that it has become a ritual done in public, like the prayers that Jesus was saying not to do.

    Big J: “Hey, here are some examples of what not to do. Prayer shouldn’t be a big public show. Instead, do it in private. As for the words, how about something like this:…”

    Followers: “So we should say these exact words in a showy way every time we get together in a group?”

    Hilarious!  Yes, I completely understand.  On the other hand, though, the prayer, as it’s come down to us, is in the first person plural (give us this day, etc. etc.) so I think it’s OK in a group setting.

    My favorite church in all the nine universes is The Old Church of St. Nicholas, in Oddington Gloucestershire.  Some number of “Greats” Aunt Kate lived there, as well as one or two old family retainers, and my Dad used to speak fondly of visiting them all when he was a child.  Some years ago, I drove him down there, and we subsequently made a little pilgrimage each time I was in England thereafter.  I made my own trip there after he died.

    The church is listed in Simon Jenkins book, England’s Thousand Best Churches (I know that sounds about as exclusive and exciting as winning the prize for being the boy with the biggest feet in the fourth grade, but in the big picture of English churches, it’s a pretty special club).

    This website describes it perfectly: “St. Nicholas Church in Oddington, Gloucestershire, is a village parish church distinguished by a magical woodland setting and an entire wall of medieval wall paintings . . . “

    Parts of it are over a thousand years old, and its centerpiece is the “Doom” painting dating from about 1340, depicting the Last Judgment, and the souls being sent either to Heaven or to Hell.  (The church, and the painting, suffered under both Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell, but efforts have been made to restore it, and the painting is clearly visible today.

    It’s a bat-friendly church, meaning that part of the door is latticed, and that bats are welcome in the, umm, belfry, and the first time we went we arrived not long after a mother fox had raised her kits in a nest under the altar.

    Inside, it is perfectly cool and silent.  I think it’s the holiest place I’ve ever been.  And that’s where I like to say The Lord’s Prayer.

    I have several photos from our visits, but if you like old churches, and you Google “St Nicholas Church Oddington,” and look at the images (that’s what’s in the link), maybe you can see something of what I mean.

    • #7
  8. She Member
    She
    @She

    Thanks for the kind words and lovely comments, everyone.

    • #8
  9. Vectorman Inactive
    Vectorman
    @Vectorman

    She (View Comment):
    My favorite church in all the nine universes is The Old Church of St. Nicholas, in Oddington Gloucestershire.

    I visited the town of Chipping Norton, only about 6 miles away. Lovely part of the country.

    Pugshot (View Comment):
    Loved hearing the Lord’s Prayer in Anglo-Saxon and Middle English! Thanks!

    Hear, Hear!

    • #9
  10. She Member
    She
    @She

    Vectorman (View Comment):

    She (View Comment):
    My favorite church in all the nine universes is The Old Church of St. Nicholas, in Oddington Gloucestershire.

    I visited the town of Chipping Norton, only about 6 miles away. Lovely part of the country.

    Pugshot (View Comment):
    Loved hearing the Lord’s Prayer in Anglo-Saxon and Middle English! Thanks!

    Hear, Hear!

    Thanks.  Yes, it is lovely.  Also in the general vicinity is Stretton-on-Fosse, where my paternal ancestors lived a couple hundred years ago.  The Plough Inn is the local pub, and if you look at the website and the outside shot of the building (below the “Welcome” screed), my family lived in one end of it.  I can’t remember which one.

    Thanks to both of you (@vectorman and @pugshot) and also @susanquinn and @nandapanjandrum for the nice comments on the audio clips.  It just seemed to me that, in a post about “words,” the more forms they came in, the better.

    • #10
  11. Pugshot Inactive
    Pugshot
    @Pugshot

    @she

    The church is listed in Simon Jenkins book, England’s Thousand Best Churches(I know that sounds about as exclusive and exciting as winning the prize for being the boy with the biggest feet in the fourth grade, but in the big picture of English churches, it’s a pretty special club).

    The next time I go to England, I planned to go to Winchester, Salisbury, and Coventry cathedrals, but I can see I should expand my list!

    • #11
  12. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Pugshot (View Comment):

    @she

    The church is listed in Simon Jenkins book, England’s Thousand Best Churches(I know that sounds about as exclusive and exciting as winning the prize for being the boy with the biggest feet in the fourth grade, but in the big picture of English churches, it’s a pretty special club).

    The next time I go to England, I planned to go to Winchester, Salisbury, and Coventry cathedrals, but I can see I should expand my list!

     

    • #12
  13. She Member
    She
    @She

    Pugshot (View Comment):

    @she

    The church is listed in Simon Jenkins book, England’s Thousand Best Churches(I know that sounds about as exclusive and exciting as winning the prize for being the boy with the biggest feet in the fourth grade, but in the big picture of English churches, it’s a pretty special club).

    The next time I go to England, I planned to go to Winchester, Salisbury, and Coventry cathedrals, but I can see I should expand my list!

    My list is small, but I love Worcester Cathedral (small enough to get your head around, but has all the bells and whistles (so to speak) of the much larger edifices.  Has a spectacular library of Medieval manuscripts in the attic, but you have to have an “in” to see them (my sister is a long time “friend” of the cathedral, and was able to wangle an invitation for us.)  One of the most photographed cathedrals in England because of its picturesque location by the Severn River.  Even more than the cathedral “upstairs,” I love the crypt, which dates back to the eighth or ninth century.  King John is buried there (“Bad King John”), but more importantly, Arthur, the older brother of Henry VIII is buried there (and what a different history England might have had, had Arthur not died so young).  Because it’s the location of his brother’s tomb, Worcester Cathedral and surrounds was spared much of the destruction when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and wrecked the churches.

    Great Malvern Priory is not too far down the road from Worcester.  Beautiful misericordes, and some of the earliest stained glass in England.

    Birmingham Cathedral is not at all prepossessing in terms of architecture.  But it has some absolutely spectacular stained glass windows by local artist Edward Burne-Jones and crafted by William Morris.

    I love the English Midlands.

    • #13
  14. Pugshot Inactive
    Pugshot
    @Pugshot

    She Post author

    Pugshot (View Comment):

    @she

    The church is listed in Simon Jenkins book, England’s Thousand Best Churches(I know that sounds about as exclusive and exciting as winning the prize for being the boy with the biggest feet in the fourth grade, but in the big picture of English churches, it’s a pretty special club).

    The next time I go to England, I planned to go to Winchester, Salisbury, and Coventry cathedrals, but I can see I should expand my list!

    My list is small, but I love Worcester Cathedral (small enough to get your head around, but has all the bells and whistles (so to speak) of the much larger edifices. Has a spectacular library of Medieval manuscripts in the attic, but you have to have an “in” to see them (my sister is a long time “friend” of the cathedral, and was able to wangle an invitation for us.) One of the most photographed cathedrals in England because of its picturesque location by the Severn River. Even more than the cathedral “upstairs,” I love the crypt, which dates back to the eighth or ninth century. King John is buried there (“Bad King John”), but more importantly, Arthur, the older brother of Henry VIII is buried there (and what a different history England might have had, had Arthur not died so young). Because it’s the location of his brother’s tomb, Worcester Cathedral and surrounds was spared much of the destruction when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and wrecked the churches.

    Great Malvern Priory is not too far down the road from Worcester. Beautiful misericordes, and some of the earliest stained glass in England.

    Birmingham Cathedral is not at all prepossessing in terms of architecture. But it has some absolutely spectacular stained glass windows by local artist Edward Burne-Jones and crafted by William Morris.

    I love the English Midlands.

    Thank you so much for the information. Burne-Jones did the wall of art behind the altar of a small church in Rome – St. Paul’s Within the Walls.

    Image result for St Pauls within the walls

    • #14
  15. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    This is the church in the village where my mother’s mother’s family was from. The church was built sometime towards the end of the 16th century. The church bell is inscribed 1591.

    I’d like to see it some day.

    • #15
  16. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Percival (View Comment):
    This is the church in the village where my mother’s mother’s family was from.

    And what village is that?

    • #16
  17. She Member
    She
    @She

    Percival (View Comment):

     

    This is the church in the village where my mother’s mother’s family was from. The church was built sometime towards the end of the 16th century. The church bell is inscribed 1591.

    I’d like to see it some day.

    It’s lovely!  I hope you do get to see it. And soon.

    • #17
  18. She Member
    She
    @She

    Pugshot (View Comment):

    She Post author

    Pugshot (View Comment):

    @she

    The church is listed in Simon Jenkins book, England’s Thousand Best Churches(I know that sounds about as exclusive and exciting as winning the prize for being the boy with the biggest feet in the fourth grade, but in the big picture of English churches, it’s a pretty special club).

    The next time I go to England, I planned to go to Winchester, Salisbury, and Coventry cathedrals, but I can see I should expand my list!

    My list is small, but I love Worcester Cathedral (small enough to get your head around, but has all the bells and whistles (so to speak) of the much larger edifices. Has a spectacular library of Medieval manuscripts in the attic, but you have to have an “in” to see them (my sister is a long time “friend” of the cathedral, and was able to wangle an invitation for us.) One of the most photographed cathedrals in England because of its picturesque location by the Severn River. Even more than the cathedral “upstairs,” I love the crypt, which dates back to the eighth or ninth century. King John is buried there (“Bad King John”), but more importantly, Arthur, the older brother of Henry VIII is buried there (and what a different history England might have had, had Arthur not died so young). Because it’s the location of his brother’s tomb, Worcester Cathedral and surrounds was spared much of the destruction when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and wrecked the churches.

    Great Malvern Priory is not too far down the road from Worcester. Beautiful misericordes, and some of the earliest stained glass in England.

    Birmingham Cathedral is not at all prepossessing in terms of architecture. But it has some absolutely spectacular stained glass windows by local artist Edward Burne-Jones and crafted by William Morris.

    I love the English Midlands.

    Thank you so much for the information. Burne-Jones did the wall of art behind the altar of a small church in Rome – St. Paul’s Within the Walls.

    Image result for St Pauls within the walls

    Thanks, I didn’t know that.  If you’re a fan, Birmingham Museum has a very large Burne-Jones collection.  The town (which has more miles of canals than Venice, oddly enough), was also a center of the jewelry and silver trades, so there are also some lovely exhibits at the several city museums. 

    • #18
  19. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):
    This is the church in the village where my mother’s mother’s family was from.

    And what village is that?

    Strazde, Latvia. I’m not even sure that is a village anymore. The only pictures that I can find are of the church, or of a resort-like establishment, or of a weird structure which might be someone’s effort at sculpture.

    • #19
  20. She Member
    She
    @She

    Pugshot (View Comment):

    @she

    The church is listed in Simon Jenkins book, England’s Thousand Best Churches(I know that sounds about as exclusive and exciting as winning the prize for being the boy with the biggest feet in the fourth grade, but in the big picture of English churches, it’s a pretty special club).

    The next time I go to England, I planned to go to Winchester, Salisbury, and Coventry cathedrals, but I can see I should expand my list!

    Have you read Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd?  I’ve not been to Salisbury Cathedral, although I have been to nearby Stonehenge, and the village of Avebury which is actually inside a stone circle.  (My cell phone didn’t work while I was inside the circle, it was really quite strange).  Also close by, if you make it to Salisbury, is the “Uffington White Horse” (stood where I was supposed to be able to see it, but it was so foggy there was nothing there), and the Ridgeway, a Bronze Age road.  Walked a bit of that.  There’s so much to see in that area, see if you can spend some time there, if you go.

    I’ve not made it to Winchester or Coventry either.  A friend of mine visited Coventry Cathedral last year, and absolutely loved it.

    Bath Abbey is nice (the Roman Baths are absolutely worth a visit, as well), and for fans of Brother Cadfael, Shrewsbury Abbey and Castle are not overwhelming (relatively speaking), but have some sentimental value.  If you’re in that area (Shropshire) do not miss Ludlow, one of my favorite towns in England.

    • #20
  21. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Pew carving, Salisbury Cathedral.  Of all the cathedrals we visited in 1984, Salisbury was my favorite.  We stayed at a 16th-century coaching inn nearby, called The Old Bell. (long before I met Ray)

    Long Melford Church, Suffolk.  Visited with my Cambridge summer study class on Medieval English Society.  Our instructor (in the blue shirt) was a faculty member of Gonville and Caius College.

    • #21
  22. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    I remember visiting Coventry.  I was in tears, seeing the remains of the old cathedral, incorporated into the new cathedral.  It was a very moving experience. I was not impressed by the city, however.  Rebuilt in solid Soviet prison style.

    • #22
  23. She Member
    She
    @She

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    I remember visiting Coventry. I was in tears, seeing the remains of the old cathedral, incorporated into the new cathedral. It was a very moving experience. I was not impressed by the city, however. Rebuilt in solid Soviet prison style.

    Many British cities suffer from that.   The architectural style, known as “brutalism” (formed from raw concrete) was, for some inexplicable reason extremely popular in the UK in the 50s and 60s.  The Birmingham Central Library (where I spent a bit of time a few years ago) has been demolished.  I can only hope what they put in its place will be an improvement.  Prince Charles, who is a card-carrying loon, has a stopped clock moment every once in a while, and once described the Library as looking like “a place where books should be incinerated, rather than a place where books should be kept.”  I’m not sure I sign on to all his architectural ideas, but at least he’s got a discussion going over the past few decades, and things might be improving a bit.

    • #23
  24. Vectorman Inactive
    Vectorman
    @Vectorman

    She (View Comment):

    Pugshot (View Comment):

    The next time I go to England, I planned to go to Winchester, Salisbury, and Coventry cathedrals, but I can see I should expand my list!

    Have you read Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd? I’ve not been to Salisbury Cathedral,

    I visited Salisbury Cathedral (loved it) and later read Sarum, a very interesting book but long. Also visited the “mother” Cathedral at Canterbury, which is in the southeast but worth the trip over.

    Bath Abbey is nice (the Roman Baths are absolutely worth a visit, as well)

    Ditto.

    • #24
  25. Vectorman Inactive
    Vectorman
    @Vectorman

    She (View Comment):
    Many British cities suffer from that. The architectural style, known as “brutalism” (formed from raw concrete) was, for some inexplicable reason extremely popular in the UK in the 50s and 60s.

    Not to insult the British, but there was significant Communist sympathy in the educated upper classes (the spies James Angleton and Kim Philby for example) that would help account for the choice. Unlike Germany, England after the war kept rationing (described well by the author Nevil Shute) which restricted recovery. And concrete is cheap and fast to construct.

    The US cities were not destroyed, but we did have our Levittown, which was the type of town where I was raised.

    • #25
  26. Ansonia Member
    Ansonia
    @Ansonia

    She,

    I have no words for a post this beautiful and effective. 

    Thank you for writing it.

            

    • #26
  27. She Member
    She
    @She

    Ansonia (View Comment):

    She,

    I have no words for a post this beautiful and effective.

    Thank you for writing it.

    Thank you, @ansonia, for this kind and lovely comment.

    • #27
  28. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    I like that you wound up on the Main Feed right next to Jon’s conversation that involves the Hagia Sophia.

    • #28
  29. She Member
    She
    @She

    Arahant (View Comment):

    I like that you wound up on the Main Feed right next to Jon’s conversation that involves the Hagia Sophia.

    I noticed that, too.  And when I read Jon’s post, I considered it quite an honor.

    • #29
  30. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    St. Mary’s Church, Dover Castle.

    The church itself is Saxon (I think from the 900s?), but that tower is Roman.  The tower was the Roman lighthouse for the approach to Dover.

    • #30
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