Translations of the Psalms were a major feature of early modern English literature. Yet this vast body of translation work has never before been presented as such, or in such depth. This collection brings together over a century of English biblical translation, by a host of translators from across English (and Scottish) society, offering a new understanding of the importance of the Psalms to early modern literature.
The translations are taken from both print and manuscript sources, and include translations in both prose and verse. The prose versions include Psalms from all the major English Bibles. The metrical Psalms range from common meter versions by Sternhold and Hopkins and their imitators, to sophisticated lyric verse by poets such as Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Philip and Mary Sidney, John Donne, George Herbert, and John Milton. The collection includes verse translations by authors not primarily known for their poetry, such as Francis Bacon, Joseph Hall, and Simon Forman. Other translators include Katherine Parr, Anne Askew, Arthur Golding, King James VI and I, Anne Blount, and many more, both Protestant and Catholic, including many whose work has never before been printed.
The volume contains a detailed introduction discussing the history of biblical translation, the origin of the Psalms, the types of translation, the music translations were set to, and more. The edition also contains explanatory and textual notes and an extensive glossary. An essential collection for all scholars and students of literature and religion in early modern England.
Hannibal Hamlin is Professor of English at The Ohio State University.