| Since I've gotten on the book review bandwagon, I figure I should make up for the rambling nonsense of the previous review and provide one that has at least a resemblance to organized thought...
A review of: Eamon Duffy, The Voices of
Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English
Village, (New
Haven: Yale University
Press, 2001.
At times, it seems
as if a possible subtext for Duffy’s Voices of Morebath could be “A
Fanfare for the Common Man.” Rather than touring the English countryside
over the course of the Reformation, Duffy sets his focus upon the records of a
single parish priest, Sir Christopher Trychay.
Detailing everything from records of ale sold to the quantity of wool
produced by the town’s multitude of sheep, Trychay’s day to day activities are
preserved (thanks to Duffy’s capable editing) in such a way that the reader
occasionally steps into the Devonshire village.
Thus the reader feels a sense of satisfaction along with Trychay when long-awaited
black vestments are acquired, struggles from yawning when precise counts of the
parish sheep are taken, and feels the emotional pangs that come with the
Reformation: the quite literal stripping of the altars. The English Reformation, Duffy contends, is
neither a quick process nor one that the general population had
instigated. Rather, he presents a view
that shows a strikingly top-down model, presenting Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell,
Thomas Cranmer, and a handful of Puritan goons dismantling centuries of
beautiful and meaningful tradition. Rather
than rehash the thesis that he argued previously in The Stripping of the
Altars, Duffy is attempting to “stand back and allow Sir Christopher’s
unique fifty-year conversation with his people to speak for itself.” (xiv) Thus, the Reformation of a small, seemingly
insignificant farm village comes to life through the eyes of a fastidiously literate
priest, with a little help from a sympathetic history professor.
A largely
chronological timeframe aids the overall structure of the book. The introductory material, though lengthy and
occasionally tedious, sets the proverbial stage for the key players and
families who appear throughout the work, and contribute to a real sense of
community, as opposed to a collection of numbers out of a dusty old book. The most powerful section of the book focuses
on the continual change which Trychay and the Morebath village witnessed. In Trychay, Duffy has found a vicar who has
not only lived during the reigns of four monarchs, but a vicar whose notes
reflect practical ecclesiastical shifts following Protestant mandates.
The Voices of
Morebath stands in a small but growing category of books which view the
English Reformation through the lens of microhistory. Furthermore, Duffy places himself in a
position sympathetic to Trychay and other sixteenth century English
Catholics. His Catholicism, however,
does not come at the expense of conducting quite extensive and well-respected
research. Morebath received many
positive reviews by peers on both sides of the Reformation divide, perhaps Eric
Josef Carlson’s review sums up its reception best. “In his resuscitation of Christopher Trychay,
Duffy has brought his readers into a contact so immediate that it is almost
impossible not to feel that we know him. We know his mind and his voice, his
joys and sorrows, his victories and defeats.”
Anyone interested
in the English Reformation should probably include this work on their bookshelf. That said, it is not without its flaws. The most glaring one is that it appears as if
Duffy can’t decide who is to be the primary audience of this work. Assuming a popular audience, given its length
and glossy photographs, his attention to detail and precision regarding the
seemingly endless inventory process could have been significantly shortened, or
even converted into an appendix. Also
frustrating is Duffy’s insistence on providing both original language and
translations, to the point where one wonders if Duffy felt obligated to raise
his page count. These criticisms aside,
they do not keep Duffy from accomplishing his goal of bringing all eyes to a
group of common sheep farmers and their response to the world changing around
them.
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