• Title: XXVII Lectures, or Readings, Upon Part of the Epistle Written to the Hebrews
• Author: Edward Dering
• Printed for Thomas Woodcocke at London
• Estimated year of printing: 1590 

Notes:

This is the oldest book in my collection, getting close to 500 years old.  The calfskin binding is not original, but is still likely not too much younger than the book, perhaps 17th century.  The book has been rebacked at some point, which makes it not feel fragile at all — it has tight joints and all pages are well attached.

This was a tumultuous time period in Europe, both politically and religiously (which tended to be intertwined).  Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses had initiated the Protestant Reformation in 1517, and Henry VIII broke the Church of England away from the Catholic Church in 1529, with the Church of England gradually adopting Protestant theology.  The Puritan movement soon began forming, which believed that England had not gone far enough in its transition to Protestantism.   

The author of this book, Edward Dering (1540 – 1576) was an English Puritan Priest.  Early in his life he became a well-educated and well-respected preacher, earning degrees from Cambridge.  He held chaplain posts at the Tower of London and for various nobles, even getting the opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth in 1564.

Starting in 1570, he started to become a controversialist, preaching Puritan values in fiery sermons that targeted his fellow clergy and the Queen herself.  He had several instances of being suspended from his posts and being charged with uttering unorthodox sentiments.  He died in 1576 from tuberculosis, at age 36.

This book is a collection of sermons and essays on the earlier chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which were originally delivered at well-attended expositions in 1572.  First published in 1576, this collection was published in several editions, including this one from 1590 and a larger volume in 1614 that included many of Dering’s other works as well. 

On note of language — I specifically wanted an English language book so I could read it myself, but that made the search for this book very difficult, since English was not yet a common language in the 1500s, only becoming prevalent in the 1600s with the expansion of the British Empire.  Additionally, this book was published during the period known as Early Modern English.  Text from this period is mostly readable to a modern English speaker, but it has many clear differences: Spellings hadn’t settled yet, so the same word may be spelled several different ways (“he” and “hee”); The letters “U” and “V” were not distinct letters yet, neither were “I” and “J”; Many words had a silent “e” at the end (“speake”).

Historical context:

This book was printed just 140 years after the first printed book, the Gutenberg Bible in 1450.  Shakespeare was alive, but had only just begun writing plays.  It would be 30 more years before the Pilgrims would land at Plymouth.