Class and Idol in the English Hymn

358 Pages·1989·19.803 MB·English

by  Lionel Adey

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CLASS AND IDOL IN THE ENGLISH HYMN
Class and Idol in the English Hymn completes Lionel Adey's study of
English hymnody which began with Hymns and Christian "Myth" (1986).
In his new book Adey surveys the contents of English hymnody, primarily
between 1700 and 1939, investigating the social context in which the hymns
were sung and their influence on the singers.
Adey describes the nature of hymns written in the "Learned" and
"Popular" styles and links them to particular denominations and sects.
(This is inferred from a computer survey that identifies which hymns were
sung most frequently and by which worshippers.) The traditions grew
increasingly separate during the English evangelical revival but converged in
the late Victorian period, preparing the way for the ecumenical movement of
this century.
Two kinds of hymn books instilled different ethics: one applicable to the
"order-givers" of the world, the other to the "order-receivers." Different
religious codes are perceived in hymnals for "submerged" children in
English charity schools and orphanages, "average" children in day and
Sunday-schools, and "privileged" youth in boarding schools. (The parallel
division within North American hymnody and worship Adey finds more a
matter of race than of class.) In the hymns he detects a shift in emphasis
from the awefulness of God to identification with Jesus as a human figure, a
consecration of nature and childhood and, eventually, the attribution of
religious value to the nation-state. These themes reached a climax in late
Victorian and Edwardian hymnody for children but their conditioning,
Adey concludes, played a part in preparing young people to fight in the First
World War and disillusioned many with religion.
In his closing chapters Adey examines the effect of the war upon hymns
and hymn-singing, the subsequent reaction against idolatry and sentimental-
ism, and the improving literary quality of post-war hymnals—notably for
children. He considers briefly the recent torrent of new hymns and the
prospects for their use and performance in an age of pluralism and
widespread unbelief or, at best, indifference.
Class and Idol in the English Hymn is pertinent not only to academics in
fields of literature, religion, history, and psychology but also to hymn lovers,
hymn writers, and clergy.
LIONEL ADEY is a professor in the department of English at the University of
Victoria.
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CLASS and IDOL
in the
ENGLISH HYMN
LIONEL ADEY
University of British Columbia Press
Vancouver 1988
The University of British Columbia Press 1988
All rights reserved
This book has been published with the help of a grant
from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities, using
funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Adey, Lionel.
Class and idol in the English hymn
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-7748-0304-5
1. Hymns, English—History and criticism.
I. Title.
BV312.A33 1988 264'.2'0942 C88-091616-8
ISBN 0-7748-0304-5
Printed in Canada
To my wife
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CONTENTS
Prefacee vii
Acknowledgments xi
INTRODUCTION
1 Class, Context, and Allegiance 3
LEARNED AND POPULAR HYMNODY FOR ADULTS
2 Revival Hymnody and the People 21
3 The Traditions Diverge 33
4 Far Apart 55
5 What Did They Sing? 71
6 Convergence 81
CLASS- AND TIME-CONDITIONING OF CHILDREN
7 Nurseling and Infant Scholar 93
8 The Submerged Child 111
9 The Average Child 120
10 The Time-Conditioning of Sunday Scholars 133
11 Privileged Youth 158
PATRIOTIC HYMNODY AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR
12 Class in the Doomed Generation 175
13 Wild Tongues Unloosed: Patriotic Hymns for Edwardian Schools 186
14 Soldiers of Christ and the Sovereign 196
HYMNODY AFTER THE DELUGE AND NOW
15 Idolatry and Religion in Declineh 2222
16 Conclusion 241
Appendixx 255
Abbreviationsh 2271
Notes 273
Select Bibliography 307
Index 325