Nicodemism and the English Calvin, 1544-1584

265 Pages·2019·2.07 MB·English

by  Kenneth Woo

Nicodemism and the English Calvin, 1544–1584
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Brill’s Series in Church History
and Religious Culture
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Fred van Lieburg (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
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Jan Wim Buisman (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
Paul van Geest (Tilburg University, The Netherlands)
Alastair Hamilton (University of London, UK)
R. Ward Holder (Saint Anselm College, Manchester (NH), usa)
Scott Mandelbrote (University of Cambridge, UK)
Andrew Pettegree (University of St Andrews, UK)
Karla Pollmann (University of Bristol, UK)
volume 78
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bsch
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Nicodemism and the English
Calvin, 1544–1584
By
Kenneth J. Woo
leiden | boston
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Cover illustration: John Calvin, from the Trevelyon miscellany (1608). [V.b.232, folio 202 verso]. Used with
kind permission from the Folger Shakespeare Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
4.0 International License.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov
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For Tisha and our children,
Hannah, Ryan, and Graeme
∵
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Contents
Acknowledgements  x
Abbreviations  xi
List of Illustrations  xiii
Introduction: Calvin Against the Nicodemites …. Again?  1
1 Calvin’s Approach to Nicodemism in Recent Scholarship  4
1.1 Advancing the Question: Reassessment and Reception  16
2 The Curious Case of Calvin’s Anti-Nicodemite Sermons  17
2.1 Approaching the Reception History of Quatre Sermons  19
2.2 Sources  20
2.3 Ways of Reading  21
3 Eclipsing the Nicodemite: Quatre Sermons in Diverse Contexts  22
1 Exile as Apology: Quatre Sermons and the Diverse Goals of Calvin’s
Anti-Nicodemism  26
1 Theological and Audience Diversity in Calvin’s
Anti-Nicodemism  26
2 Quatre Sermons as Argument for Exile  30
2.1 Against Idolatry: The Stable Core of Calvin’s
Anti-Nicodemism  30
2.2 Church in Exile: The Ecclesiological Turn in Quatre
Sermons  37
2.3 Calvin’s Preface  44
2.4 Exile as Nurture: Calvin’s use of the Psalms in Quatre
Sermons  47
2.5 Exile as Preferred Course: Calvin’s Arrangement of Quatre
Sermons  54
3 Quatre Sermons as Personal Apology for Calvin  57
3.1 The Conflicts in Geneva as Context for Quatre Sermons  58
3.2 Flexibility of Address: The Two Audiences of Quatre
Sermons  63
4 Conclusion  65
2 The Religious Context of Calvin’s Anti-Nicodemism in England  69
1 Fresh Translations, Changing Contexts  69
2 Situating Marian and Elizabethan Anti-Nicodemism: English
Traditions and Continental Sources  70
3 Anti-Nicodemism and the Marian Exiles  79
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viii Contents
3.1 Patience and Perseverance in Open Confession  81
3.2 Nicodemism as a Quintessentially Roman Defect  87
4 Anti-Nicodemism in the Elizabethan Era  89
5 Conclusion: Imagining a Flexible Foe  98
3 Unintended Consequences: Quatre Sermons in England—The
Translations of 1561, 1581, and 1584  100
1 The English Reception of Calvin and Quatre Sermons  100
2 Baduel’s Latin Translation  106
3 Rowland Hall’s 1561 Edition: Calvin as Model for English
Preachers  115
4 Robert Waldegrave’s 1581 Edition: In Defense of Protestant
Martyrdom  119
5 Anthony Munday’s 1584 Edition: Establishing a Protestant
Pedigree  125
6 Conclusion  132
4 A Justification of Flight: Robert Horne’s 1553 Translation  134
1 Situating Horne’s Translation: Background and Context  136
2 Career Reformer: Exile, Return, and the Making of a Principled
Conformist  137
2.1 From Fugitive to Bishop  137
2.2 The Zurich Letters  139
2.3 From “Rome” via Wesel: English Protestant Printing
under Mary i  145
3 Selective Silence: Horne’s Use of Calvin  147
4 Horne’s Preface  148
5 Horne’s Translation  153
6 Horne’s Strategy  155
7 Conclusion  158
5 A Subtler Admonition: John Field’s Anti-Nicodemism  161
1 Situating Field’s Translation: Background and Context  162
1.1 An Admonition to the Parliament (1572)  164
1.2 Field’s Translations and Prefaces, 1577–1583  168
1.3 John Field and the English Reception of Calvin  175
2 Field’s Preface  176
3 Field’s Translation  179
4 Field’s Strategy  189
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Contents ix
4.1 1579: Field’s Year of French Translation  190
4.2 The Papal Menace in Field’s Translation of Mornay  191
4.3 Thirteene Sermons: “Merite Mongers” and the Threat
of Disorder  192
4.4 Foure Sermons: Nicodemites as Moderates in the Elizabethan
Church  197
5 Conclusion  201
Conclusion: The Story of Quatre Sermons in England
(and Geneva)  205
1 Nicodemism and the English Calvin: A Case of Mistaken
Identity?  208
Appendix on Terminology  215
Bibliography  220
Index  245
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Acknowledgements
The present work, which began as my doctoral dissertation, would not have
been possible without the assistance of others, whom I am delighted to ac-
knowledge here. Sujin Pak, my doctoral supervisor at Duke University, modeled
the erudition, wisdom, and charity I hope to emulate in my own scholarship
and teaching. David Steinmetz’s helpful critiques and suggestions as I enjoyed
hospitality at his kitchen table clarified much in the early stages of research.
It was with great sadness that I received news of Professor Steinmetz’s death
just two weeks before my dissertation defense. Others read all or parts of this
text at various points in its development, offering careful, critical feedback that
has been invaluable: Megan Armstrong, Jon Balserak, Tanner Capps, Curtis
Freeman, Thomas Robisheaux, and the two anonymous reviewers. I am grateful
for their help. Any mistakes that remain are entirely mine.
Wim Janse and Fred van Lieburg, editors of Brill’s Series in Church History
and Religious Culture, offered encouragement and support that made this
book a reality. Ingrid Heijckers-Velt, Assistant Editor at Brill, and Fem Eggers,
Production Editor, kept the project on track with good communication and “all
the answers” on the way. Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has proven to be an
ideal place to teach and write. Holly McKelvey, Administrative Assistant to the
Faculty, provided indispensable support during the process of research and
writing. Preparing my final manuscript would have been much more arduous
without the extensive resources of the Clifford E. Barbour Library and skilled
assistance of its staff. I am especially grateful to Mark Russell, Reference and
Interlibrary Loan Librarian, who patiently fielded seemingly endless requests
and tracked down sources far and wide. Elizabeth DeBold, Assistant Curator
of Collections at the Folger Shakespeare Library (Washington, DC), helped me
locate the cover illustration. I also thank Trent Hancock for reading the manu-
script, catching a number of errors, and preparing the index.
Some debts cannot be repaid. My parents, Antony and Suzanna, have been a
source of unconditional love and support my whole life. My children, H annah,
Ryan, and Graeme grew up with this book, bearing patiently the sometimes-
bewildering turns our life together has taken en route to its publication. F inally,
I write this having just celebrated twenty years of marriage to my wife, Tisha.
Her love, friendship, and good humor through “all the surprises” are a constant,
sweet reminder that I have much more than I deserve—then, now, and every
moment in between. I dedicate this book to her and to our children.
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