The thirty-nine articles at the Westminster Assembly
Abstract
The Thesis is in three parts and is concerned with providing
an introduction to, and an analysis and text of the extant
manuscript minutes of Sessions 45 to 73 of the Westminster
Assembly of Divines 1640. These unpublished minutes are now
deposited at the Dr. Williams Library, London, and are records
of the debates of the Assembly while they were engaged in
revising some of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of the
Church of England.
The introduction to the text covers the Parliamentary activity
which led to the calling of the Assembly, and deals with the
relations of Parliament with Scotland, which gave so much direction
to the work of the Assembly and led to the Solemn League and
Covenant. The composition of the Assembly and the rules by which
the Assembly was regulated, are also examined. The introduction
concludes with an analysis of the discussions of the Assembly
as recorded in the defined sessions.
The second part of the thesis consists of an analysis of each
session dealt with. This became necessary as each of the
transcribed sessions was found to be difficult to understand
as the scribe had employed a highly individual form of theological
shorthand, and had missed out vital parts of complicated arguments.
In the analysis most of the arguments of the original text have
had to be amplified to make sense.
The third part of the thesis comprises of the transcription of
the text of the minutes. The original exists only in manuscript
form, and the illegibility of some parts is exaggerated by the
use of the unique theological shorthand of Adoniram Byfield, the
scribe. In the transcription all punctuation and capitalization
have been supplied though original spellings have been preserved.
Though the transcription has been compared with that of Sir E.M.
Thompson deposited at New College Library, Edinburgh, it has
been necessary to depart from many of the interpretations of that
transcription.
There are three Appendices attached to the thesis, the first
compares the revised and unrevised Articles dealt with in Sessions
45 yo 73. The second provides biographical information on continental
authorities cited in debates. The third provided a bibliographical
guide to those members who participated in the debates on the revision.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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