Thomas Cranmer's work as the chief architect of the Book of Common Prayer ultimately led to his being imprisoned and burnt at the stake as a heretic. This study is an exploration of the eloquence of the language contained in that anthology of liturgical formularies, which is generally regarded as one of the finest achievements of English literature. One of the important constituents of this literary excellence arises from Cranmer's flair for creating elegant linguistic constructions that convey a specific content. This study is an examination of Cranmer's manuscript Commonplaces: collections of citations from various authors, arranged under various topics. Cranmer began to compile these anthologies in the 1530s, significantly influenced by the social, theological and educational ideas of Erasmus, Melanchthon and Sturm. The focus of this study is on the commonplaces relating to prayer in order to expose the theology and the spirit of eloquence that is at the heart the Book of Common Prayer. In the realm of Christian humanism, that spirit involved attention to the aurality of prayer, and to the function of liturgical language in the conversion of hearts. As aural eloquence can be a sign and witness to that conversion, so also, the pursuit of eloquence in the other "languages" of liturgy must invite and welcome worshipers into the colloquy of prayer. The Reformation alterations to liturgical speech, liturgical space, liturgical gesture and movement profoundly affected the piety of praying communities. Through synecdochal vocabulary and liturgical syntax, worshipers ritually rehearse patterns of prayer that represent their theology. When eloquence invites worshipers into the divine colloquy, it is the essence of common prayer.
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