Codification of Table Manners at the Eucharist in Early Stuart England: Reworking the Reformation in the English Church

Christopher Phil McAbee
University of Utah — Member ΦΑθ-AP
Published in Utah Historical Review, Vol IV.

Using official church documents from the Early Stuart era, broadsides, and pamphlets this article demonstrates how the church set official codes for worship and how the laity responded to that code. Eucharistic table manners and how lay persons behaved during Divine Service created complex multi-tiered relationships with the Church of England, its clergy and fellow lay persons. This article examines how the codification of Eucharistic table manners impacted the lives of lay persons in Early Stuart England. Further, this article argues that strict religious code was placed on the laity by a complex church administration. Laudism shifted how people worshiped in England, and for some, it made religion more accessible, but for others less so as it titled them notorious or outsider.

Buy a print version of the journal by clicking here.Read the Whole Paper Online