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Both liturgically and architecturally, sermons were central to Dissenting life. Listening to the Word was at the heart of Dissenting worship and pulpits were frequently in prominent positions within the meeting house. While printed sermons have, understandably, been the focus of much work in this area, manuscript sermons also offer important insights into how sermons were used, the occasions on which they were delivered, and the reactions of their auditors. While many Dissenting sermons were devoted to themes in practical divinity—how to lead a good life (or die a good death)—they could also enable Dissenters to demonstrate their loyalty to the state or to engage in philanthropic activity. Unlike their Anglican counterparts, Dissenters were more inclined to give extemporary sermons but sermon notes allow historians to gain some insights into how the majority of sermons, which were not printed, might have been received.

Prescriptive literature on the art of preaching emphasized the necessary connection between any sermon and the Biblical text on which it elaborates. However, eighteenth-century preachers commonly used the epigraph only as an excuse, as the small case study in this article shows. The corpus comprises the manuscripts of John Sharp III, compared with the printed homilies of Laurence Sterne, as well as a small sample of sermons published in the 1710s. Scriptural allusions permeated not only the exordium, but also the whole body of the discourse. They mainly referred to the Authorised Version of 1611, though the Psalms were equally cited in the translation of the Psalter annexed to the Book of Common Prayer, and some Biblical books were quoted more frequently than others. Although the preachers’ exegesis was based on a wide range of secondary sources, it was not always unbiased., En théorie, les artes praedicandi insistaient sur les liens organiques entre tout sermon et le verset biblique qui s’y trouve en exergue. En pratique, les prédicateurs anglais du XVIIIe siècle utilisaient parfois l’épigraphe scripturaire comme simple prétexte. En dehors de l’exorde, les allusions bibliques abondent dans le corps du discours homilétique, souvent même sans guillemets. La présente étude de cas, fondée sur les manuscrits de John Sharp III, par comparaison avec les sermons de Laurence Sterne et avec un petit échantillon témoin de textes publiés vers 1710, tend à montrer qu’en dehors du psautier, les sermonnaires citaient majoritairement la Version autorisée de 1611. Toutefois, le corpus étudié témoigne d’une préférence marquée pour certains livres de la Bible et révèle les sources secondaires dont s’entouraient les prédicateurs pour étayer leur interprétation, ce qui ne les empêchait pas toujours de tirer l’Écriture à eux., Deconinck - Brossard Françoise. Bible(s) de prédicateurs : les « beaux sermons » de la théorie à la pratique. In: XVII-XVIII. Revue de la société d'études anglo-américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. N°64, 2007. La Bible dans le monde anglo-américain des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. pp. 191-212.

A Headline in the Daily Telegraph once read: ‘Vicar is “act of God” victim’. The article explained: A vicar has become a victim of an ‘act of God’ after a thunderbolt wrecked his car during a storm. Dennis Ackroyd, vicar of St Luke’s … in Cleckheaton, near Bradford … now faces problems claiming compensation from his insurance company.

The portrait of the Sharp family by Zoffany raises several questions about the visual representation of sound. The elaborate composition focuses on a keyboard instrument that is difficult to identify, though it is probably a harpsichord to which a process of foreshortening has been applied. Such a design suggests that the painting highlights the social function of music rather than accurate depiction of musical practice. Similarly, it is almost impossible to find a repertoire for the orchestra represented here. Like many conversation pieces, the painting actually makes a statement about an affluent family that could afford to entertain aristocratic audiences with semi-public water parties performed on expensive musical instruments., Deconinck-Brossard Françoise. Recréation picturale d'une récréation musicale : le tableau de la famille Sharp par Zoffany. In: XVII-XVIII. Bulletin de la société d'études anglo-américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. N°51, 2000. pp. 273-280.

Analyse de discours assistée par ordinateur, appliquant les concepts de la linguistique synchronique de l’énonciation à un corpus diachronique dont on étudie les stratégies sémantique et syntaxique. L’informatisation de l’étude textuelle a révélé des formes stylistiques inattendues, telle l’absence presque totale de pronoms féminins et de termes négatifs dans les expressions de l’obligation, ainsi qu’une idéologie latitudinaire. Cependant, il faut connaître les limites de la méthode utilisée, même si elle ouvre la voie à de nouvelles recherches textuelles. A computer-aided discourse analysis, focusing on the preacher’s semantic and syntactic strategies, and applying the concepts of synchronic linguistics to a diachronic corpus. Unexpected features of the orator’s style, such as the relatively exceptional use of the third person feminine pronoun and the rare occurrence of negative forms in expressions of compulsion, and a latitudinarian outlook have been brought to light. However, the drawbacks and limitations of the method under review cannot be ignored, even though it opens up new avenues of investigation in the history of ideas.

Deconinck-Brossard Françoise. Confessions d'une dix-huitiémiste "branchée". In: XVII-XVIII. Bulletin de la société d'études anglo-américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. N°42, 1996. pp. 111-133.

When one realizes how small a percentage of eighteenth-century pulpit literature consists of sermons to, or about, children, one may wonder whether the much-vaunted new ‘awareness of childhood’ ever influenced preachers in the Augustan age. The most prominent minister to address the theme being Philip Doddridge of Northampton, the influential Dissenter, it seems worth investigating how he and his contemporaries chose to represent children.

This article focuses on the chronological, geographical and denomi-national dissemination of a genre that was developed from the eighteenth century in the English-speaking world, first among Nonconformists, then in the Methodist movement, and was later incorporated in the Anglican liturgy. The words of hymns spread not only through printed books, but also through lining out, multiple manuscript copies, or even plagiarism. Likewise, tunes circulated in manuscript as well as in print, sometimes with shortened or simplified texts. Their noble simplicity did not prevent congregations from enjoying both melody and harmony. The instability that is inherent to the genre means that a quest for authenticity does not make much sense here., Cet article étudie la diffusion chronologique, géographique et confessionnelle d’un genre qui se développa dans le monde anglophone dès le début du dix-huitième siècle, d’abord chez les non-conformistes, puis dans le mouvement méthodiste et plus tardivement parmi les anglicans. La transmission des hymnes pouvait reposer non seulement sur leur publication mais encore sur leur oralisation, sur la multiplication de copies manuscrites, voire sur le plagiat. De même, la dissémination des mélodies passait par la circulation de manuscrits tout autant que par le biais de l’imprimé. Parfois leur diffusion pouvait entraîner une déperdition textuelle. Si leur simplicité n’empêchait pas les fidèles d’éprouver un plaisir mélodique et harmonique, leur diffusion se fondait parfois sur des adaptations ou sur de fallacieuses attributions de paternité. L’instabilité inhérente à ces textes vivants signifie que la quête d’authenticité n’y a pas grand sens., Deconinck - Brossard Françoise. Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Hymn. In: XVII-XVIII. Revue de la société d'études anglo-américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Diffusion de l’écrit dans le monde anglophone. Spreading the Written Word in the English-Speaking World. 2010. pp. 85-103.

Eighteenth-century reflection on the art of preaching was conveyed not only in treatises or lectures on the eloquence of the pulpit usually targeted at students reading rhetoric or divinity, but also in poetry, diaries, memoirs and correspondence. Protestant and Catholic preachers on both sides of the Channel shared a common heritage of thorough training in classical rhetoric. The main difference between pulpit oratory and other forms of public discourse lay precisely in the fact that the purpose of a sermon was edification. Treatises on the art of preaching had imbibed the classical rhetorical tradition, embraced the ideology of moderation, and developed an aesthetics of surprise in keeping with the oral character of the genre. Artes praedicandi and preachers assistants may still be with us, albeit in a slightly modernised version. Keywords: Artes praedicandi ; Catholic preachers; preaching; Protestant; pulpit oratory

Bandry-Scubbi Anne, Deconinck-Brossard Françoise. On peut compter sur Moll. In: XVII-XVIII. Bulletin de la société d'études anglo-américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. N°45, 1997. pp. 171-190.

Deconinck-Brossard Françoise. La sténographie de Philip Doddridge (1702-1751). In: XVII-XVIII. Bulletin de la société d'études anglo-américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. N°12, 1981. pp. 29-43.

Deconinck-Brossard Françoise. Bible et sermon en Angleterre au XVIIIe siècle. In: La Bible dans le monde anglo-américain aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Actes du Colloque - Société d'études anglo-américaines des 17e et 18e siècles, 1984. pp. 109-122.

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