Imprinted Devotion: Printed Books as Emotional Guides in Henry VIII’s England
Book History; History of Emotions; English Reformation; Devotion; Rhetoric
This is a study of early modern books and the sort of emotions they conveyed. More specifically, it’s a study of how early modern English printers mobilized editorial devices in order to enforce specific types of emotional responses in their readers, and how such strategies can be associated with the ever-growing atmosphere of religious conflict during the years of Henry VIII’s reign. Considering the printing business of Thomas Berthelet, who worked as a printer and bookseller in London from 1524 to 1549, I argue that his devotional publications should be understood as emotional guides, as materials dedicated to an emotional shaping of the spirituality and confessional beliefs of their readers. Also, this work is an attempt to propose a constructive dialogue between the history of emotions and rhetorical studies for the examination of the early years of the English Reformation.