Hannah Yip

The Clergy and Artistic Recreation in Early Modern Britain

This interdisciplinary project investigates, for the first time, the diverse artistic and musical endeavours of Protestant churchmen and their cultural influence upon their respective parishes in the English Reformation, an era of history in which there were complex attitudes towards the visual arts and music in worship.

It poses crucial questions regarding Protestant ministers’ overlooked impact upon amateur and professional artistic production in early modern Britain, showing how their engagement with the arts was itself closely shaped by the practices of pastoral ecclesiastical life.

In its interrogation of the avocations of Protestant divines, who formed one of the largest professional groups in early modern England, its currency lies in its historical intervention within present debates amongst scholars and journalists alike surrounding the educative value of leisurely pursuits.