John Donne: 'Sermons Preached at the Jacobean Courts, 1619-1625' (Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne, Volume II)

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This project will produce an accurate and fully annotated edition of 12 Jacobean court sermons by John Donne (preached between 1619 and 1625) which will address the needs of today's scholars, undergraduates, and the general reader. It will be published as Volume II of the Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne. Intended to replace the current standard edition (George Potter's and Evelyn Simpson's The Sermons of John Donne (Los Angeles & Berkeley, 1953-62)), it will be edited to the highest scholarly and bibliographical standards currently obtaining. The texts will be based on close study of early printed copies and manuscripts, and on current hard-copy and online resources relating to the processes and context through which Donne's works reached print. In line with the textual policy of the Oxford Edition, the texts will in most cases reflect the earliest version of Donne's sermons. The sermons will be grouped by place of preaching, rather than according to speculative chronology; this scheme reflects recent scholarship's judgement that preaching venue and intended auditory should be the starting place for understanding any sermon by Donne. A particularly useful feature for readers will be that, unlike Potter & Simpson's edition, which has no commentary at all, the new edition will have full explanatory annotation. This will place these works much more comprehensibly in relevant contexts, including not only Donne's life and other writings, and the wider historical situation, but also contemporary debates about theological doctrine, domestic and international politics, social institutions (such as church, state, and family), and questions concerning the ethical application of doctrine, such as the resolution of individual conscience. The notes will make it more practicable for a wide range of twenty-first-century readers to read, understand, and enjoy the work of this major writer.