Richard Whytford, The Golden Epistle, and the Mixed Life Audience

Summary

Although Richard Whytford (1495–1555), academic and brother of Syon Abbey, spent a great deal of time producing materials in Middle English for an audience of religious (for example, translating the Rule of St Augustine and the Martiloge in Englysshe, as well as writing the comprehensive Pype or Tonne of the Lyfe of Perfection), he is also known for the works he wrote appealing to a broader audience: the best of which is A Work for Householders, as well as A Daily Exercise and Experience of Death and Preparation for Communion, circulating in manuscript and print in the 1530s. Whereas the works directed towards a religious audience provided extensive instructions on the contemplative life, Whytford's texts for a general audience either targeted specific interests for laypeople - such as preparing for communion and structuring the spiritual life of one's household - or offered practical, universal advice on devotions and pious practices for spiritually minded people. As well as being published separately, Whytford's treatises were collected in anthologies in the 1530s: his translations of The Golden Epistle and two pseudo-Bonaventuran ABCs were published several times; and his compositions A Work for Householders, A Preparation for Communion and A Daily Exercise of Death often were collected together.

Whytford's vernacular instructions for the print audience were prolific and popular, gaining a reputation from his being a Syon brother and connected with the influential lay community associated with Syon Abbey: before joining Syon he had a successful career at Cambridge, enjoyed a stint studying in Paris, and developed connections with such influential figures as Lord Mountjoy, Richard Fox and Erasmus.