Katherine Parr's Giftbooks, Henry VIII's Marginalia, and the Display of Royal Power and Piety

This essay examines deluxe copies of Katherine Parr's “Psalms or Prayers” (1544) distributed as gifts as part of Henry VIII's wartime campaign. The book promoted supplication for the king, and Parr used hand illumination to amplify its aesthetic and sacred character and to elicit political...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRenaissance quarterly Vol. 76; no. 1; pp. 39 - 83
Main Author White, Micheline
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2023
Subjects
Authorship
Culture
Gifts
Henry VIII, King of England (1491-1547)
Marginalia
New year
Parr, Katherine
Power
Prayer
Women
Writing
United Kingdom > UK
England
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Summary:This essay examines deluxe copies of Katherine Parr's “Psalms or Prayers” (1544) distributed as gifts as part of Henry VIII's wartime campaign. The book promoted supplication for the king, and Parr used hand illumination to amplify its aesthetic and sacred character and to elicit political loyalty. I discuss two copies annotated by Henry, one previously unknown. I argue that the volumes shed new light on Parr's role as queen/author, on Henry's final illness, and on their transactional relationship: Parr's giftbooks advanced Henry's cause and enabled him to display exemplary piety; Henry's marginalia activated Parr's text and thanked her for her labor.
ISSN:0034-4338
1935-0236
DOI:10.1017/rqx.2022.445