The Word in the Wilderness: Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania

Alexander Lawrence Ames

Published by Penn State University Press 2020

The Word in the Wilderness

Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania

Alexander Lawrence Ames

Volume 5 in the series Pietist, Moravian, and Anabaptist Studies

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780271092607

Overview
Contents

About this book

Once a vibrant part of religious life for many Pennsylvania Germans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Fraktur manuscripts today are primarily studied for their decorative qualities. The Word in the Wilderness takes a different view, probing these documents for what they tell us about the lived religious experiences of the Protestant communities that made and used them and opening avenues for reinterpretation of this well-known, if little understood, set of cultural artifacts.

The resplendent illuminated religious manuscripts commonly known as Fraktur have captivated collectors and scholars for generations. Yet fundamental questions about their cultural origins, purpose, and historical significance remain. Alexander Lawrence Ames addresses these by placing Fraktur manuscripts within a “Pietist paradigm,” grounded in an understanding of how their makers viewed “the Word,” or scripture. His analysis combines a sweeping overview of Protestant Christian religious movements in Europe and early America with close analysis of key Pennsylvania devotional manuscripts, revealing novel insights into the religious utility of calligraphy, manuscript illumination, and devotional reading as Protestant spiritual enterprises. Situating the manuscripts in the context of transatlantic religious history, early American spirituality, material culture studies, and the history of book and manuscript production, Ames challenges long-held approaches to Pennsylvania German studies and urges scholars to engage with these texts and with their makers and users on their own terms.

Featuring dozens of illustrations, this lively, engaging book will appeal to Fraktur scholars and enthusiasts, historians of early America, and anyone interested in the material culture and spiritual practices of the German-speaking residents of Pennsylvania.

Author / Editor information

Ames Alexander Lawrence :

Alexander Lawrence Ames is Collections Engagement Manager at The Rosenbach, a historic house museum and special collections library affiliated with the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Reviews

“Ames breaks new ground in the study of Pennsylvania German manuscript art by synthesizing the significance of the religious context with the artistic achievements of creating the pieces. This is also the first book to integrate research based on several collections of Pennsylvania German Fraktur across many regions. The Word in the Wilderness is a remarkable achievement reflecting years of study and an amazing breadth of research.”
—Jeff Bach, author of Voices of the Turtledoves: The Sacred World of Ephrata

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Preface: “The Quill Is My Plow” Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xix
Note on Sources, Methods, and Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xxiii
Introduction: “Pages of a Mystical Character”; German Manuscripts in American History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1 “Heaven Is My Fatherland”: Manuscript Culture in an Age of Evangelical Piety Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
2 “The Spirit of the Letter”: Calligraphy and Spirituality During the Long Era of Manuscripts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
3 “Worship Always the Scripture”: Teaching Literacy and Pious Wisdom in German Pennsylvania Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
4 “Incense Hill”: Song, Image, and Ambient Manuscripts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	112
5 Marching to “Step and Time”: Text, Commemoration, and the Rituals of Everyday Life Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
Conclusion: “Errand into the Wilderness”; Making Meaning from Manuscripts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	224

Language: English
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 264
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 35
- Images: 35
- Other: 35 illustrations
Keywords: Manuscript; Illuminated manuscript; Calligraphy; Pietist; Pietism; Mystic; Mysticism; Fraktur; Frakturschrift; Currentschrift; Kurrentschrift; Scribes; Manuscript culture; Decorative arts; Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania German; Pennsylvania Dutch; Folklore; Folklife

eBook

Published: May 13, 2021
ISBN: 9780271092607