“A Confidence as Bold”: The Rhetorical Construction of Evangelical Authority in Hugh Latimer’s “Sermon of the Plough”

Hugh Latimer’s 1548 “Sermon of the Plough” is well-known as an example of early English evangelical rhetoric. However, the sermon has often been considered as an effect of, rather than a participant in, evangelical theology. This article reads Latimer’s rhetoric, especially his creation of a persona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rhetorica 2022-07, Vol.40 (3), p.256-296
Main Author: Irvin, Matthew W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bible
English literature
Evangelicalism
Historical text analysis
Latimer, Hugh
Political power
Religious literature
Rhetoric
Sermons
Theology
Traditions
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Summary:Hugh Latimer’s 1548 “Sermon of the Plough” is well-known as an example of early English evangelical rhetoric. However, the sermon has often been considered as an effect of, rather than a participant in, evangelical theology. This article reads Latimer’s rhetoric, especially his creation of a persona, as fully theological, using Melanchthon’s valorization of rhetoric over logic as a model. Latimer’s sermon produces an authority that is not limited to Latimer himself, but serves as a reformation of Catholic notions of the authoritative role of the Church, a role based upon the rhetorically effective presentation of the Bible.
ISSN:0734-8584
1533-8541
1533-8541
DOI:10.1353/rht.2022.0021