John Schofield publishes essay on St Paul's Deanery

Our own John Schofield has published an essay entitled "A Reconstruction of the Deanery of St Paul's Cathedral in the Time of John Donne, and Its Setting for His Collection of Paintings," in the London Journal, go here.

As Schofield describes it, "This paper proposes a reconstruction of the deanery of St Paul's Cathedral at the time of the death of John Donne (Dean 1621–1631). 

"The reconstruction stems from two documents: Donne's will of 1631, and a survey of the deanery when it was in parliamentary hands in 1649. 

"The will is remarkable because it details bequests of 21 paintings, all but three specified by their location in rooms throughout the deanery. 

"The original number of paintings was larger, as some were to remain. 

"By comparing the will with the survey, it is possible to allocate paintings to specific rooms and in effect walk round the house, at least on its ground floor, in 1631 or 1649."

Congratulations to John Schofield, to whom the Virtual St Paul's Cathedral Project is indebted in so many, many ways. 

And thanks to Mary Ann Lund, our new Advisory Committee member, who pointed out this publication to me. 

We can promise that Schofield's discoveries will be incorporated into the visual model we are developing for the Cathedral Project. 

Mary Ann Lund Joins Advisory Committee

We welcome Dr. Mary Ann Lund, Lecturer in Renaissance English Literature at the University of Leicester, to the Advisory Committee for the Virtual St Paul's Cathedral Project.

Dr. Lund brings to us her extensive knowledge of Donne's time as Dean of St Paul's Cathedral and her experience as editor of the recently published Volume XII of the new Oxford edition of the Sermons of John Donne. Volume XII includes sermons preached by Donne in St Paul's Cathedral in 1626.

Dr. Lund is also the editor of Volume XIII in this edition, to include sermons Donne preached in St Paul's in 1626 and 1627, forthcoming from the Oxford University Press. 

In addition, she is engaged in a long-term project exploring the figure of Richard III in literature and history, particularly how his scoliosis was perceived and treated, and in how his posthumous reputation developed.

Find more of her work on Richard III in her article "Richard's Back: Death, Scoliosis, and Myth Making," published in the Journal of Medical Humanities in 2015.

In addition, Dr. Lund is the author of Melancholy, Medicine, and Religion in Early Modern England: Reading 'The Anatomy of Melancholy', published by the Cambridge University Press in 2010.

She has also published numerous articles on early modern prose, on the history of medicine, and on religious literature of the early modern period.

Dr. Lund also knows the life and work of a cathedral from the inside out from her service, since 2016, as a lay member of the chapter of Leicester Cathedral, with particular interest in the cathedral's educational mission.

We are honored that Dr. Lund is joining us, and are grateful to her for her interest in the Virtual Cathedral Project.

John Wall delivers Paper at Space, Place, and Image Conference

John N. Wall, one of the Principal Investigators for the Virtual St Paul's Cathedral Project, delivered a paper at the recent conference on Space, Place, and Image in Early Modern English Literature, held at the University of Lausanne on May 11th - 13th, 2017.

Wall's paper was entitled "The Contested Pliability of Sacred Space in St Paul's Cathedral and Paul's Churchyard in Early Modern London." Wall explored ways in which changing concepts of the sacred influenced uses of space in and around St Paul's Cathedral in the years after the Elizabethan Settlement of Religion. 

Joining Wall at this conference were other Donne scholars, including Mary Morrissey (University of Reading), Dennis Flynn (John Donne Society), Mary Ann Lund (University of Leicester), Joel Salt (University of Saskatchewan), Arnaud Zimmerman (University of Notre Dame), Catherine Evans (University of Sheffield), and Peter Mitchell (University of Wales).

Under the leadership of Dr. Kirsten Stirling, the University of Lausanne is becoming a center for Donne studies and early modern English literature. 

In fact, the John Donne Society will hold its next annual meeting at the University of Lausanne in June of 2018. 

Richard Pinel Joins the Virtual Cathedral Production Team

We welcome Richard Pinel, the new Director of Music at Jesus College, Cambridge, to our Production Team for the Virtual St Paul's Cathedral Project.

Richard will work with Roger Bowers, his colleague at Jesus College, and with the Choir at Jesus College to choose repertoire and record the music for choir and organ we will need for our recreation of worship at St Paul's in the 1620's.

Richard comes to the Cathedral Project and to Jesus College from his post as Assistant Director of Music at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

An international award-winning organist, Richard has also held leadership positions with the choirs at Magdalen College, Oxford and Perth Cathedral, Australia.

He has also held the organ scholarship of St Albans Cathedral and Magdalen College, Oxford.

Richard began his participation in the English Choral Tradition early in life, as a chorister at All Saints’ Church, Northampton.

He was awarded the prestigious organ scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford in 2002. 

Richard's playing of the organ has been hailed as ‘a force of nature’. He has won numerous prizes, including First Prize, the Ad Wammes Prize, and the Haji Hakim Prize at the Breda International Organ Competition in The Netherlands.

For more about Richard, including a discography of his recordings, go here. 

Congratulations to Richard for all his accomplishments, and many, many thanks for agreeing to help us recreate the musical life of St Paul's Cathedral in the early 17th century!

John Donne Society Recognizes the Virtual Paul's Cross Project

The John Donne Society has presented the Virtual Paul's Cross Project with the John Donne Society Award for Distinguished Digital Publication for 2013. 

Our thanks to Heather Dubrow, President of the John Donne Society, and to all the members of the Society, for this generous recognition!