Metrical Psalmody in Print and Practice: English ’’Singing Psalms’’ and Scottish ’’Psalm Buiks’’, C. 1547-1640

During the Reformation, the Book of Psalms became one of the most well-known books of the Bible. This was particularly true in Britain, where people of all backgrounds memorized and sang poetic versifications of the psalms. This book is the first to consider both English and Scottish metrical psalmody, comparing the two traditions in print and practice. It combines theological, literary and musical analysis to reveal new connections between the psalm texts and their tunes, which it traces in the English and Scottish psalters printed through 1640.

Timothy Duguid holds a PhD in Music history from the University of Edinburgh. He worked for three years as the research assistant for the celebrated Wode Psalter Project at the University of Edinburgh, and he is currently a researcher for the Initiative for Digital Humanities, Media, and Culture at Texas A&M University.