John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
.
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...
, was named after him.
Early life
Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in
Fairford
Fairford is a town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswold hills on the River Coln, east of Cirencester, west of Lechlade and north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park.
History
Evidence of ...
, Gloucestershire, where his father, also named John Keble, was
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of
Coln St. Aldwyns. He and his brother
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
were educated at home by their father until each went to Oxford. In 1806, Keble won a scholarship to
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...
. He excelled in his studies and in 1810 achieved double first-class honours in both Latin and mathematics. In 1811, he won the university prizes for both the English and Latin essays and became a fellow of
Oriel College
Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...
. He was for some years a tutor and examiner at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
[
While still at Oxford, he was ]ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
in 1816,[Kiefer, James E. "John Keble, Priest, Poet, Renewer of the Church"]
''Biographical Sketches of Memorable Christians of the Past''. becoming a curate to his father and then curate of St Michael and St Martin's Church, Eastleach Martin, in Gloucestershire while still residing at Oxford. On the death of his mother in 1823, he left Oxford and returned to live with his father and two surviving sisters at Fairford.
Between 1824 and 1835, he was three times offered a position and each time declined on the grounds that he ought not separate himself from his father and only surviving sister. In 1828, he was nominated as provost of Oriel College but not elected.[Julian, John]
"John Keble"
''Dictionary of Hymnology'' (1907)
''The Christian Year''
Meantime, he had been writing '' The Christian Year'', a book of poems for the Sundays and feast days of the church year. It appeared in 1827 and was very effective in spreading Keble's devotional and theological views. It was intended as an aid to meditation and devotion following the services of the Prayer Book. Though at first anonymous, its authorship soon became known, with Keble in 1831 appointed to the Chair of Poetry at Oxford, which he held until 1841. Victorian scholar Michael Wheeler calls ''The Christian Year'' simply "the most popular volume of verse in the nineteenth century". In his essay on ''Tractarian Aesthetics and the Romantic Tradition'', Gregory Goodwin claims that ''The Christian Year'' is "Keble's greatest contribution to the Oxford Movement and to English literature." As evidence, Goodwin cites E. B. Pusey's report that 95 editions of this devotional text were printed during Keble's lifetime, and "at the end of the year following his death, the number had arisen to a hundred-and-nine".
By the time that the copyright expired in 1873, over 375,000 copies had been sold in Britain and 158 editions had been published. Despite its widespread appeal among the Victorian readers, the popularity of Keble's ''The Christian Year'' faded in the 20th century despite the familiarity of certain well-known hymns.
At Oxford, Keble met John Coleridge who introduced him to the writings not only of his uncle, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...
, but also of Wordsworth. He dedicated his ''Praelectiones'' to and greatly admired Wordsworth, who once offered to go over ''The Christian Year'' with a view to correcting the English. To the same college friend, he was indebted for an introduction to Robert Southey
Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...
, whom he found to be "a noble and delightful character," and the writings of the three, especially Wordsworth, had much to do with the formation of Keble's own mind as a poet.[
]
Tractarianism and vicar of Hursley
Delivered on 14 July 1833, his famous Assize Sermon on "National Apostasy
"National Apostasy" was a sermon preached by John Keble on 14 July 1833. The sermon has traditionally been considered as the beginning of the Oxford Movement of high church Anglicans.
Background
The previous five years had seen radical changes t ...
" gave the first impulse to the Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
, also known as the Tractarian movement. It marked the opening of a term of the civil and criminal courts and is officially addressed to the judges and officers of the court, exhorting them to deal justly.[ Keble contributed seven pieces for ]Tracts for the Times
The Tracts for the Times were a series of 90 theological publications, varying in length from a few pages to book-length, produced by members of the English Oxford Movement, an Anglo-Catholic revival group, from 1833 to 1841. There were about a do ...
, a series of short papers dealing with faith and practice. Along with his colleagues, including John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...
and Edward Pusey
Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement.
Early years
...
, he became a leading light in the movement but did not follow Newman into the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
In 1835, his father died, and Keble and his sister retired from Fairford to Coln. In the same year he married and the vicarage of Hursley
Hursley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England with a population of around 900 in 2011. It is located roughly midway between Romsey and Winchester on the A3090. Besides the village the parish includes the hamlets of Standon and ...
in Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, becoming vacant, was offered to him; he accepted.[ In 1836, he settled in Hursley and remained for the rest of his life as a parish priest at All Saints' Church. In 1841 his neighbour ]Charlotte Mary Yonge
Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901) was an English novelist, who wrote in the service of the church. Her abundant books helped to spread the influence of the Oxford Movement and show her keen interest in matters of public health and sanitation.
...
, a resident at Otterbourne House in the adjacent village of Otterbourne, where Keble was responsible for building a new church, compiled ''The Child's Christian Year: Hymns for every Sunday and Holy-Day'' to which Keble contributed four poems, including ''Bethlehem, above all cities blest''.[
In 1857, he wrote one of his more important works, his treatise on Eucharistical Adoration, written in support of George Denison, who had been attacked for his views on the Eucharist.][
]
Other writings
In 1830, he published his edition of '' Hooker's Works''. In 1838, he began to edit, in conjunction with Edward Bouverie Pusey
Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement.
Early years
H ...
and John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...
, the ''Library of the Fathers''. A volume of ''Academical and Occasional Sermons'' appeared in 1847.[ Other works were a ''Life of Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man''. After his death, ''Letters of Spiritual Counsel'' and 12 volumes of Parish Sermons were published.
Extracts from a number of his verses found their way into popular collections of Hymns for Public Worship, such as "The Voice that Breathed o'er Eden", " Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear", ''Blest are the pure in heart'' and ''New every morning is the love''.
''Lyra Innocentium'' was being composed while Keble was stricken by what he always seems to have regarded as the great sorrow of his life, the decision of Newman to leave the Church of England for Catholicism.][
]
Death
Keble died in Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
on 29 March 1866 at the Hermitage Hotel, after visiting the area to try and recover from a long-term illness as he believed the sea air had therapeutic qualities. He is buried in All Saints' churchyard, Hursley.
Legacy
Keble has been described thus:He was absolutely without ambition, with no care for the possession of power or influence, hating show and excitement, and distrustful of his own abilities.... Though shy and awkward with strangers, he was happy and at ease among his friends, and their love and sympathy drew out all his droll playfulness of wit and manner.... In personal appearance he was about middle height, with rather square and sloping shoulders, which made him look short until he pulled himself up, as he often did with 'sprightly dignity.' His head, says Mozley, 'was one of the most beautifully formed heads in the world,' the face rather plain-featured, with a large unshapely mouth, but the whole redeemed by a bright smile which played naturally over the lips; and under a broad and smooth forehead he had 'clear, brilliant, penetrating eyes which lighted up quickly with merriment kindled into fire in a moment of indignation.... a quiet country clergyman, with a very moderate income, who sedulously avoided public distinctions, and held tenaciously to an unpopular School all his life.
John Keble is remembered in the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
with a Lesser Festival Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Festival, but more significant than a Commemoration. Whereas Princ ...
on 14 July
Events Pre-1600
* 982 – King Otto II and his Frankish army are defeated by the Muslim army of al-Qasim at Cape Colonna, Southern Italy.
*1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II.
* 1420 ...
(the anniversary of his Assize Sermon), and a commemoration observed on 29 March (the anniversary of his death) elsewhere in the Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. Keble College, Oxford
Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...
, was founded in his memory, and John Keble Church, Mill Hill
The John Keble Church is a Church of England parish church in Mill Hill, London Borough of Barnet. The church was completed in 1936 and is of a modernist design. It is the only church dedicated to John Keble, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movem ...
, and the ancient clapper bridge
A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country (Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, La ...
over the River Leach
The River Leach is a river tributary to the River Thames, in England which runs mostly in Gloucestershire. It is approximately 18 miles (29 km) long, springing from the limestone uplands of the Cotswolds. In parts of its course it becomes a ...
near the church in which he was curate in the village of Eastleach Martin were named after him.
The view from Bulverton Hill, Sidmouth, where Keble was a frequent visitor, is thought to have inspired some of his best loved work. The hill commands a panoramic view of the Lower Otter Valley and Dartmoor in the distance. Folklore suggests that his favourite spot was where a wooden bench known as Keble's Seat has been in place for many years.
The 'Te Deum' window in the south-east transept of St Peter's Church, Bournemouth, was commissioned as a memorial to Keble, who had preferred to sit in the transept when worshipping at St Peter's daily in the last months of his life. Later, in 1906, the transept was re-configured as the Keble Chapel.
Lives of Keble include one by John Taylor Coleridge
Sir John Taylor Coleridge (9 July 1790 – 11 February 1876) was an English judge, the second son of Captain James Coleridge and nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Life
He was born at Tiverton, Devon, and was educated as a Colleger (K ...
(1869), who said, "The Christian Year is so wonderfully scriptural. Keble's mind was, by long, patient and affectionate study of Scripture, so imbued with it that its language, its train of thought, its mode of reasoning, seems to flow out into his poetry, almost, one should think, unconsciously to himself."[ Another is by ]Walter Lock
Walter Lock (1846–1933) was an English Anglicanism, Anglican priest and theologian, who served as Warden of Keble College, Oxford, from 1897 to 1920.
Life
Walter Lock was born on 14 July 1846. He was educated at Dorchester Grammar School and ...
(1895). In 1963 Georgina Battiscombe
Georgina Battiscombe (21 November 1905 – 26 February 2006) was a British biographer, specialising mainly in lives from the Victorian era.
She was born Esther Georgina Harwood, the elder daughter of George Harwood, a former clergyman, L ...
wrote a biography titled ''John Keble: A Study in Limitations''.
Notes
References
Further reading
* Blair, Kirstie, ed. (2004) ''John Keble in Context''. London: Anthem (Papers from a conference held at Keble College, Oxford, May 2003.)
* .
*Hooker, Richard (1841) ''The Works of that Learned and Judicious Divine Mr. Richard Hooker: with an account of his life and death by Isaac Walton''; Arranged by the Rev. John Keble, M.A. late Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, Professor of Poetry. 3 vols. Oxford: University Press
* Keble, John (1912) ''Keble's Lectures on Poetry, 1832–1841''; translated by Edward Kershaw Francis. (In: Aesthetics and Religion in Nineteenth-century Britain. (6 vols.)) Bristol: Thoemmes, 2003 (reprint of the 1912 edition)
*Lott, Bernard Maurice (1960) ''The Poetry of John Keble, with special reference to the Christian Year and his contribution to the Lyra Apostolica''. Thesis (PhD)—University of London, 1960
*Rowlands, John Henry Lewis (1989). ''Church, State, and Society, 1827–1845: the Attitudes of John Keble, Richard Hurrell Froude, and John Henry Newman''. Worthing, Eng.: P. Smith fChurchman Publishing; Folkestone, Eng.: distr. …by Bailey Book Distribution.
*Woods, Mark Robert (1987) ''John Keble's Theory of Poetry and its Sources''. Thesis (M.Litt.) – University of Bristol, 1987.
External links
*
*
*
John Keble, The Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania
John Keble papers, 1841-1866
at Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology
Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is also one ...
*
John Keble Quotes
at QuoteTails
* .
* .
* .
* KEBLES SEAT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keble, John
1792 births
1866 deaths
English male poets
Christian hymnwriters
English hymnwriters
19th-century English theologians
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford
19th-century English Anglican priests
People from Fairford
English Anglo-Catholics
People associated with Keble College, Oxford
Anglican saints
Burials in Hampshire
Musicians from Gloucestershire
Oxford Professors of Poetry
English male non-fiction writers
19th-century English musicians
English Anglican theologians
Anglo-Catholic theologians
Anglican poets
Anglo-Catholic clergy
19th-century English male writers
People from Eastleach
Modern Christian devotional writers
Early modern Christian devotional writers
Anglican devotional writers
Poet priests