‘for your ghostly conforte that vnderstande no latyn’
: A study of The Fruyte of Redempcyon by Symon Appulby

Student thesis: Doctoral ThesisDoctor of Philosophy

Abstract

The Fruyte of Redempcyon is an early sixteenth-century English vernacular
devotional text which presents loosely-structured prayers and meditations on
the events of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension, focussing mainly
on the events of the Passion. In its time it was extremely popular (being printed
five times between 1514 and 1532), but since then there has been relatively little
attention paid to it or to its compiler/author, the anchorite Symon Appulby
(died c.1537).
There initially appears to be no particular reason for The Fruyte’s contemporary
popularity, but in some respects its very ordinariness was the key to its success.
This text was aimed at English-literate lay people to help with their personal
devotions, offering unquestionably orthodox and ‘safe’ content, yet it also
offered its readers something less well-known in the way in which it presented
that content.
Through examination of the selection and use of the Latin source materials,
analysis of sections of the original English writing which has not been
undertaken before, and consideration of the placement and purpose of the
woodcuts within the printed editions, The Fruyte is revealed as providing a
unique glimpse into the reading preferences of the devout laity in the decades
immediately before the English Reformation. Symon Appulby’s position and
location as an anchorite attached to a parish on the edge of the City of London
is also an important consideration in determining the significance of The Fruyte
of Redempcyon to a greater understanding of this period.
Date of Award2015
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • King's College London
SupervisorSarah Salih (Supervisor), Ben Quash (Supervisor) & Clare Lees (Supervisor)

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