An Examination of the Book of Common Prayer as Technical Writing for an Oral–Aural Culture

Abstract

This article addresses limitations in the scholarship on the Edwardian editions of the Book of Common Prayer (1549 and 1552) and contributes to the growing body of research on early modern technical communication by approaching the Prayer Book as technical writing for a primarily oral–aural culture. I examine three sample texts from the Prayer Book to showcase their oral qualities and how these oral qualities contribute to the utility of the book. This examination shows that the Prayer Book played a role in the development of technical writing in the early modern period and that its oral features contribute to the success of its technical aims.