Christmas reading

Not long ago I happened to pick up a rather worn copy of 'Alone of all her sex', written by Dame Marina Warner back in 1976. A lady who is only a few years older than myself and whom, although I have been aware of her, I have not previously read. See reference 1.

As it happened, yesterday evening I got as far as opening the book up, to find very seasonal reading about the pivotal role of the Gospel of St. Luke in the Christmas story and at the beginnings of the Marian cult, with both looming much larger in the practice of Christianity than a bare reading of the Gospel might lead one to understand.

And having idly wondered, over the years, what exactly the 'Benedictus', the  'Magnificat' and the 'Nunc Dimittis' were, I have, rather late in the day, discovered that they are all three canticles taken from chapters 1 and 2 of this very Gospel. The first would have featured in morning prayer at Ely and the second and third did feature at evensong (see reference 2). Not to mention the BBC adaptation of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', which last YouTube knows all about.

All of which provided occasion to turn out both the family Bible and the family Prayer Book, this last being very grand and probably not intended for use by a layman. Knocked down to me when the interestingly stocked second hand bookshop which used to be at Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames closed down, some years ago now. As far as I can remember, the place is now some kind of an eatery.

Next stop to see if I can turn up the version of 'Nunc Dimittis' illustrated above amongst all the vinyl.

PS: turning up St. Luke, I wondered if it had ever been called 'The Epistle of St. Luke to Theophilus', after the manner of some of the later books of the New Testament, this seeming to be its form. Not something that I had noticed before.

Reference 1: http://www.marinawarner.com/index.html.

Reference 2: http://www.psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/evensong.html.