Book of Common Prayer
[Church of England].
The Book of Common Prayer.
London: Richard Grafton, 8 March 1549. (00870)
As the evolving Church of England broke with its Catholic origins, it required a new manual for congregational prayer. Compiled primarily by Thomas Cranmer, the Book of Common Prayer replaced the clergy’s complex Latin rites, which had been dispersed among several liturgical books, with a single succinct liturgy for the English people to recite in their own language. This extremely early printing of the first edition of the Book of Common Prayer is one of only five recorded copies of the “March 8” issue published in the spring of 1549.