The theology of Lancelot Andrewes's Wonderfull Combate

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Since his death in 1626, Lancelot Andrewes has been constantly interpreted as a "Caroline divine." This misleading interpretation (Andrewes was alive for only 18 months of Charles reign -- he preached more commonly in front of Queen Elizabeth and King James) stems from the fact that the most famous collection Andrewes's sermons were published by command of Charles I. The editors of this collection, including the future Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud, carefully selected sermons that fit a certain ideological framework that later generations would identify as "Laudian" or Anglo-Catholic. Historians of this period often delineate a theological spectrum, with Calvinistic Puritanism on the left and Catholicism on the right. Anglo-Catholicism reflects the belief that the English church emerged as a via media or middle road between those extremes. Andrewes's Anglo-Catholicism is often seen as the exemplum of the via media. Only recently have scholars examined works outside of this collection to reveal a fuller picture of Andrewes that defies the anachronistic Anglo-Catholic or Caroline title. This thesis examines the theological influences found in the series of sermons attributed to Lancelot Andrewes. These seven sermons, preached over Christ's temptations, were originally published in 1592 as The Wonderfull Combate between Christ and Satan. Originally delivered outside of the court, these sermons reveal a wide range of influences at odds with the stereotypes associated with Laudian ideals. This thesis identifies some of those influences, focusing on theology that meshes with Calvinism and Lutheranism that at once affirms and denies Laudian ideals once thought to encapsulate the whole of Andrewes's career.