May 2026 Research Seminar

Praying with Mary: The Book of Hours

on the Eve of the English Reformation

Date: Wednesday 13 May 2026

Time: 3:00pm (in the UK)

[09:00am US CT; 10:00am US ET; 16:00 in Central Europe]

Venue: Online via Zoom

Theme

What did ordinary Christians in late medieval England actually pray? In our May research seminar, the Rev’d Canon Dr Paul Rhys Williams will explore the Book of Hours - the most popular devotional book of the Middle Ages and a spiritual companion found in households across Europe. Through its psalms, hymns, images, and prayers, the Book of Hours invited believers to join the Virgin Mary in daily devotion, meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s life from the Nativity to the Passion. By examining the history, structure, and imagery of these remarkable books, this paper will reveal how Marian spirituality shaped the religious imagination of laypeople on the eve of the English Reformation. In doing so, it will offer a glimpse into the intimate world of household prayer, where men, women and children encountered Mary not as an abstract theological figure, but as a constant intercessor and companion in the rhythms of everyday Christian life.

Our guest speaker

The Rev’d Canon Dr Paul Rhys Williams is Domestic Chaplain to His Majesty the King, King Charles III, and Rector of the Sandringham Group of Churches. He read theology at St Andrews University in Scotland and undertook further theological studies at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he was Assistant Chaplain. Paul is a Fellow and Trustee of the Centre of Marian Studies and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.  He was a theological consultant to ARCIC's Marian Statement, Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ, and has published several articles on Anglican Mariology. Paul was awarded a doctorate from the Archbishop of Canterbury for his thesis on Marian liturgical texts in the English Reformation.

Register

To receive the free Zoom link, please send an email to Catherine O’Brien at the following address: info@marianstudies.ac.uk