I can't believe the first day was only a half-day - loads of pictures and notes. Enough to blog on for a week. I will upload and comment on them as I can. So who do you recognize in these images?
The pictures from champagne to the final session are at the link.
Our introductory session was very full. Susan Gillingham, organizer of the conference, spoke on the 'why' of the conference. In two words - revival and reconciliation. Revival: of psalms studies in the UK. So many UK scholars on the psalms have died: she noted Norman Wybray, J.H. Eaton and Michael Goulder among recent scholars. Some current UK scholars are attending the conference - besides the speakers - John Day and Jonathan Magonet. Susan is concerned about the lack of attention in recent publications and conferences of UK scholars. Why Oxford - She mentioned as did Paul Joyce (chair of theology) that Oxford has an early record 1193 AD of Alexander Neckam of St Alban and a conference on the Psalms. (Did they call them conferences then?) Also famous from Oxford for his notes on parallelism is Robert Lowth (1710-1787), professor of poetry. Near where we were meeting was a Benedictine monastery where the psalms were sung 7 times a day. Chapel continues the tradition 5 times a week (seems a bit less than 49). Nonetheless it's a great place for the conference as one can see from the pictures.
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| John Barton |
John Barton closed the session with a reading of the first paragraph of the introduction to the psalms of St Ambrose - see the text
here. He suggested that a full theory of OT theology could be written around the Psalms.
The main portion of the introduction fell to John Sawyer. He had several images and a dance that I will see if I can find and then I will transcribe my extensive notes. I also have notes on the Qumran evening session. This conference is only two days - but I will not finish the blogging till well into next week.
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