Journals reveal more about Wesley than hymns
|
Charles Wesley, the younger brother of Methodism founder
John, is best known for writing hymns, but scholars are gaining new
insights by transcribing
sections of his journals written
in 18th-century shorthand.
Artwork by Frank Salisbury, courtesy
of the World Methodist Museum.
|
By Kathleen LaCamera*
Sept. 18, 2008
MANCHESTER, England (UMNS)
Journals written by Charles Wesley almost 300 years ago have been newly
transcribed and are revealing new insights into a man best known for his
prolific hymn-writing and for being the younger brother of Methodism
founder John Wesley.
For instance, he was occasionally critical of his older brother,
frequently discouraged and sometimes worried about what awaits him on
"the other side of the grave."
Sections of the journals, written in an obscure 18th-century shorthand
and deemed "sensitive in nature," had been omitted from previously
published editions.
These omissions include criticism of John such as one shorthand entry
dated Jan. 13, 1751, in which Charles wrote: "Heard my brother exhort
the society. I thought he misspent his strength in trifles."
Other "questionable material," although not written in shorthand, also
was omitted from previous editions because past editors "cleaned up
Charles' act," said the Rev. ST Kimbrough Jr., a research fellow at the
Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School.
"He wrote in terse, shotgun kinds of sentences, without the flowery
oratory that John uses," explained Kimbrough, a United Methodist and
expert on Charles Wesley. "(Past editors) cleaned it up and made it all
seem beautiful."
News that the shorthand sections have been decoded and published has
been reported in many of Britain’s national newspapers and resulted in
an Aug. 29 report on the BBC’s major morning radio news program.
The work, which is more akin to transcription than decoding, has been
carried out by a group of scholars on both sides of the Atlantic under
the auspices of the Charles Wesley Society. Wesley is not the only one
of his contemporaries to use this shorthand, created by poet John Byrom
in the mid-1700s. However, Wesley invented his own adaptations and
shortcuts, making the painstaking task of transcription even more
challenging.
Involved with the transcription project since its inception, Kimbrough
noted that unlike the previous editions of the journals, "what we have
is really what Charles Wesley wrote."
A real 'page turner'
The original journals are held at the Methodist Archives and Research
Centre in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, some 200 miles north
of London. The library holds the world’s largest collection of
manuscripts related to John and Charles Wesley as well as other members
and close associates of the Wesley family.
“I much prefer this character to the more
other-worldly figure he is painted to be. He is somebody facing the
reality of life, rooted in the challenges of his time.”
–Kenneth Newport Charles' journals
proved a real "page turner" at times, said British scholar Kenneth
Newport, who played a major part in transcribing them.
During nine years of working on the journals, Newport was most surprised
by the extent to which Charles is frequently "down in the dumps about
things." At times, Charles even writes that he wishes he were dead, then
admits he is worried about what awaits him on "the other side of the
grave."
"He is doubting his own eternity, but then, of course, he writes things
that take him to the other end of the spiritual spectrum," said Newport,
professor of Christian Thought at Liverpool Hope University.
Newport became skilled in Byrom shorthand when transcribing Charles
Wesley’s sermons for publication in 2001. About half of those sermons
were written in the shorthand.
|
British scholar Kenneth Newport has spent nine years helping to transcribe Charles Wesley’s journals.
A UMNS photo courtesy of Liverpool Hope University.
|
Charles also uses shorthand in journal entries when reflecting on the
disappointment of his failed ministry in Georgia and his strained
relationship with John over the issue of marriage. Charles records that
he is "thunderstruck" to hear of John’s plans to marry in 1771. On a
different occasion, he is deeply annoyed when John deems a $200 annual
stipend to help Charles support his new wife, Sarah Gwen, as
unaffordable for Methodism.
His journals make clear that Charles was against the move in Methodism
to separate from the Church of England. According to Newport, he had a
"dog-eared refusal to contemplate" such a move for sacramental reasons
as well as those of church authority. These are deep convictions that
Newport says still have implications today in Britain, where Anglicans
and Methodists are engaged in "unity talks" about closer cooperation
between the two denominations.
"To see Charles Wesley, as you can following through the pages of his
journal, gives us a picture that is more whole," Newport said. "I much
prefer this character to the more other-worldly figure he is painted to
be. He is somebody facing the reality of life, rooted in the challenges
of his time. He has his physical and spiritual struggles, illnesses,
doubts, fears, bereavements and so on. … His is the same spiritual
journey as the rest of us."
'Lived in John’s shadow'
Robert Williams, head of the United Methodist Commission on Archives
and History, said Charles Wesley has "lived in John’s shadow all these
years"—recognized for his hymns and then "shunted off to the side."
|
The Rev. ST Kimbrough Jr. is part of the trans-Atlantic team of scholars transcribing the journals under the auspices
of the Charles Wesley Society.
A UMNS file photo by
Ronny Perry.
|
Called the poet of the Methodist movement, Charles wrote literally
thousands of hymns, many of which are still a vital part of Christian
worship around the world. The list includes "Christ the Lord is Risen
Today," "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "O for a Thousand Tongues to
Sing" and "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."
"These journals give us a greater appreciation of Charles Wesley as more than just a hymn writer," Williams said.
Praising the new Abingdon Press edition of Charles' journals as modern,
reliable, complete and accessible, Williams believes this new material
adds texture and nuance to what already is known about Charles, John and
the Methodist movement.
Williams believes the journals give a "richness" to the more complicated
figure of Charles and his relation to John that might easily be missed
in mythologized official versions of the Wesley brothers.
"These are real people with a real record of accomplishment in the 18th
century, but (through the journals) we can see them more realistically,"
Williams said.
In addition to the journals, Abingdon Press Kingswood Imprint is
publishing collections of Charles Wesley’s journal letters and his
personal letters. Williams and those working on these projects are keen
to acknowledge Abingdon as "extremely faithful" in the decision to make
available these key Charles Wesley primary resources.
For more information about the journals and other Charles Wesley-related resources, visit www.abingdonpress.com.
*LaCamera is a UMNS correspondent based in England.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related articles
Secret code diary cracked by priest
The secret code of diaries
Britain celebrates Charles Wesley’s life, legacy
Resources
Commission on Archives and History
Abingdon Press
Duke Center for Studies
Liverpool Hope University |
Translate
Korean News
