These lectures explore the rich tradition of English metrical psalmody in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The first lecture contextualises psalm versions by Wyatt and others into the literary, political and theological context of Renaissance England and focuses in particular on the Psalms' complex relationship with monarchy. The second lecture traces the Reformation quest to replace profane songs with holy and educational psalms, and continues to explore the controversies over the church psalter in the seventeenth century. The third lecture investigates the enriching connection between metrical psalm translation and English Renaissance literature.

Latest episodes of the podcast English Metrical Psalms: poetry, politics and pop music - Dr Amy Morris

• "The highest matter in the noblest form": Psalms and poetry
• Singable psalms for the English church
• Versified psalms in Renaissance England - Thomas Wyatt and others.