Norton Sermon
This annual sermon was instituted in the will of John Norton, d 1612 to be preached annually at the beginning of Lent in S Paul's Cathedral. Readings 1 Kngs 19:1-9 Matthew 9:14-19 We began with the Elgar Ave Verum Corpus sung so brilliantly by the choir of the Stationers' Crown Woods Academy . John Norton was granted the office of King's Printer in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in 1603, following the accession of James I. Norton, a Shropshire man who started out in the printing and book trade in Edinburgh, was a great supporter of the new King. Indeed he was probably involved in the machinations behind the scenes in 1601 to ensure that James would succeed Elizabeth I, and in 1603 his press in London rushed out James’s manifesto on good government, Basilikon Doron selling thousands of copies in London before the King himself arrived in the south. In this Norton demonstrated the development of his business: the first Edinburgh edition of 1599 sold just seven ...