FOR LANCELOT ANDREWES

September 25th 2026 marks the 400th anniversary of Lancelot Andrewes’ death. It also marks the 100th anniversary of an essay by T. S. Eliot which appeared first in the TLS and was later collected into the volume named after it: For Lancelot Andrewes. This essay instigated modern critical interest in Andrewes’ intellectual and imaginative legacy, and is a significant event not just for sermon studies but for the conjunction of modernism and early modernism, and the influence of the renaissance period on the poets and thinkers of the twentieth century and beyond.

This two-day conference, to be held at Pembroke College and the English Faculty in Cambridge, will invite participants to consider the current state of Andrewes criticism, and to think in new ways about the wider legacies of Eliot’s essay – and indeed his other criticism on early modern writers. We envisage a generative intellectual collaboration that crosses the usual period lines and would like to encourage papers that consider transhistorical critical relationships, as well as more traditionally bounded forms of scholarship.

Andrewes was important for Eliot’s poetic as well as his critical practice. To acknowledge this, in addition to the usual 20-minute papers, we encourage some shorter, more creative responses to the subject (paraphrases, imitations, reflections). We also envisage one panel where participants will offer brief (10-minute) responses to a particular sermon (this is likely to be Nativity 1610). Please indicate which kind of panel you would like to be considered for when submitting your abstract.

Keynote speakers are confirmed as Professor Peter McCullough (Lincoln College, Oxford) and Professor Jeff Dolven (Princeton).

Papers might focus on, but are not limited to:

• Andrewes’ writings, and his life and times
• Perspectives on early modern prose, especially sermons
• Eliot’s critical readings of Andrewes, or of other early modern writers
• Andrewes in Eliot’s poetry: allusion, quotation, rethinking
• Critical connections between modernism and early modernism
• Twentieth-century perspectives on early modern writing
• The spaces of preaching and criticism
• Connections between poetic and homiletic form

We especially welcome papers from graduate students and ECRs, and there will be at least one panel dedicated to showcasing work from young researchers.

Submission

To submit an abstract (no longer than 250 words), or of you have any questions in advance of doing so, please contact Sophie Read (scnr2@cam.ac.uk) by Monday 12 January 2026.  

Registration

This conference is generously supported by grants from the Faculty of English and Christ’s College. We are therefore able to waive registration fees for self-funded postgraduate students and/or non-waged ECRs, and may be able to offer limited help with travel and accommodation costs for these participants. Please indicate if you would like to be considered for such assistance at the time of application.

Conference organisers

Sophie Read (Christ’s College, Cambridge)

Ned Allen (Christ’s College, Cambridge)

Katrin Ettenhuber (Pembroke College, Cambridge)

Joe Moshenska (University College, Oxford)

Kathryn Murphy (Oriel College, Oxford)

With

James Ee (Trinity College, Cambridge)

Anika Goddard (Magdalene College, Cambridge)