What an interesting string this has been!
Several on the list will have at their fingertips, as I do not, a good deal of scholarship on the cult of Philip Sidney. Has there been enough published already on Mary Sidney's poem to the angel spirit? I take it that a distinction is being made between that spirit and the lesser one, "made a flower but late," that remains within the seasonal cycles, "by succession made perpetuall."
It would be worth someone's time to consult the English redaction of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, published in 1592: done, I believe, by R(ichard) D(arlington) and dedicated to Philip Sidney -- I can't recall the language of the dedication but it may be similar to Mary Sidney's.
Some of you may be acquainted with the French redaction of the HP done by Jacques Gohorry (not the proper spelling, I think). I've wondered for many years (since seeing the book on the open shelves of the Warburg Library) if Sidney and Spenser were familiar with the strife of love in that version. Never found time for that long detour, but someone else might find it worthwhile.
Cheers, Jon Q.
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From: Penny McCarthy <[log in to unmask]>
> Mary Sidney (the ever-forgotten) dedicates her and Philip's Psalms 'To the
> Angell spirit of the most excellent Sir Phillip Sidney'. Indeed, this could
> have been Greville's model - if he needed one. My feeling is that as they
> both adored Philip, it was natural for them to dedicate their work to him,
> even when dead.
>
> Penny McCarthy.
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