- Source: Frances Ridley Havergal
Frances Ridley Havergal (14 December 1836 – 3 June 1879) was an English religious poet and hymnwriter. Take My Life and Let it Be and Thy Life for Me (also known as I Gave My Life for Thee) are two of her best known hymns. She also wrote hymn melodies, religious tracts, and works for children. She did not occupy, and did not claim for herself, a prominent place as a poet, but she carved out a niche for herself.
Early life and education
Frances Ridley Havergal was born into an Anglican family, at Astley in Worcestershire, 14 December 1836. Her father, William Henry Havergal (1793–1870), was a clergyman, writer, composer, and hymnwriter. Her brother, Henry East Havergal, was a priest in the Church of England and an organist.
When she was five, her father moved to the Rectory of St. Nicholas, Worcester. In August, 1850, she entered Mrs. Teed's school, who had a strong influence on her. In the following year she says, "I committed my soul to the Saviour, and earth and heaven seemed brighter from that moment." A short sojourn in Germany followed. In 1852/3, she studied in the Louisenschule, Düsseldorf, and at Oberkassel. Havergal's scholastic acquirements were extensive, embracing several modern languages, together with Greek and Hebrew.
On her return to England, she was confirmed in Worcester Cathedral, 17 July 1853.
Career
In 1860, she left Worcester upon her father resigning the Rectory of St. Nicholas, and resided at different periods in Leamington, and at Caswell Bay, Swansea, broken by visits to Switzerland, Scotland, and North Wales. It was during this time—1873—that she read J. T. Renford's little booklet All For Jesus, which "lifted her whole life into sunshine, of which all she had previously experienced was but as pale and passing April gleams, compared with the fullness of summer glory." She led a quiet life, not enjoying consistent good health. She supported the Church Missionary Society.
Havergal's hymns were frequently printed by J. & R. Parlane as leaflets, and by Caswall & Co. as ornamental cards. They were gathered together from time to time and published in her works as follows:— (1) Ministry of Song, 1869; (2) Twelve Sacred Songs for Little Singers, 1870; (3) Under the Surface, 1874; (4) Loyal Responses, 1878; (5) Life Mosaic, 1879; (6) Life Chords, 1880; and (7) Life Echoes, 1883.
About fifteen of the more important of Havergal's hymns, including “Golden harps are sounding,” “I gave my life for thee," “Jesus, Master, Whose I am,” “Lord, speak to me,” “O Master, at Thy feet,” “Take my life and let it be,” “Tell it out among the heathen," &c., are annotated under their respective first lines. The rest, which are in collections, number nearly fifty. These are noted here, together with dates and places of composition, from the Havergal manuscripts and the works in which they were published. Those which were printed in Parlane's Series of Leaflets are distinguished as (P., 1872, &c.) and those in Caswall's series (C., 1873, &c).
Most of these hymns are given in Snepp's Songs of Grace and Glory, and many of them are also in several other hymn-books, including Hymns Ancient and Modern, Hymns and Sacred Lyrics, Church Hymns, The Hymnal Companion, and some of the leading American collections.
Death and legacy
Havergal died of peritonitis near Caswell Bay on the Gower Peninsula in Wales at age 42. She is buried in the far western corner of the churchyard at St Peter's parish church, Astley, together with her father and near her sister, Maria V. G. Havergal.
Her sisters saw much of her work published posthumously. Havergal College, a private girls' school in Toronto, is named after her. The composer Havergal Brian adopted the name as a tribute to the Havergal family.
Style and themes
Her hymns praised the love of God, and His way of salvation to this end, and for this object, her whole life and all her powers were consecrated. She lived and spoke in every line of her poetry.
Her religious views and theological bias were distinctly set forth in her poems, and may be described as mildly Calvinistic, without the severe dogmatic tenet of reprobation. The burden of her writings was a free and full salvation, through the Redeemer's merits, for every sinner who will receive it, and her life was devoted to the proclamation of this truth by personal labours, literary efforts, and earnest interest in Foreign Missions.
Selected works
= Books
== Hymns
=Gallery
= Covers and inscriptions
== Illustrations
=See also
English women hymnwriters (18th to 19th-century)
References
= Citations
== Attribution
=This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Julian, John (1892). A Dictionary of Hymnology: Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations, with Special Reference to Those Contained in the Hymn Books of English-speaking Countries and Now in Common Use . (Public domain ed.). Murray.
= Bibliography
=Frances Ridley Havergal Janet Grierson, The Havergal Society, Worcester 1979 ISBN 0-9506544-0-X
Frances Ridley Havergal's Last Week (1879) Maria Vernon Graham Havergal
Memorials of Frances Ridley Havergal, by her Sister (1880) M. V. G. Havergal, including an autobiography
Florence Nightingale, Frances Ridley Havergal, Catherine Marsh, Mrs Ranyard (1885) Lizzie Alldridge
Frances Ridley Havergal: a full sketch of her life, (1904) Edward Davies
Women who have worked and won : the life-story of Mrs. Spurgeon, Mrs. Booth-Tucker, F.R. Havergal, and Pandita Ramabai (1904) Jennie Chappell
In Trouble and in Joy: Four Women Who Lived for God, (2004) Sharon James, ISBN 0-85234-584-4. Biographies of Margaret Baxter (1639–1681), Sarah Edwards (1710–1758), Anne Steele (1717–1778) and Frances Ridley Havergal
Francis Ridley Havergal - Opened Treasures : 366 Choice Meditations - Loizeaux Bros, New York, 1979
Further reading
Waite, Yvonne S. Take My Life: a Portrait of Frances Havergal. Collingswood, N.J.: The Bible for Today, [ca. 2000]. 25 p. N.B.: Transcript of a bio-dramatic text, for public recitation, about the life, religious piety, and accomplishments of this lady hymnist.
External links
Media related to Frances Ridley Havergal at Wikimedia Commons
The Havergal Trust – The purpose of the Havergal Trust is to complete, publish, and disseminate very widely – to make available to many – the poetry, prose, and music of Frances Ridley Havergal.
Works by Frances Ridley Havergal at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Frances Ridley Havergal at the Internet Archive
Works by Frances Ridley Havergal at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
The Cyber Hymnal page on Frances Ridley Havergal.
Frances Havergal biographies
Page on Frances Havergal reading J.T. Wrenford's All For Jesus, with bibliographic citations.
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Frances Ridley Havergal
- Havergal College
- Frances
- William Henry Havergal
- Havergal Brian
- Havergal
- Helga von Cramm
- Footprints (poem)
- Oxford religious poetry anthologies
- Penguin poetry anthologies
