The Hermitage Psalter

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Gregory Martin (1540–1582) was an Oxford scholar proficient in Hebrew and Greek, and an original don of St. John’s College. He played a pivotal role in bringing St. Edmund Campion into the Church and later tutored St. Philip Howard. In 1570, fleeing persecution under Queen Elizabeth I, he joined William Cardinal Allen’s College at Douay and was ordained in Brussels in 1575. He served the cardinal in various roles, including translating the Latin Vulgate Bible into English. Unfortunately, the immense workload took a toll on him, and he succumbed to consumption just as his New Testament was being printed in Rheims. The Old Testament printing at Douay faced financial delays, only being completed in 1609–1610, shortly before the King James Version was released. The current revision of his Psalms and Gospel Canticles aims to preserve his solemn and poetic English while maintaining fidelity to the literal sense. The Psalter serves as a vital liturgical prayer book for both Jews and Christians, and monastic tradition, as outlined in St. Benedict’s Rule, encourages the weekly communal chanting of all 150 Psalms. In line with the Church's call for translations from original languages, extensive efforts have been made to align with Hebrew and Greek sources, reflecting a commitment to the truth of the gospel embedded in the Psalms and Canticles.