Jane Laurie Borthwick

Jane Laurie Borthwick was born 9 April 1813 in Edinburgh (Scotland) as a daughter of James Borthwick, insurance manager of the North British Insurance Office.{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}}[http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm Jane Laurie Borthwick] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222190637/http://cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm |date=22 February 2015 }}, cyberhymnal.org, retrieved 21 December 2014[http://www.hymnology.co.uk/j/jane-laurie-borthwick James Borthwick], Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, retrieved 21 December 2014 Jane had at least one sister, Sarah (* 26 November 1823, † 25 December 1907, Torquay, England), who married Rev. Eric Findlater, minister of the Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900).[https://web.archive.org/web/20141018010252/http://www.hymns.com/2014januaryhymnofthemonth.html Sarah], hymns.com, retrieved 21 December 2014{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}}[http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/feast-of-jane-laurie-borthwick-and-sarah-borthwick-findlater-september-7/ Death Sarah], wordpress.com, retrieved 21 December 2014 The Borthwicks were members of Free Church of Scotland, which separated from the Church of Scotland in 1843.[http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/feast-of-jane-laurie-borthwick-and-sarah-borthwick-findlater-september-7/ Free Church of Scotland], wordpress.com, retrieved 21 December 2014[http://www.hymnology.co.uk/j/jane-laurie-borthwick Free Church of Scotland], Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, retrieved 21 December 2014

It was while Jane Borthwick was residing for a time in Switzerland that her attention was drawn by Baron de Diesbach to the study of German hymns.{{sfn|Moffatt|Patrick|1927|p=275}} After returning to Scotland, her father suggested that she might translate for him some of the hymns of which she spoke in such high praise, that set her and her sister to translate German hymns.{{sfn|Moffatt|Patrick|1927|p=275}}

Jane, who never married, published her earliest translations and numerous poems under the signature "H.L.L." in the Family Treasury, a religious periodical; the Hymns from the Land of Luther supplied these initials.[http://www.hymnary.org/person/Borthwick_JL Family Treasury'], hymnary.org, retrieved 22 December 2014{{sfn|Moffatt|Patrick|1927|p=275}} She used this pseudonym as she preferred to preserve her anonymity.[http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/feast-of-jane-laurie-borthwick-and-sarah-borthwick-findlater-september-7/ Pseudonym], wordpress.com, retrieved 21 December 2014 A number of the translations and original poems in the Family Treasury were collected and published in the 1857 as Thoughtful Hours.{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}}[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/borthwick Thoughtful Hours], ccel.org, retrieved 21 December 2014 In 1867 an enlarged edition of the Thoughtful Hours appeared.{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}}

Together with her sister Sarah, Jane worked several years on translating German hymns and eventually brought out the Hymns From the Land of Luther. The total number of translated hymns was 122: 69 by Jane and the other 53 by Sarah.{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}} It was first published in 1853 and republished later several times.[https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28Hymns%20from%20the%20land%20of%20Luther%29 Editions Hymns from the land of Luther], archive.org, retrieved 21 December 2014[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/borthwick 1854, 1855 and 1858 edition], ccel.org, retrieved 21 December 2014 The Hymns from the Land of Luther was attributed to H.L.L., a pseudonym.{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}} She was apparently quite unhappy when her real identity was revealed by the hymn compiler Charles Rogers in [https://archive.org/details/lyrabritannicaa01rogegoog Lyra Britannica, a Collection of British Hymns] (1867).{{sfn|Moffatt|Patrick|1927|p=275}} Jane and Laurie translated hymns of various German poets like Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676), [http://www.hymnary.org/person/Lange_E Ernst Lange] (1650–1727), Joachim Neander (1650–1680), [http://www.hymnary.org/person/Laurenti_Laurentius Laurentius Laurenti] (1660–1722), Benjamin Schmolck (1672–1737), Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769), Nicolaus Zinzendorf (1700–1760), [http://www.hymnary.org/person/Liebich_Ehrenfried Ehrenfried Liebich] (1713–1780) and Karl Johann Philipp Spitta (1801–1859). As such they confined themselves mostly to 17th- and 18th-century German pietistic poets.[http://www.wlsessays.net/files/FreyCatherineWinkworth.pdf A Brief Biography of Catherine Winkworth and the Importance of her Translations, David Frey, December 2010], wlsesays.net, retrieved 24 December 2014 In 1875, while living in Switzerland, Jane Laurie Borthwick produced another book of translations, the Alpine Lyrics.[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/borthwick Alpine Lyrics], ccel.org, retrieved 21 December 2014 In this book she translated German poems of Meta Heusser-Schweizer.Nancy Roth, Praise, My Soul, Meditating on Hymns, 2001, p. 118{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}} The Alpine Lyrics were incorporated in the [https://archive.org/stream/hym00bort#page/280/mode/2up 1884 edition of the Hymns from the Land of Luther].{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}}

Jane Laurie Borthwick was a generous woman. Jane supported a homeless shelter, the Edinburgh House of Refuge.[http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/feast-of-jane-laurie-borthwick-and-sarah-borthwick-findlater-september-7/ Missionary activities], wordpress.com, retrieved 21 December 2014 She also supported foreign missions efforts of the Free Church of Scotland, the Church Missionary Society in Singapore, and the Moravian Church (Mission in Labrador).[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/borthwick Other activities], ccel.org, retrieved 21 December 2014{{sfn|Moffatt|Patrick|1927|p=275}} About her missionary activities she wrote Missionary Evenings at Home (1866), Missionary Enterprise in Many Lands; a Book for the Family (1872) and Lives of Great Missionaries (1883). Besides these books on her missionary activities she also wrote books with religious instruction for children: The story of four centuries, sketches of early Church history for youthful readers (1864), Lessons on the Life of Christ for the Little Ones at Home (1871) and Light by the way: a daily Scripture text-book for little children (1879). She died on 7 September 1897 in Edinburgh (Scotland).[http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm Death] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222190637/http://cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm |date=22 February 2015 }}, cyberhymnal.org, retrieved 21 December 2014

By their efforts Jane and Sarah contributed greatly to English-language hymnody in the 19th century by mediating German hymnody to Britain like their contemporaries Catherine Winkworth and [http://www.hymnary.org/person/Cox_FE Frances Cox].[http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/feast-of-jane-laurie-borthwick-and-sarah-borthwick-findlater-september-7/ Contributors to English hymnody], wordpress.com, retrieved, 21 December 2014[http://www.hymnology.co.uk/j/jane-laurie-borthwick Mediating German hymnody], Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, retrieved 21 December 2014{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}} The translations in the Hymns from the Land of Luther, which represent relatively a larger proportion of hymns for the Christian life, and a smaller for the Christian year than one finds in Catherine Winkworth, have attained a success as translations and their acceptance in hymnals was only second to Catherine Winkworth's.{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}} Since the mid-1850s hardly a hymnal in England or America has appeared without containing some of these translations.{{sfn|Julian|1892|p=163}} However, sometimes stanzas were omitted and texts were altered.John S. Andrews, The Borthwick Sisters as Translators of German Hymns, The Expository Times, 1983, 94(11), pp. 329–333 In more recent years, the hymns seem to be declining in popularity in Britain, as they do appear in the most recent hymnals with the exception of the translations of those by Schlegel (Be Still, my soul!), Zinzendorf and Spitta (How blessed, from the bonds of sin).

Hymns

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• [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/i/aittappr.htm And Is the Time Approaching?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327122622/http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/i/aittappr.htm |date=27 March 2014 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010209034233/http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comlabor.htm Come, Labor On]
• [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/t/htimeapp.htm Hasten the Time Appointed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328101855/http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/t/htimeapp.htm |date=28 March 2014 }}
• Rest, Weary Soul[http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm Rest, Weary Soul] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222190637/http://cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm |date=22 February 2015 }}, cyberhymnal.org, retrieved 21 December 2014
• [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/k/l/tklordws.htm Thou Knowest, Lord] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328225142/http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/k/l/tklordws.htm |date=28 March 2014 }}

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Translations

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010806062646/http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/f/afairmor.htm Alleluia, Fairest Morning]
• [http://www.hymnary.org/text/be_still_my_soul_the_lord_is_on_thy_side Be Still, My Soul]
• [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/j/hjelives.htm Hallelujah! Jesus Lives!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328105646/http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/j/hjelives.htm |date=28 March 2014 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010217181056/http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/b/hblessed.htm How Blessed, from the Bonds of Sin]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010210073150/http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/s/jstilllo.htm Jesus, still lead on]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010406135143/http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/o/longhast.htm Long Hast Thou Wept and Sorrowed]
• [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/r/lrevaway.htm Lord, Remove the Veil Away] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113073233/http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/r/lrevaway.htm |date=13 January 2015 }}
• [https://archive.today/20150126082735/http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/j/mjesuatw.htm My Jesus, as Thou Wilt]

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Hymnbooks

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• [https://archive.org/details/landofl00bort Hymns from the land of Luther: translated from the German] (1853 edition), and later also in: 1854, 1857, 1860, 1862, 1869 and 1884.[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/borthwick 1854, 1855 and 1858 edition],

ccel.org, retrieved 21 December 2014

• [https://archive.org/details/thoughtfulhours00bortgoog Thoughtful hours], Jane Laurie Borthwick (1863 edition), first published in 1857 and later in 1859, 1863 and 1867
• [https://archive.org/stream/hym00bort#page/280/mode/2up Alpine Lyrics: A Selection from the Poems of Meta Heusser-Schweizer] (1875)[http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/feast-of-jane-laurie-borthwick-and-sarah-borthwick-findlater-september-7/ Alpine Lyrics], wordpress.com, retrieved 21 December 2014[https://books.google.com/books?id=vZECAAAAQAAJ&dq=Meta+Heusser-Schweitzer&pg=PR5 Subtitle Alpine Lyrics], books.google.nl, retrieved 21 December 2014
• [https://archive.org/details/chriatr00bort Lyra Christiana: a treasury of sacred poetry], Jane Laurie Borthwick (1888)

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Other books and contributions to books and periodicals

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• Contributions to the Family Treasury[http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm Family Treasury] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222190637/http://cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/r/borthwick_jl.htm |date=22 February 2015 }}, cyberhymnal.org, retrieved 21 December 2014
• Contributions to Pagenstecher's Collection (1864)John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, 1957
• [https://archive.org/details/storyfourcentur00bortgoog The story of four centuries, sketches of early Church history for youthful readers], Jane Laurie Borthwick (1864)
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=2skBAAAAQAAJ Missionary Evenings at Home] (1866), Jane Laurie Borthwick
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=VbsCAAAAQAAJ Lessons on the Life of Christ for the Little Ones at Home] (1871), Jane Laurie Borthwick
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=nZNUAAAAYAAJ Missionary Enterprise in Many Lands; a Book for the Family] (1872), Jane Laurie Borthwick[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/222120615 Missionary Enterprise], worldcat.org, retrieved 21 December 2014
• The souvenir, a daily text-book (1874), Jane Laurie Borthwick[https://books.google.com/books?id=0gcDAAAAQAAJ The souvenir], books.google.nl, retrieved 21 December 2014
• Rules for daily life, a Scripture text-book (1875), Jane Laurie Borthwick[https://books.google.com/books?id=KgoDAAAAQAAJ Rules for daily life], books.google.nl, retrieved 21 December 2014
• Light by the way: a daily Scripture text-book for little children, edited by Jane Laurie Borthwick (1879)[https://books.google.com/books?id=FgsDAAAAQAAJ Light by the way], books.google.nl, retrieved 21 December 2014
• Lives of Great Missionaries (1883), Jane Laurie Borthwick[https://books.google.com/books?id=R14BAAAAQAAJ Lives of great missionaries], books.google.nl, retrieved 21 December 2014

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{{Reflist}}

• {{Source-attribution| {{cite book|last=Julian|first=John|title=A Dictionary of Hymnology: Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations...with Biographical and Critical Notices of Their Authors and Translators|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3GshAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA163|edition=Public domain|year=1892|publisher=J. Murray}} }}

• {{cite book|last1=Moffatt|first1=James|last2=Patrick|first2=Millar|editor=H. Milford|title=Handbook to the Church Hymnary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azR0nQEACAAJ|year=1927|publisher=Oxford University Press}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsuXVzG3OuI 'Come, Labor On! (Ora Labora)] YouTube, Retrieved 8 November 2015

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Category:1897 deaths

Category:Free Church of Scotland hymnwriters

Category:Writers from Edinburgh

Category:1813 births

Category:19th-century British women writers

Category:19th-century British translators

Category:German–English translators

Category:19th-century British writers

Category:British women hymnwriters

Category:19th-century hymnwriters

Category:19th-century women composers