51³Ô¹Ï

Alec Ryrie seems to imply in his (absolutely appropriate) commendation of Eamon Duffy's Stripping of the Altars ("The Canon", 7 May) that the book is "dedicated to God himself". I have no idea whether Duffy reads 51³Ô¹Ï, but I'm sure that he would be horrified by this suggestion. The excerpt from the Latin Mass for the dead is a prayer for the souls of one's parents and so a dedication to Duffy's mother and father.

Sue Powell, Chair in medieval texts and culture University of Salford.