bury and Chancellor of England (A.D. 1085) to the varieties of ritual used in the different churches. On the occasion, therefore, of the opening of his new cathedral, he resolved to revise all the Service-books. Collecting together a body of clergy learned and skilled in chanting, he carefully remodelled the existing Offices1, and the USE OF SARUM was wholly or partially adopted in various parts of England, especially the south2. 6. Various Ritual Books. We are so accustomed to our Prayer-Book, as containing, together with a Bible, every part of our Public Worship, and indeed all the authorised Services, that the mention of ritual books may excite surprise. But these were many and various, and were known by different names, such as "the Masse-Booke, the Graile3, the Hympnal*, the Antiphoner, the Processyonall, the Manuel, the Por 1 "Hic composuit librum ordinalem Ecclesiastici officii quem consuetudinarium vocant, quo fere tota nunc circ. A. D. 1200, Anglia, Wallia, et Hibernia utitur." Brompton's Chron. col. 977. 2 The other Uses, however, continued till the sixteenth century, and those of York and of Hereford were of sufficient importance to be printed. 3 The Graile (or Graduale, or Gradale) and the Processional contained the chants to be sung by the Choir at the service of High Mass, and was so called from certain short phrases sung after the Epistle in gradibus, on the steps of the altar. 4 The Hympnal contained the ecclesiastical and other Hymns, which were sung in the Church service. To these Litanies and Prayers were sometimes added. Maskell's Liturgy, p. ix. and n. 5 The Antiphoner contained (1) the Introits and other Antiphons, with their music, which were sung during the celebration of the Communion; and (2) at the end of the XVth century, the Antiphons which were to be sung at Matins, Lauds, and at the other Canonical Hours. 6 The Manual was the Book of Occasional Offices containing the Services for Baptism, Matrimony, the Visitation of the Sick, the Churching of Women, Extreme Unction, Burial, and others of less frequent use. teaus, and the Prymer, both in Latine and also in English." CHAPTER IV. THE BREVIARY, THE HOURS, AND THE PRYMER. A.D. 1085-1509. 1. Three Books call for special remark in any account of the devotional books of the Middle Ages, particularly in connection with the history of our present Book of Common Prayer. These are (1) The Breviary; (2) The Hours; and (3) The Prymer. 2. The Breviary. Towards the end of the eleventh century the ancient offices of the Church were collected, arranged, improved, and shortened1 by the authority of Pope Gregory VII. (A.D. 1073—1086). The Book containing these Offices was called The Breviary, and in its full and settled state included the whole offices of the Canonical Hours throughout the year, arranged in order under their respective days2. 1 "Certe vetustis sæculis Præfationes complures in usu fuere. Hasce Sanctus Gregorius M. ad paucas nunc usitatas redegit Cur autem a sancto Gregorio Pontifice breviata fuerit Liturgia, id factum suspicari licet ad majus Fidelium commodum, atque ut omnes divinis Mysteriis interesse possent." Muratori, de rebus Liturg. XIV. 2 In England this Book was called the Portifory or Breviary according to the Use of the most famous Church of Sarum, or of York, as the case might be. Its common English names, which were variously spelled, as Portfory, Porteau, Portuary, Portuis, Portuane, Porthoos, Portas, come from the Latin Portiforium, through the French Portehors, and denoted the portability of the Book, "quod foras facile portari possit." Comp. Ascham's Schole-Master, p. 164, Ed. Mayor. "Therefore did some of them at Cambridge cause hedge priestes fette out of the contrie to be made fellowes in the universitie: saying in their talk privilie and declaring by their deeds openlie, that he was felow good enough for their tyme, if he could were a goune and a tipet cumlie, and 3. The Apostolical Hours. It is not known at what early period the Canonical Hours of Prayer were settled in the Christian Church. The earliest daily Offices were Matins and Vespers, but services for other hours probably existed from an early period as private or household devotions. The first Christian converts would naturally follow the Jewish hours of prayer, and Tertullian (A.D. 200) calls the 3rd, 6th, and 9th the Apostolical Hours1. In time of persecution, Christian assemblies were held at night; and when the cause ceased, the practice was continued in remembrance of their sufferings, and in commemoration of the martyrs, until experience showed the danger of such meetings. Hence the service of "Nocturns" became joined with that of "Lauds," the nightly service of psalmody, reading and prayer, with the service of thanksgiving for the opening day, and the whole service was called Matins. Thus seven hours were appointed for the Church's prayer, at dawn, and at the first, third, sixth, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth hours of the day. 4. The Canonical Hours. About the period of Benedict (circ. A.D. 530) we find the Churches of Rome and Milan, of France and Spain, completing their ritual, and while differing from each other in many particulars, all adopting the following scheme:— (1) Nocturns, or Matins; properly a night service, used before daylight, mostly with twelve Psalms, read in course, and lessons more or fewer; (2) Lauds: an early morning service, generally have hys crowne shorne faire and roundlie, and could turn his Porterre and pie readilie." Comp. also Becon, (Works, p. 417), "Antichrist repelleth and putteth back none from taking care of souls, if he can read his Portasse and his Missal, and bee well sene in the pye.' 1 Horas insigniores, Apostolicas;" Tertull. De jejuniis, сар. х. joined on to the former at daybreak, with fixed Psalms and Canticles; (3) Prime, a later morning service, with fixed Psalms; (4) Tierce1, at 9 A. M.; (5) Sext, at noon; (6) Nones2, at 3 P.M.; all with fixed Psalms; (8) Compline3, a service at bed-time, with fixed The services of these4 Hours were generally called "the Divine Office," or the "Canonical Hours," and were formed with Prayers, Psalms, Hymns and Canticles, with Lessons out of Scripture, and writings of the Fathers. The Book containing this course, as was said before, was, towards the end of the eleventh century, called the Breviary, and in England the Portefory or Porteau. 5. The Hours. Besides the greater services of the Breviary appointed for the Canonical Hours smaller Offices were prepared, to be used at the same time for greater devotion. Such were the Hours of the Holy 1 Tierce = "the third hour," from the Latin tertius, through the French. 2 Nones nine. = = the ninth hour, from the Latin nonæ, novem, 3 "What is meant by this word Complene? This word Complene, is no more to say but an accomplishment for complere to fill up or fulfilling. And for so much as of all the services that are daily done in the Church, this is the last, therefore it is called Complene, as who should say, that in the same all the holy service of the day is fully complete and ended." Bishop Hilsey's Primer, A.D. 1539; Burton's Primers, p. 263. 4 These Services were called by our Anglo-Saxon forefathers (circ. A.D. 1000) Uhtsang, Primesang, Undersang, Noonsang, Evensang, and Nightsang. See The Canons of Elfric, xx. Wilkins, I. 252. Spirit, of the Blessed Trinity, of the Cross, and, the most complete of all, the Hours of the Blessed Virgin, commonly called the Little Office. Before the middle of the sixth century this Office received the Papal authority to be said by certain orders of monks in addition to the Divine Office. 6. Its Contents. This Office of the Hours was revised by Peter Damian (A.D. 1056), and was very much used by the laity. As prepared for them it varied very much in its contents. Sometimes it was a small volume, or a roll of vellum, containing only the Hours of the Virgin; sometimes the Litany, and occasional prayers were added. Sometimes it was a considerable volume1, and contained also the Office of the Dead, the Penitential Psalms, and various Offices, hymns and prayers, while sometimes English prayers were mingled with the Latin, or English devotional forms were attached to the Psalms. 7. The Prymer. Thus we see that at a very early period the craving for a Service, which the people could understand, was sensibly expressed, and English Versions of the Hours and occasional devotions were in circulation. Such small Manuals, containing the first lessons of religious belief and practice, were called Prymers, and in their earliest form may have been known among the Anglo-Saxons, as containing the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Command 1 Many copies of this favourite book exist in manuscript, and in printed editions: some of the manuscript volumes are most beautifully illuminated, with scroll-work, and initial letters, and with miniatures and armorial bearings of the owners, pictures of the life and sufferings of our Blessed Lord, of the saints and martyrs, or pictures descriptive of the offices, such as of Psalmody, or of the Vigils, or Burial. 2 This was no new thing, but a gradual return to the custom of primitive times. The worship of the early Churches was in the people's language, whether Greek or Latin. |