Issues in Medieval Liturgy

Convener: Daniel J. DiCenso, Associate Professor of Music, College of the Holy Cross (Dan was ill and unable to attend; Walter Knowles filled in as Convener pro tem for the meeting.)

Members in Attendance: Katie Bugyis, Michael Driscoll, Barbara Haggh-Huglo, Walter Knowles, Rebecca Maloy, Anthony Ruff, Tyler Sampson, Michael Witczak, Anne Yardley

Visitors in Attendance: Cara Apesi, Elaine Stratton Hild, Christopher Hodkinson, Katherine Steiner

Papers and Presentations: • Michael Witczak continued his series of comparisons of the apologies at the

Eucharistic liturgy (the private prayers of the priest in the Roman liturgy). The communion rite of the 1962 and 2008 Roman Missals served as the topic. The theological key to the comparison was the theology of priesthood expressed in each prayer. Of particular interest was a 1962 private prayer in the first person singular (“I”) converted in the post Vatican II reform into a public prayer (“We”) that introduces the sharing of the sign of peace by the whole community. Next year should bring a comparison of the concluding rites and final conclusions of the project. • Christopher Hodkinson presented a performance edition of ferial Compline according to the Use of Sarum, based upon manuscript sources from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Questions discussed included editorial methodology, the interpretation of rubrics regarding posture and tone of voice, and the adaptation of the Sarum Office for parochial use. Suggestions were made regarding further development of the project and possibilities for publication. • Kate Kennedy Steiner presented “Local music and the early Lady Mass in insular sources.” The paper argued that music for early Lady mass (a daily solemn Marian mass in her own chapel) in the British Isles developed locally primarily through contrafacta on common sets of chants. In the thirteenth century the Lady mass absorbed the creative output of musicians serving it, and as such it becomes for us an important witness to the ritualization of Marian theology at the local level.

• Barbara Haggh-Huglo discussed the processional antiphon for the dead “Clementissime Domine qui pro nostra miseria” whose earliest source is a tenth-century addition to D-Mbs Clm 14179 from northwest France and which next appears in I-Rv C.5, a late eleventh- or early twelfth-century antiphoner from the Benedictines of St. Sisto in Rome. It would later be sung by Dominicans, Franciscans, and Carmelites, and in other locations, but was not universally used. The presentation discussed the antiphon’s possible Roman origin and diffusion, and compared its text to that of the offertory of the dead,

Domine Jesu Christe, which also refers to Tartarus. • Elaine Stratton Hild presented a work-in-progress entitled “Chants in medieval rituals for the end of life.” The book project examines manuscript sources from four institutions: Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican (San Pietro F 11, beg. 12th century); Sens cathedral (Paris, Bib. Nat. lat. 934, 12th century); Orsières, Switzerland (Grand St Bernard 3, 14th century); and the Abbey of the Minoresses of St Clare without Aldgate, England (Reigate Surrey, Cranston Library 2322, 15th century), and analyzes the functions of music within the rituals. • Tyler Sampson presented “The ordines romani and Presbyteral Liturgy,” part of a larger project examining the practical, theological, and educational uses of the ordines romani. This paper focused on a liturgical-didactic book of the 9th century meant for the use of a priest (Paris, BnF lat. 1248). It argued that this rare instance of documented presbyteral liturgy indicates the persistence and creativity of the Carolingian liturgical reforms, and that liturgical practice was locally conditioned. • Michael S. Driscoll presented a paper entitled, “Officializing Private Confession: The Carolingian Contribution.” In 813 five regional councils were convened in Gaul (Reims, Arles, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mainz and Tours) by Charlemagne to deal with the question of public and private penance. In September of that year, the results of these councils were gathered at the imperial court at Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) which would impact the sacramental practice of penance. Briefly the overall decision was that if one committed a public sin, then this should be submitted to public solemn penitence, but if the sin was private it should be submitted to private penance. This solution was artificial and it did not hold for long. Yet, the distinction between public and private penance helped move the latter heretofore a pious monastic exercise to an official sacramental form recognized by the bishops. • Anthony Ruff led a singing practicum entitled “Learning to Sing a Medieval

Chant: Emotional Expression in Performance (Then and Now),” a combined session of the Issues in Medieval Liturgy seminar and Liturgical Music seminar. The objective of the practicum was to learn to sing a medieval chant in a variety of ways to better understand the degree to which the text, the music, and the liturgical context either inherently express or beg for the performative expression of emotion. This was followed by a round table discussion entitled “Chant and Emotion: Concrete Examples for Discussion,” organized by Daniel DiCenso, Christopher Hodkinson, Rebecca Maloy, and Anthony Ruff.

• Rebecca Maloy presented an overview of a new collaborative interdisciplinary project, “Doctrine, Devotion, and Cultural Expression in the Cults of Medieval Iberian Saints” and presented a case study focusing on the common of confessors and the cult of Aemilian at San Millán de la Cogolla. • Katie Bugyis presented a paper entitled, “Tracing the Templar Origins of a

Twelfth-Century Psalter.” This paper sought to recover the origins of a psalter (Cambridge, St. John’s College, MS C.18 (68)), known to have been acquired in the late twelfth century by the Benedictine nuns at Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire, England. By examining liturgical features of the psalter that were integral to its intended use, Bugyis made a case for identifying the Knight Templar Osto de Saint-Omer (d. c.1174) as the psalter’s patron and first owner.

Other Work and Plans for the Future: The seminar is working to revise and update its membership and email lists—both of which have fallen a bit out of date. The seminar really enjoyed the joint session and is thinking about ways to incorporate more joint sessions in future years. Conversations were had about potential presentations and discussions to be had in 2021.