Rationale V: Commentary on the Divine Office (Corpus Christianorum in Translation) 9782503555508, 2503555500

Citation preview

WILLIAM DURAND RATIONALE V COMMENTARY ON THE DIVINE OFFICE

CORPVS CHRISTIANORVM IN TRANSLATION

23

CORPVS CHRISTIANORVM Continuation Mediaeualis CXL

GVILLELMI DVRANTI RATIONALE DIVINORVM OFFICIORVM V

EDIDERVNT A. DAVRIL O.S.B. ET T. M. THIBODEAU

TURNHOUT

FHG

WILLIAM DURAND RATIONALE BOOK FIVE COMMENTARY ON THE DIVINE OFFICE

Introduction, translation and notes by Timothy M. THIBODEAU

H

F

©2015, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

D/2015/0095/73 ISBN 978–2-503–55550-8 Printed on acid-free paper.

CONTENTS

Preface 7 Introduction 11 The History of the Divine Office: Monastery and Cathedral 12 The Symbolism of the Hours of Prayer 25 The Sources of Book 5 (Liturgical Expositions) 35 Problems of Musicology and Translation 39 General Rules for the Translation 42 Bibliography 47 Abbreviations 47 Abbreviations for Collections or Editions 47 Abbreviations for Legal Sources 49 Primary Sources 50 Secondary Sources 54 Rationale Book Five: Commentary on the Divine Office 61 [Prologue] 63 On the Things That Are Said in the Office at Each of the Hours 73 [I. On the “Our Father”] 73 [II. On “O God, Come to My Assistance;” on the Sign of the Cross] 74 [III. On the Hymns] 82 [IV. On the Antiphons] 85 [V. On the Neumae] 88 [VI. On the Psalms] 91 [VII. On the Versicles] 95

5

Contents

[VIII. On the Lessons] [IX. On the Responsories] [X. On the Prayers] [XI. On the “Let us Bless the Lord”] [XII. On the Suffrages] [XIII. On the Chant] On the Night Offices On Lauds On Prime On Terce On Sext On None On Vespers On Compline

98 105 107 113 114 115 119 142 165 181 184 187 191 200

Indexes 209 Index of Biblical Citations 211 Index of Sources 218 Index of Legal Sources 221 Index of Liturgical Texts 222 Name Index 224 Index of Subjects 225

6

PREFACE

This volume is the fourth installment in my work as a translator of the famed liturgical expositor, William Durand of Mende (c.  1230–1296). I  have now translated into English the first five books of the Rationale divinorum officiorum, the most widely known Latin exposition of its kind to emerge from the later Middle Ages. The present work, which features Durand’s extensive commentary on the Divine Office (the Liturgy of the Hours as it is known today), completes an academic journey that began almost thirty years ago when I was a young graduate student at the University of Notre Dame. For the past three decades, I have endeavored to restore interest in the liturgical works of the polymath Durand, who in addition to his liturgical exposition, wrote treatises on a wide range of subjects (including canon law, procedural law and the calendrical sciences). Through a variety of my own publications, I have attempted to make a case for the singular contribution of Durand to our understanding of the liturgical rites and ceremonies of the medieval Latin Church. But I must confess that when my thesis director, the late William (Bill)  G. Storey proposed that I undertake a study of Durand’s allegorical exposition of the liturgy, not only did I know very little about Durand, I had never even heard of him until I enrolled in Bill’s medieval liturgy seminar. When I was looking for a suitable topic for my final seminar paper in Bill’s course, he told me to go down to the rare book room of the Hesburgh Library

7

Preface

and to “start reading” the 1504 Lyons edition of the Rationale housed in that collection. What I discovered in the pages of Durand’s exposition immediately caught my eye and captivated my imagination: an odd mix of scholastic pedantry, allegorical exegesis, spectacular hagiographic legend, canonical prescriptions and compelling, iconic representations of salvation history mirrored in the liturgical seasons of the Church. My final seminar paper soon evolved into a doctoral thesis proposal. In my thesis (brought to completion in 1988), I laid the groundwork for what would become the first modern critical edition of this important text. Thanks to generous mentorship of the late Pierre-Marie Gy, O.P., I was invited to co-edit all eight books of the Rationale with my colleague the late Anselme Davril, O.S.B. A  decade later, when the work was completed, I envisioned translating into English the portions of Durand’s commentary that I assumed would be of most interest to modern students of the Middles Ages who had little or no knowledge of the original Latin language. The first three books were published by two different presses (Columbia University, 2007, and University of Scranton, 2011). Book 4, Durand’s lengthy commentary on the Mass, appeared in the new Brepols series, Corpus Christianorum in Translation (2013). The current volume is, in effect, a sequel to my last translation. For this reason, I have strictly limited my introductory remarks to material that I did not cover in my introduction to Durand’s Mass commentary. For a full biography of Durand and the tradition of allegorical liturgical commentary, the reader should consult those previous volumes, as well my other publications listed in the bibliography. I would like to take a moment to thank the people without whom this work could not have been completed. First, I would like to express my gratitude to the Office of Academic Affairs at Nazareth College for awarding me a sabbatical grant for the spring 2014 semester. The bulk of my translation of this book was completed in that time period. I  am grateful for the continued support and expert advice of Susan Boynton (Columbia University), who has generously shared her expertise in medieval liturgy

8

Preface

and musicology at critical points in my work for this volume. My wife Susan Corazza Thibodeau provided invaluable critique for each draft of the introduction, and much help with proofreading various drafts of the translation. Finally, I would like to thank my thesis director Bill Storey for his mentorship, friendship and support. At every phase of my career as a graduate student at Notre Dame, he was always generous with his time, enthusiastic in his support and delightfully entertaining with his wit. This book is dedicated to him.

9

INTRODUCTION

The Rationale divinorum officiorum of William Durand1 of Mende (c. 1230–1296) is a work to which I have devoted almost three decades of scholarly research and publication. The present volume represents the fifth book of Durand’s commentary that I have translated into English. Because I have already provided extensive treatment of the life and works of Durand in previous publications, the introductory material of this volume will not duplicate or review at length the material found in my prior works. For example, I offered a comprehensive overview of the development of the genre of liturgical commentary and its relationship to the liturgy of Latin Christendom in the later Middle Ages in the Oxford History of Christian Worship.2 Extensive coverage and analysis of the life and works of Durand can be found in the introduction of my translations of Books 1–4 of the Rationale.3 1  Durand’s name appears in several variant forms in scholarly literature. The medieval Latin spelling is most often Durantis or Duranti, and less frequently, Durandus. I have opted for the modern French spelling of his name, Durand, following the precedent set by the editor of his famous Pontificale, Michel Andrieu. Michel Andrieu,  ed., Le Pontifical Romain au Moyen Age. III: Le Pontifical de Guillaume Durand, Studi e Testi 88 (Vatican City: Bibiloteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1940). 2  Timothy M. Thibodeau, “Western Christendom,” The Oxford History of Christian Worship, edited by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 216–253. 3  The Rationale divinorum officiorum of William Durand of Mende. A  New Translation of the Prologue and Book One (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007); William Durand of Mende: On the Clergy and Their Vestments (Scranton

11

Introduction

A detailed discussion of the allegorical method of liturgical commentary employed with such success by Durand can also be found in the introductory material of those translations.4 The introduction of the present volume focuses sharply on topics that will help contextualize Durand’s commentary on the Divine Office for the general reader who might not be familiar with the history, structure and symbolism of the canonical hours in the Middle Ages. I have therefore included a short history of the Office and a brief description of its structure, along with a discussion of the symbolism of the hours of prayer. An analysis of Durand’s sources for his commentary then follows. The problems associated with interpreting and translating Durand’s musical terminology are then addressed. I conclude with a discussion of my general rules for translating the present text.

The History of the Divine Office: Monastery and Cathedral By the time that William Durand composed the fifth book of the Rationale, every monastic community, cathedral chapter (i.e. the resident clergy of the cathedral), and mendicant friary was obligated by Church law to celebrate daily some form of the canonical hours of prayer. Moreover, third orders, religious confraternities and sororities of various types observed some form of daily Office. These hours of prayer should not, therefore, simply be viewed as the esoteric domain of modern liturgists. They can be studied and appreciated as a major source of monastic, clerical and lay piety and devotion that dominated a significant portion of the spiritual landscape of medieval Christian Europe.

and Chicago: University of Scranton Press, 2009); William Durand Rationale IV: On the Mass and Each Action Pertaining to it, Corpus Christianorum in Translation 14 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2013). 4  An analysis of the relationship between allegorical liturgical exegesis and patristic and medieval biblical commentary can be found in: Timothy M. Thibodeau, “Enigmata Figurarum: Biblical Exegesis and Liturgical Exposition in Durand’s Rationale,” Harvard Theological Review 86 (1993): 65–79.

12

Introduction

The history of the Divine Office is a complex story for the modern student of liturgy, theology, musicology and biblical studies. The bibliography for this subject, cutting as it does across those disciplines, is voluminous.5 Given the constraints of this introduction, it is only possible to offer a short presentation on the development of the liturgical hours in the medieval Latin Church. I will provide a basic history of the evolution and structure of the Office, especially mindful of the reader who might be new to the field of liturgical history. For more detailed analysis, the reader may consult the academic works noted in the footnotes and bibliography of the present volume. When we speak of the Divine Office in medieval Christendom,6 we must begin by distinguishing between two basic traditions that coexisted: the monastic Office established by the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia (c.  480–543),7 and the cathedral or secular8 Among the most important works on topic, in chronological order are: J. B. L. Tolhurst, The Monastic Breviary of Hyde Abbey, Winchester, Henry Bradshaw Society 80 (London: HBS, 1942); William G. Storey, “The Liturgy of the Hours: Cathedral versus Monastery,” in Christians at Prayer, edited by J. Gallen (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977): 61–82; A. G. Martimort, I. H. Dalmais and P. Jounel, The Church at Prayer IV: The Liturgy and Time, translated by Matthew J. O’Connell (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1986); Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West. The Origins of the Divine Office and its Meaning for Today, 2nd revised edition (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993); Margot Fassler and Rebecca A. Baltzer, editors, The Divine Office in the Latin Middle Ages (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000); Paul Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church (Eugene, OR: WIPF and Stock, 2008). For a detailed analysis of the liturgical books used for the performance of the Divine Office in the medieval Latin Church, see Cassian Folsom, “The Liturgical Books of the Roman Rite,” Handbook for Liturgical Studies Volume 1: Introduction to the Liturgy, edited by Anscar J. Chupungco (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1997), 245–291. 6    I have limited my discussion to the liturgical practices of the Latin (western) Church since Durand’s commentary is reflective of that tradition. The Greek (eastern) monasteries and cathedrals shared much in common with their Latin counterparts, since Latin practice was often derived from the east. Many of the secondary works that I cite also cover the practices of the Byzantine Church. 7  The definitive modern edition and historical commentary is by Adalbert De Vogüé, La Règle de Saint Benoît, SC 181–186a (1972–1977). 8  The so-called “secular” clergy—from the Latin term for “world,” saeculum— were those in clerical orders who lived or ministered “in the world,” as cathedral or diocesan clergy. They stood in contrast, in both manner of life and liturgical customs, with monks who lived within the confines of cloistered communities that 5 

13

Introduction

Office as it evolved in the diocesan churches of the Latin West. Benedict’s Rule describes the daily monastic regime of prayer as an officium divinum,9 or a “Divine Office.”10 The classical Latin term “office” can be translated as “duty” or “work,” and for the monk, the work or duty of prayer (hence the “divine” nature of the task) was the sine qua non of the monastic vocation. The generic cathedral Office upon which Durand offers extended commentary has much in common with the liturgical hours of prayer prescribed by Benedict’s Rule. At critical points in the evolution of the secular Office, the monastic Office played a fundamental role in influencing and augmenting its secular counterpart. The end result was a nearly indistinguishable set of liturgical traditions, in form and content. In establishing his liturgical scheme for his monastic communities, especially in the distribution of Psalms and other biblical readings across the entire week, Benedict stood firmly within previous monastic traditions of prayer. Modern scholarship has shown that he relied heavily on the existing liturgical practices of the Old Roman monastic Office, performed in the basilical monasteries in the city of Rome; there were communities of monks attached, for example, to St. Peter’s, St. Mary Major and the Lateran basilica.11 Benedict was also dependent upon a lengthy anonymous they seldom if ever left. Durand is keenly aware of the differences in the structure of the Office in the Benedictine monasteries and the cathedrals with which he was familiar. He even refers to Benedict’s Rule in a few instances to note these variations. 9  The term first appears as a chapter heading in the Rule, c. 8, in the discussion of the Office at night. 10  Two of the best available works on the subject in English are: Nathan Mitchell, “The Liturgical Code in the Rule of Benedict,” in The Rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English, edited by Timothy Fry (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981), 379–414; Paul Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church (Eugene, OR: WIPF and Stock, 2008), 124–149. A more recent synopsis of Benedictine liturgical traditions across the entire medieval period can be found in James G. Clark, The Benedictines in the Middle Ages (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2011), 91–105. Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Church has adopted the term Liturgy of the Hours in the place of the Divine Office. 11  See Guy Ferrari, Early Roman Monasteries. Notes for the History of Monasteries and Convents at Rome, from the V through X Century (Vatican City: Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana, 1957). Although quite dated, this remains a seminal work for early Roman liturgy. See also S. J. P. Van Dijk, “Urban and Papal Rites

14

Introduction

Italian text known as the Rule of the Master,12 and he was undoubtedly influenced by other non-Roman traditions, especially for the liturgical hymns he included in his own Rule (following the practice, for example, of the monks in Lérins and Milan). The result of Benedict’s codification of these previous observances has often been characterized as a reform that showed more moderation and flexibility than some of his original sources. In the construction of his horarium, with the distribution of Psalms and biblical texts across the day, week, month and year, Benedict retained two cardinal principles of the Old Roman monastic Office. First, was lectio continua, or the continuous, weekly recitation of all 150 Psalms; second, was the yearly reading of the entire Bible (divided into “lessons,” or excerpts of biblical texts that correspond to a particular liturgical season). It is beyond the limits of this analysis to provide a detailed study of all of Benedict’s reforms, but we should at least take note of the lasting significance of his revision of the daily horarium and his distribution of Psalms in the daily and weekly Office. As Nathan Mitchell13 has shown, it was the custom of early Roman monasteries to recite the entire Psalter every week but to divide the Psalmody between only two liturgical hours: Vigils and Vespers. The Roman monks would recite Psalms 1–108 at Vigils (in three nocturns), and Psalms 109–150 at Vespers. At the other hours of

in Seventh and Eighth-Century Rome,” Sacris Erudiri 12 (1961): 411–487. More recent analysis is provided by Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours East and West. The Origins of the Divine Office and its Meaning for Today, 2nd revised edition (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993), 130–140; Anscar J. Chupungco, “The History of the Roman Liturgy Until the Fifteenth Century,” Handbook for Liturgical Studies Volume 1: Introduction to the Liturgy (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1997), 131–152. A comprehensive overview of liturgical traditions in the eastern and western Empire, with detailed source analysis, can be found in John F. Baldovin, “The Empire Baptized,” The Oxford History of Christian Worship, edited by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 78–130. 12  Adalbert De Vogüé, La Règle du Maître, SC 185–186 (1964). 13  Nathan Mitchell, “The Liturgical Code in the Rule of Benedict,” in The Rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English, edited by Timothy Fry (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981), 399.

15

Introduction

prayer, segments of Psalm 118 were repeated every day.14 Benedict’s revision of the Office is also striking in his reform of the so-called little hours of prayer: Prime, Terce, Sext and None. Adlabert de De Vogüé believes that Benedict shortened the Psalmody at these traditional monastic hours because longer prayer services in the middle of the day—the custom of urban monasteries—would have interfered with the manual labor required in the rural communities of the Benedictine monks.15 Benedict also abandoned the early monastic practice of the all-night Vigil, common to both eastern and western monks, for Sundays and great feast days.16 De Vogüé shows how Benedict reformed this custom by transforming it into a carefully prescribed liturgy (composed of variable nocturns, depending upon the time of year) that would be confined to one specific place among the hours of prayer.17 The monks would be able to sleep before the celebration of Vigils, and then would celebrate one continuous Office. It is worth noting that Durand himself seems to be aware of the ancient customs associated with Vigils that were eventually abolished and replaced with the one Office that the Church of his day celebrated (Rationale, 5.3.3–4). The cornerstone of Benedictine liturgical prayer was the weekly recitation of the Psalter,18 the prayer book par excellence of the patristic Church. Running the whole gamut of human emotion and experience, the Psalms are intensely personal “conversations” with God that poetically express the despair, joy, anxiety and hope of the faithful practitioner of Christianity. More than a century before Benedict composed his monastic rule, another recently converted monk of sorts, St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430), Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West, 136–137. Taft provides superb schematic reconstructions of both the Old Roman and Benedictine Offices. 15  Adalbert De Vogüé, La Règle de Saint Benoît, SC 185: 551. 16  Mitchell, “The Liturgical Code in the Rule of Benedict,” 407. 17  De Vogüé, La Règle de Saint Benoît, SC 185: 457; Mitchell, 407. 18  See Susan Boynton, “Prayer as Performance in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Monastic Psalters,” Speculum 82 (2007): 896–931. This illuminating and detailed study of monastic Psalters underscores the centrality of Psalm recitation in the liturgical and devotional life of medieval monks. 14 

16

Introduction

penned an autobiography destined to become a Christian classic, his Confessions (c.  397–398). Citation of the Psalms and “Psalm piety”19 loom large in this work, not only in providing a “voice” to articulate Augustine’s tragedies and triumphs, but also a coherent spiritual structure through which any devout Christian could reflect on their progress in their personal quest for sanctity and salvation.20 Augustine’s reading or interpretation of the Psalms in the Confessions is practically indistinguishable from their use in the Divine Office of medieval monasteries and cathedrals. Augustine also devoted himself to a careful exegesis of the entire Psalter when he composed what became one of his longest works, the Ennarationes in Psalmos (c.  392–418).21 In his autobiography and in his sermons on the Psalter, the Psalms are regularly “Christologized” by Augustine; that is, they are interpreted allegorically, as referring directly to Christ. They become the poetic expression of a salvation history whose most dramatic events are the birth, death, resurrection, and future coming of the Lord. Such an allegorical reading of the Psalms (and other texts of the Old Testament) is a core component of medieval liturgical commentary and figures prominently on virtually every page of Durand’s exposition of the hours of prayer.

19    I have borrowed this term from the classic study of Balthasar Fischer, Die Psalmenfrömmigkeit der Märtyrkirche (Freiburg: Herde, 1949). A  more recent analysis of the centrality of the Psalter in monastic piety can be found in Joseph Dyer, “The Singing of Psalms in the Early-Medieval Office,” Speculum 64 (1989): 535–578. 20  There are many modern English translations of this text. One of the best is by Henry Chadwick, Saint Augustine: The Confessions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). The very first line of the Confessions is a citation from Psalms 95 and 144. Even a cursory reading of various portions of the text reveals a consistent use of the Psalms as a rhetorical platform upon which Augustine constructs his life story. 21  This title was given to the full collection of Augustine’s sermons on the Psalms by the Christian humanist scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536). The work is available in several English translations. One of the most recent is Expositions of the Psalms, translated by Maria Boulding (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2000–2004).

17

Introduction

Despite the existence of a number of other monastic rules in the Latin West, thanks to the efforts of the reform-minded Carolingian monarchs, the Divine Office of Benedict ultimately became the monastic Office of the Latin Church. But another Benedict—Benedict of Aniane (c. 750–821)—working under the aegis of the Carolingian king, Louis the Pious (r. 814–840) was responsible for reshaping the Benedictine Office, adding a number of new pious devotions and practices that would exist down to Durand’s own day. These reforms were codified at the Council of Aachen in 817, what J. B.L Tolhurst has called “an event that was to be of the greatest importance in the history of Benedictine liturgical observances.”22 The most notable feature of this reformed liturgy was the addition of the Office of the Dead23 and the Fifteen Gradual Psalms.24 This began an accelerated process of accretions to the original Benedictine Office that continued down to the middle of the eleventh century. Benedict’s original Office now bore the weight of additional Psalms, votive offices, special commemorations and “suffrages” at Lauds and Vespers, and Offices of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to name a few.25 While the original liturgical code of 22  J. B. L. Tolhurst, The Monastic Breviary of Hyde Abbey, Winchester, Henry Bradshaw Society 80 (London: HBS, 1942), 46. 23  A detailed study of the history of this Office can be found in Knud Ottosen, The Responsories and Versicles of the Latin Office of the Dead (Copenhagen: Books on Demand, 2007). See also, Frederick S. Paxton, Christianizing Death. The Creation of a Ritual Process in Early Medieval Europe (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990). Durand only makes incidental comments on this Office in Book 5, but in Rationale, 7.35.33, he offers a fairly substantial allegorical exposition of it. 24  Tolhurst, 46–47; 64–68. The Fifteen Gradual Psalms are 119–133 (Vulgate numbering), or 120–133 (Hebrew numbering). Biblical scholars note that these “Psalms of ascent” may have originally been part of a pilgrimage ritual to Jerusalem among the ancient Israelites. They came to be known in the medieval Church as the Fifteen Gradual Psalms, from the Latin term for them as “songs of the steps,” cantica graduum. 25  Space limitations prevent me from providing an analysis of the history and form of these various devotions. They are well covered by Tolhurst, passim. Clunaic monastic practice also played a pivotal role in the development of monastic liturgy. I  have discussed this topic in Timothy M. Thibodeau, “Western Christendom,” The Oxford History of Christian Worship, edited by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006),

18

Introduction

Benedict remained essentially intact, the monastic foundations that followed his Rule at the time that Durand was writing had wandered far and wide from Benedict’s intention of moderation and flexibility. In some monasteries—especially those that followed the customs of the Cluniac Order—the elaborate liturgical regime demanded of a monk consumed nearly his entire waking day. The effects of this expansion of the Office were not, however, limited to the monasteries of the Latin West. These subsequent additions and devotions had a profound and measurable impact on the medieval cathedral Offices. By the thirteenth century, the two traditions did not simply exist side-by-side; in England, for example, many cathedrals were served by monastic communities that celebrated the Benedictine Office daily.26 It is no wonder, then, that the so-called secular cathedrals served by canons regular would be heavily influenced by the practices and devotions of the medieval Benedictine Office. When Durand composed the Rationale, the cathedral Office had long been “monasticized” (a process I will describe below). As a general rule, that Office had experienced the same sort of expansion as its Benedictine counterpart. The cathedral Office of eight canonical hours of prayer (Vigils, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline) now had numerous additional prayers, votive Offices and devotions attached. It is to the history of that Office that we now turn. While the development of the Benedictine monastic Office is, on the whole, easy to document, outlining the history of the cathedral or secular Office in the Latin Church is far more challenging and problematic, because of the paucity of reliable documentary sources.27 First, it should be noted that prior to the widespread 216–220. For more detailed scholarship on the topic, see Susan Boynton, Shaping a Monastic Identity: Liturgy and History at the Imperial Abbey of Farfa, 1000–1125 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006). 26  See John R. H. Moorman, Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1946). 27  Good source analysis and commentary can be found in: Pierre Salmon, The Breviary Through the Centuries, translated by Sr. David Mary (Collegeville, MN:

19

Introduction

use of Benedict’s Rule in Europe, the “cathedral Office” was radically different in form and content from the generic cathedral Office upon which Durand provides commentary. Originally, it only consisted of two daily hours of communal worship: Lauds, or morning prayer, and Vespers, or evening prayer. In some places, a weekly all-night “Vigil of the Resurrection” of early Sunday morning was also observed. There could also be a “Great Vigil” for major feasts such as Christmas, Epiphany and Pentecost, as well as the feasts of Martyrs that would be celebrated at their tombs.28 The primitive cathedral Office had other features which set it apart from its medieval successor. It did not, for example, have a continuous reading (lectio continua) of the whole Psalter. Instead, the Psalms were selectively chosen for their appropriateness for the hour of the day (with references to morning or evening prayer in the actual texts). There were usually no lessons in the Office, but in some churches there might be a sermon; the service would end with intercessions and a Collect prayer recited by a bishop or priest.29 If we turn to a closer examination of the early history of the Office in the cathedrals of Italy and of the city of Rome itself, we discover that the source material is meager when compared to contemporary monastic traditions. We do, however, know that in the century leading up to Benedict’s codification of the Office for his monks, two distinctive practices coexisted in Rome: the Office of the urban monks attached to various churches of the city, and the cathedral Office of the diocese of Rome, celebrated in common by the Roman clergy and their flock.30 But by no means were The Liturgical Press, 1962), 6–8; 28–41; A.  G. Martimort, I.  H. Dalmais and P. Jounel, The Church at Prayer IV: The Liturgy and Time, translated by Matthew J. O’Connell (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1986), 164–172; Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West, 2nd revised edition (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993),141–213; Paul Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church (Eugene, OR: WIPF and Stock, 2008), 111–123. 28  Juan Mateos, “The Morning and Evening Office,” Worship 42 (1968): 31–47; Martimort, Dalmais, and Jounel, The Church at Prayer IV, 170–175; Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours, 165–190. 29  Juan Mateos, “The Morning and Evening Office,” 40–41; Martimort, Dalmais, and Jounel, The Church at Prayer IV, 172. 30  S. J. P. Van Dijk, “Urban and Papal Rites in Seventh and Eighth-Century Rome,” Sacris Erudiri 12 (1961): 411–487. For an illustrated compendium of the

20

Introduction

these traditions segregated from each other, to the point that prior to Benedict’s Rule, the “monasticization” of the secular Office was well under way. As Taft notes, by the fifth century, both St. Peter’s and the Lateran basilica were served by small monastic communities whose Office became the Office of their respective communities.31 Thus, in alluding to the Office of the Roman Church in the prescriptions of his Rule, Benedict was referring to a hybrid Office which combined the observances of monks with the cathedral tradition of prayer.32 This infusion of monastic liturgical practice into the Latin cathedral Office quickly gained momentum in the early Middle Ages, as monastic hours were directly incorporated into the secular Office. There is clear evidence that by the middle of the sixth century, the bishops of Rome imposed monastic observance on the diocesan clergy. The suburbicarian33 bishops and their clergy were obliged to hold daily Vigils (the so-called nocturns of the night Office), in addition to the daily celebration of Lauds and Vespers.34 The Byzantine Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565) also decreed that all secular clergy in every church of his Empire were to celebrate Vigils, Matins and Vespers daily.35 By the beginning of the eighth century, the monastic influence on the cathedral Office had taken its definitive form, in Italy,

basilicas, churches and chapels of medieval Rome, see Richard Krautheimer, Rome: Profile of a City, 312–1308 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1980). 31  Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours, 132. 32  The earliest collections of Roman Ordines provide us with valuable information on the content of the Old Roman monastic Office. Ordo 13A (first half of the seventh century) contains a list of the lessons for the night Office throughout the entire year, beginning with Septuagesima. See Andrieu, OR 2: 471–478. For an explanation and analysis of the Ordines in general, see Cyrille Vogel, Medieval Liturgy. An Introduction to the Sources, translated and revised by W. G. Storey and N. K. Rasmussen (Washington, DC: The Pastoral Press, 1986), 135–224. 33  Suburbicarian dioceses were ecclesiastical territories ruled by bishops that were in the vicinity of the diocese of Rome. The bishop of Rome, as successor of St. Peter, had authority over them. 34  Pierre Battifol, A History of the Roman Breviary, translated by Atwell M. Baylay (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1898), 60–77. 35  Cod. 1.3.24, Mommsen 2: 28.

21

Introduction

Gaul, Germany and the Anglo-Saxon kingdom.36 The missionary work of Roman monks brought a hybrid Roman liturgy (viz. the monasticized Office of the diocese of Rome) to far-flung corners of the collapsed Roman Empire. Carolingian monarchs expedited this process when they sent their own clerics to Rome to acquire official prayer books and imported the texts and rituals of Rome to their own kingdoms.37 Another critical transformation of the original cathedral Office was its loss of a “popular” dimension, as it had existed in the early decades of the toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire. In its configuration, with the inclusion of additional hours that equalled the number of the monastic hours prescribed by Benedict, the secular or cathedral Office bore a much more striking resemblance to its Benedictine counterpart than its own primitive ancestors. This Office had also become the preserve of clerics who were bound by Church to law to celebrate it daily. Not surprisingly, the liturgical exposition and spiritual instruction that Durand provides is aimed at an exclusively clerical audience, with no thought given to lay participants. When the Rationale appeared near the end of the thirteenth century, new academic realities and demographic shifts had also taken place in Europe that fueled the rapid ascendancy of the new mendicant religious orders: the Franciscans and Dominicans. Unlike the cloistered monks who followed Benedict’s Rule, the “begging friars” (hence their name “mendicant”) were engaged in continued academic study and active pastoral care in the burgeoning cities of Europe in the second age of feudalism.38 Both 36  Medieval Spain remained a notable exception. The Spanish church, by means of conciliar legislation, kept a clear distinction between cathedral prayer (Lauds, Vespers and solemn Vigils) and the monastic hours of prayer. This practice persisted until the middle of the eleventh century. The reform popes of the Investiture Controversy abolished this practice by the turn of the twelfth century. See Martimort, Dalmais, and Jounel, The Church at Prayer IV, 248; Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours, 156–163. 37  A good concise overview can be found in Theodor Klauser, A Short History of the Western Liturgy. An Account and Some Reflections, 2nd ed., translated by John Halliburton (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1979). 38  A good comprehensive introduction can be found in C. H. Lawrence, The Friars: The Impact of the Early Mendicant Movement on Western Society (New York: Longman, 1994).

22

Introduction

the Franciscans and Dominicans closely aligned themselves with the reforming activity of the popes of the early thirteenth century and helped to disseminate some of the peculiar observances of the papal chapel by way of the friaries and houses of study that proliferated across Europe.39 But as S. J. P. Van Dijk demonstrates, when we speak of “the liturgy” in thirteenth century Rome, we are not speaking of a single or uniform rite. Having been a member of the papal curia and an official papal chaplain (from 1264 onward), Durand himself would have been familiar with those differences. (Regrettably, he says very little about the peculiar observances of Rome for which he had first-hand knowledge). Van Dijk identifies “four liturgical customs” (c. 1275) in Rome: 1). The liturgy of the papal court, or the pope’s private chapel; 2). the liturgy of St. Peter’s basilica in the Vatican; 3). the reformed liturgy of Pope Nicholas III (which combined the practices of the Lateran basilica and St. Peter’s); 4). the liturgy of the Lateran basilica.40 The Franciscans adopted one “Roman rite,” properly speaking—the liturgy of the papal court—and transported it all over Europe. But modern scholarship has shown that the influence of the Franciscans in disseminating a papally-sanctioned, universal liturgy across Latin Christendom has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the cathedrals of Europe clung to their own well developed customs and traditions. This certainly accounts for the variety of practices in the particulars that Durand often notes, and it also explains the absence of a clearly defined notion of a normative “Roman” Office that must be universally imposed on the entire Church. As Roger Reynolds reminds us: “[A]lthough there are definite groupings of For a comprehensive history and analysis of the mendicant reforms of the liturgy and their influence on the reforms of the liturgy of the papal court in the thirteenth century, see S. J.P Van Dijk and Joan Hazeldon Walker, The Origins of the Modern Roman Liturgy (Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1960); The Ordinal of the Papal Court, from Innocent III to Boniface VIII and Related Documents, Spicilegium Friburgense 22 (Fribourg: University Press, 1975). A more concise treatment can be found in Theodor Klauser, A Short History of the Western Liturgy, 94–108. 40  S. J.P. Van Dijk, “Urban and Papal Rites in Seventh and Eighth-Century Rome,” Sacris Erudiri 12 (1961): 416–419. Despite the title of this article, Van Dijk covers the whole history of the liturgy in Rome in the Middle Ages. 39 

23

Introduction

Office performance according to religious order or geographical and ecclesiastical boundaries, there was for the Office none of the structural stability that was found, for example, in the canon of the Roman Mass.”41 That sort of papal hegemony over the liturgical rites of the Church would only come after the invention of the printing press and the reforms of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. Another component of the liturgy of the papal court and the Franciscans that most definitely did not figure in Durand’s commentary was the speed with which the Office was performed by the pope’s chaplains and the mendicants. This so-called brevitas moderna, or a faster method of chanting the Office was justified by other activities that demanded equal attention (preaching, academic study or the business of the papal court). As Van Dijk notes: Their Office […] had been freed from or perhaps never was subject to the widespread practice of solemnizing chant with long-drawn pauses and a slow tempo […] in opposition to those who ‘prolonged the Office,’ the pope’s chaplains always festinabant or abbreviabant. Thus the new Orders, following the example of the papal court, saved time and energy for preaching and study.42

The diversity of practice in Durand’s day requires some final reflections. By the time that his Rationale began to be copied in cathedral, monastic and university scriptoria, there would have been multiple forms of monastic, mendicant and secular religious life. Given that there was such a crowded field of options for liturgical prayer, it is no surprise that Durand takes a more generic approach (focusing on core elements that all clergy would recognize in their own worship services). Even though he provides an exposition that treats the Office in a more general way, Durand often notes the variations in customs from church to church. Throughout his commentary, he will frequently describe a common practice, offer 41  Roger E. Reynolds, “Divine Office, Roman,” Dictionary of the Middle Ages 7 (1986): 225. 42  S. J.P Van Dijk and Joan Hazeldon Walker, The Origins of the Modern Roman Liturgy, 25. The Latin verbs in the quotation mean, “they used to hurry,” and “they used to abbreviate.”

24

Introduction

an eloquent allegorical exegesis, and then immediately note that other churches do the exact opposite, for their own reasons. In the general prologue of the Rationale, Durand offers an important caveat about the nature of his commentary that is true for all eight books of his lengthy exposition: The reader should not be disturbed if he reads about things in this work which he finds are not observed in his own church, or if he does not find something that is observed there. For we shall not proceed to discuss the peculiar observances of any particular place but the rites which are more common and more ordinary, since we have labored to set forth a universal teaching and not one of particular bearing; nor would it be possible for us to examine thoroughly the peculiar observances of all places. We have therefore resolved, for the salvation of our soul and the benefit of the reader, to explain as clearly as possible the secret mysteries of the Divine Offices and then to arrange and explain thoroughly those things which seemed necessary for understanding the daily services for clerics, just as we are known to have done faithfully in our Judicial Mirror,43 for those employed in the secular courts, whose status is entirely different [from clerics].44

The Symbolism of the Hours of Prayer As I have noted in previous publications, liturgical exposition is not only one of the oldest genres of Christian writing, it is also an extension of Christian biblical commentary of a particular type. The paradigm for the liturgical expository approach employed by Durand was the allegorical method of biblical exegesis crafted by the Fathers of the Church.45 This hermeneutical scheme 43  Durand is, of course, referring to his mammoth textbook on procedural law. This paragraph parallels his introduction to the previous work, Speculum iudiciale, Proem., 26.5 (Basel: Froben,1574; reprint, Darmstadt: Aalen,1975), 5. 44  Timothy M. Thibodeau, The Rationale divinorum officiorum of William Durand of Mende. A New Translation of the Prologue and Book One (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), 5–6. 45  My most concise presentation of this subject can be found in Timothy M. Thibodeau, “Enigmata Figurarum: Biblical Exegesis and Liturgical Exposition in

25

Introduction

is succinctly articulated in the general prologue of the entire Rationale, where Durand offers a definition of allegory that could be employed at almost any point in the history of medieval biblical exegesis and liturgical exposition: Allegory is present when what is said literally has another meaning spiritually; for example, when one word or deed brings to mind another. If what is represented is visible, then it is simply an allegory; if it is invisible and celestial, then it is called anagogy. Allegory also exists when an unrelated state of affairs is shown to exist through the use of strange or alien expressions; when, for example, the presence of Christ or the sacraments of the Church are signified in mystical words or signs; in words: A branch shall come forth from the root of Jesse [Isa 11:1], which plainly means: the Virgin Mary shall be born of the stock of David, who was the son of Jesse. Mystical deeds can signify in the same fashion the freedom of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery by the blood of [paschal] lamb, which signifies the Church snatched away from the clutches of the devil through the Passion of Christ. The word allegory comes from the Greek word, aleon, which means “strange” and gore, which is “sense;” that is, allegory means having “another sense.”46

Often these interpretations of the texts of the Old Testament were almost indistinguishable from the symbolic rituals and prayers of the daily hours prayer, with traditions that are nearly as old as the Christian faith itself. Indeed, the typological understanding of the hours of prayer and their texts is hardly a medieval innovation. For example, the commemoration of the Passion of Christ at the “Little Hours” of Terce, Sext and None, can be found in some of the earliest extant sources for the liturgy of the primitive Church. What could be called an iconic representation of salvation history in the Divine Office (which is the primary rhetorical structure of Durand’s Durand’s Rationale,” Harvard Theological Review 86 (1993): 65–79. An excellent overview of the current state of the question can be found in Susan Boynton and Diane J. Reilly, editors, The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages. Production, Reception and Performance in Western Christianity (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011). 46  Thibodeau, Rationale, 4.

26

Introduction

exposition), was to a great extent a patristic legacy. As A. G. Martimort has observed: The symbolism of the hours as developed by Clement, Origen, Hippolytus, Tertullian and Cyprian would be adapted and passed on by later authors who discussed prayer […]. Most important, it would in great measure inspire the texts and actions that make the Liturgy of the Hours a daily commemoration of the economy of salvation.47

The patristic understanding of the figurative character of the Divine Office is well documented and has been the subject of numerous studies.48 Here, it is neither possible nor desirable to review all of this scholarly literature. Rather, I will highlight some of these ancient sources and their understanding of the hours of prayer to place Durand’s expository activity in a broader historical and theological context. Although he was almost slavishly dependent upon his twelfth and thirteenth century predecessors in the genre of liturgical commentary, the analysis that we find in Book 5 represents a deeper and much more ancient tradition. The symbolic or figurative interpretation that Durand presents for each of the canonical hours has its roots in the liturgical commemorations and devotions of the earliest Church. As we have already seen, the earliest form of the cathedral Office consisted of only two daily hours of prayer: Lauds (morning prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer). It is evident from early Christian sources that these communal rituals were not only A. G. Martimort, “The Hours of Christian Prayer and Their Symbolism in the Third Century,” The Church at Prayer IV, 170. 48  Representative works include: Joseph A, Jungmann, “Daily Devotions of the Early Christians,” in The Early Liturgy, to the Time of Gregory the Great, translated by Francis A. Brunner (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1959), 47–71; Juan Mateos, “The Origins of the Divine Office,” Worship 41 (1967): 477–485; Juan Mateos, “The Morning and Evening Office,” Worship 42 (1968): 31– 47; William G. Storey, “The Liturgy of the Hours: Cathedral versus Monastery,” in Christians at Prayer, edited by J. Gallen (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977), 61–82; Thomas Talley, The Origins of the Liturgical Year, 2nd ed. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991); Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West. The Origins of the Divine Office and its Meaning for Today, 2nd revised edition (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993), 14–56; Paul Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church (Eugene, OR: WIPF and Stock, 2008), 47–71. 47 

27

Introduction

special commemorative prayer times, but also done in conformity with the mandates of the Old Law to offer twice daily ritual sacrifices (cf. Ex 29:38–39; Ex 30:6–8).49 This was the express interpretation of John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), when discussing the Christian practice of morning and evening prayer.50 Some of the earliest Christian authors speak of the observance of Lauds and Vespers as mandatory and prescribed for all Christians. For example, the well known apologist Tertullian (c. 160– 225), writing a century before Constantine the Great’s conversion to Christianity, explicitly refers to morning and evening prayer as legitimae orationes, or “prescribed prayers.” He also exhorts Christians to pray at the third, sixth and ninth hour (a private devotion that became Terce, Sext and None).51 The Church historian, Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–334), is our first documentary source for the widespread observance of morning and evening prayer in the cathedrals of the post-Constantinian Church. In his Commentary on Psalm 64, he not only identifies this custom, but also invokes the Psalter itself as an exhortation for these daily commemorations: For it is surely no small sign of God’s power that throughout the whole world in the churches of God at the morning rising of the sun and at the evening hours, hymns, praises, and truly divine delights are offered to God. God’s delights are indeed hymns sent up everywhere on earth in his Church at the times of morning and evening. For this reason it is said somewhere, ‘Let my praise be sung sweetly to him’ (cf. Ps 146:1) and ‘Let my prayer be like incense before you’ (Ps 140:2).52

The famed mystical theologian and compiler of monastic traditions, John Cassian (c. 360–435), indicates that these daily prayer services were also prescribed for the thriving monastic communities of the eastern half of the Roman Empire.53

Juan Mateos, “The Morning and Evening Office,” 32. Paul Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church, 73. 51  Tertullian, De oratione, 25.5, CCSL 1: 272. 52  Eusebius, Commentaria in Psalmum 64, PG 23: 630; translated by Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West, 33. 53  John Cassian, Insitutions Cénobitiques, 2.3., SC 109: 60. 49  50 

28

Introduction

But the patristic authors who describe these popular devotions discovered, upon reflection, that there was no express mandate from Jesus himself to pray at specified times of the day on a regular basis. Instead, patristic authors invoked the biblical prayer texts themselves (principally the Psalms) to provide a rationale for such highly developed and regularly performed rituals. This began with the construction of the most primitive form of the cathedral Office. As we have already seen, unlike its medieval counterpart, this early liturgy did not have a continuous reading of the Psalter or biblical lessons. The Psalms for both morning and evening prayer were selected for their explicit references to the hour of the day and their symbolic associations with those prayer times. For example, Psalm 62: O God, my God, to you do I watch at the break of day, would be appropriate for Lauds. The recitation of these Psalms would also be accompanied by what liturgists call “meaningful” ceremonies that embodied the spiritual symbolism of the prayer texts, such as the lighting of lamps, the singing of a hymn or the offering of incense.54 Not surprisingly, then, patristic scriptural exegetes employed the symbolism inherent in the Psalms used for these services, as well as their accompanying meaningful ceremonies, to explain why Christians must pray at these appointed times. The vesperal Psalm par excellence, Psalm 140, is emblematic of how the Office was constructed and interpreted: Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as an evening sacrifice (Ps 140:2). The lighting of lamps at Vespers, symbolizing the risen Christ, and the offering of incense as a symbol of the communal praise and thanksgiving rising towards God are seen as performative liturgical injunctions from the prayers themselves. While many patristic authorities link the daily Christian regimen of liturgical prayer to Old Testament mandates for daily Temple sacrifice, by the early fifth century, deeper forms of typological interpretation began to appear that viewed the Old Testament texts as prefiguring the events of salvation history that were fulfilled by Christ. John Cassian’s exposition of Psalm 140 offers a 54 

Juan Mateos, “The Morning and Evening Office,” 41.

29

Introduction

striking example of the allegorical exegesis that is the cornerstone of medieval liturgical exposition. For Cassian, the “evening sacrifice” referred to in the Psalms can be understood as representing Christ’s self-offering at the Last Supper and his death on the cross: This citation (Ps 140:2) can be understood in the higher sense of that true sacrifice which our Lord and Savior either delivered to His Apostles at the Last Supper when He instituted the holy mysteries of the Church, or as that evening sacrifice which He Himself offered to the Father the following day—namely, at the culmination of all things—when He lifted His hands for the salvation of the whole world. Such an extension of His hands on the cross is rightly called ‘a lifting up.’ For all of us were lying in hell, and He raised us up to heaven in accordance with the promise He had made, when He said: When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everything to myself (Jn 12:32).55

The renowned encyclopedist and liturgical expositor, Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636), an important link between the patristic era and the Latin Middle Ages, reiterates the same theme in nearly identical language. For Isidore, Psalm 140 not only refers to Christ’s self-sacrifice at his crucifixion, it was also prefigured in the daily sacrifices of the Old Law: Vespers, whose solemn celebration comes from the Old Testament, marks the end of the day and the setting of the sun. For it was the custom among the ancients to offer sacrifices and to burn spices and incense on the altar at that very time (cf. Ex 29). The performance of this Office is attested to by the royal and priestly Psalmist, when he says: May my prayer rise before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like an evening sacrifice (Ps 140:2). In the New Testament, it was also at this time when our Lord and Savior was eating with His Apostles, that He delivered to them for the first time the mystery of His body and blood, to show that that very time of sacrifice marked the evening time of the world. Therefore, we should gather at that time in the presence of God, in honor and memory of such great mysteries, worshiping Him with fervor, offering Him the sacrifice of our prayers and rejoicing equally in His praise.56 55  56 

John Cassian, Institutions Cénobitiques, 3.3, SC 109: 100–102. Isidore, De eccles. offic., 1.20, CCSL 113: 24.

30

Introduction

Isidore also offers a widely accepted eschatological interpretation of daily liturgical prayer. For example, he argues that morning prayer is done both as commemoration of Christ’s resurrection and in anticipation of his future coming: This Office is prayed at daybreak in order to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. As the morning grew radiant with light, our Lord and Savior rose from the dead, when light began to rise for the faithful; the light which, by virtue of Christ’s death, had put sin to death. It was at that moment that hope arose for all those who put their trust in the future resurrection, when the just, after they die, shall awake from the sleep of death, as if from a dream.57

From this brief sampling of patristic literature, we easily discern ancient, well developed, universal themes associated with Christian prayer at Lauds and Vespers. At a very early date, morning and evening prayer were figuratively understood to represent the continuation of Old Testament injunctions for twice daily sacrifice. But more importantly, to later expositors, these prayer services were the liturgical embodiment of the singular acts of Christ in salvation history. Prayers in the morning commemorate the resurrection of Christ and his victory over death. Evening prayer represents Christ’s death, burial and harrowing of hell, while anticipating his future judgment. We also find clear evidence of the allegorical reading of the Psalter favored by patristic and medieval biblical exegetes. In discussing the history of the Divine Office (above), I referred to this as “Christologized” understanding of the texts of the Old Testament. The Psalms are understood mystically to make explicit references to Christ: Psalm 140 prefigures Christ “raising his hands” as an “evening offering” on the cross, for the salvation of humanity. Commemorative Christian prayer at the third, sixth and ninth hour, although not known to the early cathedral Office, was recommended by Christian authors such as Tertullian, in the early third century. A number of early sources indicate that this private devotion was widely known in both the eastern and 57 

Isidore, De eccles. offic., 1.23, CCSL 113: 27.

31

Introduction

western Empire.58 Eventually, these private prayer times developed into fixed liturgical ceremonies that came to be known as the “Little Hours” of Terce, Sext and None (Prime was a later addition). These hours of prayer were expressly incorporated into the monastic horarium at an early date, as communal prayer services, following the exhortation of St. Paul to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). They did not become part of the cathedral Office of the Latin Church until it was fully “monasticized” by the end of the sixth century. There is an abundance of patristic literature documenting the observance of the Little Hours, but given the constraints of this introduction, I will highlight some of the better known sources to situate Durand’s commentary within an ancient spiritual tradition that stretches back nearly a millennium before him. From a very early date, Terce, Sext and None were closely linked to the daily commemoration of historical events surrounding the passion and death of Christ. If we look at representative passages from Hippolytus, Tertullian and Isidore of Seville we discover the articulation of spiritual themes of remembrance at these hours to which commentators such as Durand could add very little. One of the most important documentary sources for the study of early Christian liturgy is attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (c.  170–235): the so-called Apostolic Tradition (c.  215?).59 Despite the continued controversy over the date, attribution and authenticity of the text, it remains one of our earliest witnesses for the triple commemoration of Christ’s passion at the Little Hours. While it was not directly known in the Middle Ages, the themes Martimort, The Church at Prayer IV, 164–170; Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West, 191–209; Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church, 47–71. Taft, 206, notes that the first “unambiguous references” to the Office of Prime are in Latin sources dating from the sixth century, beginning with Caesarius of Arles (c. 534). 59  For historical analysis and a discussion of the controversies surrounding the text, see Maxwell E. Johnson, “The Apostolic Tradition,” The Oxford History of Christian Worship, edited by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 32–75. Debate continues over whether the text was a composite work, reflecting various traditions, or a work that is reflective of purely early Roman practice. 58 

32

Introduction

expressed in Hippolytus’ text were widely reflected by other patristic authorities who were invoked by expositors such as Durand: If you are at home, pray at the third hour and praise God. If you are elsewhere at this time, pray to God in your heart. For at this hour, Christ was seen nailed to the wood [of the cross]. That is why in the Old [Testament], the Law prescribed that the bread of presence be offered at the third hour as a type of the blood of Christ; and the slaughter of the innocent lamb is a type of the perfect lamb. For Christ is both the shepherd and the bread that came down from heaven. Pray again in the same way at the sixth hour. For when Christ was fastened to the wood of the cross, the day was rent in two and a thick darkness fell over all. Therefore, let everyone pray mightily at that hour, imitating the voice of Him who prayed and made all creation fall into darkness for the unbelieving Jews. At the ninth hour, let them also prolong their prayer and petitions, just as the souls of the righteous bless God, who does not lie, but who remembers His Saints and sent His Word to illuminate them. At that hour, Christ poured out water and blood from His pierced side; He restored light to the rest of the day and brought it to evening. Then, making in this way a new dawn, as He fell asleep, He prefigured His resurrection.60

Tertullian (c. 160–225) is another important early witness to the Christian custom of private prayer and reflection at the third, sixth and ninth hour. As I already noted, in his treatise On Prayer, he refers to morning and evening prayer as “prescribed,” but Tertullian also exhorts Christians to pray devoutly at the third, sixth, and ninth hours: Concerning the time [of prayer], the external observance of certain hours will not be unprofitable; I mean those common hours which mark the intervals of the day: the third, sixth and ninth hour, which are found to have been more solemn [times] in the Scriptures. First, it was at the third hour that the Holy Spirit was first poured on the disciples when they were gathered together (Acts 2:15). Peter, on the day that he experienced the vision of the whole community in that small vessel, had gone upstairs to pray at the sixth hour (Acts 10:9). 60 

Hippolytus of Rome, La Tradition Apostolique, 41, SC 11bis: 126–128.

33

Introduction

He also went into the Temple with John at the ninth hour when he restored the paralytic to health (Acts 3:1). Although these hours simply exist without any command for their observance, it is nevertheless good to establish [their observance] as a kind of law which binds us to this admonition to pray, so that it might tear us away from our affairs for this duty, so that like Daniel, who continually observed the Jewish custom, we pray at least three times a day.61

In another work, On Fasting, Tertullian offers a more historical rationale for the observance of these hours of prayer. Speaking of this practice on days of fasting (usually Wednesday and Friday), Tertullian applies military jargon to Christian devotion, calling this devout practice a soldier’s “station:” [This observance] comes from the death of the Lord, which, although it should always be commemorated without difference of hours, we are nevertheless at that time more forcefully commanded to commemorate [His death] according to the actual meaning of the term ‘station.’ For even soldiers, though never unmindful of their military oath, are still more attentive to their stations. And so the pressure to celebrate must be maintained up to that hour in which the world—which from the sixth hour had fallen into darkness— performed its sorrowful duty for its dead Lord; and then we too may return to joy when the world regained its light.62

In his treatise on the ecclesiastical Offices, Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) masterfully combines various patristic modes of liturgical exegesis in commenting on the daily recitation of Terce, Sext and None. Here we find allegorical linkage with the Old Testament, historical commemoration from the New Testament and Trinitarian theology, packaged in a threefold scheme that is nearly identical to interpretations that we find in Durand’s commentary: Daniel and the three young men devoted the third, sixth and ninth hours to prayer, so that the three hours stretching from dawn to the time of prayer [Terce] would teach us to reverence the Trinity; similarly, the three hours from Terce to Sext, and those from Sext to Tertullian, De oratione, c. 25, CCSL 1: 272–273. A soldier’s “station” means his watch as a sentry. 62  Tertullian, De ieiunio adversus psychicos, c. 10, CCSL 2: 1267. 61 

34

Introduction

None, so that by equal intervals of light, determined by fixed dimensions, the Trinity would be worshiped three times a day. This also reveals the venerable Trinity to us: when the Holy Spirit descended to earth at the third hour—that is, at His own place and number and time—to complete the grace which Christ had promised. At the sixth hour, Christ suffered, and at the ninth hour, stretched Himself out on the instrument of torture. By such a great sign, the perfect Trinity—worshiped every three hours at prescribed times—is either praised with rejoicing, or implored with prayers.63

The Sources of Book 5 (Liturgical Expositions) The rhetorical structure of Book 5 is consistent with the previous portions of the Rationale that I have translated. Durand begins with a general prologue, explaining the liturgical and spiritual lessons to be learned from close scrutiny of a particular liturgical subject. Just as he did in Book 4, in his lengthy commentary on the Mass, Durand proceeds in chronological fashion, analyzing each of the liturgical hours and providing a lengthy allegorical exposition. Book 5 is also emblematic of Durand’s compilation method as liturgical expositor. As I noted in my recent translation of Book 4, there is little that is “new” in Durand’s presentation, since his text is largely a verbatim compilation of existing commentaries. In Book 5, those authors are few in number and easily identified because of the ad litteram quality of his incorporation of those works. Durand is keen to note, however, that while there is general agreement in the overall performance of the Office and its meaning, there are substantive variations of practice that require commentary and exposition. Durand’s presentation in each chapter of Book 5 follows a formulaic method of moving from the generic, agreed-upon practice to the regional variation. The formulaic expression, “In some churches [in quibusdam ecclesiis],” precedes a discussion that often attempts to reconcile divergent or discordant practices through some allegorical or spiritual interpretation. 63 

Isidore, De eccles. offic., 1.19, CCSL 113: 23.

35

Introduction

When I co-edited the Latin text of the Rationale with Père Davril, it was not all that difficult to identify Durand’s principal sources for the composition of each of the books of the Rationale. Book 5, which is one of the shorter books of his treatise, was almost entirely constructed from the works of three previous liturgical expositors: Sicardus of Cremona, Praepositinus of Cremona and William of Auxerre. Before the publication of the Rationale, Sicardus of Cremona’s (c.  1150–1215), Mitrale (c.  1198–1200)64 was the longest and most extensive medieval treatise on the liturgy. A canonistbishop, as was Durand, Sicardus produced a lengthy allegorical liturgical exposition that is divided into nine books. Large portions of Sicardus’ Mitrale were often incorporated throughout the first seven books of the Rationale. More than any other work, his commentary served as both the editorial and textual exemplar for Durand’s own compilation. As I noted in the introductory material for the critical edition of the Rationale, Durand rarely cited the authors he employed, but Sicardus is frequently identified, making him Durand’s most quoted liturgical expositor. In Book 5, Durand makes two express references to Sicardus’ commentary, invoking him as an authority in his discussion of music (Rationale, 5.2.67), and his commentary on the Office of Vespers (Rationale, 5.9.2). The Parisian master, William of Auxerre (c. 1150–1231) is mentioned on four separate occasions in Book 4 of the Rationale.65 These references are something of mystery since Durand made sparse use of his Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis (c.  1218–1228?)66 Sicardus of Cremona, Mitrale seu de ecclesiasticis officiis summa, PL 213: 13–434. See my comments in CCCM 140B: 252–254. Fortunately, there is now a modern critical edition of this work: Sicardi Cremonensis episcopi Mitralis de officiis, ed. Gábor Sarbak and Lorenz Weinrich, CCCM 228 (2008). 65  These references come in Rationale, 4.16.2; 4.20.4; 4.33.9; 4.51.2. Oddly, Durand calls him “Peter of Auxerre” in the first three instances, but in the last, “William of Auxerre.” 66  William of Auxerre, Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis. For my own research, I employed a good 14th-century manuscript, Douai: Bibliothèque municipale, no. 65. I have discussed the role and influence of William of Auxerre’s text on Durand in CCCM 140B: 255–258. 64 

36

Introduction

in his own Mass commentary. In my work on the critical edition of the Rationale, I found that Durand relied heavily on William of Auxerre’s text for the construction of the first three books of his own commentary. But Durand’s use of William’s Summa is most pronounced in Books 5 and 6 of the Rationale. In analyzing the manuscript tradition of the Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis, R. M. Martineau declared that we could easily reconstruct the entire text of William of Auxerre’s commentary from the extracts that were incorporated verbatim in the Rationale.67 While a critical edition of the Parisian Master’s theological Summa had recently been published,68 when I undertook the work for the modern edition of the Rationale, William of Auxerre’s liturgical commentary did not even exist in a printed form. Working from Martineau’s classification of the manuscripts of the text, I settled on using what he identified as one the best extant manuscripts, an early fourteenth century copy now located in Douai, Belgium.69 In the years since the publication of the new edition of the Rationale, a stunning new analysis of William of Auxerre’s liturgical Summa has been completed by Franz Fischer70 and published on the internet.71 Fischer’s digital edition provides multiple forms of the text, ranging from digital images of medieval manuscripts, to a transcription that preserves the characteristics of the medieval text (including punctuation and abbreviated dipthongs), to a modern critical edition format. Any previous work on the Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis has been superseded by Fischer’s remarkable work.

“Les emprunts qu’il fait [c.a.d. Durand] sont absolument textuels. Avec les extraits du Rationale nous pourions reconstruire notre somme.” R. M. Martineau, “La Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis de Guillaume D’Auxerre,” Études d' histoire littéraire et doctrinale du XIIIe siècle, 2e série (1932): 51. 68  William of Auxerre, Magistri Guillelmi Altissiodorensis Summa aurea, ed. Jean Ribaillier, Spicilegium Bonaventurianum 16–19 (Grottaferrata/Rome: Editiones Collegii San Bonaventurae ad Claras Aquas, 1985–1986). 69  Douai: Bibliothèque municipale, no. 65. See Martineau, 34–35. 70  “Wilhelm von Auxerre. Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis. Kritisch-digitale Erstausgabe,” (Ph.D. thesis, University of Cologne, 2007). 71  http://guillelmus.uni-koeln.de/tcrit/tcrit_toc. (Last accessed on 1/19/15). 67 

37

Introduction

While Sicardus and William of Auxerre are cited by name, Durand never once mentions one of his principal sources for the construction of book 5: Praespositinus of Cremona (c. 1150– 1210).72 Chancellor of the University of Paris (c. 1206–1209), Praepositinus was a respected theologian who authored a theological Summa,73 a commentary on the Psalms, and seventy-five sermons. But because of its incorporation into Durand’s Rationale, Praepositinus’ best known work remains his modest commentary on the liturgy, the Tractatus de divinis officiis.74 In his short liturgical exposition consisting of four books, Praepositinus only commented on the Divine Office. He progresses through the Temporal cycle (books 1–3), and then treats the canonical hours in general (book 4). While the Tractatus has a distinctly “scholastic” rhetorical structure (of question and answer), the expository method is largely allegorical, patterned after the majority of allegorical expositions that preceded Praepositinus. Remarkably, Praepositinus’ treatise survives in only five thirteenth-century manuscripts that were the basis of the modern critical edition of James A. Corbett. Despite its apparent obscurity and the lack of any reference to the author or title of the work, the Tractatus was obviously well known to Durand. There are a great many places where Durand copied him ad litteram, at considerable length. As Corbett noted, virtually all of Praepositinus’ treatise was absorbed into the Rationale (in both Books 5 and 6).75 In Book 5, the Tractatus is also a useful source for Durand’s citation of the Fathers, which he presents as his own references.

Georges Lacombe, La vie et les oeuvres de Prévostin. Praepositini Cancellarii Parisiensis (1206–1210), Opera Omnia I, Bibliothèque Thomiste 11 (Kain, BE: Le Saulchoir, 1927). 73  Praepositinus, Praepositini Cancellarii de Sacramentis et de Novissimis (summae theologicae pars quarta), edited by Daniel Pilarczyk, Collectio Urbaniana 7 (Rome: Editiones Urbanianae, 1964). 74  Praepositinus, Praepositini Cremonensis Tractatus de officiis, edited by James A. Corbett, Medieval Studies 21 (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1969). 75  Corbett, xxiv-xxv. 72 

38

Introduction

Problems of Musicology and Translation As I noted in the introduction of my recent translation of Book 4, for nearly two centuries, musicologists have viewed Durand’s Rationale as an authoritative source for the performance of liturgical music in the medieval Latin Church. One such pioneer in the field of liturgy, Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805–1874) famously stated that Durand’s treatise can be considered the “final word” on the medieval Church’s understanding of its liturgical rites.76 While I cannot claim expertise in musicology, I can say that musicologists should be cautious when attempting to settle academic debates over terminology by invoking Durand’s exposition of critical terms. Durand’s primary sources for the composition of Book 5 are much more reflective of late twelfth century practices than those of the late thirteenth century. Researchers should therefore look carefully at the works of the liturgical expositors that Durand copied verbatim, some of whom were writing nearly a century before the Rationale appeared. In some cases, Durand’s language remains open to continued discussion, and this ongoing scholarly debate must inform the work of any translator of a medieval liturgical exposition such as his. In my translation of Book 5, I have attempted to make the best informed decisions that I could, based on the research of highly respected musicologists, some of whom have devoted considerable work to Durand’s Rationale. I  have followed their suggestions on how to translate some of the terms that Durand employs that continue to be subject to dispute. A good example of this is the precise meaning of the word neuma, which figures prominently in Durand’s discussion of that very term (Rationale, 5.2.32 sq).77 Two 76  “On peut considerer ce livre comme le dernier mot du moyen-âge sur la mystique du culte divin.” Prosper Guéranger, Institutions Liturgiques (Paris: Débécourt, 1840), 1: 355. 77  There is continued discussion among musicologists over the precise meaning of the word neuma or neumae in medieval musical sources. Following the advice of musicologists with whom I have consulted, I have left the term in the original Latin. See David Hiley, “Neuma,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., edited by Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 2001), 17: 785–787.

39

Introduction

systematic studies of the Rationale as a musicological source are noteworthy and have been particularly helpful for such analysis: the pioneering work of Herbert Douteil78 (who also did a critical edition of John Beleth’s79 twelfth century liturgical Summa), and the recent work of Lori Kruckenberg,80 who carefully analyzed Durand’s commentary on the liturgical Sequence. I have profited immensely from both studies. For more general questions about medieval music and liturgical performance, I have consulted a variety of well known works.81 In all cases, where the definition of a technical term related to music continues to be debated, I have provided the original Latin, either in brackets or in a footnote to contextualize and justify my translation. In addition to the complexities of translating disputed musical terms, there are other issues associated with the translation of verbs describing the actual performance of the hours of prayer. In his magisterial study of the Divine Office, Robert Taft notes that there continues to be some disagreement over the precise manner in which the Psalms, hymns and Canticles of the Office were meant to be performed in Benedict’s Rule.82 All of the Latin verbs that we find in the Rule (canere, cantare, modulare, psallere, dicere), can more than likely be interpreted as some type of “singHerbert Douteil, Studien zu Durantis “Rationale divinorum officiorum” als kirchenmusikalischer Quelle (Regensburg: Gustave Bosse Verlag, 1969). 79  Iohannis Beleth Summa de ecclesiasticis officiis, ed. Herbert Douteil, CCCM 41–41A (1976). 80  Lori Kruckenberg, “Neumatizing the Sequence: Special Performance of Sequences in the Central Middle Ages,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 59 (2006): 243–318. 81  Giulio Cattin, Music of the Middle Ages  I, translated by Steven Botterill (Cambridge and London: Cambridge University Press, 1984); David Hiley, Western Plainchant: A Handbook (Oxford: Oxford University press, 1993); Richard L. Crocker, An Introduction to Gregorian Chant (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000). 82  Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours East and West, 138–139. For the performance of the monastic Office, see also Susan Boynton, “Prayer as Performance in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Monastic Psalters,” Speculum 82 (2007): 896–931; Susan Boynton, “The Bible and the Liturgy,” The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages. Production, Reception and Performance in Western Christianity, edited by Susan Boynton and Diane J. Reilly (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011), 10–33. 78 

40

Introduction

ing.” The same is true when these words are employed by medieval liturgical expositors such as Durand. In the case of the verbs, cantare, canere, and less frequently, modulare, we are justified in simply translating the verb as “to sing.” Durand most frequently uses the verb cantare, but occasionally, to underscore the communal singing of a Psalm or hymn in unison, he will employ the verb concinere, which I have translated as “to sing together” (e.g., 5.3.16). When describing the practice of David singing festive songs or Psalms in front of the Ark of the Covenant, Durand uses the verb decantare, which I have also simply translated as “to sing” (5.3.23). However, a problem arises with the verb dicere, which most often is translated as “to say” or “to speak” in classical and medieval Latin sources. In discussing the use of this word in monastic sources, Taft argues that Benedict did not intend for the Office to be “spoken” or “recited” in the modern sense of speech, but we have little indication of what is meant by singing or chanting, per se, in the Benedictine Rule.83 In his detailed reconstruction of the Office in the Rule, Nathan Mitchell also notes that Benedict uses a variety of terms that can be translated as singing, including dicere. As Mitchell concludes: “Benedict seems to have used these words [dicere, canere, cantare] freely, without following any rigid rules of classification between things spoken and things sung.”84 Durand frequently uses the verb dicere in his discussion of liturgical texts that are clearly meant to be sung. But in those cases, I have translated the verb as “to say.” As a general rule, I have offered a more literal translation of these verbs (cantare, dicere) to be faithful to Durand’s text, and to respect his precise word choices in these instances. However, as Mitchell and Taft note, with

83  Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours East and West, 138–139. Dyer makes the same point: “The psalms, in contrast to the prayers and readings of the Office, were performed nearly always in a manner resembling singing rather than non-musical recitation […] the patristic and medieval texts which mention psalms and readings in succession make a clear distinction between the two.” Joseph Dyer, “The Singing of Psalms in the Early-Medieval Office,” Speculum 64 (1989): 538. 84  Nathan Mitchell, “The Liturgical Code in the Rule of Benedict,” in The Rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English, edited by Timothy Fry (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981), 403.

41

Introduction

reference to liturgical texts, the reader should assume that they are sung, for in this literature, “to say” is really “to sing.” In rare instances, echoing early monastic traditions, Durand will use the verb psallere, which quite literally means “to Psalm.” But such a translation would be maladroit at best. I have translated this verb as “to sing a Psalm” or “to sing Psalms,” since it is only used in the context of Psalmody.85

General Rules for the Translation My translation of the fifth book of the Rationale is based on the Latin text that Anselme Davril, O.S.B., and I published in the second volume of our critical edition.86 A comprehensive treatment of the manuscript tradition of the medieval text, as well as the specific manuscripts that were employed for the edition, can be found in the last volume of our three-volume work. It contains all of our introductory material, including my own source analysis and the indices for the full commentary. It should be noted that the present volume represents the first full English translation of Book 5 of the Rationale, and it has only been translated into one vernacular language prior to the present work. As I noted in my recent translation of Book 4, Durand’s Mass commentary, per se, was translated into medieval vernacular versions not long after the original Latin text appeared. It survives in a Middle French and a Late Middle-High German version that have been also published in modern critical editions.87 There was no such interest in Book 5 in the Middle Ages. The only previous modern translation of Durand’s commentary on the Divine Office is part of the unparalleled work of Charles Barthélemy, a See Isidore, Etym., 3.2.7, where the encyclopedist defines the verb psallere as “to sing to the psaltery.” 86  Guillelmi Duranti Rationale divinorum officiorum V-VI, edited by A. Davril and T. M. Thibodeau, CCCM 140A (1998): 9–119. 87  Timothy M. Thibodeau, William Durand, Rationale IV. On the Mass and Each Action Pertaining to it, Corpus Christianorum in Translation 14 (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2013), 22–25. 85 

42

Introduction

nineteenth-century Parisian author.88 His monumental achievement—the only modern translation of all eight books of the Rationale—was published in five volumes and numbers over 2000 pages. I  have frequently consulted Barthélemy’s translation and have found that it balances the literal sense of the text with an elegant rhetorical style. As I have noted in previous publications, one unavoidable weakness with Barthélemy’s work is the flawed Latin edition on which it was based (presumably a post-1600 printed edition of the Rationale).89 This becomes especially apparent in portions of Book 5 where there is some degree of speculation on his part where his Latin text undoubtedly reflects discordance in the original manuscripts of Durand’s commentary without adequate resolution. Any translator of medieval texts has to struggle to make the rhetorical structure and nuances of one language clear in another. In the present work, I have attempted to remain faithful to the Latin text, but always with the goal of making the translation conform to the idioms of modern American English. Faithfulness to the spirit of the text, clarity and readability are higher priorities than the slavish rendition of the Latin (which itself, in several instances, is too cryptic for a literal translation to make any sense for a modern reader). There are some isolated instances, however, where I have provided a fairly literal translation of the text, without which Durand’s exegesis would make little sense. Those obscure or cryptic passages have been fully explained in the footnotes. There are also a few instances where the manuscripts of Durand’s commentary are corrupt or have substantial variants. I have noted these problems and based my translation on a judi-

88  Rational ou Manuel des divins offices de Guillaume Durand, Évêque de Mende au treizième siècle, ou Raisons mystiques et historiques de la liturgie Catholique, 5 vols (Paris: Louis Vivès 1854). The title page identifies Barthélemy as, “Membre de la Société des Antiquaires de Picardie, Correspondent du Ministère de l’Instruction publique pour les Travaux historiques.” 89  Most of the modern printed editions rely, in one form or another, on the 1551 edition of Nicholas Doard, a cleric from Champagne, who “corrected” and “annotated” an Italian text-type edition of the Rationale. Doard’s work features quite a few interpolations into the original text.

43

Introduction

cious reading of relevant redactions and original source material (obviously none of which were available to Barthélemy). Regardless of the rhetorical structure of the particular chapters of Durand’s exposition of the canonical hours, I have taken some liberties to produce a more flowing English form. In some cases, for the sake of consistency and clarity, I have made minor modifications to the original Latin form of the nouns and verbs. Some passive verbs have been put in the active form and vice versa; the imperfect form of the verb is sometimes put in the simple past tense; sometimes the singular form of a noun has been put in the plural and vice versa; some gerundive forms are presented in the infinitive form of the verb. Stock Latin phrases that do not have a good English equivalent have been freely translated. There are many biblical citations throughout the Rationale. Most of these are derived from Jerome’s Vulgate translation of Scripture as it was used in the liturgical and legal texts of the Church. The biblical references provided in parentheses in the body of the text are collated to the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible (and sometimes have different verse numbers than modern English translations based on the original languages).90 The translations of biblical texts are my own, and often are more literal than poetic. Otherwise, Durand’s primary exegetical points, which rely on the interpretation of key terms, particularly in the Psalms, would be obscured or entirely lost in translation. There are also cases where Durand misidentifies, truncates or alters biblical texts. These changes have been duly noted or corrected in the footnotes of the passages in question. The translations of liturgical texts are also my own, again often presented in a more literal than poetic form, for the same hermeneutical reasons indicated for my biblical translations. I have included the Latin incipits in the footnotes, with a reference to the original source. Those

90  The biblical citations are collated to the critical edition of the Vulgate edited by Robert Weber and Boniface Fischer, Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam Versionem, 3rd ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983). The abbreviations for the Biblical books conform to The Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).

44

Introduction

texts are presented with Durand’s medieval orthography (e.g., officium Misse instead of Missae; celi et terre instead of coeli et terrae). The classical, patristic and medieval authors that Durand cites are also presented in my own translations. Sometimes these passages have been compared to new English versions of the same texts, especially Isidore of Seville’s (c. 560–636) famous Etymologies.91 There are many instances where Durand provides elaborate and sometimes fanciful etymologies of key terms, often following the lead of the famed medieval etymologist, Isidore; the nuances and puns of these texts are invariably lost in translation. In such cases I have attempted to communicate the nuance by including the Latin term(s) in brackets so that the reader has some sense of the word play in the original text. If a translation requires further explanation, I have provided a footnote explaining the complexities of the passage in question. The Latin edition of the Rationale features a running source apparatus where I have identified every direct or probable source used by Durand in the composition of his text (direct quotations, paraphrases or textual parallels). In the present work, I have only included footnotes with a complete bibliographic citation when Durand clearly identifies, paraphrases or directly cites a particular source within the body of his commentary.

91  The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, translated by Stephen Barney, W.  J. Lewis, J.  A. Beach and Oliver Berghof (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007). Also useful is De ecclesiasticis officiis, translated by Thomas Knoebel, Ancient Christian Writers no. 61 (New York and Mahwah, NJ: Newman Press, 2008).

45

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbreviations Abbreviations for Collections or Editions AHMA

AMS CAO CCCM CCSL CSEL Deshusses

G. M. Dreves, C. Blume and H. M. Bannister. Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, 55 vols (Leipzig: O. R. Reisland, 1866–1922; repr., New York: Johnson Reprint, 1961) R. J. Hesbert, Antiphonale Missarum Sextuplex (Bruxelles: Vromant, 1935) R. J. Hesbert, Corpus Antiphonalium Officii, 6 vols and indices (Rome: Herder, 1963–1979) Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 1966-) Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 1953-) Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (Vienna: Vienna Academy, 1866–1957) Jean Deshusses, ed., Le sacramentaire grégorien: Ses principales formes d'après les plus anciens manuscrits, 2nd ed., Spicilegium Friburgense 16, 24, 28 (Fribourg: Éditions universitaires, 1979–1982)

47

Bibliography

Duchesne

Isidore, Etym.

Friedberg

MGH Mommsen

OR

OrdPC

PG PL Rationale IV

Reg. Ben. RH

SC Sp

Louis Duchesne, ed., Le Liber Pontificialis, 2nd ed., 3 vols, Bibilothèque des Écoles françaises d’Athènes et de Rome (Paris: E. de Boccard, 1955–1957) Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiarum sive originum libri xx, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1911; reprint, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) Emile Friedberg, Corpus Iuris Canonici, 2 vols (Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnitz, 1879; repr., Graz: Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1959) Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Hannover: Hahn, 1846-) Theodore Mommsen, et al., Corpus Iuris Civilis, 3 vols (Berlin: Weidmann, 1872–1895; repr., Hildesheim: Weidmann, 1988–1989) Michel Andrieu, ed., Les Ordines Romani du haut Moyen Age, 5 vols, Spicilegium Sacrum Lovaniense 11, 23, 24, 28, 29 (Louvain, 1931–1961) S. J. P. Van Dijk.and J. Hazeldon Walker, The Ordinal of The Papal Court From Innocent III to Boniface VIII and Related Documents, Spicilegium Friburgense 22 (Fribourg: University Press, 1975) J. P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca, 2nd series (Paris, 1857–1866) J. P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina (Paris, 1844–1855); Indices (Paris, 1862–1864) Timothy M. Thibodeau. William Durand, Rationale IV. On the Mass and Each Action Pertaining to it. Corpus Christianorum in Translation (Turnhout: Brepols, 2013) Adalbert De Vogüé, ed. La Règle de Saint Benoît. SC 181–186a (1972–1977) Ulysses Chevalier, Repertorium Hymnologicum. 6 vols (Louvain and Brusselles: Imprimerie Lefever, 1892–1921) Sources Chrétiennes (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1949-) “Supplementum Anianense,” in Deshusses, Le Sacramentaire Grégorien, vol. 1

48

Bibliography

Voragine, Leg. Aurea Vulg.

Jacobi a Voragine Legenda Aurea, vulgo Historia Lombardia dicta, edited by Theodore Graesse (Dresden and Leipzig: Arnold, 1846) Robert Weber and Boniface Fischer, eds, Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam Versionem, 3rd ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983)

Abbreviations for Legal Sources Decretum Gratiani (Friedberg 1) D.1 c.1 C.1 q.1 c.1 De pen. De cons. d.a.c. d.p.c.

Distinctio 1, capitulum 1 Causa 1, questio 1, capitulum 1 Causa 33, questio 3 (De penitentia) Tractatus de consecratione Dictum Gratiani ante capitulum Dictum Gratiani post capitulum

Collectiones (Friedberg 2) X 1.1.1 VI 1.1.1

Decretales Gregorii IX (Liber Extra) Decretales Bonifacii VIII (Liber Sextus)

Corpus Iuris Civilis (Mommsen) Cod. 1.1.1 Dig. Inst. Nou. Coll.

Codex, lib.1, cap.1, par. 1 Digesta Institutiones Nouellarum constitutiones (secundum Criticam) Ibid. (secundum Vulgatam)92

There are significant editorial and occasional textual differences between the Classical text of this portion of the Roman law (secundum Criticam) and the medieval “Vulgate” (secundum Vulgatam) version that was used in the universities of Durand’s day. These differences are duly noted in my references to Mommsen’s edition of the Classical text to show where the numbering differs between his edition and the medieval text. 92 

49

Bibliography

Primary Sources Amalarius of Metz. Amalarii episcopi opera liurgica omnia. Studi e Testi 138–140. Edited by I. M. Hanssens. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1948–1950. Ambrose. De Isaac vel anima. Edited by C. Schenkl. CSEL 32. 1896. Ambrose. De mysteriis. Edited by Otto Faller. CSEL 73. 1955. Ambrose. De officiis ministrorum libri tres. PL 16: 23–184. Ambrose. De sacramentis. Edited by Bernard Botte. SC 25. 1961. Ambrose. In Epistolam Beati Pauli ad Corinthios primam. PL 17: 183–276. Augustine. Ad inquisitiones Ianuarii, Ep. 55. Edited by A.  Goldbacher. CSEL 34/2. 1898. Augustine. Confessionum libri XIII. Edited by L. Verheijen. CCSL 27. 1981. Augustine. Contra epistulam Parmeniani. Edited by M. Petschenig. CSEL 51. 1908. Augustine. Contra Maximinum haereticum Arianorum episcopum libri duo. PL 42: 741–814. Augustine. De civitate Dei libri I-IX. Edited by B. Dombart and A. Kalb. CCSL 47. 1955. Augustine. De cura pro mortuis gerenda. Edited by J. Zycha. CSEL 41. 1900. Augustine. De sententia Iacobi, Ep 167. Edited by A.  Goldbacher. CSEL 44. 1904. Augustine. Enarrationes in Psalmos. Edited by E. Dekkers and J. Fraispont. CCSL 38–40. 1967. Augustine. Enchiridion ad Laurentium de fide, et spe et caritate. Edited by M. P. J. van den Hout, M. Evans, et al. CCSL 46. 1969. (Ps.-)Augustine. In natali Sancti Stephani protomartyris, Sermo 210. PL 39: 2137–2140. Barthélemy, Charles. Rational ou Manuel des divins offices de Guillaume Durand, Évêque de Mende au treizième siècle, ou Raisons mystiques et historiques de la liturgie Catholique. 5 vols. Paris: Louis Vivès, 1854.

50

Bibliography

Bede. In Epistolam II Petri. Edited by M.  L.  W.  Laistner and D.  Hurst. CCSL 121. 1983. Bede. In Lucae evangelium expositio. Edited by D. Hurst. CCSL 120. 1960. Bede. Homilia II, in festo visitationis Beatae Mariae. PL 94:15A-22B Beleth, John. Iohannis Beleth Summa de ecclesiasticis officiis. Edited by Herbert Douteil. CCCM 41–41A. 1976. Bernard of Clairvaux. Super Cantica Canticorum, Sermo 13. Edited by J. Leclercq and H. Rochais. Rome: Editiones Cistercienses, 1957. Burchardus of Worms. Decretorum libri xx. PL 140: 537–1057. Cassiodorus. Historia ecclesiastica tripartita. Edited by W.  Jacob and R. Hanslik. CSEL 71. 1952. Chadwick, Henry. Saint Augustine: The Confessions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Le Codex 339 de la Bibliothèque de Saint-Gall (Xe siècle), Antiphonale Missarum Sancti Gregorii. Paléographie musicale 1. Solesmes: Imprimerie St. Pierre, 1889. De Vogüé, Adalbert, ed. La Règle de Saint Benoît. SC 181–186a. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1972–1977. Durand, William. Guillelmi Duranti Rationale divinorum officiorum. Edited by Anselme Davril and Timothy M. Thibodeau. CCCM 140, 140A, 140B. 1995–2000. Durand, William. Speculum iudiciale, illustratum et repurgatum a Giovanni Andrea et Baldo degli Ubaldi. 4 parts in 2 vols. Basel: Froben, 1574. Reprint, Darmstadt: Aalen, 1975. Fischer, Franz. “Wilhelm von Auxerre. Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis. Kritisch-digitale Erstausgabe.” Ph.D. thesis, University of Cologne, 2007. Gregory the Great. Gregorii  I papae Registrum epistolarum. Edited by P.  Ewald and L.  H.  Hartmann. MGH, Epistolarum tomus 1. Berlin: Weidmann, 1891. Gregory the Great. Moralia in Iob, Libri  I-IX. Edited by M.  Adriaen. CCSL 143. 1979.

51

Bibliography

Gregory the Great. Regula Pastoralis. Edited by Bruno Judic,  Floribert Rommel and Charles Morel. SC 381–382. 1992. Hincmar of Rheims. De praedestinatione Dei et libero arbitrio. PL 125: 65–474. Hippolytus of Rome. La Tradition Apsotolique. Edited by Bernard Botte. SC 11bis. 1984. Honorius Augustodunensis. Sacramentarium. PL 172: 757–806. Hugh of St. Victor. Eruditionis Didascalicae libri septem. PL 176: 741–838. Hugo de Folieto. De claustro animae libri quatuor. PL 176: 1017–1182. Innocent III. In solemnitate dedicationis ecclesiae, Sermo de tempore, 27. PL 217: 433A-438D.435C. Isidore of Seville. De ecclesiastic officiis. Translated by Thomas Knoebel. Ancient Christian Writers no. 61. New York and Mahwah, NJ: Newman Press, 2008. Isidore of Seville. The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville. Translated by Stephen Barney, W. J. Lewis, J. A. Beach and Oliver Berghof. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Isidore of Seville. Sancti Isidori Episcopi Hispalensis De ecclesiasticis officiis. Edited by C. M. Lawson. CCSL 113. 1989. Jacob of Voragine. Jacobi a Voragine Legenda Aurea, vulgo Historia Lombardia dicta. Edited by Theodore Graesse. Dresden and Leipzig: Arnold, 1846. Jerome. Ad Damasam, Ep. 47. PL 30: 294D-295A. Jerome. Commentarii in Evangelium Matthaei. PL 26: 16–218. Jerome. Commentariorum in Danielem libri III. Edited by F. Glorie. CCSL 75A. 1964. Jerome. Liber interpretationis Hebraicorum nominum. Edited by P. de Lagarde, G. Morin, and M. Adriaen. CCSL 72. 1959. Jerome. Liber Psalmorum, Ps 23. PL 28:1205C-1206A. John Cassian. Institutions Cénobitiques. Edited by Jean-Claude Guy. SC 109. 1965. John Damascene. De fide orthodoxa. PG 94: 789A-1228A.

52

Bibliography

Landulp the Elder. Landulfi Historia Mediolanensis. Edited by L.  C.  Betham and W.  Wattenbach. MGH, Scriptores 8. Hannover: Hahn, 1848. Lothario of Segni. De miseria humane conditionis. Edited by M.  Maccarone. Lugano: Thesaurus Mundi, 1955. Lupus of Olmeto. Regula monachorum ex scriptis Hieronymi collecta. PL 30: 319A-386C. Marcus Tullius Cicero. De inventione. Edited by Eduard Stroebel. Leipzig: Teubner,1890. Oesterle, Jean T. Aristotle: On Interpretation. Commentary by St. Thomas and Cajetan, Translated from the Latin with an Introduction. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1962. Origen. Homélies sur saint Luc, 2nd ed. Edited by Henri Crouzel, François Fournier, and Pierre Périchon. SC 87. 1998. Origen. In Exodum homilia. PG 12: 297A-396A. Ovid. Tristia, Ex Ponto. Edited by Arthur Leslie Wheeler. London: W. Heinemann, 1924. Petrus Comestor. Historia Scholastica, In Evangelia. PL 198: 1049–1722. Praepositinus of Cremona. Praepositini Cremonensis Tractatus de Officiis. Medieval Studies 21. Edited by James A.  Corbett. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1969. Rupertz of Deutz. Liber de divinis officiis. Edited by Hrabanus Haacke. CCCM 7. 1967. Sicardus of Cremona. Mitrale seu de ecclesiasticis officiis summa. PL 213: 13–434. Sicardus of Cremona. Sicardi Cremonensis episcopi Mitralis de officiis. Edited by Gábor Sarbak and Lorenz Weinrich. CCCM 228. 2008. Sicardus of Cremona. Sicard von Cremona: Mitralis der Gottesdienst der Kirche. Translated by Lorenz Weinrich. 2 vols. Corpus Christianorum in Translation 9. Turnhout: Brepols, 2011. Tertullian, De ieiunio adversus psychicos. Edited by A.  Reifferscheid and G. Wissowa. CCSL 2. 1954. Tertullian. De oratione. Edited by G. F. Dekkers. CCSL 1. 1954.

53

Bibliography

Thibodeau, Timothy M. The Rationale divinorum officiorum of William Durand of Mende. A New Translation of the Prologue and Book One. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. Thibodeau, Timothy M. William Durand of Mende: On the Clergy and Their Vestments. Scranton/Chicago: University of Scranton Press, 2009. Thibodeau, Timothy M. William Durand, Rationale IV. On the Mass and Each Pertaining to it. Corpus Christianorum in Translation 14. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2013. Watson, Alan, Editor and Translator. The Digest of Justinian / Latin Text Edited by Theodor Mommsen with the Aid of Paul Krueger. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985. Weber, Robert, and Boniface Fischer, eds. Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam Versionem, 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983. William of Auxerre. Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis. Douai: Bibilothèque municipale, n. 65.

Secondary Sources Battifol, Pierre. A  History of the Roman Breviary. Translated by Atwell M. Baylay. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1898. Boynton, Susan, and Diane J.  Reilly, eds. The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages. Production, Perception and Performance in Western Christianity. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011. Boynton, Susan. “Prayer as Performance in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Monastic Psalters.” Speculum 82 (2007): 896–931 Baldovin, John F. “The Empire Baptized. In The Oxford History of Christian Worship. Edited by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen B.  Westerfield Tucker, 78–130. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Bradshaw, Paul. Daily Prayer in the Early Church. A Study of the Origin and Development of the Divine Office. Eugene, OR: WIPF and Stock, 2008.

54

Bibliography

Busse Berger, Anna Maria. Medieval Music and the Art of Memory. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. Chupungco, Anscar J. Handbook for Liturgical Studies Volume 1: Introduction to the Liturgy. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1997. Crocker, Richard L. The Early Medieval Sequence. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977. Crocker, Richard L. Introduction to Gregorian Chant. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000. De Lubac, Henri. Exégèse médiévale: Les quatre sens de l'Écriture, 2 vols in 4 parts. Paris: Aubier, 1959–1964. De Vogüé, Adalbert. The Rule of St. Benedict. A Doctrinal and Spiritual Commentary. Translated by John Baptist Hasbrouck. Cistercian Studies Series 54. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1983. Douteil, Herbert. Studien zu Durantis “Rationale divinorum officiorum” als kirchenmusikalischer Quelle. Regensburg: Gustave Bosse Verlag, 1969. Dyer, Joseph. “The Singing of Psalms in the Early-Medieval Office.” Speculum 64 (1989): 535–578. Faletti, Louis. “Guillaume Durand.” Dictionnaire de droit canonique 5 (1953): 1014–1075. Fassler, Margot E. Gothic Song: Victorine Sequences and Augustinian Reform in Twelfth-Century Paris. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011. Fassler, Margot E., and Rebecca Baltzer. The Divine Office in the Latin Middle Ages. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Ferrari, Guy. Early Roman Monasteries. Notes for the History of Monasteries and Convents at Rome, from the V through X Century. Vatican City: Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana, 1957. Glare, P. G. W. The Oxford Latin Dictionary. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Guéranger, Prosper. Institutions Liturgiques. 2 vols. Paris: Débécourt, 1840. Gy, Pierre-Marie, O.P., ed. Guillaume Durand, Évêque de Mende (v. 1230– 1296): Canoniste, liturgiste et homme politique. Paris: Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1992.

55

Bibliography

Harper, John. The Forms and Orders of the Western Liturgy from the Tenth to the Eighteenth Century: A Historical Introduction and Guide for Students and Musicians. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Heffernan, Thomas J., and E.  Ann Matter. The Liturgy of the Medieval Church. Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2001. Hiley, David. Gregorian Chant. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Hiley, David. “Neuma.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. Edited by Stanley Sadie, 17: 785–787. London: Macmillan, 2001. Hiley, David. Western Plainchant: A  Handbook. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Hughes, Andrew. Medieval Manuscripts for Mass and Office: A  Guide to Their Organization and Terminology. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. Jeffrey, Peter. “The Introduction of Psalmody into the Roman Mass by Pope Celestine (422–432): Reinterpreting a Passage in the ‘Liber Pontificalis.’” Archiv für Liturgiewissenschaft 26 (1984): 147–165. Jeffrey, Peter. “The Meanings and Functions of Kyrie eleison.” The Place of Christ in Liturgical Prayer: Trinity, Christology and Liturgical Theology. Edited by Bryan D. Spinks, 127–194. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2008. Johnson, Maxwell E. “The Apostolic Tradition.” In The Oxford History of Christian Worship. Edited by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen  B. Westerfield Tucker, 32–75. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Jungmann, Joseph A. The Early Liturgy, to the Time of Gregory the Great. Translated by Francis A. Brunner. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1959. Klauser, Theodor. A Short History of the Western Liturgy: an Account and Some Reflections, 2nd ed. Translated by John Halliburton. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Krautheimer, Richard. Rome: Profile of a City, 312–1308. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1980.

56

Bibliography

Kruckenberg, Lori. “Neumatizing the Sequence: Special Performance of Sequences in the Central Middle Ages.” Journal of the American Musicological Society 59 (2006): 243–318. Lacombe, Georges. La vie et les oeuvres de Prévostin. Praepositini Cancellarii Parisiensis (1206–1210), Opera Omnia I. Bibliothèque Thomiste 11. Kain, BE: Le Saulchoir, 1927. Latham, R. E. Revised Medieval Latin Word-List. London: Oxford University Press, 1983. Levy, Kenneth. “Toledo, Rome and the Legacy of Gaul.” Early Music History 4 (1984): 49–99. Martimort, A. G., I. H. Dalmais and P. Jounel. The Church at Prayer IV: The Liturgy and Time. Translated by Matthew J. O’Connell. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1986. Martineau, R.  M. “La Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis de Guillaume D’Auxerre.” Études d' histoire littéraire et doctrinale du XIIIe siècle, 2e série (1932): 25–58. Mateos, Juan. “The Morning and Evening Office.” Worship 42 (1968): 31– 47. Mateos, Juan. “The Origins of the Divine Office.” Worship 41 (1967): 477– 485. Mitchell, Nathan. “The Liturgical Code in the Rule of Benedict.” In The Rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English. Edited by Timothy Fry, 379– 414. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981. McKinnon, James. “The Patristic Jubilus and the Alleluia of the Mass.” In International Musicological Society Study Group Cantus Planus: Papers Read at the Third Meeting Tihany, Hungary 19–24  September 1988. Edited by László Dobszay, Péter Halász, János Mezei, and Gábor Prószéky, 61–70. Budapest: Hungarian Academy of Sciences/Institute for Musicology, 1990. McKinnon, James. “Preface to the Study of the Alleluia.” Early Music History 15 (1996): 213–249. Mews, Constant J. “Liturgists and Dance in the Twelfth Century: The Witness of John Beleth and Sicard of Cremona.” Church History 78 (2009): 512–548.

57

Bibliography

Ottosen, Knud. The Responsories and Versicles of the Latin Office of the Dead. Copenhagen: Books on Demand, 2007. Reynolds, Roger. “Divine Office, Roman.” Dictionary of the Middle Ages 7 (1986): 624–633. Robertson, Duncan. Lectio Divina. The Medieval Experience of Reading. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2011. Salmon, Pierre. The Breviary Through the Centuries. Translated by Sr. David Mary. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1962. Storey, William G. “The Liturgy of the Hours: Cathedral versus Monastery.” In Christians at Prayer. Edited by J. Gallen, 61–82. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977. Taft, Robert F. The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West: The Origins of the Divine Office and its Meaning for Today. 2nd revised ed. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993. Talley, Thomas. The Origins of the Liturgical Year. 2nd ed. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991. Tolhurst, J. B. L. The Monastic Breviary of Hyde Abbey, Winchester. Henry Bradshaw Society 80. London: HBS, 1942. Thibodeau, Timothy M. “Canon Law and Liturgical Exposition in Durand’s Rationale.” Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law 22 (1998): 41–52. Thibodeau, Timothy M. “The Doctrine of Transubstantiation in Durand’s Rationale.” Traditio 51 (1996): 308–317. Thibodeau, Timothy M. “Enigmata Figurarum: Biblical Exegesis and Liturgical Exposition in Durand’s Rationale.” Harvard Theological Review 86 (1993): 65–79. Thibodeau, Timothy M. “From Durand of Mende to St. Thomas More: Lessons Learned from Medieval Liturgy.” In Ritual, Text and Law: Studies in Medieval Canon Law and Liturgy Presented to Roger E. Reynolds. Edited by Kathleen G. Cushing and Richard F. Gyug, 83–94. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004. Thibodeau, Timothy M. “The Influence of Canon Law on Liturgical Exposition c. 1100–1300.” Sacris Erudiri 37 (1997): 185–202. Thibodeau, Timothy M. “Western Christendom.” In The Oxford History of Christian Worship. Edited by Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen  B.

58

Bibliography

Westerfield Tucker, 216–253. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Thibodeau, Timothy M. “William Durandus.” In Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. Edited by Christopher Kleinhenz, vol.  2, 1168–1169. New York and London: Routledge, 2003. Van Dijk, S. J. P. “Urban and Papal Rites in Seventh and Eighth-Century Rome.” Sacris Erudiri 12 (1961): 411–487 Van Dijk, S. J. P., and J. Hazelden Walker. The Ordinal of the Papal Court, From Innocent III to Boniface VIII and Related Documents. Spicilegium Friburgense 22. Fribourg: University Press, 1975. Van Dijk, S. J. P., and J. Hazelden Walker. The Origins of the Modern Roman Liturgy: The Liturgy of Papal Court and the Franciscan Order in the Thirteenth Century. Westminster, MD: Newmann Press, 1960. Vogel, Cyrille. Medieval Liturgy. An Introduction to the Sources. Translated and revised by W. G. Storey and N. K. Rasmussen. Washington, DC: The Pastoral Press, 1986.

59

RATIONALE BOOK FIVE COMMENTARY ON THE DIVINE OFFICE

[1] [PROLOGUE] THE BEGINNING OF BOOK FIVE: ON THE DIVINE OFFICE, IN GENERAL, AT NIGHT AND DURING THE DAY

1. We read in Exodus, chapter 25, at the end, that the Lord said to Moses: See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain (Ex 25:40). This is why it is fitting for us to fashion ourselves after that celestial Jerusalem that the Lord commanded us to praise—and which, just as the Apostle says to the Galatians, chapter 4, is above us and is our Mother (cf. Gal 4:26)— and especially, when we are praising God, according to this text: Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen who all day and night, shall never cease to praise your name (Isa 62:6).a And in Apocalypse, chapter 4, it says that the animals: Rested neither day nor night, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy (Rev 4:8). Nevertheless, the Church militant cannot fully imitate the Church triumphant because, just as we read in the Book of Wisdom, chapter 9: The corruptible body is a weight on the soul (Wisd 9:15). For we are unable, with the shackles of our infirmity, to persevere continually in the divine praises at each of the twelve hours of the day, because a 

gate.

Durand has altered the final words of the text of Isaiah, as found in the Vul-

63

9

Rationale

10

man, by necessity sometimes has to give attention to the needs of the body—according to what is in Genesis, chapter 3: In the sweat of your brow, you shall eat your bread (Gen 3:19)—therefore, we do what we can in praising God at certain hours of the day. 2. Thus, when they returned from the Babylonian captivity, Ezra taught the people of Israel to praise God four times at night and four times during the day (cf. Ezra 9:3), so that from each of the four elements from which man exists, he would offer himself in obedience to the Creator, at each of the corresponding hours: at night, at Vespers, Compline, and in the nocturns; at daybreak, at Lauds; but during the day time, at the hour of Prime, Terce, Sext and None. The Office of Vespers, which is the beginning of whichever Office, can be shown to belong to the night time, since, according to Isidore, in the Etymologies,a it gets its name “from the evening star [a vespera stella],” which rises in the east at nightfall. Truly, David says: Seven times a day I praise you (Ps 118:164), and later: At midnight I arose to give praise to you, etc. (Ps 118:62). The Council of Agdeb approved this order, and the Holy Church follows it because the night Office is sung in the middle of the night. The remainder of the seven canonical hours are said during the day: namely, Lauds—which used to be said at dawn, although today it is joined with the nocturns, along with Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline, which are called the seven canonical hours, as if they are “measuring rods [regulares],”c because they were regularly [regulariter] observed by the Holy Fathers. For the Greek word, “canon [canon]” is called a “measuring rod [regula],” in Latin.d The offering of the Mass [oblatio misse], because of the excellence of so great a sacrament that is confected in it, is above all other praises and is in itself a praise [laus]; nor can it be grasped Isidore, Etym., 6.19.2. X 3.41.1, Friedberg 2: 635. c  Isidore, Etym., 6.16.1. It is difficult to preserve the word play in Isidore’s Latin text, where he expounds on the original Greek term, κανών (kanón), which means “measuring rod,” or “standard,” as a preface to his discussion of the canons of Church councils. Durand is linking this definition to the “canonical” hours that follow a precise order during the night and day. d  Isidore, Etym., 6.16.1. a 

b 

64

V, 1

by counting it among the others. On account of this, it has its own special treatise in this work,a although some assert that it belongs to the Office of Terce or None, for the reason that at these two hours, it is regularly the custom to celebrate it. 3. Fittingly, the night Office represents a time of misery in which the human race was kept under siege by the Devil; the day Office designates the time of our redemption and liberation through Christ, the sun of justice, who, with the clarity of His Divinity, illuminated our darkness and led us from the slavery of the Devil. Therefore, since we have obtained such a great good through the gift of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, we justly sing praises to God seven times. 4. Second, because a natural day represents the life of anyone; not the life which any given man has, but that life he would have had, had he not sinned. And this natural day has seven elements. The first is infancy, which is represented by Lauds. The second, is boyhood, represented by Prime. The third is adolescence, represented by Terce. The fourth is youth, represented by Sext. The fifth is old age, represented by None. The sixth, the feebleness of old age, which is represented by Vespers. The seventh, is the age of one who is decrepit, or the end of our life, which is designated by Compline. Therefore, in each of these ages, we ought to praise our Creator for the judgments of His justice. Concerning infancy, Blessed Nicholasb shows us an example; he who on the fourth and sixth day of the week, through the virtue of abstinence, did not suckle at his mother’s breast. Concerning the other ages, enough is evident. Third, because according to Solomon (cf. Prov 24:16), the just man falls seven times a day through negligence; therefore, it is fitting that he ought to call upon Divine aid seven times a day, so that through the vigilance of prayer, he is capable of rising again. Fourth, because the number seven is the universal number.

a  A reference, of course, to Book 4 of the Rationale, Durand’s lengthy commentary on the Mass. b  Durand’s source for this legend appears to be Honorius Augustodunensis, Sacramentarium, De S. Nicol., PL 172: 1033C. It is also found in Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.3, CCCM 228: 241.

65

11

Rationale

12

5. Since the twelve hours of the day are so allotted so that the Lord ought to be praised in all of them, why then is there singing in the Church at only four hours of the day? I respond: since at each of those hours, as was previously said, we are not capable of applying ourselves continually to the Divine praises, what is lacking in the other hours is added at the hours of Prime, Terce, Sext and None. For at each of them three Psalms are said, and thus in those four hours, the number of Psalms corresponds to the number of hours in the day. And any Psalm contains eight verses, signifying the eighth day of the Resurrection,a which will be discussed under the heading, On Compline;b and this is also signified through the eight verses of the Psalms that we sing, because we rejoice in the glory of the Resurrection. To continue, at any of these hours, “Glory to the Father [Gloria Patri]” is said three times in addition to the Psalms, so that as many hours of the day are granted to us to labor for the sustenance of the body, “Glory to the Father” might be said as many times in those hours, so that through this, we might show that we are engaged in the service of God at every hour. Indeed, the three glorificationsc that are in the hour of Prime indicate that we are in the service of God at the first, second and third hour; and the three that are at Terce protect us at the fourth, fifth and sixth hour; the three that are at Sext fortify us against ambushes of the Devil at the seventh, eighth and ninth hour. None, with its own glorifications, protects us at the tenth, eleventh and twelfth hour. It can also be said, not without cause, that in Prime, two hours can be understood: Prime itself [the first hour] and the second hour; in Terce, three hours, namely: Terce itself, the fourth and fifth hour; similarly, in Sext, three hours, namely: Sext itself, the seventh and eighth hour; in None, two hours: namely, None itself and the tenth hour; Vespers represents the eleventh hour and Compline the twelfth.

a  The “eighth day” is a figurative reference to the eternal joy of those who enter heaven after their earthly death. b  Rationale, 5.10.8. c  Durand literally says tres glorificationes, which means the recitation of the Gloria Patri three times.

66

V, 1

But in the six aforesaid hours of the day—namely, in Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline—we especially praise God, and not in the second, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and tenth hour, because the aforesaid hours are in some way more privileged than those hours, as will be shown in the beginning of the chapters on each of these hours; and this is why the Divine Office is fittingly celebrated at each of those hours. 6. Surely, Christ was arrested at night; in the morning, He was mocked and at the first hour, handed over to the Gentiles; at the third hour, He was flogged and crucified by the clamor [of the mob]; at the sixth hour, He was attached to the cross; at the ninth hour, He died; at the eleventh hour, He was taken down from the cross; at the twelfth hour, He was buried. Likewise, at night, He despoiled hell; in the morning, He arose from the dead; at the first hour, He appeared to Mary [Magdalene]; at the third hour, He met those who were returning from the tomb; at the sixth hour, He met James; at the ninth hour, Peter; at Vespers, He appeared to the two disciples going to Emmaus and revealed Himself; at Compline, He said: Peace be with you (Lk 24:36) to the Apostles, and He ate with them. Bernarda shows how we ought to discharge the praises of these hours, saying: “My brothers, while offering the sacrifice of praise, let us join words to their meaning; their meaning to emotions; exultation to emotions; understanding to exultation; humility to understanding; liberty to humility.” 7. There are also those who say that the custom of signing Terce and None was taken from Daniel (cf. Dan 6:10), who, knowing that Nebuchadnezzar had erected a statue that he had decreed all must adore, entered his house, and with the windows open, genuflected three times a day facing Jerusalem; Jeromeb explicates this as he says: “This is where the ecclesiastical tradition was derived, that the knees must be bent three times a day: namely, at Terce, Sext and None.”

Bernard of Clairvaux, Super Cantica Canticorum, Sermo 13.7, ed. J. LeClercq and H. Rochais (Rome: Editiones Ciscterciensis, 1957), 1: 54. b  Cf. Jerome, Comment. in Danielem, 2.6.10, CCSL 75A: 832. a 

67

13

Rationale

8. In those same hours, we ought to praise the Blessed Virgin Mary; namely, in the night Office or at Matins, because at that hour a certain star that is called, “from beyond the mountains [transmontana],” appears in the sky, by whose course sailors arrive at their port. And the Virgin herself is that “star from beyond the mountains” because if we who are in this world praise her worthily, she will lead us to the port of salvation. Likewise, at Prime, for then there appears a certain star that is called Diana,a which follows the sunrise, and the Virgin Mary herself is the true Diana, which bore the true sun for us—namely, Christ—who illumines the entire world. Likewise, at Terce, for at that hour we are accustomed to being hungry, and she [the Virgin] bore the true bread—namely, Christ—through whom all hunger is satisfied. Likewise, at Sext, because at that hour the sun burns brightly and it becomes hot, and she must be praised and entreated, so that we who have become cold will be rekindled in charity, through Christ “the sun,” to whom she gave birth. Likewise, at None, because at that hour, the sun begins to set in the west, and she aids and protects us as we begin to decline, that is, as we enter old age. Likewise, at Vespers, because at this hour, the day begins to draw to a close, and at the hour of their death, she defends those who praise her. Likewise, at Compline, for at that hour, the day is completed and at the end of our life she intercedes for us and allows us to be received in the eternal tabernacle, where the joy of the elect is complete. Pope Urbanb instituted the signing of the Office of the Blessed [Virgin] Mary, as will be discussed under the heading, On the season of Advent.c 9. The night Office brings us back to the time from Adam up to Noah; the morning Office, from the time of Noah up to Abraham; Prime, from the time of Abraham up to Moses; Terce, from Moses up to David; Sext, from the time of David up to the coming of Christ; None, from the time that follows, up to the second coming [of Christ], when He shall come, settling accounts for a  Some of Durand’s discussion in this paragraph is loosely based on Isidore, Etym., 8.11.56; 7.10.1. b  Cf. Liber Pont., 160, Duchesne 2: 294. c  Rationale, 6.2.7.

68

V, 1

things that are hidden. Through Vespers, we recall the Sabbath, that is, the repose of souls after they have left their bodies, up until the day of judgment. Through Compline, we recall the completed number of Saints and the consummation of their joy, which shall be completed on the day of the great feast, when the blessed shall take possession of the reign of God. II.1. In this parta we intend to treat the ecclesiastical Offices in general. And according to Isidore,b an office [officium] is the proper or corresponding act assigned to each person according to the mores or laws of the city, or the regulations of his profession. For some have the rules of monks; others, those of canons; others, those of hermits, and likewise for the rest. And according to Jerome,c in his book, On the Offices, the word “office [officium]” is derived from the word “to effect [ab efficiendo],” as if to say that “duty [efficium]” comes from “effect [ab efficio-cis],” one letter changed into another on account of the grace of the expression. Indeed, it is fitting for each one to effect his office; or according to Isidore,d it is called an office, “so that each one does those things which obstruct no one but benefit everyone.” II.2. To continue, nothing must be sung or read in church which has not been expressly regulated or approved by the Holy Roman Church, or at least tolerated by Her. In the primitive Church, different people used to sing, each one according to his own mind, different things, so long as what they sang pertained to the praise of God. Nevertheless, certain Offices were observed by all, from the beginning of [the Church’s] foundation, or they came from Christ Himself, such as the Lord’s Prayer, or from the Apostles, such as the Creed.

a  In the Latin critical edition of the text, following the majority reading of the medieval manuscripts, this section is a “part II” continuation in the first chapter of Book 5. For that reason, the paragraphs of the Latin text are divided into a “part II” scheme (viz. II.1, II.2, II.3). b  This etymology is derived from Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic. c. 18b, CCCM 41A: 40; cf. Isidore Etym., 6.19.1. c  Beleth, Summa, c. 18c, CCCM 41A: 40. Following Beleth, Durand misattributes this etymology to Jerome, when in fact, it comes from Isidore, Etym., 6.19.1. d  Isidore, Etym., 6.19.1.

69

14

Rationale

15

II.3. But in the times that followed, when the Church of God was torn apart by heresies, the emperor Theodosius, the destroyer of heretics, asked Pope Damasusa to have some prudent and Catholic man set the ecclesiastical Office in order. Thus, the same Pope charged Jerome the presbyter—who was then living in Bethlehem with Paula and Eustochia and other holy virgins, and who had previously lived in Rome under seven popes—with setting in order the Office of the Church. For Jerome knew the Hebrew, Greek, Chaldean and Latin languages, and obeying the Pope, did what he asked. Consequently, he arranged the Psalms that would be read for Sunday, and the Psalms for Monday, Tuesday and so on. To a great extent, he also arranged the Gospels, the Epistles and other things from the New and Old Testament that would be read, besides the chants. The same Jerome sent the completed work to Rome and it was made canonical by Pope Damasus, and it was decreed that it be observed by all churches, and Damasus made it his own, and it was on account of his authority that he imposed it.b II.4. Still, later, Blessed Gregory and Gelasius added prayers [orationes] and chants [cantus], and they made the Responses correspond to the Lessons and Gospels.c But Ambrose, Gelasius and Gregory established the singing of the Graduals, Tracts and the Alleluia at Mass. And many other doctors of the Church are also known to have added other things at another time. For the Holy Fathersd did not ordain all things pertaining to the beauty of the Office all at once, but different things were done by different people at different times. Thus, the beginning of the Mass has three variations: for sometimes it is begun with a lesson, such as nowadays, on Holy Saturday. Afterwards, Pope Celestinee instituted

Durand’s direct source is Beleth, Summa, c.  19a-d, CCCM 41A: 41–42. Cf. Liber Pont., c. 39, Duchesne 1: 213; Jerome, Ad Damasum, Ep. 47, PL 30: 294D295A. b  Cf. Cod. 1.3.24, Mommsen 2:28. c  Liber Pont., c. 51, Duchesne 1: 255. d  Durand’s source is Voragine, Leg. Aurea, c. 181.4 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 836. e  Liber Pont., c. 45, Duchesne 1: 230. a 

70

V, 1

the Psalms that are said at the Introit of the Mass; Gregorya arranged the Introit with a chant. II.5. We read in the life of Blessed Eugenius,b that at a time when the Ambrosian Office was more widely observed by the Church than the Gregorian Office, Pope Adrian convened a council where it was decreed that the Gregorian Office ought to be universally observed; and to that end, the Emperor Charlemagne compelled all clerics by means of threats and penalties, throughout diverse provinces, to burn the Ambrosian Office books. But Blessed Eugenius, coming to the council that had been convened for that reason, arrived and found that the same council had already been dissolved for three days; he persuaded the Lord Pope to recall all the clerics who had been at that council but had already been gone for three days. When the council was gathered a second time, all of the fathers were of one accord, that the Ambrosian and Gregorian Missals, secured with the seals of many bishops, should be placed on the altar of Blessed Peter the Apostle, and the doors of the church closed; and that they be engaged in prayer through the whole night, that the Lord might indicate to them, through some sign, which of these Missals He wished to have more widely observed by all churches. And thus everything that was agreed to was done. The next morning, on entering the church, they found each Missal open on the altar; or as others assert, they found the Gregorian Missal completely torn apart and scattered all over the place; but they found the Ambrosian Missal merely opened on the altar, in the same location where it had been placed. And by this sign from heaven, they were instructed to disperse the Gregorian Office through the entire world, but the Ambrosian Office only had to be observed in its own church [in Milan], and to this day it is observed there. Since the time of the Emperor Charlemagne, the Ambrosian Office really began to decline in use, and Cf. Ordo 19.36, OR 3:224. Voragine, Leg. Aurea, c. 46.18 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 201. Voragine was probably following the account of the life of the 8th century bishop of Milan that can be found in Landulf the Elder’s History of Milan. See Landulfi, Historia Mediolanensis, 2.10–14, MGH, Scriptores 8, ed. L. C. Betham and W. Wattenbach (Hannover: Hahn, 1848), 49–51. a 

b 

71

16

Rationale

the Gregorian, with the aid of imperial authority, has spread far and wide. Ambrose also instituted many things that follow the rites of the Greek [Church], as will be discussed later, where the hymns are treated. In this part, the following shall be treated: First, those things that are said in any of the Offices Second, on the night Office Third, on Lauds Fourth, on Prime Fifth, on Terce Sixth, on Sext Seventh, on None Eighth, on Vespers Ninth, on Compline

72

[2] ON THE THINGS THAT ARE SAID IN THE OFFICE AT EACH OF THE HOURS

[I. On the “Our Father”]a 6.b So that the dying flies are chased away (cf. Eccl 10:1), and the spirit in prayer stays clear—so that it can fittingly speak with God, and so that if we do not pray with our spirit, the Lord is not roused to fury but will have mercy on us—therefore, it was introduced by laudable custom that the priest, before the beginning and the end of the canonical hours, and before and after the hours of the Blessed [Virgin] Mary, and after the “Hail Mary [Ave Maria,]” adds the Lord’s Prayer in a low voice. Thus, at the Council of Gerona,c it was decreed that it would also be said after each of the [canonical] hours, so that the Devil would not seize from the heart of the Pater Noster. For the sake of clarity and ease of access, the Latin critical edition has the addition of headings to indicate clearly the specific topics being covered in each section. b  In the Latin critical edition, the sharp variation in medieval manuscripts is noted. This chapter is either a continuation of chapter 1, with subheadings, or a stand-alone chapter. For the sake of resolving these differences, the critical edition treats this subsequent material as a separate chapter (2), but continues the numbering of paragraphs in Book 1, therefore beginning with paragraph “6” and not “1.” c  De cons. D.5 c.14, Friedberg 1: 1415. The canonical text that Durand cites only refers to the Lord’s Prayer being said after Matins and Vespers. a 

73

17

Rationale

priest any of the good that is sown there. Thus, in the primitive Church, after any hour it used to be said with a raised voice, without any other prayer; a practice which the Lateran church is said to observe to this day. Still, some say at the end of the hours: “May the Lord grant us His peace.”a This Lord’s Prayer will be discussed under the heading, On Prime and On Vespers.b

[II. On “O God, Come to My Assistance;”c on the Sign of the Cross] 7. Because the Lord says in the Gospel: Without me you can do nothing (Jn 15:5), therefore, at each of the hours during the day, the priest begins with: “O God, come to my assistance,” and each of them is finished with: “Thanks be to God,”d so that the beginning and end of each of the hours refers to the same One, namely: to God, who is the Alpha and the Omega, that is, the beginning and the end (cf. Rev 1:8). Therefore, in saying: “O God, come to my assistance,” Mother Church invites all men, according to the text: Come, children, hearken to me (Ps 33:12); words that were introduced because when the Ark of the Lord was raised up to be carried, Moses used to say: Arise, O Lord—that is, make [the Ark] rise up—and let your enemies be scattered, and let those that hate you, flee from before your face (Num 10:35). Thus, our priest says: “O God, come to my assistance;” that is: Grant me help to rise up from my sins, and help against the various enemies that surround your Church. For the Ark we understand as being the Church, which, to the end of time, shall be surrounded by those who persecute Her, whether they are out in the open or hidden, just as the Ark was surrounded by enemies. The priest therefore prays, so that the enemies might not prevail in separating some from the assembly of the faithful, perhaps through some cunning scheme. Dominus det nobis suam pacem. Rationale, 5.3.14–15; 5.9.9. c  Deus in adiutorium meum intende. d  Deo gratias. a 

b 

74

V, 2

For since the persecution of the just is an attack of the lion, that is, of the Devil, that is, when he is attacking openly; or an attack of the dragon—that is, of the Devil, sitting in ambush, that is, in secret pursuit—all cry out: “O God, come to my assistance.” And besides, since the Apostle says that all things must be done in the name of God (cf. Col 3:17), it is fitting to begin [each hour] with him. 8. On this subject it should be noted that sin occurs by three means: namely, with the heart, with the mouth and by action. Therefore, the [canonical] hours are started by three different means: namely, Compline, with: “Convert us, O  God, our Savior,”a against the sins of the heart; Matins, with: “O Lord, open my lips,” b against the sins of the mouth; but all the other hours of the day, with: “O God, come to my assistance,” against sins of action. And since in the sins of the heart and mouth there is some element of sin of action, therefore, at all of the hours, whether at night or during the day, we say: “O God, come to my assistance,” against sins of action. But in the night Office, the monksc first say: “O God, come to my assistance,” and afterwards: “O Lord, open my lips,” since without the assistance of the Lord, neither the heart nor the lips can be opened for His praise, as in John 15: Without me you can do nothing (Jn 15:5). 9. Meanwhile, when the priest says: “O God, come to my assistance,” he protects himself with the sign of the cross, to put to flight the wiles and power of the Devil through the cross’s power. For the Devil greatly fears the sign of the cross; thus, Chrysostom:d “Wherever the demons see the sign of the cross, they flee, fearing the staff through which came the wounds that they received.” And Pope Stephene says: “Are not all of the chrisms, that is, the sacraments which are performed with the anointing of holy chrism of Converte nos, Deus, salutaris noster. Domine labia mea aperies. c  Reg. Ben., c. 18.1, SC 182: 582. d  This pseudonymous citation comes from Voragine, Leg. Aurea, c.  182 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 853. This rather cryptic passage alludes to the staff of Moses, by which the ten plagues were inflicted on the Egyptians. e  De cons. D.5 c.10, Friedberg 1: 1415. a 

b 

75

18

Rationale

19

priestly ministry completed with the figure of the cross, or the sign of the cross? Can the water of Baptism release one from sin unless it is sanctified by the sign of the cross? And leaving aside other sacraments, who can ascend to the priestly order without the sign of the cross?” And someone who is about to be baptized is marked with the sign of the cross on the forehead and breast. In the sixth part, under the heading, On Good Friday,a the profound mystery of the cross will be discussed; and here, we will add a just few words. 10. Fittingly, the cross of the Lord was prefigured, in multiple forms, in the Old Testament. For we read that Moses, following the decree of the Lord, erected a bronze serpent on a pole in the desert as a sign, so that anyone who had been bitten by a serpent, when looking at it, would be healed (cf. Num 21:9); when explaining this, Christ Himself said in the Gospel: Just as Moses raised the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up, so that he who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:14–15). We also read that when Joseph led Ephraim and Manasse to Jacob, he placed the older one on his right and the younger one on his left, so that each would be blessed according to their rank; but changing the order of his hands—that is, crossing them like a sign of the cross—Jacob placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the younger one, and his left hand on Manasse, the older one (cf. Gen 48:13–15), and said: The angel who has delivered me from all evils, bless these boys,  etc. (Gen 48:16). Similarly, Moses says: Night and day, our life shall be hanging before us, and we shall see and understand (cf. Deut 28:66). For Christ was hanging from the cross when it was night, because darkness had fallen between the sixth hour up to the ninth (cf. Mt 27:45; Lk 24:44); that Christ was also hanging during the day is certain. Again, we read in Ezekiel, chapter 9, that Ezekiel heard the Lord saying to the man clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn at his waist (cf. Ezek 9:2): I went through the midst of the city, and saw the Tau upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and mourn (Ezek 9:4); and after this He said to the seven men: Go through the midst of the city a 

Rationale, 6.77.24.

76

V, 2

and strike; all those upon whom you do not see the Tau, let not your eyes spare (Ezek 9:5). Also, Jeremiaha says: I shall gather all nations that have on them the sign of the Tau (cf. Joel 3:2); also, in another place: And the government shall be upon His shoulders (Isa 9:6). For Christ carried the cross upon which He triumphed upon His shoulders. John also saw: An angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea: Hurt not the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we have signed the servants of our God on their foreheads (Rev 7:2–3). Likewise, the wood put into the waters of Marat sweetened its bitterness (cf. Ex 15:25), and when the wood was cast into the Jordan, the iron that had sunk floated back up (cf. 2 Kings 6:6). This is the wood of life, in the middle of Paradise, for which the wise man bears witness: Blessed is the wood by which comes justice (Wisd 14:7), because God ruled from that wood. 11. The Church therefore arms Herself on the breast and on the forehead with the sign of the cross, signifying that the mystery of the cross must be believed with the heart and openly confessed with the mouth. For through this sign, the community of the Devil is confounded and the Church triumphs: Terrible as an army set in array (Song 6:3), according to this text: Terrible is this place,  etc. (Gen 28:17); and in another place: I saw the holy city, Jerusalem, etc. (Rev 21:2). Nevertheless, Augustineb says: “That no Scripture in either the New or Old Testament teaches the faithful to mark themselves with the sign of the cross.” 12. The sign of the cross must be performed with three fingers because it is imprinted with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, about which the Prophet says: Who has poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth? (Isa 40:12). But the thumb has preeminence over the other two, because we render our entire faith to the One and

Durand’s misattribution is really a paraphrase of Joel 3:2. D.11 c.5, Friedberg 1: 24. This text is attributed to Augustine in Gratian’s Decretum, but it is actually a Latin translation of Basil, De Spiritu Sancto, 27.66, PG 32: 187A/188A. a 

b 

77

20

Rationale

21

Triune God,a and immediately, this verse can be said after the invocation of the Trinity: Grant me a sign of your favor so that those who hate me may see, to their confusion, that you, O  Lord, have aided and comforted me (Ps 85:17). But the Jacobitesb and Eutychiansc assert that there is only one nature—that is, a divine one—in Christ, and just as there is only one person, so too they are said to sign themselves with only one finger; their error is rooted out in the canonical decrees.d 13. But some sign themselves from the forehead downward, by which is expressed the mystery that God came down from the heavens and descended to the earth; indeed, He came down so that He would raise us from the earth into heaven. Then they sign themselves from right to left. First, to designate that they prefer eternal things, signified by the right, over temporal things, signified by the left. Second, to note that Christ passed from the Jews to the Gentiles. Third, because Christ, coming from the right— that is, from the Father—slew the Devil, who is signified by the left, on the cross; thus: I came from the Father and have come into the world (Jn 16:28). But others make the sign of the cross from left to right, supported by this authority:e “His departure is from the Father; His journey goes as far as hell; His return is to the seat of God.” They begin to sign themselves from the higher part, which signifies the Father, and they descend to the lower part, which designates the world. Then they proceed from the left, which signifies hell, to the right, which signifies heaven. For Christ descended from heaven a  Durand seems to be saying that the thumb represents the “oneness” of God while the three digits combined represent the Trinity. b  The reference is to the teachings of Jacob Baradaeus, bishop of Edessa (died c. 578), who believed that in the one person of Christ, divinity and humanity were fused in a unique way into one nature that he alone bore. c  The reference is to Eutyches of Constantinople (c.  380–456), who taught that Christ had one divine nature. The Council of Chalcedon (451) expressly condemned this teaching and decreed that Christ had both a divine and human nature. d  Cf. C.23 q.3 c.39, Friedberg 1: 1005. e  “Egressus eius a Patre; excursus usque ad inferos; recursus ad sedem Dei.” Hymn for the Nativity of the Lord, Veni Redemptor gentium, RH 5268, Chevalier 1: 315.

78

V, 2

to this world; from this world to hell; and from hell, He ascended into heaven, where He is seated at the right side of the Father. Second, they do this to show that we must pass from misery to glory, and from vices, which are signified by the left, to virtues, which are signified by the right, just as we read in the Gospel of Matthew, when Christ passed from death to life (cf. Mt 28:6). Third, because through faith in the cross, Christ lifts us from temporal to eternal things. 14. We must also consider that those who proceed from left to right sign themselves and others in a similar manner; but then, when they make the sign of the cross over others, they proceed from right to left, because they do not sign them this way as if their backs were turned, but because they are standing facing them. But when they are principally making the sign of the cross over others, they still sign themselves from left to right, but sign the others from right to left. 15. Fittingly, we ought regularly to make the sign of the cross in the reading of all words from the Gospels, just as is done at the end of the Gospel, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the “Holy, Holy [Sanctus],” the “Lamb of God [Agnus Dei],” “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel [Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel],” the Magnificat, and the “Now dismiss [Nunc dimittis];” and at the beginning of the hours, and at the end of Mass, when the priest gives a blessing; and also, whenever there is mention of the cross or the Crucified One: and all of these are done standing, just as we ought to hear the Gospel reading. Therefore, in all of our actions we ought to make the sign of the cross; thus Ambrosea says: “In all of his actions and his going about, he presses his hands into the shape of a cross.” 16. And take note, because the figure of the cross is formed from four parts [quadripartite], on account of the four elements which in us are corrupted, which Christ cured though His Passion; or on account of the men that He drew to Himself from the four a  It is not certain what Durand’s immediate source is, but this passage, which was added in the second redaction of the text, is wrongly attributed to Ambrose. It comes from Lupus of Olmeto, Regula monachorum ex scriptis Hieronymi, c. 14, PL 30: 354A-B.

79

Rationale

22

parts of the world, according to this text: If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself (Jn 12:32). Or, this square [quadratura] refers to mortality: it has length, width, height and depth. Its depth is the point by which it is fixed to the earth; its length extends from that point up to the arms; its width matches the extension of the arms; its height or loftiness extends from the arms to the head. Its depth signifies the faith placed at its base; its height, the hope which rests in heaven; its width, the charity which is on the left, which is extended to enemies; its length, the perseverance which has no end and by which things conclude. This topic is discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On Good Friday.a The sign of the cross that comes at the beginning and the end of the Gospel was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading, On the Gospel.b 17. Immediately after “O God, come to my assistance,” etc., at each of the hours, “Glory to the Father. As it was,”c is added; these two verses were written by Blessed Jerome in the works which he sent to Pope Damasus,d and at his request, the same Damasus established the signing of those verses at the end of the Psalms; but the verse, “Glory to the Father,” is itself said to have been published by the Council of Nicea.e And because the Lord said: And while you are still speaking (1 Chr 1:14), behold, I am here (Gen 46:2), therefore, because we now have understood ourselves to have been heard, we bestow our thanks to the Trinity, saying: “Glory to the Father,” etc. 18. Nevertheless, in funeral rites, we neither say, “O God, come to my assistance,” nor, “Glory to the Father,” because in these rites Rationale, 6.77.24. Rationale, 4.24.27–29. c  Gloria Patri. Sicut erat. I have cited this text in the truncated form which Durand employs. d  Cf. Liber Pont., 39, Duchesne 1: 213; Jerome, Ad Damasam, Ep. 47, PL 30: 294D-295A. e  “ipsum tamen versu ‘Gloria Patri’ Nicena synodus dicitur edidisse.” Durand’s chronology is rather confused. Damasus I (r. 366–384) and Jerome (347–420) corresponded well after the Council of Nicea (325). The Second Council of Nicea (787) was preoccupied with ending the Iconoclastic controversy, so a reference to that council would make little sense. a 

b 

80

V, 2

we imitate what we do for the funeral rites of the Savior, in which these prayers are dropped, just as will be discussed in the next part, under the heading, On Holy Thursday.a 19. Similarly, “Glory to the Father” is said after every Psalm because this verse is a single praise of the whole Trinity. Now the word “Psalm” signifies a “good work;” when it is finished, the glory must rightly be given to God, who must be praised for all good works, both now and forever, just as He had to be praised in the beginning, when He created the heavens and the earth. For just as to Him alone belongs the praise for creation of the heavens and the earth, so too is the praise to Him alone for all good works, both now and forever. In the preceding verse: “As it was in the beginning,”  etc.,b the variety of multiple time periods is demonstrated;c namely: in “As it was in the beginning,” demonstrates the past; in “now,” the present; in “always,” the future and eternity; and in “world without end,” a long period of time. Thus Origend says: “Whenever the words, ‘world without end’ are pronounced, it may be for us an unknown period, but it indicates a determined period of time decreed by the Lord.” 20. We reade that Hildebrand, prior of Cluny, who was made Pope Gregory [VII], when he was in minor orders and discharging the office of a simple legate, miraculously convicted the archbishop of Embrun, who had been accused of simony,f and who had corrupted all his accusers, and could not be convicted to that point. Hildebrand immediately ordered him to say the verse: “Glory to the Father,” etc., and he easily said, “Glory to the Father,” but he could not pronounce the words, “and to the Holy Spirit,” seeing Rationale, 6.72.6. Sicut erat in principio. c  The full Latin text is: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. d  Durand cites Origen from Amalarius of Metz, Codex expositionis, 2.7.2, Hanssens 1: 267–268; cf. Origen, In Exodum homilia, 6.13, PG 12: 340B. e  Voragine, Leg. Aurea, c.181.4 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 842. f  Simony was the practice of buying and selling ecclesiastical offices, which was expressly condemned as a mortal sin by the medieval Church. It is named after Simon Magus, who attempted to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit from the Apostle Peter (cf. Acts 8:9–24). a 

b 

81

23

Rationale

that he had sinned against the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the accused confessed and was deposed, and then immediately, he easily pronounced the words, “and to the Holy Spirit.” 21. And note that “Glory to the Father” is said twenty four times in the night Office on feasts, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On Holy Thursday, which is done in honor of the twelve Apostles, who are the twelve hours of the day, that is Christ, by whom alone they are illumined; and they are the ones illuminating the twelve hours of the night, that is the Church, who preached the Lord of Glory in the night time of this world. 22. Tulliusa says that: “Glory is frequent speaking of someone with praise.” Indeed, Ambroseb says that glory is clear acknowledgment, with praise. Augustinec says, in book 5 of the City of God, on the glory of the world, that: “Glory is the judgment of men thinking well of other men.” And after “Glory to the Father,” Alleluia is added, which will be discussed under the heading, On Prime.d

[III. On the Hymns] 23. The hymns are sung at each of the hours, as much on account of the decree of Pope Gelasiuse as by the approval of the Councils of Toledo and Agde.f Moreover, hymn is a Greek word,g which in a  Marcus Tullius Cicero, De inventione, 2.55, ed. Stroebel (Leipzig: Teubner,1890), 150. b  Durand’s source for this reference to Ambrose and the previous reference to Cicero is Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 2.2, qu.132, art.1, arg. 3, ed. P. Caramello (Turin: Marietti, 1948), 631. But this passage is misattributed to Ambrose and actually comes from Augustine, Contra Maximinum Arian. Episcop., 1.13, PL 42: 770. c  Augustine, De civitate Dei, 5.12, CCSL 47: 145. d  Rationale, 5.5.18. e  Liber Pont., 51, Duchesne 1: 255. f  De cons. D.1 c. 54, Friedberg 1: 1308–1309; De cons. D. 5 c.13, Friedberg 1: 1415. g  Cf. Isidore, Etym. 1.39.17; 6.19.17.

82

V, 2

Latin means, “the praise of God” with a song or a human voice, composed metrically in praise of God. A canticle [canticum] is the exultation of the mind, contemplating eternal things, bursting forth into human language.a And because the Psalms are hymns, and thus the Psalter [psalterium] is called a “book of hymns [liber hymnorum],” therefore, in some churches they do not sing hymns.b Nevertheless, this should not be condoned, because it is not without cause that these were instituted by the Holy Fathers; and besides, not every hymn is a Psalm, such as when we praise God with the exultation of the mind, without doing a work; praise which can be expressed when a hymn is sung. But the Psalms signify good works, as will be discussed later. 24. It should also be noted that in the day hours, the hymns precede the Psalms; but at Matins, Vespers, Compline, and Lauds, it is the opposite. For the day belongs to those who are spiritual, who take joy in their conscience, while the night applies to those who are penitent, who have remorse for their conscience; the exultation of the former leads to works, through which is said: Sing to Him a new canticle, sing well with shouts of joy (Ps 32:3); it belongs to the latter to come to exultation through works. Therefore, in the day hours the hymns precede the Psalms, but at Matins it is the opposite. Where hymns are sung at Vespers and Prime will be discussed in the relevant place. To continue, we sing the hymns standing, showing in our erect posture, that when praising God, we ought to have our heart raised to Him. Nevertheless, unless the mind is in agreement with the tongue, it is certain that a clamoring voice of whatever sort will not be pleasing to God. 25. There is a difference between a Psalm, a hymn and a canticle, for in a Psalm are understood works; in a hymn, praise; in a canticle, exultation, which will be discussed under the heading, On Lauds.c The Apostle says of these three, in Ephesians: Durand’s source for this definition is William of Auxerre, Summa de offic. eccles., 1 (Douai: Bibl. Mun. no. 65): f. 1vb. b  What Durand seems to be saying is that some churches only sing Psalms as hymns, per se. Therefore, all other compositions that are not biblical texts such as these are rejected. c  Rationale, 5.4.19–20. a 

83

24

Rationale

25

In Psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord (Eph 5:19); and in these three varieties of expression, every genre of music in the New Testament can be perceived, as will presently be discussed. Hilary, the bishop of Poitiers,a was the first to distinguish himself in the poetic verse [carmine] of hymns, and after him, Ambrose; those are called “Ambrosian hymns,” because in his time, many of them began to be sung in the Church of Milan. Since then, in the western churches, whatever poetic verses that are said to the praise of God are called hymns.b In the Confessions, Augustinec says that when Ambrose suffered persecution from the Empress Justina—who was condemned as a faithless Arian—and when he was in his church with his Catholic people, besieged by the enemies, he instituted the singing of hymns and Psalms, in the manner of the eastern churches, to prevent the people from wasting away with the weariness of lamentation, a practice that was afterwards followed by everyone. And take heed that in some churches, the hymn for the Nativity of the Lord and of the feasts of the following seven weeks are sung to the same melody. The reason is that just as the members are related to the head, so too the Saints are to Christ, from whom, just as from a head, they learn to participate in the outpouring of eternal blessing. What was begun with His Nativity was consummated in His Resurrection, and then, because the seal of damnation was broken, and because heaven to that time had been locked and had remained closed for so many years, therefore, especially at that time, we celebrate with good reason the solemnities of the Saints with the melody of the solemnity of Christ. However, this does not apply to the chant for the hymns of Eastertide, which signifies that the glory of the Saints is not yet entirely perfected in them, on account of the desire for the resurrection of their bodies, and therefore, they have not yet entirely conformed themselves to Christ. Isidore, De eccles. offic., 1.6, CCSL 113: 7. Cf. Augustine, Enarrat. in Psalmos, Ps 72:1, CCSL 39: 986. c  Augustine, Confessiones, 9.7.15, CCSL 27: 141–142. Durand actually found this passage in Voragine, Leg. Aurea, c. 181.4 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 836. a 

b 

84

V, 2

[IV. On the Antiphons] 26. Antiphons are said at each of the hours, following their institution by Blessed Ambrose; this was done because as we read in the Tripartite History,a Blessed Ignatius, the third bishop of Antioch after Blessed Peter, was on a certain mountain and heard choirs of angels singing antiphons. Thus, the Greeks first composed antiphons, and arranged their singing with Psalms in a choir [in choro], as though in a choral dance [quasi in chorea],b and they passed this custom to churches all over the world, so that now, antiphons are sung everywhere. The antiphons are also said in consideration of the Psalms to which they respond, just as the Responsories are said in consideration of the lesson; thus, antiphon can be taken to mean the song “sounding before the Psalm.”c 27. Now the antiphon is begun before the Psalm, which signifies a work; the antiphon itself signifies the bond of charity or mutual love, without which a work cannot come forth and though which a work starts to be meritorious. It is therefore proper that the melody of the Psalm is formed according to the tone of the antiphon, because love forms our works; and according to this [interpretation], antiphon comes from “anti,” which means “against [contra],” and “phanos,” which is “sound [sonus],” d because the Psalm is intoned according to the antiphon’s melody [melos], and the hand that carries out works will be kindled by the spark of charity. Moreover, the Psalm is intermixed with the antiphon because faith works through love. But before the Psalm, the antiphon is said incomplete [i.e. only the first part of the antiphon is sung]; after it, completely [i.e. the entire antiphon is sung], because in this life charity is imperfect, or here, it is Cassiodorus, Historia eccles. tripart., 10.9, CSEL 71: 596. Durand cites this text from Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic., c. 58d, CCCM 41A: 106. b  The word play pairs the choir of the Christian church with the “choral dance,” or “dance in a ring [chorea],” of the pagan theater. See Isidore, Etym., 6.19.5; Isidore, De eccles. offic., 1.7, CCSL 113: 7–8. c  Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic., c. 58d, CCCM 41A: 106. d  Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.1, CCCM 228: 229. a 

85

26

Rationale

27

only begun, but in the fatherland, it will be perfected through the good works they do through charity, according to the text of Isaiah: The Lord has said it, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem (Isa 31:9).a Still, on principal feast days, even the antiphon before the Psalm is sung completely, to note that we ought to show ourselves to be more perfect in good works on these days. 28. The antiphon is intoned by one person in one of the choirs and it is finished by many in either choir. First, because charity begins with one person—namely, Christ—and it is brought to completion by Him in His members, just as He Himself says in the Gospel of John: A new commandment I give you, etc. (Jn 13:34). For God first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:19), and as a community we ought to be in harmony with His love. Second, to note that the voice of the preachers, which always strives towards unity, admonishes each one of us so that what he acquired in his own specific work, he offers to another through love, so that if one learns in the schools and another sows in the fields, at the time of the harvest, the teacher will share his learning with the sower and the planter, his bread with the teacher. 29. As to the rest, the antiphon after the Psalms is sung communally by everyone because from this love, a common joy arises. It is also sung alternately by the two choirs, to note the mutual love or charity that cannot occur among fewer than two people. The antiphon unites the two choirs, just as charity unites two brothers. 30. Isidoreb says, in book 6 of the Etymologies, that “antiphon,” translated from Greek to Latin, means “reciprocal voice [vox reciproca],” because the two choirs, with one responding to the other in turn, alternate the singing of the melodies like two Seraphin and the two Testaments exclaiming themselves by turn. Thus, the clergy singing the antiphons do not turn their face towards the

I have corrected Durand’s reference to conform to the Vulgate text, which reads: “Dixit Dominus,” not “Vivit Dominus.” b  Isidore, Etym., 6.19.7; Isidore, De eccles. offic., 1.7, CCSL 113: 7. a   

86

V, 2

altar but look towards each other’s faces; a kind of singing which is said to have been invented by the Greeks. 31. And so the antiphon is inserted into the Divine Office as a certain song [cantilena] for our renewal. For nothing more fully renews souls than charity; sung melodiously [modulando cantatur], it signifies a pleasing state of mind, according to what the Psalmist says: Sing wisely (Ps 48:6); and this pleasing state is savory because it comes from God. Then their hands are as under wings (cf. Ezek 1:8), and in Proverbs: Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and is rich in prudence (Prov 3:13), because he who has the pleasurable disposition for eternal things, is easily rich in prudence—that is, in good works—with which he provides for himself in the future. Or again, according to Moses,a the antiphon is a certain voice by which the Angels communicate with each other. The six antiphons that are said before the Psalms of the night Office on week days are drawn from the Psalms, and they designate the perfection of good works or the six works of mercy,b because the number six is itself perfect. But those that are said at Lauds, before the Benedictus,c and at the Magnificat at Vespers, are drawn from the Gospels of those days, except for those that are said on Thursday, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On the Thursday of the second week of Lent.d

Durand’s reference is so vague that it is not clear what text of the Bible he has in mind. b  Durand is referring to the six corporal works of mercy: To feed the hungry; shelter the homeless; clothe the naked; visit the sick and imprisoned; bury the dead; and give alms to the poor. c  Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel. d  Rationale, 6.43.4. a 

87

Rationale

[V. On the Neumae]a

28

32. To continue, in some churches, at the end of the antiphon there is a neuma or a iubilus,b because: Blessed is the people that knows jubilation (Ps 88:16). Moreover, the neuma or iubilus is the ineffable joy or exultation of the mind dwelling in the midst of things eternal. Therefore, on days of fasting or affliction, they must not be sung, just as the harp is not plucked on days of mourning. And the neuma is done on the one and final letter of the antiphon to note that the praise of the ineffable God is incomprehensible. For the joy is incomprehensible, which is signified by the neuma, which here, while being tasted, can neither be wholly expressed nor wholly passed over in silence, which is why the Church—with the words omitted—suddenly moves, with good cause, to exclaiming joyfully with a neuma, as if She is in a state of wonder, as if She were saying: “What voice, what tongue may here declare,”  etc.c Here, words do not suffice, nor does the intellect grasp, nor also can love allow it to be expressed. For who can fully recount what the eye has not seen nor the ear heard, which has not entered into the heart of man (cf.  1  Cor 2:9)? Therefore, neumatizing [neumatizando]d is a more expressive manner by which one speaks without words, about what can only be implied by words, where a  Musicologists continue to debate the precise meaning of the word neuma or neumae in medieval sources. On the one hand, neuma could mean a single musical symbol, figure or note; on the other, a wordless melody. Following the advice of musicologists, I have left the term in the original Latin. See David Hiley, “Neuma,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd  ed., edited by Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 2001), 17: 785–787. See also Durand’s discussion of the Sequence in his Mass commentary in Thibodeau, Rationale IV, 187–189. b  The word used here, iubilus, is best left in Latin, since it is a technical term that often refers to the melisma on the last “a” of Alleluia. (A melisma is a group of notes or tones sung on one vowel or syllable). See James McKinnon, “Preface to the Study of the Alleluia,” Early Music History 15 (1996): 213–249. c  “Que vox, que poterit lingua retexere.” Hymn in the Common of Martyrs, Sanctorum meritis. AHMA, n. 153, vol. 50: 204; RH 18607, Chevalier 2: 548. d  An excellent analysis of Durand’s use of this term can be found in Lori Kruckenberg, “Neumatizing the Sequence: Special Performance of Sequences in the Central Middle Ages,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 59 (2006): 243–318.

88

V, 2

that heavenly joy is such that words will cease and everyone will know all things. But because the iubilus of those who are perfected is so great, in great solemn feasts not only do the old exult, but also the young. It follows that in some churches where a neuma is not said, a voice that does not signify [vox non significativa] is converted into a voice that signifies [vox significativa],a because in the place of a iubilus, or a neuma, Tropes and Sequences are sung, to which praises both small and large can be admitted; therefore, they are sung in common by everyone. In some antiphons a neuma or iubilus should be said, and the reason why this is more preferable during Eastertide will be discussed under the heading, On Lauds.b Moreover, the iubilus signifies different things, and it often appears in different places in the same Responsory, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On the Nativity.c Also, the neuma that goes with the Alleluia was discussed in the fourth part.d Also, in some antiphons, Alleluia must be said at the end, as will be discussed in the next part, On the Feast of the Nativity.e And note that neuma, neumae, without the “p,” in the feminine gender, is the iubilus that was just discussed; but in Greek, pneuma-atis, spelled with a “p” in the neuter gender is the Holy Spirit; but in Holy Scripture either one is often given in the feminine gender. 33. Fittingly, the neumae that are done at Mass represent a joy that is more commonly expressed with the letter “e,” such as in “Lord have mercy [Kyrie eleison],” or in the letter “a,” as in Alleluia, a  Durand seems to be saying that the neuma, unlike a complete word, does not correlate to thing being symbolized, but rather, it expresses a state of being that cannot be represented by any word. St. Thomas Aquinas’ commentary on the Peri Hermeneias of Aristotle uses precisely this language to make a distinction between vocal sounds that “signify” something else, and sounds (such as those made by animals) that are not “significant” in that sense. See Jean Oesterle, Aristotle: On Interpretation. Commentary by St. Thomas and Cajetan (Peri Hermeneias) (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1962), 24–25. b  Rationale, 5.4.16–17. c  Rationale, 6.13.7. d  Rationale, 4.13.7. e  Rationale, 6.13.7.

89

Rationale

than with other vowels, to note that spiritual joy that was restored to us in the offspring of the Virgin [Mary], by which the name of Eve was changed into Ave, with the Angel saying: Hail Mary (Lk 1:28), etc.,a and then: “Changing the name of Eve.” b 34. The signification of this name “Eve” remained in place up to the time of the angelic salutation. And the signification of that name is expressed by the children of Adam and Eve, when they are born, for at birth, girls cry out a letter “e,” but boys cry an “a;” thus the verse: And they say ‘e’ or ‘a’ However many are born of E-v-a.c

29

Therefore, those neumae do not signify the sorrow which was conveyed to us by the transgression of Adam and Eve, as some have written, but the joy that was restored to us in the aforesaid salutation to the Virgin. 35. To continue, we must consider that nearly every time the name “Jerusalem” is written in a chant, a neuma is provided so that the jubilation of the Heavenly Jerusalem will be figuratively represented; we find an example in: “Alleluia, To You we owe a hymn,”d which is sung on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost. It is the same thing whenever we insert the Alleluia between two verses, so that we rejoice over the double robe [of glory] (cf. Rev 7:9); an example is in: “Alleluia, Our Passover,”e which is said on the day of the Resurrection, and in: “Alleluia, the Angel of the

a  Some of the nuance of the original is lost in translation. Durand is making the exegetical point that just as Eve was tempted by the Devil to sin, Mary was greeted by the angel to begin the process of our redemption. The Latin name Eva was inverted by the angelic greeting to Mary, and became Ave. b  “Mutans nomen Eve.” Hymn for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella, AHMA, n. 123, vol. 51: 140. c  Lothario of Segni, De miseria humane conditionis, 1.6, edited by M. Maccarone (Lugano: Thesaurus mundi, 1955), 13. Durand more than likely derived this passage from Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic, addit. 69ga, CCCM 41: 63. In Latin the name Eve [Eva] has both letters. d  Alleluia, Te decet. AMS 89, Hesbert: 109; AMS 177, Hesbert: 177; AMS 199a, Hesbert: 199. e  Alleluia, Pascha nostrum. AMS 80, Hesbert: 100; AMS 87, Hesbert: 107.

90

V, 2

Lord,”a which is said on the following Friday. Either of those Alleluias has two verses, as the ancient Gradualsb show us, as well as others. On certain feast days, certain versicles [versiculi] precede the antiphons in the nocturns, which will be discussed in the next part, under the heading, On Trinity Sunday.c

[VI. On the Psalms] 36. Following the instruction of Pope Damasus, after the antiphons at each of the hours of the day and night Office, Psalms are sung in the tone of the antiphon [simphoniam antiphone]; that this must be done is shown by David when he says in Psalm 46:d So I will sing the praises of your name forever, fulfilling my vows day by day (Ps 60:9); and in Psalm 66:e All you peoples clap your hands (Ps 46:2). And the Psalm signifies a good and divine work; thus, David: On the psaltery and on a ten-stringed instrument I will sing praises to you (Ps 143:9); on such an instrument he used to sing Psalms, calling to mind that we out to sing Psalms to God on a spiritual psaltery, with a spirit brought to life by faith, in carrying out the Ten Commandments of the Law. Damasus himself established the division of the choir into two parts that would alternate singing the Psalms; and the Psalms are said alternately to note the alternate exhortation of the Saints for us to carry out this work well. For in ancient times, the Psalms were said in a confused manner, as if in a circle;f therefore, the a  Alleluia, Angelus Domini. Le Codex 339 de la Bibliothèque de Saint-Gall (Xe siècle), Antiphonale Missarum Sancti Gregorii, Paléographie musicale 1 (Solesmes: Imprimerie St. Pierre, 1889), 83. b  For a discussion of the Gradual and its etymology, see Thibodeau, Rationale IV, 172–175. c  Rationale, 6.114.2–3. d  The majority reading of the manuscripts has this scribal error. e  There is also a scribal error in this reference. I have also filled in the text of Ps 46, since Durand only provides a one word incipit. f  There is an interesting word play in Latin that is lost in translation. Durand juxtaposes the order of the Christian choir (chorus) with the confusion of the secular theater (chorea). See p. 85 n. b.

91

Rationale

30

Holy Fathers ordained that they would be said alternately—that is, one part of the choir would sing one verse and another part would sing another—which practice Blessed Ignatiusa was the first to have decreed in the church in Antioch, on account of the vision in which he heard Angels singing Psalms antiphonally. This was discussed in the first part, under the heading, On the church building.b They are also said alternately to note that one should carry the burden of another. We also ought to say the Psalms standing, to show that by standing in good works, we shall be victorious. For when Israel was fighting Amalek, as long as Moses lifted his hands, the people would be victorious; when he dropped his hands, the people would be vanquished (cf.  Ex 17:8–11). Therefore, rising to stand signifies the devotion of our mind, so that with the posture of our body, we will show the affection of our spirit: namely, that we are prepared to tame the flesh, or to practice [good] works. But we must hear the lessons, which are our instruction, in silence and while seated, because we receive instruction while seated and in a state of rest; thus, Ecclesiasticus: The wisdom of a scribe comes by his time of leisure: and he that is less in action, shall receive wisdom (Sir 38:25); and again: The words of the wise are heard in silence [and are said calmly] (Eccle 9:17).c And the Prophet says: And the service of justice shall be silence (Isa 32:17). When we pray to the Saints we also stand, signifying those who will be in a perpetual state of joy, according to this text: And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem (Ps 121:2). 37. Fittingly, during the daily hours, six Psalms are said through which the six works of mercyd are denoted, to which those laboring in the vineyard of the Lord must strive, which, if we engage ourselves with piety and a pure heart, freed from the slavery of the Devil, we shall arrive at the liberty of life, and we shall receive the compensation of our daily wage. They are nevertheless said with Cassiodorus, Historia eccles. tripart., 10.9, CSEL 71: 596. Rationale, 1.1.18. c  The bracketed portion has been added to the biblical text by Durand. d  See p. 87 n. b. a 

b 

92

V, 2

three glorifications,a to imply faith in the Holy Trinity, to whom all divine works must be referred. But at Vespers, five Psalms are said, as will be discussed there;b and the Psalms of the hours of prayer are invariable, as will be discussed under the heading, On Compline.c 38. It should not be overlooked that one and the same Psalm is sung on various feast days, by reason of the pertinent verses that are found in it; for example, at the Nativity, we sing the Psalm: My heart overflows (Ps 44), because of this verse: Fairer in beauty (Ps 44:3). We also sing it on the Feast of the Virgin on account of the verse: The virgins shall be brought to the king (Ps 44:15); and also on the Feast of the Apostles on account of the verse: In the place of your fathers (Ps 44:17). Also, the Psalm: Why do the nations rage (Ps 2), is sung on the Nativity on account of the verse: The Lord said to me (Ps 2:7), and in the Passion of the Lord on account of the verse: The kings of the earth rose up (Ps 2:2); and so too for others. Besides, one and the same word can often be taken to have diverse meanings; for example, the term “temple” signifies the body of Christ, as in this place: Destroy this temple (Jn 2:19); at other times, it signifies the material Temple, as in this Psalm: Great is the Lord, etc. (Ps 47); we sing this on the Nativity on account of the verse: We have received, O God (Ps 47:10),d which we understand to be a corporeal temple. We sing the same Psalm on the Feast of the Purification, and there we perceive it as being the material Temple in which He was presented on the same day (cf. Lk 2:22–40). The psalmody of the night and day Offices will be discussed in its own place. And note, that according to Jerome:e “It is better to a  By “three glorifications” Durand means three recitations of the “Glory to the Father.” b  Rationale, 5.9.3. c  Rationale, 5.10.3. d  The full text reads: We have received your mercy, O God, in the midst of your temple (Ps 47:10). e  Durand cites this passage from De cons. D.5 c.25, Friedberg 1: 1418, where it is misattributed to Jerome. The actual source is Lupus of Olmeto, Regula monachorum ex scriptis Hieronymi, c. 14, PL 30: 357C.

93

31

Rationale

32

sing five Psalms with a purity of heart and spiritual serenity and cheerfulness than to sing the whole Psalter with an anxious and sad heart.” 39. Afterwards, it must be noted that there are fifteen Gradual Psalms [psalmi graduales]a which were signified by the fifteen steps [gradus] by which the Temple of Solomon was ascended, for it was on a mountain (cf. 1 Kings 7:3). They call these fifteen Psalms, “the songs of the steps,” by reason of the fact that for each of the fifteen steps, a precise Psalm used to be sung, and here, the word “steps [graduum],” is in the genitive case. The aforesaid “steps” were discussed in the first part, under the heading, On the altar.b Those previously mentioned fifteen steps were also signified through those fifteen steps of Ezekiel that were shown to him ascending into the city of God, which can be found in Ezekiel chapter 40, where first we find seven steps and afterwards eight (cf. Ezek 40:31). Indeed, the number fifteen comes from the combination of seven and eight; seven refers to the Old Testament because the ancients used to celebrate the seventh day, the seventh month and the seventh year. Eight refers to the New Testament because of the Lord’s Resurrection, which happened on the eighth day.c Therefore we sing those Psalms to show that we must observe the precepts of either Testament. The first five Psalms signify the five bodily senses through which we sin; therefore, in some of them, we do not say, “Glory to the Father,” because we must not impute to God those sins which we commit through the five bodily senses; but afterwards we say: “Eternal rest,”d because in those Psalms, we pray for the dead, as if one were saying: We pray, O  Lord, that they not be denied eternal life for those sins that were committed by their bodily senses, but through God’s mercy, a  The Fifteen Gradual Psalms are 119–133 (Vulgate numbering), or 120–133 (Hebrew numbering). Biblical scholars note that these “Psalms of ascent” may have originally been part of a pilgrimage ritual to Jerusalem among the ancient Israelites. They came to be known in the medieval Church as the Fifteen Gradual Psalms, from the Latin term for them as “songs of the steps,” cantica graduum. b  Rationale, 1.2.13. c  Here Durand makes a figurative point, that Christ’s resurrection was an “eighth” day in salvation history. d  Requiem eternam.

94

V, 2

grant them eternal rest. In the following ten Psalms, we implore God’s mercy for those near us, those in the congregation and for the prelates; and we add “Glory to the Father,” because we are set free from the chains of our sins, because we shall seek you, O God, with our whole heart; that we shall observe your Ten Commandments, so that we can show: Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to your name give glory (Ps 113:9). To continue, the number ten is a combination of seven and three. Three refers to the precepts of the first tablet of the Law, which regard God; seven, the precepts of the second tablet, which regard our neighbor, as if one were to say that if the Ten Commandments are observed, it is through God.

[VII. On the Versicles] 40. Versicles [versiculi] are said at each of the hours, for we read in the Book of Numbers that when the Ark of the Lord—which figuratively was the Church—was placed back in the Tabernacle, Moses used to say: Return, O  Lord, to the multitude of the sons of Israel (Num 10:36). Fittingly, the return of the Lord to Israel means nothing other than that He would make Israel return to Him with their whole heart. For God, to whom all time is in the present, has nothing to return to, and “to return” is understood here as: Make us return to you. Therefore, the verse, which signifies the fruits of good works, is said with a high and piercing voice [alta et acuta voce], to excite the sluggish who are listless in the praise of God and the understanding of divine things; that we will return within our own heart, so that, from hearing, all thoughts of temporal things that accidently return to us are thrown outdoors from our sight. To continue, the nocturnal verse signifies that we then turn ourselves from the Office or work of the Psalms to the Office of the lesson, or to the quiet, so that he who stood singing the Psalms, now sits for the lesson; thus, “verse [versus]” comes from “turning

95

33

Rationale

34

[a vertendo];”a more was said about this in the fourth part, under the heading, On the Gradual.b And note that in some churches, on Sunday, after the first nocturn, this verse is said: “In the night I have remembered your name, O Lord;”c after the second, this is said: “In the middle of the night,”d etc.; after the third: “Exult, O Lord.”e The first verse, namely: “In the night,” etc., shows to what end the Church has arisen from Her bed; and at what time She must arise is noted in the second verse, namely: “In the middle of the night,” etc.; and to what end She has arisen is shown in what follows: “To confess your name.” f But, some who do not wish to speak falsely, since they have not arisen in the middle of the night, in place of this verse put this one: “For you give light to my lamp, O Lord.”g Nevertheless, why She must arise in the middle of the night is shown by David, saying: “In the middle of the night,” etc.; and elsewhere: “Before dawn I come and cry out” etc.h which is the same thing, since “before dawn [maturitate],” is a singular expression. Thus some books have “at dawn [inmaturitate],” which means “before dawn [in maturitate],” as if to say that it is not a suitable time to work.i Nevertheless, others have other words: “I came in the dead of night [Preveni intempesta nocte],” j for “proper time [tempestum],” among the ancients meant the same thing as “opportune [oportunum],” a word that comes from “time [a tempore],” or “period of time [a tempestate].” Thus, in the ancient histories we often read: “This was done in that time period [in illa temptestate];” that Cf. Isidore, Etym., 1.39.2. Rationale, 4.19.7. c  Memor fui nocte nominis tuo, Domine (Ps 118:55). d  Media nocte surgebam (Ps 118:62). e  Exaltare Domine (Ps 20:14). f  Ad confitendum nomini tuo. g  Quoniam tu illumines lucernam meam, Domine (Ps 17:29). h  Preveni in maturitate et clamavi (Ps 118:147). i  The Latin manuscripts have variant readings for this grammatical analysis. I have followed three manuscripts of the second redaction that are in close conformity with Durand’s original source: Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 4.86 (ed. Corbett), 254–255. j  This is Augustine’s reading in: Enarrat. in Psalmos, Ps 118.29.3, CCSL 40: 1764. a 

b 

96

V, 2

is, at that time. It follows that these words [intempestivum, intempestum] mean an inopportune time; that is, that night is not an opportune time for activity. The third verse: “Exult, O Lord,” etc., clearly pertains to the New Testament, in which our Savior was exulted according to His humanity. Nevertheless, some instead say: “I said, O Lord, be merciful to me,”a because we do not come to the glory that was given at the time of New Testament except through the remission of sins. 41. But we can ask: why are the versicles before the lessons of Matins, but at other hours, after them; namely, after the chapter? I  respond: during the lessons of Matins, because of their great number and length, we have the custom of sitting—and lest it should happen that on account of a long period of sitting, or on account of weariness or sloth, we would forget the teaching of the Lord, which the lessons signify, by chance thinking about inane things, or sleeping or chatting—therefore, we are incited to hear the lessons by the verse that comes before. But at the other hours, since there are not as many lessons nor lessons of such length, it is not necessary to sit, nor to have the versicles come first. Or, at the other hours, they are said after the lessons to note that, on account of the space between the hours, the teachings of the Lord are not neglected. To continue, the verse is often sung by boys to note that our service to the Lord, done with innocence, will be pleasing to Him. The versicles that are said at Vespers or at Lauds will be discussed in the chapter on those offices.. 42. And observe that the verse ought to note the circumstance of the time or of the Office. The circumstance of the time is noted by the verse of Prime, namely: “Arise, O  Christ, and help us,” b where, when it says “arise,” it intimates the beginning of our work. Similarly, the verse of Terce: “Be my aid and protector, O  Lord, and do not abandon me;”c where it says “do not abandon me,” the verse notes the Ego dixi Domine miserere mei (Ps 40:5). Exurge Christe adiuva nos (cf. Ps 43:26). c  Adiutor meus esto Domine ne derelinquas me (cf. Ps 26:9). a 

b 

97

Rationale

35

condition of combat. Similarly, the verse for Sext: “The Lord rules me and there is nothing that I shall lack; He has set me in a place of pasture,”a signifies the condition of the perfected and of perfection. In the versicle of None, namely: “Cleanse me, O Lord, from my unknown faults and spare your servant from others,”b the condition of love that grows cold is demonstrated. The versicles for the Passion and Resurrection also intimate the circumstance of the times for which they are sung. But the verse for the Office of Vespers implies the circumstance of that Office, such as: “The evening prayer,”c  etc., and “Let my prayer be directed to you,”d from which words it can be gathered that an evening prayer is performed. After the verse comes the Lord’s Prayer, and after that, the prayers [preces], which will be discussed under the heading Matins.e

[VIII. On the Lessons] 43. The lessons are read at all of the hours, both day and night. And it is called “a lesson because it is not sung, like a Psalm or a hymn, but only read; those entail melody, whereas here, spoken proclamation [pronunciatio] is required.” f The lessons of Matins are our instruction because through them, we are taught to turn our works to God. That instruction is therefore the domain of the lessons, which the teachers accomplish for the ignorant, through which we imitate the works of the Saints, and whose commemoration goads us into the praise of God; and therefore, as was previously said, the lessons are heard while seated and in silence.

Dominus regit me et nichil michi deerit, in loco pascue ibi me collocavit (Ps 22:1–2). b  Ab occultis meis munda me Domine, et ab alienis parce servo tuo (Ps 18:13–14). c  Vespertina oratio (cf. Ps 140:2). d  Dirigatur oratio (Ps 140:2). e  Rationale, 5.3.14–15. f  Isidore, Etym., 6.19.9. a 

98

V, 2

44. Therefore, the lector who is about to read the lesson, approaching the book [with lessons], ascends on a step, because the teacher must transcend the masses with a life that is more perfect. And he requests a blessing from the priest or bishop, as if getting permission to read, saying: “Lord, your blessing please,”a through which is designated the preeminent position of the Church, and that no one ought to read in church unless he has been ordered by a superior. And he says “Lord [dompne],” and not, “The Lord [Domine],” because only God is the true Lord. It follows that the priest or bishop does not bestow a blessing upon himself, but discreetly requests that a blessing be given by God, saying: “May the Lord grant us a perpetual blessing,” b etc. But at the end he says: “Now on us, O Lord,”c etc., because the words are then directed to God, who is the true Lord. To continue, at the beginning he pronounces the words imperfectly and with fading words, because then, he directs his words to those who are imperfect—namely, men—following what the Prophet says: Your eyes have seen my imperfection (Ps 138:16); and even the monks communally observe this practice, saying: “Lord abbot [dompnus abbas].” 45. It is also in consideration of this fact that the servants, when serving their masters, ought to bend one knee—namely, the left one—through which part of the body the physical servitude which is owed men is signified, but not for spiritual things. But in the Church, both knees must be bent, not one or the other, so that we are not assimilated unto the Jews, for in Christ, every knee must bend, as in Philippians, chapter 2 (Phil 2:10). Solomon, when praying for the people, used to fix one knee to the ground, and he used to extend his hands towards heaven, as we read in 3 Kings, chapter 8 (cf. 3 Kings 8:54). Also, it is for the same reason that one must not lean on something when facing a secular prince, whether speaking secretly to him, or hearing him; he simply listens with the right ear, with his head bent. But at the end, the lector proclaims the words perfectly and completely, because with Iube, dompne, benedicere. Benedictionem perpetuam tribuat nobis. c  Tu autem, Domine. a 

b 

99

36

Rationale

37

perfect speech, which is fitting, he directs his speech to a perfect being, namely: to God. Moreover,a when the bishop wishes to read a lesson where they say: “Lord, a blessing please,” b no minor cleric ought to give a blessing. Thus, in some churches, no one responds to him, but in other churches, one priest responds: “Pray for us, O  pious Father, to the Lord,”c and then the bishop says: “Magnify the Lord with me.”d And then the bishop ought to pronounce perfectly: “Lord [Domine], a blessing please,” since the words are understood to be directed to God, who is perfect. But in some churches, when the bishop wishes to read, the priest says: “Lord [dompne], a blessing please,” and the bishop himself, having given a blessing, reads. Since reading the lesson is not the office of the priest or bishop but of the lector, if no other bishop or priest is present, a lesser cleric, as if he were about to read, can say in the name of the Church: “Lord [dompne], a blessing,” and the priest himself or the bishop who is about the read in the place of Christ, gives him a blessing in turn; or, he might read without the words: “Lord, a blessing.” Still, in some churches, the bishop himself says: “Lord [dompne], a blessing,” and a minor cleric, who volunteers himself for this in humility, gives a blessing. 46. When the lesson is finished, the lector says: “You [O Lord, have mercy on us],”e which is not in reference to the lesson nor to its continuation, but the lector, directing his words to God, excuses himself, as if he were saying: I have sinned, O Lord, perhaps reading with a melodious pronunciation, with a desire for human praise, or for capturing the winds of human favor; and those hearing have by chance similarly sinned; directing themselves towards vain thoughts, or having heard the lesson, turning away from it; so changing “and now [autem],” to “but [sed]:” But you, O Lord, have mercy on us. A response is then given by everyone: “Thanks Durand’s sources for the practices described in the remainder of this paragraph are: Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic., c. 25f; 30e, CCCM 41A: 52; 59; Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 4.12–13 (ed. Corbett), 221–222. b  Iube, dompne, benedicere. c  Ora pro nobis, pie Pater, ad Dominum. d  Magnificate Dominum mecum (Ps 33:4). e  Tu autem. I have filled in Durand’s cryptic references in my translation. a 

100

V, 2

be to God,”a which does not refer to the words, “You, O Lord,” but to the Lesson: for it is the voice of the Church giving thanks to God, as if She were saying: God has nourished us with the words of salvation, which are food for the soul, and for a gift of this sort, “Thanks be to God;” substitute: “we give thanks.” 47. To continue, the multitude of lessons signifies the multitude of the preachers that there was in the time of grace,b just as their paucity on ordinary days signifies the rarity of such preachers during the time under the Law. But the succession of the lectors signifies the succession of legates who, when they say: “Lord, a blessing please,” seek permission to depart, and when they are blessed, that permission is given, through which is intimated that no one ought to preach unless he has been sent: For how shall they preach unless they have been sent? (Rom 10:15). That lesson is itself the discharge of the duty of the legate; “You, O Lord,” signifies the return of the legate, in which, when mercy is entreated, he implies that the office of the legate or of preaching cannot be accomplished without the dust of some sort of minor fault. Thus, Augustine:c “There is more safety in hearing the words being preached than speaking them.” For the preacher must walk about the earth, and it is difficult for the one who walks about the earth not to dirty his feet with dust, and for the preacher, sensing within himself that he has preached well, not to raise himself up in a spirit of superiority. 48. And take heed that just as there are two orders within the Church—the wise and the unwise—so too are there two forms of lessons. In those lessons that are read at Mass, the wise are instructed; in those that are recited at night, the unwise are educated, and thus they have them explained. 49. And note that the lessons are concluded in four ways. Deo gratias. Durand is referring to the New Testament, as opposed to the Old Testament and the time “under the Law.” c  This is not a direct citation but a very loose paraphrase of Augustine, Enarrat. in Psalmos, Ps 50:13, CCSL 38: 609. Durand’s citation is a verbatim reading found in two sources: Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.2, CCCM 228: 236; Rupert, Liber de div. offic., 1.13, CCCM 7:12. a 

b 

101

Rationale

38

First, generally, with: “You, O Lord.” Second, during Advent and on the Nativity and the Epiphany, the Lessons from Isaiah are finished with: “Thus says the Lord: Be converted to me,”a etc. Those who say this in the Nativity are inspired by this chapter of Isaiah, which is read then: At the first time,  etc. (Isa 9:1), where it says: After all these things my indignation is not turned away, and my people have not converted (Isa 9:21);b and therefore, the Church, in the person of Christ, exhorts the sinful people so that they might convert. The same applies for the same reason in some churches when a lesson from Jeremiah is read, reproaching the hardness of the sinners who are not converted through penance. The third form is for the lessons that are read from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, during the Triduum before Easter, which are finished with: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return”c etc., as will be discussed there. Fourth, the lessons for the [Office of the] Dead are finished simply, without any of the previously noted endings. Nevertheless, in some churches, they are finished with: “Blessed are those who die in the Lord,”d which is taken from the end of some sermon on the dead that Augustinee put together. Also note that in the third nocturn, the Gospel of the same day is read, as well as the homily on the Gospel, because the third nocturn designates the time of grace in which the Gospel was recited, and in which the preaching of the Gospel is celebrated, as will be discussed in the treatise, On the Night Offices.f 50. It also should not be omitted that in ancient times, after the heresies that attacked the truth of the Trinity were eliminated, the Holy Fathers ordained,g so that the Trinity would be Hec dicit Dominus, convertimini ad me (cf. Isa 45:22). Durand has substantially altered the text of Isa 9:21. c  Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere (cf. Hos 14:2). d  Beati qui in Domino moriuntur (Rev 14:13). e  Augustine, De cura pro mortuis gerenda, c.2–4; 18, CSEL 41: 622–627; 658– 659. Durand’s direct source is Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic., c. 161d, CCCM 41A: 315. f  Rationale, 5.3.16. g  Durand’s source is Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic., c. 26b, CCCM 41A: 53. a 

b 

102

V, 2

better known, that the ninth lesson read would always be on the Trinity and the ninth Responsory sung would be on the same, and also that on the first day of the week, the Mass of the Trinity would be said. After a long observance of this custom, with the Trinity being well known by all, the Church omitted the lesson on the Trinity. But in many places She retained the Responsory on the Trinity and also the Alleluia for Mass on Sundays, either on account of customary use, or on account of the sweetness of the song; and thus it is now improperly called a Responsory because it does not “respond” to the preceding lesson. Because they are short, the daytime lessons are called “little lessons [lectiuncule]” by some; but they are called by many “chapters [capitula],” because many of them are drawn from the start of the Epistlesa of the day that are being read. These lessons are said after the Psalms and antiphons at each of the daily hours, just as was decreed at the Council of Agdeb—after the manner of Ezra (cf. Ezra 9:3), as was previously saidc—and these chapters signify doctrine. So that hearing the Psalms will not inflict aversion in the soul— just as the Jews were disgusted with their manna, on account of which God sent them fiery serpents that killed them—therefore, a chapter is added; that is, a brief lesson drawn from the New or Old Testament, inciting devotion, which is the opposite of aversion, and exhorting us to persevere in good, according to this text: We exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain (2 Cor 6:1). The lessons of Matins are more plentiful than in the daily Office, since at that time, we can more freely apply our ears to them. In many churches, these chapters or exhortations are read by the pastor to the religious community and the learned, because just as we add wood to wood so that fire will burn more, so too the burning words of the pastor are added to the burning hearts of the members of the community so that they will burn more.

a  It is difficult to preserve the etymological pun of the original in translation. The Latin reads, “de capitibus epistolarum,” or “from the head” or “top of the Epistles.” b  De cons. D.5 c.13, Friedberg 1: 1415. c  Rationale, 5.1.2.

103

39

Rationale

40

These lessons are also read without saying, “Lord, a blessing,” and without a blessing, since the bishop or priest—who takes the place of Christ, and whose office it is as a superior to arouse the sluggish—reads them; for them it is proper to give permission to read and a blessing, and not to seek one, for the superior blesses the one in minor [orders], not the other way around. The lessons of the nocturns are read by those in minor orders; therefore, they seek permission to read and a blessing from their superiors. In these daytime lessons, “You, O Lord” is not said, as is done in the nocturns, because the priest ought to be perfected and not succumb easily to the suggestions of the Devil, and because a short reading is done and within his household, he can scarcely strive after the winds of human favor, as could sometimes be the case in the lessons of the nocturns, as was previously discussed. Still, the response is: “Thanks be to God,” on account of the reason given for the lessons of the nocturns. To that end, the Office of the hours is divided into chapters; we signify the labor through what precedes, and the reward through what follows; therefore, what precedes consists of Psalms, what follows, of hymns and songs. 51. But it should be noted that a most beautiful custom developed in the Church, that four times during the day and four times during the night, at each hour of Psalmody during the day or night, one lesson or chapter would be said from the Old or New Testament. Nevertheless, some churches do not say a chapter either at Prime or Compline. But because of this, our lessons would not number eight, just as they were, following the custom of Ezra in the Old Testament, as was previously noted; therefore, these churches read the lesson omitted at Prime in the Capitular Office.a legunt in capitulo. Durand seems to be referring to the Capitular Office observed by monastic foundations and canons regular. It was not a part of the original Rule of Benedict, but a later interpolation from about the eighth century. This Office acquired its name from the chapter room where monks would congregate for a brief daily business meeting after Prime. Portions of the monastic Rule would be read and exegeted by a superior. Faults or errors might be confessed or corrected, and the daily assignments for various tasks were given; the meeting concluded with a blessing. For the structure of this short daily Office, see J. B.L. Tolhurst, The Monastic Breviary of Hyde Abbey, Winchester, Henry Bradshaw Society 80 (London: HBS, 1942), 50–56. a 

104

V, 2

Someone says: “Lord, a blessing,” and the priest giving the blessing responds: “With the discipline of your rule,”a etc., and what follows. And before Compline they read what has to be omitted at Compline, namely: Brothers, be sober (2 Pet 5:8–9), or something from the Dialogues [of St. Gregory] is read, or something of this sort; more is said about this in the treatise, On Prime.b 52. We can also ask: why, in the lessons of the nightly or daily Offices, is the author of the lessons not named, as is the case for those read at Mass? I respond: those who always are applying themselves to these readings and the divine services, such that they are the ministers and servants of the Church, already know the authors of these lessons; and since they are present for these night Offices, it is not necessary to express the name of the author of the lessons. But the name of the author is expressed at Mass because there, ox-drivers, workers and farmers have come, so that if by chance one of them infrequently heard such things, being ignorant of the history, would hear its author, who is by chance not unknown to him, so that by the authority of the author, the words of the lesson would be more firmly imprinted in his heart. Nevertheless, in some lessons for the night Offices their authors are sometimes named; for instance, in the sermons or homilies of Gregory or Augustine and others who will be discussed in the prologue of the sixth part.c To continue, in the Council of Mainz, in Burchardus, book 8, in the canon, “A layman [Laicus],”d it was decreed that a layman shall not recite the lesson in church, nor say the Alleluia; but the Psalms and Responsories can be done without the Alleluia.

[IX. On the Responsories] 53. The Responsories are placed after the lessons: since just as the lessons signify teaching, and the Responsories, good works, the Regularibus disciplinis. Rationale, 5.5.7. c  Rationale, 6.1.28. d  Burchardus, Decretum, 8.87, PL 140: 809A. a 

b 

105

Rationale

41

Responsories are rightly placed after the lessons, because we must respond to teaching with good works, for fear of being cast out into the darkness like the lazy servant who hid his master’s money (cf. Mt 25:26–28). Now it is called a “Responsory” because it “responds” to the lesson; that is, it must be in accord with it, so that if by chance, the lessons are from the Acts of the Apostles, the Responsories are similarly from the same place; thus it is customary for the ninth Responsory to respond to the ninth lesson, which in the past, used to be about the Trinity, as was already stated.a Nevertheless, this could be misleading in the Responsories taken from the histories that are sung after the Gospel in the night Offices, which do not respond to the Gospel lessons; this was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading, On the Gradual.b It is also called a “Responsory” because with only one person singing, the rest concordantly respond, following the words of the Apostle, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 1: That we all speak the same thing and that there be no schisms among us (1  Cor 1:10).c For only one sang— namely, Christ—and Peter and the rest followed Him; or again, because the choir is singing it and the verse is responded to by one. Isidored says: “That the Italians handed down responsories; thus they called them ‘responsorial chants,’ because when one breaks off, another responds.” 54. To continue, the Responsories of the night Offices are compared to spiritual canticles: they are called “canticles [cantica],” because they are “chanted [cantantur];” they are “spiritual” because they proceed from the jubilation of a spiritual disposition. They are sung so that after the reading of the lesson, they incite our soul to be lifted up to the choral sounds of the celestial fatherland, which is also intimated by the “Glory to the Father,” which is sung with each Responsory. For the rest, the Responsory is begun by one person so that it is sung in common by the others,

See § 50. Rationale, 4.19.9. c  Durand has altered the text so that instead of the original “you” of the verb, it reads “we.” d  Isidore, Etym., 6.19.8. cf. Isidore, De eccles. offic., 1.8, CCSL 113: 8. a 

b 

106

V, 2

through which is understood the exhortation of a brother to his brothers for the service of God. Through the verse of the Responsory, which is entirely sung by one person, a singular appeal to God is denoted. By singing the Responsory, we raise up our voice with exultation, as if through a trumpet, arousing our brothers to raise themselves to higher things, so that we will come to the point of praising the Holy Trinity, saying: “Glory to the Father,” etc. Sometimes, the Responsory has three verses, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On the first Sunday of Advent.a The Responsory is also not repeated in its entirety after the verse to note that if we cannot be saved on the mountain, that is, in a state of perfection, at least we are saved on Segor,b that is, on another path, in a state of imperfection. Only half or part of it is repeated to note that those things that we do while living are imperfect; and the repetition is first said from the rather distant part to the end, and afterwards, from the less distant part, and finally “Glory to the Father,” is said, as will be discussed in the chapter on the first Sunday of Advent noted above. But on feast days, it is repeated a second time, in its entirety, to note the joy and perfection of the Saints.

[X. On the Prayers] 55. In a similar manner, the prayers [orationes] are said at each of the hours, through which the thing promised must be effected, for the prayer is a petition. For to pray is to seek, just as to entreat is to effect. And according to Gregory:c “Truly to pray is to make the sound of bitter groans in compunction, not of well composed words.” The prayer also signifies the mercy of God that precedes Rationale, 6.3.4 sq. Durand calls this mountain “Segora” in Latin, which is today called Zoara or Zoar. In Hebrew the name means “little one,” and refers to one of the five cities (along with Sodom and Gomorrah) that were marked for destruction by God, but Segor was spared by Lot’s intercession. See Gen 19:20–23. c  Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, 33.43, CCSL 143B: 1712. Durand’s source for this quote is Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.10, CCCM 228: 289. a 

b 

107

42

Rationale

43

and then follows men in good works, and it is therefore said at the beginning and end of the Mass. The final prayer is also the blessing of the Lord for His laborers. The prayers that are said at the end of the hours are drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, who, when they were separated, used to pray down on their knees. When the priest is about to pray, he greets the people, saying: “The Lord be with you,”a and this he does so that he might inspire them to pray for him; that his prayer will be acceptable to God, and that God will give him His grace. When the prayer is finished, he prays a second time, saying: “The Lord be with you,” which will be discussed under the heading, On Prime.b 56. And note that every Office, aside from the night Office, is concluded with a prayer and a blessing to note that as long as we are in this world we must be fortified by the prayers of priests. And it is the custom that when we have friendly conversation with the servants of God, when we are separated from them, we request a blessing from them. But at Matins, this is not the case, because there is not a separation there, but we sing Matins or Lauds joined together. 57. To continue, even though God is everywhere, following the decree of Pope Vigilius,c the priest must nevertheless pray towards the east, at the altar and in the Divine Offices. Thus, in some churches that have their entrance on the western side, when Mass is celebrated, the priest turns around towards the people for the greeting,d because we present ourselves face to face to those whom we are greeting, as was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading, On the greeting.e And then, when he is about to pray, he turns around to face the east. But in churches where the entrances are on the eastern side, such as in Rome, there is no reason to turn around for the greeting, because in those churches, the priest celebrating always stands facing the people. Dominus vobiscum. Rationale, 5.4.5. c  Cf. Liber Pont., 61, Duchesne 1: 296–299. But there is nothing here to support Durand’s claim. d  Dominus vobiscum, or “The Lord be with you.” e  Rationale, 4.14.5. a 

b 

108

V, 2

We also read that the Temple of Solomon and the Tabernacle of Moses had their entrances in the east, in Exodus chapter 38 (cf. Ex 38:13 sq). Wea therefore pray towards the east; first, remembering that He who is the splendor of eternal light, illumined those sitting in darkness (cf. Lk 1:79), who, as: The orient from on high has visited us (Lk 1:78), about whom we read: Behold the man, the orient is his name (Zech 6:12). An argument for this is given in the Book of Wisdom: We ought to adore you towards the dawning of the light (Wisd 16:28). Not that the Divine Majesty is located in the east— a Majesty which is potentially and essentially everywhere, according to this text: Do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jer 23:24), and the Prophet: If I ascend into heaven, you are there: if I descend into hell, you are present (Ps 138:8)—but because for those who fear God, the Son of justice rises in the east, who illumines all men coming into this world.b Second, we pray towards the east so that our soul will be admonished to convert itself to more important things. Third, because those who wish to praise God should not turn their back to Him. Fourth, according to John Damascene,c who wrote the following four reasons in the fourth book, chapter 5,d we ought to show that we are searching for our fatherland. Fifth, so that we will directly look upon Christ crucified, who is the true east, to whom we pray. Sixth, to show that we are expecting the coming of our Judge; for as [John] Damascene says in the same place: “God planted paradise in the east, from which He exiled man because of his transgression, and He made him dwell facing paradise, in the a  There are substantial textual differences between the first and second reaction in the original Latin manuscripts for the remainder of section 57. I have translated the text from the majority reading of the second redaction. b  This paragraph comes directly from Innocent III, In solemn. dedicat. eccles., Sermo de tempore 27, PL 217: 435B; 435C. c  John Damscene, De fide orthodoxa, 4.12, PG 94: 1135A; Durand’s direct source is Voragine, Leg. Aurea, c. 182 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 847. d    I have modified the corrupt Latin of the manuscripts of the Rationale by following the original text of Voragine for this passage.

109

44

Rationale

45

west. Seeking after the ancient fatherland and looking towards it, we worship God facing the east.” Seventh, because the Lord was looking towards the east when He was crucified; therefore, we pray looking upon Him; and in His ascension into heaven, He was carried up in the direction of the east, and there, His Apostles adored Him, and just as they saw Him going into heaven there, from there shall He come; therefore, expecting Him, we pray towards the east. Similarly, even Daniel and the Jews, during the Babylonian Captivity, used to pray towards the Temple. Nevertheless, Augustinea says: “That no Scripture instructs us to pray towards the east.” We also pray to the Saints standing, as was previously said where the Psalms were covered. 58. Moreover, one must pray in a church that has been established for that purpose, as was discussed in the first part, under the heading, On the church building,b thus, Psalm 67: In the churches bless the Lord God, from the fountains of Israel (Ps 67:27); and elsewhere: Adore the Lord in His holy court (Ps 28:2); and here: I will come into your house, O Lord; I will worship towards your holy temple, in your fear (Ps 5:8). Likewise, it was decreed: You shall worship before this altar (2 Chron 32:12). Also, the Prophet: Come let us adore and fall down before the Lord; let us weep before the Lord that made us, because He is the Lord our God (Ps 94:6–7). He is “God;” that is, the Creator; he is “Lord;” that is, Redeemer; he is “ours;” that is, the Savior. But since God is everywhere, as was previously said, why must He more preferably be adored in a temple than in some other place? Besides, as we read in John, chapter 4, when the Samaritan woman asked Christ for a solution to the question of the location of adoration that had often been debated among the Jews and Samaritans, she said: Our fathers adored on this mountain, and you say that Jerusalem is the place where men must adore. And Jesus said to her: Woman, believe me that the hour is coming, a  D.11 c.5, Friedberg 1: 24. Durand’s source, Gratian’s Decretum, misattributes this passage to Augustine when it is, in fact, from Basil, De Spiritu Sancto, 27.66, PG 187A/188A. b  Rationale, 1.1.4.

110

V, 2

when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem—we must add, alone—adore the Father, but the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:20–23), as if He were saying: I have no preference for the place of worship, for God is worshiped everywhere, so long as it is in spirit; that is, with respect to spiritual things, and in truth; that is, with respect to things eternal. Thus to the Apostles He says: But when you pray, enter into your room, and closing the door, pray to the Father (Mt 6:6). But even though God must be adored everywhere, He is nevertheless especially adored in church; otherwise, in vain would it be to raise a temple to the Lord with such zeal and at such expense, unless it were more pleasing to Him to receive adoration in one. Thus Solomon, in the construction and dedication of the Temple, prayed to the Lord so that whatever arose from it in prayer for his sins, or for whatever tribulation he cried out to the Lord, in those things for which he petitioned that were just, he would be heard (cf. 1 Kings 8:28 sq). This form of prayer is followed by the Church in the prayer that it says for the dedication of a church.a For the Angels assist those who are praying, so that they might offer their devout prayers to God, according to this text: I will sing praise to you in the sight of the Angel; I will worship towards your holy temple, to confess your name, O Lord (Ps 137:1–2). This is the reason the Angel said to Tobit: I offered your prayer to the Lord (Tobit 12:12). The relics of Saints rest in a church, who, if we are devoutly worshiping God, attain for us with their prayers what we cannot achieve with our own merits. We are prohibited by the Lord from praying like the Pharisees in the streets or in public. But what the Apostle says to Timothy: I wish that you pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger (1 Tim 2:8) applies to internal prayer. For he prays everywhere, who always raises the hands of a pure heart, with the duties and good works of charity. 59. To continue, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit must be adored because they are together and singularly the one true God; for even though the Father might be one person, the Son, another Durand’s reference is too imprecise to identify the prayer to which he refers. He treats the rite for the dedication of a church in Rationale, 1.6.1 sq. a 

111

46

Rationale

47

and the Holy Spirit, another, they are nevertheless one in Divinity, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. One prayer is to the indivisible Trinity in its entirety and equality; from this what the Lord says can fittingly be understood: The true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23). For he who truly worships God, worships the Father in spirit in truth; that is, in the Son, who said of Himself: I am the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6); I am, He says, in the Father and the Father is in me (Jn 10:38); therefore, the Father must be adored in the Son and the Son in the Father and the Holy Spirit in both. 60. Moreover, God must be adored: With a pure heart, and a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith (1 Tim 1:5); “with a pure heart,” not as some do who glorify God in prosperity but in adversity, blaspheme Him, about which the Prophet says: They shall praise you so long as you do well to them (Ps 48:19), but they shall murmur if they are not filled (Ps 58:16). “With a good conscience,” not as some do who gravely sin against God, and then afterwards, rashly sacrifice to Him, about which the Prophet says: But to the sinner God has said: Why do you declare my statutes, and take my covenant in your mouth? (Ps 49:16). That could by all means be applied to the covenant, about which the Truth says: This is my blood of the new covenant (Mk 14:24). “With an unfeigned faith,” not as some who worship, who speak correctly but live wickedly, whom the Lord reproached, saying: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me (Mt 15:8; Mk 7:6); for they speak but do nothing (Mt 23:3). God must therefore be worshiped with the heart, through devotion; with the mouth, through confession; and through works, through veneration. 61. There are two forms of adoration; namely, latria, which is owed to God alone, and dulia, which is shown to certain creatures,a as was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading,

a  The Latin term latria is derived from the Greek word, λατρεία (latreía), meaning the “adoration” that is properly offered to God, the Holy Trinity, and after the Council of Trent, to the Eucharistic elements. Durand’s Latin term dulia, is a transliteration of the Greek word, δουλεία (douleía), or “veneration,” referring to the honor given to Saints or images (icons) of the Saints.

112

V, 2

On the fourth part of the Canon, at the words, “We Your servants.”a To continue, the canonical hours must be said at the corresponding hours of the day, in spite of what the Psalmist says: I will bless the Lord at all times (Ps 33:2), or what the Apostle says: Pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17), since to “bless the Lord at all times” is to praise Him always with a worthy form of conduct. To “pray without ceasing” is to do everything to the praise and glory of God, just as the same Apostle says: Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). As to the rest, the greeting precedes the prayer, and the response follows it, as will be discussed under Prime.b

[XI. On the “Let us Bless the Lord”]c 62. Finally, after the prayer, this is said: “Let us bless the Lord,” which is taken from the Apostle or the Psalms, or from the hymn of the three young boys, where it says: Let us bless the Father and the Son, etc. (cf. Dan 3:57–58; 56). And sometimes it is said by boys since they are at an imperfect age, to note that all our works are imperfect, according to this text: Your eyes have seen my imperfect being, etc. (Ps 138:16); and also, that all our praise is childish and imperfect in comparison to the God whom we praise; for whatever can be said here subtracts from the praise in heaven, as if the Church is saying: we praise, but in our praise, we are inadequate, because the preeminence of God surpasses our eloquence and understanding, because: Man shall come to a lofty heart and God shall be exalted (Ps 63:7–8). Thus, consequently, everyone says: “Thanks be to God,”d as if to say, it pleases us and it is a pious thing to be surpassed in the praise of God. It is also said by the boys [a pueris] to note that only boys [soli pueri], that is, ones who are pure [puri] of malice, can worthily praise God and give thanks. Rationale, 4.39.2. Rationale, 5.5.17. c  Benedicamus Domino. d  Deo gratias. a 

b 

113

48

Rationale

Sometimes, it is said by the elders to signify that we shall be perfect in our praise when we are in a state of eternal blessedness with the Lord, since in this life, we are not capable of being perfect. To continue, after the suffrages,a another prayer is said which signifies the mercy of God, which precedes and follows men in their good works. Also, this is said again: “Let us bless the Lord,” and “Thanks be to God,” because just as the Lord greeted His disciples again after the Resurrection, He blessed them, and they, offering Him thanks, adored Him. So too, the presbyter, or another one, having said the prayer, says for a second time: “Let us bless the Lord;” and this must be understood as: whose members we are, and in whom we offer a blessing; and He also blesses. 63. The choir, giving thanks, says: “Thanks be to God,” which is taken from the Apostle, through which is signified that up to the end of our life, we must preserve our innocence, and bless God and offer Him thanks for our blessings. Or, “Let us bless the Lord” with “Thanks be to God” is the final praise and the ineffable exultation that will come in final glory with our thanks [to God]. Or, “Thanks be to God” refers to thanks given at the completion of our course, and this was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading, On the final prayer.b But it seems that one ought more preferably to respond: “Amen;” that is, “let it be done [ fiat],” or “so be it [ita sit]; namely, that God be blessed. But it is well to respond: “Thanks be to God,” so that it can be noted that that with which we bless God, we have from God Himself.

[XII. On the Suffrages] 64. Since as long as we live, we are placed on a slippery road and we are assailed by demons, that is why we are always in need of the suffrages of the Saints; on that account, in many churches, at each of the hours, after “Let us bless the Lord,” the suffrages of the Saints are added. And note that since the entire time from the a  b 

Suffragia, or “suffrages” are intercessory prayers for divine help. Rationale, 4.59.1 sq.

114

V, 2

Nativity of the Lord to the Feast of the Purification pertains to the infancy of the Savior, therefore, as some say, commemorations must not be done during that time, especially of the cross, according to this text: You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk (Ex 23:19); nor should there be one from Passion Sunday up to the Saturday after Pentecost, as will be discussed at that place.a It should also be known that because Peter and Paul were not separated in life and death, just as the Church sings,b neither should they be separated in their commemorations, which are done at the same time and in common for each of them.

[XIII. On the Chant] 65. Finally, it must be noted that the practice of singing [cantandi usus] was first taken from the Old Testament, just as we read in Ezra (cf.  1 Ezra 3:11); this was discussed in the second part, under the heading, On the cantor,c and in the fourth part, under the heading, On the Alleluia.d And in Ecclesiasticus, chapter 47: And he gave him power against his enemies, and he set singers before the altar, and by their voices he made sweet melodies (Sir 47:10–11); and the Psalmist: Sing to him a new song; sing well to him with shouts of gladness (Ps 32:3). There is a celebration, so therefore a song, to show that men ought to offer thanks and praise to God, while they busy themselves with their hands and other members, doing works that will be pleasing to God. Nevertheless, the practice of singing is condemned by some, as was discussed in the prologue of the fourth part.e The order of the chants for the day and night Offices is believed to have been fully arranged by Blessed Gregory,f

Rationale, 6.113.1 sq. Verse for the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, OrdPC, Van Dijk and Walker, 407 n.3. c  Rationale, 2.2.2. d  Rationale, 4.20.1. e  Rationale, 4.1.8–9. f  Cf. Ordo 19.36, OR 3: 224. a 

b 

115

49

Rationale

50

with many others who came before and after him, who composed prayers, antiphons and Responsories. 66. And note, according to Hugh of St. Victor,a that there are three forms of sound [species sonorum] which make for three modes [modulos]; for there is a sound made by a stroke, by breath, and by a voice. The stroke applies to the harp; breath, to the trumpet and organ; but the voice, to singing. The ancient people used these types of music in the praise of God; moreover, this consonance of sounds can be assigned to the harmony of morals: if the stroking of the harp refers to the work of the hands; the air in the organ, the devotion of the mind; and the singing of the voice, the exhortation of a sermon. Bernardb says: “What good is the sweetness of words without a sweetness of the heart? You wear out your voice, but wear down your own will; you observe the consonance of voices, but observe the concord of morals, so that through your example, you will be in harmony with your neighbor, by turning your will to God and your obedience to your master.” The organ was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading, On the Sanctus.c 67. To continue, this distinction of three types of music refers, according to bishop Sicardus of Cremona, in the Mitrale,d to three distinctions in the ecclesiastical Offices. For the Office of the Church consists of Psalms, chants and lessons. The first type of music is what is done by the striking of the fingers, as with the psaltery and things of this sort, and it applies to psalmody, according to this text: Praise him with the psaltery and the harp (Ps 150:3); and “Psalter” comes from the Greek word, psallim, which

a  Durand’s direct source for this paragraph is Voragine, Leg. Aurea, c. 182 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 846. Voragine paraphrases Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon, 2.12, PL 176: 757A. b  Durand’s original source, Voragine, lacks the reference to Bernard (of Clairvaux). The quotation actually comes from Hugh of Fouilloy, or Hugo de Folieto, De claustro animae libri quatuor, 2.22, PL 176: 1081B. c  Rationale, 4.34.10. d  Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.7, CCCM 228: 275. Once again, Durand’s direct source for this reference is Vorgaine, Leg. Aurea, c. 182 (ed. Graesse, 1846), 186.

116

V, 2

in Latin is “to touch [tangere].”a The second is what is done with the voice—namely, the human voice—and the lessons belong to this one; hence the Psalmist: Sing unto him with a loud voice (Ps 32:3). And the Apostle calls the lesson a “voice,” saying: Not knowing Jesus and the voices of the Prophets, which were read on the Sabbath (Acts 13:27).b The third is what is done with blowing, as in a trumpet, and the chant applies to this; thus the Psalmist: Praise him with the sound of the trumpet (Ps 150:3). Fittingly, this reasonable agreement of diverse sounds signifies concord, and a compact and a unity from variety of the well-established civilization; a sweet song comes from diverse voices, but not from those that are opposed to each other. 68. To continue, song in church signifies the joy of heaven. The grave, acute and super acute voicesc imply that preaching is to be done through three modes, by the three orders of the Church, on account of the thirtyfold, sixtyfold and hundredfold fruits (cf. Mt 13:8); or, on account of the three books of Solomond that signify the order of those who are beginners, those who are proficient and those who are perfected. The choir was discussed in the first part, under the heading, On the church building.e 69. Fittingly, it was decreed in the Councils of Toledo and Gironaf that the order of the Mass, as well as order of psalmody and the customs of the ministry observed by the metropolitan church,g must be observed by all churches there. It also is not permitted for abbots or monks or those having pastoral care of souls to celebrate a  There is no precise source used by Durand for this etymology. Cf. Isidore, Etym., 3.20.7; 6.19.11–12. b  Durand omits the first part of this sentence: For the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Acts 13:27). c  “voces vero graves, acute et superacute.” Durand is most likely referring to vocal pitch, so this could also be translated as “low, high and very high.” d  Durand is referring to Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, which were attributed to Solomon by medieval authors. e  Rationale, 1.1.18. f  D.12 c.14, Friedberg 1: 31. The canon that Durand cites is actually from the Council of Braga. g  Metropolitan church is another term for archdiocesan church.

117

51

Rationale

public Offices other than those of the diocesan church, although Augustinea says that what is proved to be neither contrary to the faith nor to good morals is something we must take as being indifferent; and in the ecclesiastical sacraments, by law, custom is to be observed.b

Augustine, Ad inquisit. Ianuarii, Ep. 54.2, CSEL 43.2: 160; cited from D.12 c.11, Friedberg 1: 29–30. b  In the original letter, Augustine is saying, in effect, that one should obey the law or rules of the particular church where one happens to be at the moment. I have translated this passage by consulting Augustine’s original words since Durand’s presentation is truncated. a 

118

[3] ON THE NIGHT OFFICES

1. Even though the ecclesiastical Offices begin with Vespers, according to this text: From evening until evening you shall celebrate your Sabbathsa (Lev 23:32), nevertheless, since it is a fitting arrangement that we proceed from darkness into the light, not the other way around, we therefore begin the Office at night. Moreover, night time signifies our life in sin. The night Office is the servitude of our exile; Lauds is the suffrage of our penitence through which we strive towards the joy of light and liberty. Or, the time before the nocturnb signifies the time of death before the Law, in which all remained silent in the praises of God. The time for the night [Office] signifies the time in which the Law was given to Moses. The time for Lauds signifies the time of grace, from the Resurrection up to the end of the world, at which time we are bound to praise God for the good things of nature that He gave to us by creating at that hour; for the good gifts of grace that He gave us by arising at that hour; and the good gifts of glory that He shall give us by resurrecting us. The word play of the Latin is lost in translation. Durand’s rendering of the text of Leviticus reads: De vespera usque ad vesperam celebrabitis sabbata vestra. b  “tempus ante nocturnum.” Durand’s use of the term “nocturnum” poses some translation challenges since it has a double meaning: the “night time” and the “nocturn” or “nocturns” of the night Office. The night Office consists of three separate “nocturns” or Psalm and prayer sequences. I have alternated the translations, depending upon the context and his exegetical point. a 

119

Rationale

52

2. Fittingly, the night Office is sung in the middle of the night for five reasons. First, because the first-born of Egypt were killed during the night and the first-born of Israel were saved (cf.  Ex 12:29 sq). So that the Lord will preserve our birthright, that is our celestial inheritance which the first-born Son of God gained for us, we therefore sing the night Office, so that we will not appear like Esau, who for a small portion of red lentils lost his birthright (cf. Gen 25:27 sq). Second, because the Son of God was born in the middle of the night, according to Wisdom, chapter 18: For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night, etc. (Wisd 18:14), up to: Down from heaven, from a royal throne, your Son Jesus came (cf. Wisd 18:15);a so that we might be grateful for His nativity, we praise Him at night and give thanks for His nativity. Third, because Christ was captured and mocked by the Jews at this hour, and at the same hour, He despoiled hell, and if we accept the broadest sense of night, namely, before first light, in the morning, He rose again; and it is asserted that in the middle of the night He will come again to pass judgment. Thus it was decreedb that on the day of the Easter Vigil, the people expecting the coming of Christ cannot be dismissed before midnight, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On Holy Saturday.c Therefore, at this hour, we praise God, giving thanks for His capture and liberation of our fathers, who restlessly awaited His coming. Fourth, so that the night time of our transgressions will be illuminated; thus, Paul and Silas, when they were in chains praying in the middle of the night, are remembered to have sung a hymn that could be heard by everyone, when there was an earthquake, and the doors of the prison suddenly opened and their chains were broken (cf. Acts 16:25–26). Fifth, in order to tame the allurements This is reference to the antiphon for the Magnificat, during the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord; OrdPC, Van Dijk and Walker, 134. b  Durand’s direct source is Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 2.1 (ed. Corbett), 132. Praepositinus cites Jerome for this decree: Comment. in Evang. Matthaei, 4.25.6, PL 26: 184D-185A. c  Rationale, 6.85.2. a 

120

V, 3

of the flesh, by singing and praying every week, just as it says in Ecclesiasticus, chapter 31:a Keeping watch over riches tames the flesh (Sir 31:1). 3. It must also be known that in the primitive Church, the ministers of the Church used to get up at night at three intervals to celebrate the Divine Office, designating by this, three time periods: namely, the time before the Law, the time under the Law and the time of grace. First, they used to arise at the first sleep, when the masses have the habit of going off to sleep; second, in the middle of the night; third, a little bit before daylight, thus ordering the Office so that the nocturns were finished, and the lessons with their Responsories were read through before sunrise. When it was daybreak, the bells would ring and they would sing: “You are God, we praise You.” b At the first nocturn, which was sung without an invitatory, only the pontiff and the ministers of the Church used to arise because no one else had been invited to this [Office]. And it was called “Vigils [vigilia],” because it took its origins from the pastors who kept vigil at night over the flocks for which they cared. Nevertheless, on special feast days, the whole people persisted in the praises of God; but this practice was abolished, and a fast in place of this vigil was established, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On the fourth day of the third week of Advent.c At the second nocturn, the ministers and those who were married, both men and women, arose at the same time; and this was done with an invitatory to signify the Angels inviting the shepherds to see the King who had been born. At the third nocturn, they all arose together, but afterwards, as charity grew cold, when everyone, including the ministers of the Church and the people became lazy about arising for the night Office, it was decreed that everyone would arise in the middle of the night, according to what the Prophet says: I arose at midnight, etc. (Ps 118:62), and the entire night Office would be sung I have corrected Durand’s error, “Ecclesiastes chapter 22,” in the original text. Te Deum laudamus. c  Rationale, 6.8.8. a    b 

121

53

Rationale

54

continuously, and many would rise at that hour for this purpose. But since some were more inclined to the pleasures of the night than the service of God, an institution of this sort was voided by those who would not observe it; it was subsequently decreed that at least everyone would arise at the time of the final nocturn.a 4. It can also be said that there are four enemies of the Church: those from above [superiores], that is, malignant demons; those that are below [inferiores], that is, hostile men; those that are internal [interiores], that is, the concupiscence of the flesh; those that are external [exteriores], that is, worldly enticements. Concerning the first, the Apostle says: For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spirits of wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). For the second, the Psalmist says: Upon my back have the sinners worked; they have lengthened their iniquity (Ps 128:3). For the third, the Apostle says: For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh (Gal 5:17). For the fourth, John says: Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. For all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:15–16). 5. Against these four enemies, the rulers of the Church ought carefully to preserve the four nightly vigils, for: The shepherds were watching and keeping the night watches over their flock (Lk 2:8); namely, in the still of the night [conticinium], at cock-crow [gallicinium], the dead of night [intempestum], and before dawn [antelucinium]; times during which the guards of the city are disposed, by turn, to watch over it. Therefore, they must guard, during the first vigil, against the lies of the first enemies; for the second, against the cunning of the second enemies; for the third, against the third enemies; for the fourth, against the fourth enemies. 6. The night Office is therefore divided into four parts; namely, into three nocturns and Matins, which the ancient Church used to sing at the four nightly vigils against the four aforesaid Durand makes no reference to any canonical texts in the original manuscripts. His direct source for these “decrees” is John Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic., 20d, CCCM 41A: 43. a 

122

V, 3

persecutions of the enemies. In memory of that laudable custom and devotion of those ancestors, in the summer time, the Church celebrates the night Office at the time of the first nocturn, but sometimes at the proper time—which some call by its ancient name of “Vigils [vigilias]”a—and especially on the Feasts of John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, and the Assumption of the Blessed [Virgin] Mary, which are principal solemnities of this time, and they begin to do this with the Feast of Blessed John, at twilight [crepusculum], by reason of the fact that he marked the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. The Romans,b to this day, say three Psalms and three lessons in the evening, which they calls “Vigils,” for every principal feast day throughout the year, and in the nocturns they repeat the same and complete the entire Office of Matins. To continue, in memory of the aforesaid devotion of the ancients who arose three times at night, we say three nocturns that have their origin and name from their practice. 7. And note that “nocturn-nocturns [nocturna-nocturne]” stands for the “hour [hora],” but “nocturns” in the plural genitive casec stands for the Office, or “nocturn-nocturns” is the collection of Psalms that are said before the lessons on Sundays and weekdays. The times at which the Psalms are sung are called “nocturns” in the plural. The nine Psalms and nine lessons with their Responsories for solemnities are called “nocturns,” in the plural genitive case.d 8. Fittingly, through the nocturns, we avoid the ambushes of the Devil, and therefore, rising at night when we hear the bells, At first glance, this passage may be a bit confusing, but Durand is referring to very ancient liturgical practices that predate Benedict’s Rule, and the cathedral Offices of the later Middle Ages. In those early sources vigiliae was the term used for what became nocturne, or the “nocturns” of the night Office, which were then linked with matutine, or “Matins.” See Andrew Hughes, Medieval Manuscripts for Mass and Office: A Guide to Their Organization and Terminology (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982), 15–16. b  Durand’s reference to the “Romans” means the clergy of the diocese of Rome. c  In Latin, the text reads, “sed nocturne-nocturnorum pro officio.” d  Durand’s source for this grammatical excursus is Sicardus of Cremona, Mitrale, 4.1, CCCM 228: 227. a 

123

55

Rationale

56

we run to the church just as if we were a group of soldiers off to arms, having heard the peal of the trumpets. Entering the royal court—that is, the church—we bow at the altar and we adore it, like soldiers before their king, for we are soldiers of the eternal King. Bowing, we do the threefold prayer,a saying three times, “Our Father,” directing the words to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we speak to the Father, we place ourselves at the middle of the altar, in bodily presence and with the intentions of our heart because of the power of the Father and our own perseverance; when we speak to the Son, we turn ourselves towards the left part of the altar because of His emptying of Himself and the offense of our faults; when we speak to the Holy Spirit, we cross over to the right side of the altar because of His kindness and the effect of His grace on us. Nevertheless, some have special prayers here, and then some begin the fifteen Gradual Psalms here,b which was discussed in the prologue of this part.c 9. The priest begins the night Offices, taking his starting point from the Lord, who is the Alpha and the Omega; that is, the beginning and the end (cf. Rev 1:8), and the bestower of all things. And since it is written in John, chapter 15: Without me you can do nothing (Jn 15:4), he also asks faithfully, before everything else, that his mouth will be opened by Him who says: Open your mouth and I will fill it (Ps 80:11), so that He will open his mouth for him so that he can worthily praise Him, saying: “Lord, open my lips,”d because: Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner (Sir a  The Latin reads, “trinam facimus orationem.” Durand does not seem to be making a reference to the monastic custom of the Trina Oratio, or “Triple Prayer” which by the beginning of the eleventh century, was a devotion to the Trinity that consisted of three Psalms said in groups of three, followed by a Pater Noster, and a collect prayer before Matins. The best treatment of this practice is in J. B.L. Tolhurst, The Monastic Breviary of Hyde Abbey, Winchester, Henry Bradshaw Society 80 (London: HBS, 1942), 57–64. b  This monastic practice dates back to the monastic reformer, Benedict of Aniane (c. 747–821), and was later adopted by Cluniac monastic foundations. See J. B.L. Tolhurst, The Monastic Breviary of Hyde Abbey, 64–68. c  Rationale, 5.2.39. d  Domine labia mea aperies.

124

V, 3

15:9), unless He deigns to open his mouth for His praise, according to the Prophet: Why do you declare my statutes, and take my covenant in your mouth? (Ps 49:16). He also finishes this Office in God himself when saying: “Thanks be to God,”a so that the beginning and end will come full circle and refer to Him who is Alpha and Omega. And the verb form, “open [aperies]” is said here to replace one time for another, that is “open [aperi].” b To continue, he asks that his lips be opened because at Compline, we have previously commended ourselves to God, and our mouth and heart have been closed, fortified with the sign of the cross; fittingly, this is why we entreat Him so that the lips that have been closed will be opened to offer praise. The choir, to note our concord, without changing the person of the verb, responds by saying: “And my mouth shall proclaim your praise;”c for true concord is when the multitude of believers have one heart and one spirit, as in Acts chapter 4 (cf. Acts 4:32), and God is praised in such unity. But because the Devil abhors such praise, for that reason he busies himself with impeding those who have the desire to praise God—for a despised Pharaoh, that is, the Devil, rises up to create scandals—therefore, to avoid succumbing, immediately after being granted permission to speak, with a raised voice, the Church prays: “O God, come to my assistance,”d etc. The choir responds: “O Lord, make haste to help me,”e etc. 10. Fittingly, with the two previous conditions met—namely, the grace through which the mouth is opened and the help of God through which the Devil is beaten back—there is nothing that remains except to offer praise; thus, the Church immediately adds: “Glory to the Father,” etc., which was discussed in the prologue.f Deo gratias. Durand is making a grammatical point that is difficult to convey in English; aperies is the future indicative form, and aperi is the present imperative form. c  Et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam. Durand notes that the choir sings this in the singular and not the plural form of the verb. d  Deus, in adiutorium meum intende. e  Domine, ad adiuvandum me festina. f  Rationale, 5.2.21. a 

b 

125

57

Rationale

58

But since it does not suffice to praise God unless we invite others to His praise—so that he who hears says: Come, Lord Jesus, in the last chapter of Apocalypse (Rev 22:20), and the curtain draws another curtain, Exodus 20a (cf. Ex 26:1 sq)—therefore, the invitatory follows, and the invitatory Psalm: Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord (Ps 94), where many reasons are given why we must exult and sing joyfully to God, where it says: For He is a great God (Ps 94:3); and we assign a final reason: namely, that we not be ungrateful, like the Jews, who on account of their ingratitude and malice, did not enter into the promised land; thus, it says there: Surely they will not enter into my rest (Ps 94:11),b as if it says “not.” 11. The invitatory is said with a raised voice [alta voce] because through it, Mother Church invites all to confess the Lord, according this text: Come, my sons (Ps 33:12), which is noted in the second verse: Let us come [before His presence] (Ps 94:2). This is why, in some churches, there are those who bow in prayer at every altar before Matins, and immediately, when they hear this being sung: Come, let us sing joyfully (Ps 94), they enter the choir. The one beginning the invitatory is like a herald, raising his voice like a trumpet. And the invitatory is first said in a humble voice, but when She comes to the invitatory Psalm, Her voice is exalted, because the Church first praises God Himself in secret, as if behind a closed door, but afterwards, praises Him openly for others, so that a fire will kindle among those who are near. This is why, therefore, on principal feast days the invitatory is begun in a very low voice [voce valde demissa], but when it comes to the verse: Today, if you shall hear his voice, etc. (Ps 94:8), the voice is exalted, so that the heart might not, by chance, become hardened on account of not hearing that voice; thus, Isaiah: Lift up your voice like a trumpet (Isa 58:1). To continue, the invitatory starts with a lowered voice to note that in the primitive Church, Durand’s chapter number is incorrect. Durand’s citation follows the so-called Gallican Psalter and reads: “Si introibunt in requiem meam.” The new Vulgate edition reads: “Non introibunt in requiem meam.” The first line uses and idiomatic construct that can be translated as “Surely not,” for Si; Durand is saying that it is as if the word non, or “not” is being used. a 

b 

126

V, 3

the people were secretly invited to cultivate the faith and worship Christ; but afterwards, the voice is exalted to show that today, the people are invited, preached to, and worship freely. 12. Likewise, the entire invitatory is repeated at certain verses of this Psalm: Come (Ps 94), and at others, only partially, because even though all are invited by the invitatory to give praise and glory to God, nevertheless, some receive this invitation perfectly while others receive it imperfectly. Moreover, it is said in full six times since those who fully receive the invitation, perfectly bear their praises to God; they bear their praises perfectly who do not insert something that is not done in praise. And since six is the first perfect number, which is clear because it is formed from its aliquot parts—namely, from one, two and three—therefore, it is repeated fully six times; but it is said partially three times on account of those three types of men who are invited to the meal but do not receive the invitation: namely, the avaricious, the proud and the dissolute, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On the second Sunday after Pentecost.a Or, this is because of our imperfection which is threefold: namely, in our heart, in our mouth and in our work. Yet the Office of Epiphany lacks an invitatory, as will be discussed in the sixth part,b and also the Office of the Dead, unless there immediately is a funeral. Since in that Office we imitate the funeral rites of Christ, an invitatory is also not said on Good Friday. 13. Yet, since it does not suffice to praise God with the mouth unless He is praised with the spirit, that is why a hymn is added after the invitatory; that is, a praise of God [laus Dei]. Likewise, since after the invitatory, many consequently praise God with joy, according to this text: Zion heard and was glad (Ps 96:8), therefore, after the invitatory, the hymn is sung communally. Third, the hymn is sung as a sign of what we read in the Acts of the Apostles, that the Gentiles were glad because they were called to the faith (cf. Acts 13:48). a 

Rationale, 6.116.1. Rationale, 6.16.9.

b 

127

Rationale

59

To continue, because again, it does not suffice to have praise in one’s mouth and heart unless works follow, because faith without works accomplishes nothing and is indeed dead (cf. Jas 2:26), therefore, the Psalms, which designate good works, follow the hymn. The antiphons are also said, which signify charity, without which a work cannot be accomplished, and also the versicles, which were discussed in the prologue.a 14. After the verses that precede the lessons through which we are given instruction, the Lord’s Prayer is said. First, to note that he who is in need of the wisdom and understanding of instruction asks these from God, who, according to Blessed James: Gives abundantly to all men and does not reproach (Jas 1:5). Second, with the help of this prayer, the intention of this verse will be accomplished in us. Third, that through it, the temptations of the Devil are repelled, for sensing that we wish to read the lessons in which the victories of the Saints against him are habitually read, he busies himself with fighting us more fiercely; thus, we fortify ourselves with that prayer. Moreover, it is said secretly, by which the secret council of the king is understood, so that we follow the example that has been put before us, and so that it can more diligently be grasped; or, because in it, we speak to God. Still, the last part is concluded openly, so that it is clear to what end this prayer is said; namely, so that the speaker might not be carried away by the fantasies of temptations, and the hearer will not be cheated out of the understanding and profit that comes from the lesson; this will be discussed under the heading, On Prime.b 15. Through the prayers that follow the Lord’s Prayer, before the lesson, the intercession of the Saints is implored to obtain what is asked for in that prayer. For we pray to the Lord that He will send workers to His harvest (cf. Lk 10:2), and that He will open our heart to His law and His precepts, so that the seed of His word that we are about to hear will not be eaten by birds, or choked by thorns, or fall on rock where there is no moisture and it a  b 

Rationale, 5.2.26; 5.2.40–42. Rationale, 5.5.10.

128

V, 3

dries up (cf. Lk 8:5–7). Consequently, the lessons which are our instruction are added, and after the lessons, the Responsories, which signify good works; these were discussed in the prologue.a 16. It should also be considered that on feast days and Sunday, we say three nocturns; on a weekday, one. In the three Offices of the nocturns we represent three time periods: namely, the time before the Law, under the Law and the time of grace, with whichever of these times divided into three distinct periods. The time before the Law had three divisions: the first was from Adam up to Noah; the second, from Noah up to Abraham; the third, from Abraham up to Moses. The time under the Law had these divisions: the first, from Moses up to David; the second, from David up to the Babylonian captivity; the third, from the Babylonian captivity up to Christ. The first division in the time of grace was a time of Apostolic and Evangelical preaching; the second, a time of assault by emerging heresies; the third, a time of peace: namely, when the heresies were eliminated. Moreover, the three nocturns properly signify the Fathers or the faithful of each one or the other time who, being attentive in their praise of God, will arrive at the eternal praise [in heaven]; thus, the Apostle in 1 Corinthians:b All shall stand before the tribunal of the judge (Rom 14:10), and we, who are still left alive (1 Thess 4:17), will not go before those who have gone to their rest (1 Thess 4:15). Because they were so vigilant in applying themselves to good works, we are also rightly vigilant; and to please the Trinity through their merits so that we can join the company of the nine orders of Angels,c we sing praises to God in a set of nine, with antiphons, Psalms, verses, lessons and Responsories. The antiphons apply to love; the Psalms, to action; the verses, to practice; the lesson, to knowledge of God; the Responsories, to joy and the song of the Angels. The set of nine antiphons, Psalms, lessons, and Responsories are taken in the same way in their signification for Rationale, 5.2.53–54. Durand is clearly mistaken with the reference to Corinthians; the text is an odd mix of lines from Romans and 1 Thessalonians. c  For a detailed discussion of the nine orders of Angels, see Rationale, 4.33.11 sq. a 

b 

129

60

Rationale

61

us. More will be said about this in the sixth part, under the heading, On the Feast of the Nativity,a and under the heading, On Holy Thursday,b and under the heading, On the seven days after Easter.c Nevertheless, in some churches, when “You are God, we praise you”d is sung, the ninth Responsory is not said. We find the nine differences or distinctions of time from the three ages noted above in the nocturns of the solemnities of the Saints and the nocturns of Sundays. In solemnities of the Saints, in the three nocturns that are celebrated, we imitate the watchmen of the celestial Jerusalem, which is built like a city should be (cf. Ps 122: 3) and is protected by the watch of Angels, who are divided into three groups of three, while they sing together three times three songs for the Trinity. So too, we who believe in Him celebrate three nocturns. 17. We also imitate, in this practice, the three intervals of the watch of the primitive Church, which used to arise three times at night to confess the Lord, as was previously said. Accordingly, we sing nine antiphons, nine Psalms, nine lessons and nine Responsories: namely, in either nocturn, three or a triad, to note that all who were among the elect before the Law, under the Law, and under grace, are associated by their knowledge of the Trinity with the nine orders of Angels, and in heaven, rejoice together with the Trinity and are joined together in community until the end of time. Just as the Angels were the first among the elect, so too, the Psalms precede the lessons. On the Sundays on which no other feast occurs, we celebrate three nocturns. 18. And in the first nocturn, twelve Psalms are said, and three antiphons which each respond to four Psalms; and in many places, one “Glory to the Father” responds to four Psalms. Fittingly, the Lord glorified Sunday with His Resurrection, and on that day we merit being in the company of Angels; thus, Sunday evening brings us back to the memory of the Lord’s Resurrection, and also the resurrection of all the faithful who lived since the beginning of the world, and those who will live until the end of the world, Rationale, 6.13.6 sq. Rationale, 6.72.11. c  Rationale, 6.89.6–8. d  Te Deum laudamus. a 

b 

130

V, 3

because the resurrection of all the elect is signified by the Resurrection of the Lord. 19. The first nocturn recalls the time before the Law: namely, the time of natural law. Its twelve Psalms recall the resurrection of all the Saints of that time, especially of the twelve Patriarchs who flourished at that time and were especially vigilant, from whom the people of God were propagated into twelve tribes, who were God’s chosen people, just as in the time of grace, the twelve Apostles outshone all others. The group of four Psalms puts before us the four cardinal or principal virtues: namely, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, all of which we believe the Holy Patriarchs had to a greater degree than all others of their age, which they demonstrated to others by their example. The three antiphons show faith in the Holy Trinity, or the love found there, each of which responds to four Psalms, for whoever has faith in the Trinity is framed by the four previously noted virtues.a For this city lies foursquare, as is found in Apocalypse, the next-to-last chapter (cf.  Rev 21:16). Therefore, the four Psalms are said with one “Glory to the Father”, not separated, because the four previously noted virtues are inseparable; but he who has one of them has all of them, just as Augustineb proves. Likewise, when the four Psalms are joined together with one glorification of the Trinity,c this shows that those Fathers, with their faith in the Trinity, had the aforesaid four virtues that they showed by their example to others. But some sing all of the Psalms of the first nocturn under one antiphon to note the love that they have in the knowledge of the Trinity. Some also say “Glory to the Father” for each Psalm, but divide them with three antiphons, because each one shall be found to render praise to the Trinity from

The word play of the Latin is difficult to preserve. The three antiphons respond to the “four Psalms [quatuor psalmis];” the four Psalms correspond to the “four previously noted virtues [quatuor premissis virtutibus].” Durand says that through these virtues, one’s faith in the Trinity is literally “squared up [quadrata est].” b  Augustine, De sententia Iacobi Apost., Ep 167.4, CSEL 44.2: 591. c  Durand means that the Psalms are said with one Gloria Patri. a 

131

62

Rationale

63

his own gifts, and from the love that he has from his knowledge of the Trinity. 20. And take heed that in the first division of time before the Law, Abel, Enos, Enoch and Lamech kept watch, which is intimated in the first four Psalms. Abel sings: Blessed is the man (Ps 1), who was like a tree planted near flowing waters, which gives the fruit of justice in due season (cf. Ps 1:3), who succumbed for the preservation of justice. Enos sings: Why have the nations raged? (Ps 2), because he served the Lord with fear while he called upon the name of the Lord. Enoch sings: O Lord, many are the adversaries (Ps 3), whom the Lord took under His protection and transported to paradise. Lamech sings: O Lord, rebuke me not (Ps 6), whom the Lord heard and gave him such a son as would save the human race from the wrath of God in an ark. Because precisely four Psalms are said, therefore, two Psalms are subtracted from the Office of Matins: namely, When I call (Ps 4), and, Listen, O Lord, to my words (Ps 5); and it is preferable to subtract these rather than others because the first one is always said at Compline and the second one is said on Monday at Lauds. 21. In the second division of the first time period, Noah, Shem, Heber and Phare kept watch. Noah sings: O Lord, my God (Ps 7), because the Lord found him to be just amongst that generation and therefore he was saved from the waters of destruction. Shem sings: O Lord, our Lord (Ps 8), whom the Lord crowned with honor and glory while he raised him above his brothers by his paternal blessing. Heber sings: I will give thanks to you, O Lord (Ps 9), who spoke of the wonders of God while he drove the giants from the city. Phare sings: In the Lord I put my trust (Ps 10), who finding himself in the city of the Chaldeans, placed his trust in the Lord; he who whose lot was a share in the chalice of fire and sulphur. 22. In the third division of the first time period, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph kept watch, which the Psalms that follow declare. Abraham sings: Save me, O Lord (Ps 11), whom the Lord saved, in whose time there were no Saints because idolatry was being observed. Isaac sings: How long, O Lord (Ps 12), upon whom the Lord looked when he sacrificed. Jacob sings: The fool has said (Ps 13), whose hope was in the Lord; thus it says there: Jacob shall

132

V, 3

rejoice and Israel shall be glad (Ps 13:7). Joseph sings: O Lord, who shall dwell (Ps 14), who was spotless when he refused adultery. The second nocturn on Sunday, or the three Psalms that are said then, with the three antiphons and three glorifications, recalls the resurrection of those who were under the Law of Moses. 23. And even though there were many Saints at that time, nevertheless, there were only three orders: namely, the Legislator and his imitators; the Psalmist with his, and the Prophet. For there were some who eagerly applied themselves to the teachings of the Law. There were also others who with David, or following his manner, used to sing Psalms to the Lord before His Ark. And there were Prophets to whom it was given to correct the people with the teaching and wisdom given to them by God, and to predict things in the future. We say three Psalms on account of these three orders; and because they served the Trinity with spiritual love, we therefore say “Glory to the Father” with the antiphon. Moreover, those who say all the Psalms of the first nocturn under one antiphon and all the Psalms of the second nocturn under three are mindful of the fact that if a fragment of the truth was revealed to those who lived at the time of the natural law, nevertheless, those who lived under the Law of Moses were given more; and thus, their exultation is greater, which is noted by the tripling of the antiphons. Besides, those who lived under the natural law were promised their inheritance, but those who lived under the Law of Moses collected it. And note that in the first division of time under the Law, the priests kept watch, such as Aaron, while he was giving instruction, which is expressed by the Psalm: Preserve me (Ps 15), since the Lord was part of their inheritance and chalice. In the second division, the judges kept watch, such as Gideon while he passed judgment, which is intimated by the Psalm: Hear, O  Lord, my complaint (Ps 16), whose judgments came forth from the face of the Almighty. In the third division, the kings kept watch, such as Solomon, while he ruled the people, which is conveyed by the Psalm: I will love you, O Lord (Ps 17), whom the Lord established over the nations.

133

64

Rationale

65

24. But in the third nocturn we say three Psalms, recalling the resurrection of all those who flourished or shall flourish in the time of grace, or of the New Testament, in the three parts of the world: namely, Asia, Africa and Europe. And because in the time of grace the revelation and fulfillment of the Truth was done to its fullest extent, therefore, these Psalms are more often sung with antiphons having the word “Alleluia,” to designate a greater joy, which will be discussed more fully in the sixth part, under the heading, On the Nativity.a This is also why, in some churches, at every third nocturn, whether on a Sunday or a feast day, lessons from the New Testament are added: namely, explications of the Gospels, and “You are God, we praise You,” b is said. 25. And take heed, that in the first division of the time of grace, the Apostles kept watch, who are described in the Psalm: The heavens proclaim (Ps 18), because: Their sound has gone forth into all the world (Ps 18:5). In the second division, the Martyrs kept watch, which is declared by the Psalm: May the Lord hear you (Ps 19), because the Lord protected them on their day of tribulation. In the third division, the Confessors kept watch, which is intimated by the Psalm: O Lord, in your strength (Ps 20), they who were not deceived by the desires of their lips. There is, therefore, a difference between the twelve Psalms of the first nocturn that are said without antiphons, because each of them does not have an antiphon, and the three Psalms of the other nocturns, which are said with antiphons, just as there is a difference between the twelve Patriarchs who were wandering foreigners and were hoping for their inheritance, which their descendents would possess, and who hoped for the land promised to their fathers, which their descendents inherited. And between those three Psalms of the third nocturn that are said with antiphons having the word “Alleluia,” and those of the second nocturn which are said with antiphons without “Alleluia,” there is a difference like the difference between those who had the Testament to imitate and those who had it and did not imitate it; for a  b 

Rationale, 6.13.7. Te Deum laudamus.

134

V, 3

the boasts of the New Testament are greater than the Old, and what is received is greater than what is promised. 26. The three aforesaid nocturns are the three years of that fig tree which the master found to be useless (cf. Lk 13:7), saying of it: Let me cut it down (Lk 13:7), and the response to him was: Let it stand this year too, so that I may have time to dig and put dung round it (Lk 13:8). For we sing in the first nocturn, so that recalling what was done by the Fathers who lived under the Mosaic Law, and who were therefore before those of us who are under the law of grace, we will not be found to be useless; and if we become useless, it is necessary that our pastor dig up the earth around us, bringing to mind the death of those whom we saw flourishing just a short time before, saying: My son, see how strong he was; how noble, how rich, how powerful; and behold, he passed away in a moment. It also necessary that he places dung around us: namely, placing our sins before our eyes, and if this has no effect, he will say: It is near to the time when the Lord places the axe at the root of the tree (cf. Lk 3:9), and if He finds you to be useless, He will toss you into the eternal fire where you will burn forever. 27. Having spoken of the night Offices of feasts and Sunday, now we can say a few things about the night Offices of weekdays or days that are not solemnities. And in those Offices, we say twelve Psalms, and we show that we who must serve God during the twelve hours of the night, assign one Psalm to each hour, since we cannot continually serve God, as was stated in the prologue.a In times past, some used to sing a variety of Psalms; for some used to sing fifty, others more than that, others fewer, but after a revelation from an Angel, the Fathers came to the agreement that twelve would be said; Psalms that are said two by two, to note that without charity, which must have at least two people to exist, our praises or works amount to nothing. Nevertheless, in some churches, on ordinary days, they insert a “Glory to the Father” between the two Psalms to note that Christ is the mediator between God and man (cf. Gal 3:20).

a 

Rationale, 5.1.1.

135

66

Rationale

67

But in other churches, the two Psalms are terminated under one “Glory to the Father,” to note that our praises will be acceptable to God then if we continue to abide in charity; and thus they insert nothing between those two Psalms because between God and neighbor, in whose love charity properly consists, there is no medium; and it follows that “Glory to the Father” is said six times in these twelve Psalms, just as there are six ages of the world. Besides, just as men, from their birth up to the end of their lives, naturally pass through six ages, so too in the daily nocturn, “Glory to the Father” is said six times, so that we recall that we must persevere in love up until the end. And for the same reason, six antiphons are said then—and what they signify was discussed in prologuea—or on account of the six works of mercy,b which, if we observe them, we will pass through the darkness of this night or death and arrive at the true light and eternal life. 28. The three lessons that are then said signify the teaching of the elect of the three time periods; and three Responsories are said with these to note that whatever the elect of those three times taught, and whatever we do in the three ages, we refer to the Triune God, and we glorify the Trinity in faith, hope and love. They are called “Responsories” from the word “responding [a respondendo]”;c and they are said for these three lessons because the Lord set in place three watches [vigilia], saying: And if he comes in the first watch [vigilia], and in the second, and in the third, and he finds them so, blessed are those servants (Lk 12:38). These three watches designate the three ages: namely, childhood, youth and old age, during which times we must, while being especially watchful, praise God. 29. And note that the psalmody of the three nocturns—of both Sundays and weekdays—is called a “regimen [dieta];”d thus, Rationale, 5.2.26 sq. Durand is referring to the six corporal works of mercy: To feed the hungry; shelter the homeless; clothe the naked; visit the sick and imprisoned; bury the dead; and give alms to the poor. c  Cf. Isidore, Etym., 6.19.8. d  Durand’s source for this term is Beleth, Summa de eccles. offic., c. 21f, CCCM 41A: 46. a 

b 

136

V, 3

in Exodus, chapter 3: We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness (Ex 3:18). Fittingly, Gregory VIIa established the rule that from Easter until the Saturday in Albs,b and on the day of Pentecost up to the Saturday of the same week, only three Psalms and three lessons would be said at the nocturns; on all other days through the entire year, if there were a feast, nine lessons would be read; but on other days: namely, on weekdays, there would be twelve Psalms and three lessons. But on Sundays, except for Easter and Pentecost, eighteen Psalms and nine lessons are said. Those who only say three Psalms and three lessons each day, except for the weeks of Easter and Pentecost, justify doing this, not from a rule of the holy Fathers, but out of weariness. 30. When the nocturns are finished, the bells are rung and “You are God, we praise You”c is sung with an elevated voice, to note that in the time of grace, the Church praises God openly and with wonderment, and to signify that if we respond well to sacred doctrine with good works, we will attain heavenly praise with the Angels. The chant that is then done with a raised voice designates the joy of the woman who found her lost drachma (cf. Lk 15:8). The end of this chant, from the words: “Day by day,” d  etc., and the other verses that follow that are sung with a raised voice, signify the congratulations of the neighbors that were given to the woman on account of the recovery of her drachma (cf. Lk 15:9). The chiming of the bells represents the gathering together of those neighbors. In some churches, the lamps are also lit, for that woman lit her lamp and turned her house upside down (cf.  Lk 15:8). This also signifies that the Catholic Church was pulled from hell by Christ. Or, that hymn represents the future joy and gladness which the Church will have, resting from its labors on the day of judgment that is to come. De cons. D.5 c.15, Friedberg 1: 1416. “sabbatum in albis;” a reference to the custom of the recently baptized “depositing” their white albs on the Saturday after Easter. c  Te Deum laudamus. d  Per singulos dies. a 

b 

137

68

Rationale

69

31. And it must be knowna that when Blessed Ambrose converted Blessed Augustine from the errors of the Manichees and baptized him, he said: “You are God, we praise You,” b to which Augustine responded: “We acknowledge You to be Lord;”c and Ambrose said to him: “Everlasting Father,”d etc., and then he responded: “To You all the Angels,”e etc.; and thus, by turns they composed the entire hymn. After “You are God, we praise You,” or when it is not said, after all the lessons and Responsories, the verse is said by the priest, though which he rouses those hearing it that they might persist in their praise of God. And it is said with a lower voice to note that the cry of the voice is useless unless it is assisted by the cry of the heart. 32. But Blessed Benedict arranged the night Office in another way;f not, however, dissenting from the aforesaid order of the Church, or contesting one thing for another, but rather, establishing his own peculiar order of things. For he established that “O God, come to my assistance”g be said once, and “Lord, open my lips,” h three times, on account of reverence for unity and the Trinity. Then the Psalm: See how many surround me, O Lord (Ps 3), because rising from sleep, he says in it: I lay down and slept (Ps 3:6). Then in the first nocturn, he established that six Psalms and four lessons with just as many Responsories would be sung, and just as many in the second nocturn, intimating in this both the contemplative and active life. The sixfold number of Psalms designates the active life in which it is fitting to practice the six works of

Durand seems to have derived this legend from Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.2, CCCM 228: 239–240; see also Hincmar of Rheims, De predestinatione, c. 29, PL 125: 290B-C. b  Te Deum laudamus. c  Te Dominum confitemur. d  Te eternum Patrem. e  Tibi omnes angeli. f  Reg. Ben., c. 9–11, SC 182: 510–516. g  Deus in adiutorium meum intende. h  Domine labia mea aperies. a 

138

V, 3

mercya if one wishes to arrive at the perfection of the contemplative life; a life which is designated by the four Gospels and similarly represented by the four lessons. The number four among monks expresses the squared and Evangelical stability in the Saints,b or the fourfold sense of the Scriptures, on account of the chariots [quadrigas] of Amminidab (cf. Song 6:11):c that is, the historical, allegorical, tropological and anagogical sense. In the third nocturn Benedict established the singing of three chants in praise of the Trinity, from whom we believe and hope that a perfection of life will be given to us with charity. These chants are also sung with an “Alleluia,” which is a song of celestial joy, and through this is shown that the entire Trinity is worthy of celestial praise, and that human praise does not suffice for fully praising the Trinity. The four lessons from the Gospels that follow signify that those who praise God through the teachings of the four Gospels ought to be decorated with the four virtues; through the four Responsories, the enthusiasm of those praising Him is designated. But, so that those doing good do not ascribe anything to themselves but attribute everything to the praise of God, and to show that they are not serving themselves, they add: “You are God, we praise You.” Afterwards, the Gospel is read, which signifies the denarius (cf. Mt 20:1–16); that is, the eternal life that will be given, at the end, to those who worthily praise God; then follows an “Amen;” that is, let what we believe and hope for in the Gospel be done for us. Then the hymn that follows: namely, “To You praise is due,”d a  Durand is referring to the six corporal works of mercy: To feed the hungry; shelter the homeless; clothe the naked; visit the sick and imprisoned; bury the dead; and give alms to the poor. b  The rich word play of the Latin is difficult to convey in English. Durand says: “quaternarius quidem numerus apud monachos quadratam stabilitatem et evangelicam exprimit.” The Benedctine monks took a vow of “stability [stabilitas]” which bound them to remain within the four walls of the monastery; thus the reference to the “squared stability,” or the stability framed by four walls of the monks. c  Durand’s exegetical point is not clear with this cryptic reference. Modern biblical scholars continue to debate the precise meaning of this line in the Song of Songs. d  Te decet laus. AHMA (Leipzig, 1904), 43: 10.

139

70

Rationale

71

signifies the joy that the Saints have after their labor, with the payment of their wages. 33. But the monksa never say nine lessons unless it is in a rite for the dead, and thus in the Triduum before Easter, they say nine as if representing the funeral rites of the Lord. At Lauds, Blessed Benedict established the singing of this Psalm: May God be merciful to us (Ps 66), at the beginning, without an antiphon, as much because as darkness is fading, Lauds are sung at the dawn of morning, and in this Psalm is said: May He cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us (Ps 66:3), as for the fact that this Office pertains to the Resurrection of the Lord, through which we receive mercy and blessing. 34. To continue, the monksb say the Lord’s Prayer out loud, on behalf of the unlearned, who do not understand it or have forgotten it; and also on account of the deceits of those bearing the thorn of enmity in their heart when they hate a brother, who would be unwilling to say: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors (Mt 6:12). They are therefore compelled to say this in public, so that they are purged from this vice both at the end of night—that is, at Matins or Lauds—as at the end of the day—that is, at Vespers— so that they can neither pass through the night nor the day without being reconciled to their brother. At the other hours they do not say the Lord’s Prayer out loud, because it happens often enough that a brother grows angry with another brother, and that he is driven in some way by an impulse for anger. He who for whom it is immediately permissible not to show restraint in his soul must nevertheless expect pardon; for it suffices if the sun does not set on his anger (cf. Eph 4:26). They also say only four Psalms at Vespers, as will be discussed in the [sixth] part, under the heading, On the season of Advent.c 35. It is also not lacking in mystery that the monks turn their entire bodies from east to west, signifying that God must be adored as if He is present everywhere, or that we are bound by a Reg. Ben., c. 13.2, SC 182: 518. Reg. Ben., c. 13.12–14, SC 182: 520. c  Rationale, 6.2.15. a 

b 

140

V, 3

logical movement, from the sunrise of our birth to the sunset of our death, just as the firmament naturally turns from the east to west. Some churches also designate this when saying the “Glory to the Father,” when they bow facing the east, and when coming to “As it was,” etc., they turn towards the west; for such devotion must be observed in the Divine Offices. But since the Office of the monks does not apply to us, at present it suffices to have said this much about it. 36. Finally, note that it can be proven that the order of monks is a figure of the Cherubim who are said to be more distinguished among the orders of Angels. For just as the Cherubim are veiled by six wings, so too are the monks, with Scripture saying: One had six wings and the other had six wings (Isa 6:2). Two wings are shown in the hood that conceals the monk’s head; we can say that that part of the tunic that extends over the arms, both right and left, are the other two wings; and the parts of the habit in the front and the back are the other two wings; and thus it can be asserted that what conceals the body of the monk adds up to the number of six wings. Their habita also imitates the habit of the Saints; for Elias we read: A hairy man with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8); and the Apostle says of him and others like him: They wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins (Hebr 11:37); and about John the Baptist the Evangelist says: A leather girdle about his loins (Mk 1:6). 37. The cowling [cuculla] of the monks is taken from the short tunics [collobium]b of the Apostles, which were formed like a dalmatic, which had the shape of a cross on the front, because those wearing it crucified their vices and lusts; and its black color is contempt for the world, while its length is perseverance in goodness.

a  Here, “habit [habitus]” means religious clothing, not “habit” in this sense of practice, custom or behavior. b  The collobium (a small, tightly-fitting sleeveless tunic) is discussed by Durand in Rationale, 3.11.1. The dalmatic is discussed in Rationale, 3.11.2 sq. See Thibodeau, William Durand: On the Clergy and Their Vestments, 179–183.

141

[4] ON LAUDSa

72

1. There are many, who, following the order of Ezra, about whom we spoke in the prologue of this part,b separate Lauds from Matins, asserting that Lauds constitutes a separate Office; and in the early morning, with the dawn sky reddening, they sing Lauds, as was discussed in the previous chapter.c For at such an hour, Christ, who conquered death, rose again; thus Mark: Jesus, rising early on the first day of the week, etc. (Mk 16:9); or, at least His Resurrection was made known in the morning [in matutino]. At such an hour He also walked across the sea; therefore, He must fittingly be praised at this hour, so that He who saved us with His Holy Resurrection can make us walk across the sea of this world dry shod,d like Peter (cf. Mt 14:22–23). At the same hour He created the world and the Angels, who immediately after their creation, began rejoicing with praises in song to their Creator. Therefore, they say Lauds when the morning sky is reddening; namely, at the fourth watch [quarta vigilia], when the morning star [Lucifer] a  De Laudibus Matutinis. As Andrew Hughes notes, there can be confusion in early medieval sources over the translation of this Latin term. But by Durand’s day, laudes matutinales was the daybreak service that we now call Lauds; Medieval Manuscripts for Mass and Office: A Guide to Their Organization and Terminology (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982), 15–16. b  Rationale, 5.1.2. c  Rationale, 5.3.3. d  The Latin text is an allusion to the Praeconium Paschale, or the Exsultet; Sp 1022a, Deshusses 1: 361.

142

V, 4

illuminates everything. It is called “Matins [matutinus],” from the word “morning [a mane],”a which is “light [lumen],” because the morning light brings us to the point of obtaining the crown of glory, according to this text: “Let it not be vain for you to rise up early, before the light, for the Lord has promised a crown to those who watch.” b What the time of Matins signifies was discussed in the beginning of the previous chapter.c 2. They also call it “Lauds [laudes]” because it especially resounds with the divine praise [laudem] which we offer Him, because He brought us from the darkness of error to the light or way of truth, and to repelling the temptations of the Devil; thus Isaiah: Awake, and give praise, you that dwell in the dust: for your dew is the dew of the light (Isa 26:19). The Prophet says, about this morning Office: O God, to you do I watch from daybreak (Ps 62:2). 3. Fittingly, we sing the Office of Matins and Vespers as if we are offering a continual sacrifice to the Lord. For in the Old Testament, they used to offer a continual sacrifice to the Lord; that is, in the morning [mane] and in the evening [vespere]. But the evening sacrifice was more worthy than the one of the morning because it was, as the Jews say, “fatter,” which will be discussed under the heading, On Vespers.d We also understand the Office of Matins to be the Law; the Office of Vesperse we understand as the Passion of the Savior, who in the evening time of the world— namely, in the sixth age—offered Himself to the Father for us; thus: The lifting of my hands is an evening sacrifice (Ps 140:2). That Office [Vespers] also corresponds to Lauds because the Psalms in it are divided into five parts with “Glory to the Father,” just as in Lauds. Likewise, in Vespers as in Lauds, there is a hymn with the

Cf. Isidore, Etym., 5.30.14; 6.19.3. Non sit vobis vanum mane surgere ante lucem quia promisit Dominus coronam vigilantibus. Invitatory for First Sunday of Lent in the Ordinarium Innocenti III, OrdPC, Van Dijk and Walker, 190; CAO 1110, Hesbert 3: 12. c  Rationale, 5.3.1. d  Rationale, 5.9.4. e  The original Latin terms have a double-entendre that can mean “morning” and “evening” and “Matins” and “Vespers.” a 

b 

143

73

Rationale

lesson and versicle; in Vespers there is the Canticle of Mary,a and in Lauds the Canticle of Zachary,b etc. 4. Because the Office of Vespers is more worthy, because of the more worthy thing that it signifies, therefore, for major solemnities we sing more solemnly in the evening than in the morning, inserting a Responsory. In his Book of Etymologies, Isidorec says that: “The morning Office starts at the beginning of daylight, and gets its name from the star Lucifer, which rises when morning begins,” as was already said. This Office of Lauds is full of praises [plenum est laudibus], as was already said at the beginning of the previous paragraph. The priest rouses his hearers to this praise, through the verse that he says before, which sometimes is: “I will meditate on you in the morning;” d sometimes: “The Lord is high above all nations,”e or another one. And then he implores Divine aid, saying: “O God, come to my assistance.”f Afterwards, the choir, hastening towards the aid found in the Supreme Trinity, glorifies God, saying: “O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father,”g etc. Then the antiphon is begun.h Concerning this subject it should noted that certain churches—on the Sundays from the first Sunday after Epiphany up to Septuagesima,i and from the Octave of Pentecost up to the Advent of the Lord—sing Alleluia in place of the antiphons at Lauds for all of the Psalms. They do this because Magnificat. Lk 1:46–55. Benedictus. Lk 1:68–79. c  Isidore, Etym., 6.19.3. d  In matutinis meditabor in te (Ps 62:7). e  Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus (Ps 112:4). f  Deus, in adiutorium meum intende. g  Domine, ad adiuvandum me festina. Gloria Patri. h  This paragraph and paragraphs 5–6 were added by Durand in the second redaction. The rhetorical structure is radically different and the Latin is, in some instances, rather tortuous. Durand is describing the practice of singing selected antiphon melodies to the word Alleluia. i  Septuagesima; from the Latin word for “seventieth,” even though this liturgical period is not seventy days in length. It was the ninth Sunday before Easter and the third Sunday before Lent in the medieval Roman calendar. Purple vestments were worn by the priest or bishop at Mass until Holy Week, and “Alleluia” would not be sung during Mass. a 

b 

144

V, 4

this Office is full of praises, as was previously said, for Alleluia is an angelic praise, and because Sundays represent the Resurrection of the Lord. Therefore, just as during the time of Easter, which is the time of the Resurrection, the Alleluia is multiplied, it also fittingly ought to be multiplied on Sundays. 5. And it must be observed that on the Sundays from the Octave of the Epiphany up to Septuagesima, they sing Alleluia to the melody of certain antiphons that pertain to the Nativity of the Lord. But on Sundays from the Octave of Pentecost up to Advent they sing Alleluia to the melody of the daily antiphons that are sung with the Benedictus,a and they are selected from [this repertory]. Since on every Sunday, because of the variety of those same antiphons, the melodies sung to Alleluia also vary, according to the brevity or length of the antiphon, therefore each Sunday the number [numerus] of the Alleluia [sung to the melodies of the antiphons] is greater or lesser, according to the length of the melody of the given antiphon to which Alleluia is sung. Therefore, for that reason, a precise number of Alleluias is not fixed, since a precise mode [modus] or number [numerus] cannot be set in the praise of God for the devout soul. 6. But in some other churches, every Sunday, in place of the antiphon, at the first three Psalms, as if they are intoning Psalms, they sing the Alleluia twice, implying here that in praising God, we proceed with the fervor of charity. They also do not sing this to the melody of some other antiphon, it should be noted, according to what the Apostle says, that: Charity does not envy (1 Cor 13:4). But at the Psalm,b Bless (Dan 3: 57–88; 56), they sing the antiphon for which there is neither a iubilusc nor even an Alleluia, for the reasons offered below. At the Psalm, Praise the Lord (Ps 148), in place of the antiphon, they say the Alleluia three times, not to the Benedictus. Lk 1:68–79. Benedicite. Even though Durand calls this a “Psalm” he is referring to the socalled Canticle of the three young boys from the Book of Daniel. c  The word used here, iubilus, is a technical term that refers to the melisma on the last “a” of Alleluia (a melisma being a group of notes or tones sung on one vowel or syllable). See James McKinnon, “Preface to the Study of the Alleluia,” Early Music History 15 (1996): 213–249. a  b 

145

74

Rationale

melody of any antiphon, but only for initiating the Psalm. It is said three times: first, because it responds to the three [separate] Psalms contained in the one Psalm, Praise the Lord (Ps 148); second, on account of the triple order of the just praising God, which will be discussed later. 7. To continue, five Psalms are said at Lauds, so that the repair of the five senses is noted, and on account of the five ages of the Church. The first Psalm is: The Lord has reigned (Ps 92), in which God is praised, because: He has established the world (Ps 92:1); namely, with the faith and the Resurrection; therefore, this Psalm pertains to the reign of Christ. The second is: Sing joyfully (Ps 99), which pertains to the Confessors; thus, it says there: Enter his gates with thanksgiving (Ps 99:4),a and it properly begins with a iubilus, because confessing His name is greatly pleasing to God. The third is: O God, you are my God (Ps 62), which signifies the condition of the Martyrs who thirst for the Lord; thus it says: For my soul thirsts for you (Ps 62:2). And because all of our thirst and desire ought to be in the Trinity and towards the Trinity, therefore this Psalm follows: May God be merciful to us (Ps 66), in which the Trinity is noted when it says: May God, our God bless us; May God bless us (Ps 62:7–8); and “God” is said there three times on account of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The fourth is the Canticle of the three young boys, Bless (Dan 3: 57–88; 56), which is Daniel chapter 3, signifying the condition of the Antichrist, as will be said later. And at the end of this Psalm, “Glory to the Father” is not said. First, because of their confession of faith, the three boys were thrown into the fiery furnace, on account of which act the glorification of God and the Trinity is totally withdrawn. Second, because the last verse of this Psalm says the same thing as “Glory to the Father,” b etc., and in Divine Scripture nothing out to be superfluous. Third, because in a  Durand’s linkage with the Confessors can only be appreciated with the Latin text of the Psalm: Introite portas eius in confessione. b  The text of this liturgical “Psalm” has an interpolation between Dan 3:88 and Dan 3:56 that reads: “Let us bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, let us praise and exalt God above all forever.”

146

V, 4

this Psalm, the entire Trinity is distinctly made known and God is praised in His creatures. To continue, while this Psalm is being said, we ought neither to sit nor genuflect, just as will be discussed under the heading, On the Saturday of the Ember Daysa of the first week of Lent.b The fifth Psalm is: Praise the Lord (Ps 148), in which our own condition is noted, when, after the death of the Antichrist, the Jews will be converted, as will later be discussed. And at the end of this one, “Glory to the Father” is said, to show that through good works, we join the company of Angels who ceaselessly praise God. 8. It can also be said that at Lauds, eight Psalms are said because this Office mystically recalls the condition of the Church, from its foundation in Apostolic steadfastness up to the perfection of the elect who will be there at the end of the world. And in this state can be found the eight orders of the Church or of the elect who were saved in the Church through Baptism, just as in the ark of Noah, there were eight soulsc signifying these orders that were saved through the water. The flood signifies Baptism, but the ark signifies the Church. 9. The first order was that of the primitive Church, with converts from the Jewish people, which had been reformed and established through the preaching of Christ, just as is shown by this Psalm: The Lord has reigned (Ps 92), in its first verse, where it treats the reign and power of the Savior. The second verse treats the foundation of the Church, which began to exist on that foundation which is Christ, according to the Apostle (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). More is said about this foundation in the title of the same Psalm. This Psalm is also sung at Lauds because it contains the praises [laudes] of Christ. 10. The second order of the Church was the one going to the Gentiles, through the preaching of the Lord and the Apostles, Ember Days were days of fasting. They were prescribed as fasts at the beginning of each of the four seasons (literally, Quatuor tempora) of the calendrical year. They were universally prescribed and arranged by Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073–1085). b  Rationale, 6.38.3. c  See Gen 7: 13, where the total number of members of Noah’s family equals eight. a 

147

75

Rationale

76

instructing the whole world—that is, all the nations—to sing joyfully to God, which the second Psalm shows: Sing joyfully to God, all the earth (Ps 99). 11. The third order was that of the converted Gentiles, which the third Psalm demonstrates: O  God, you are my God (Ps 62), showing the thanks and benevolence of their call by the Apostles. 12. The fourth order will be that of the Jewish people who recover their senses, converted by Enoch and Elias; the fourth Psalm: May God be merciful to us (Ps 66), shows the people who have returned to God and implored His mercy. And they shall rejoice in understanding themselves to be on the path of God, which they know to be among the Gentiles. 13. The fifth order will be those who live in the future, in the time of the Antichrist—who was prefigured by Nebuchadnezzar—who, even though he shall oppress the Saints of either people, they shall nevertheless be unable to stop praising God, following the example of the three young boys whom God freed from the fiery furnace, who are remembered in that fifth Canticle: Bless (Dan 3: 57–88; 56). For in that time, the just shall be purified, as if in a fiery furnace; nevertheless, they will not be consumed, but will receive the form of gold. Thus in the Apocalypse, John saw: His feet like fine brass, as in a burning furnace (Rev 1:15). Thus, this Psalm rightly follows, and on account of the tribulation that it designates, its antiphon is sung without an Alleluia or “Glory to the Father.” The hymn itself (Dan 3: 57–88; 56) has three divisions. In the first, the higher creatures are invited to the praise of the Creator: namely, those which are above heaven, in heaven and in the air. In the second, the creatures of the earth and those moving in the waters are invited to this praise. In the third, all spirits and souls, so that we can bless the Lord with all creatures, since just as the three boys escaped Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace, so too do we escape the Devil and the fires of hell. As to the rest, this Canticle applies well to the Lord’s day and any feast, because on the first day, the Lord created the universe, and afterwards, through His Resurrection, renewed it. Therefore, on Sundays and feast days, which imitate the Lord’s Resurrection, it is said, in which God’s

148

V, 4

creatures are invited to the praise of the Creator. This is also why they are the same praises for Sundays and the feasts of Saints as in Paschal time, because they represent the joys of the Resurrection of Christ, as well as our own. The sixth, seventh and eighth order will be of those who are universally converted and gathered together from the three parts of the world: namely, from Asia, Africa and Europe, who, after the persecution of the Antichrist and his death, will enjoy a greater peace up to the day of judgment than the Church now has. Then, there shall be an abundant mercy in old age (cf. Ps 91:11); and in that time of rest there will be a threefold order of the just: namely, of the married, the continent and the virgins, who are expressed by Job, Noah and Daniel, and generally all of the Saints who are owed a crown, who having escaped the tribulation from the three parts of the world, and reigning with the betrothed of the Church, shall celebrate the praises of God which are contained in these three Psalms: namely, Praise the Lord from the heavens (Ps 148), Sing to the Lord (Ps 149), and Praise the Lord in his holy places (Ps 150). 14. It can also be asked why these three Psalms are said under one antiphon and one “Glory to the Father.” The response is that the aforesaid sixth, seventh and eighth orders of the elect that are gathered from the aforesaid three parts of the world will be together without any interval and will be equally glorified. Those three Psalms are also comprised of the triumph over the world, the flesh and the Devil; and since one cannot be had without the other, they are properly joined together. 15. It can also be asked: why are the two previous Psalms— namely, O God, you are my God (Ps 62), and May God be merciful to us (Ps 66)—combined and said under one “Glory” and one antiphon? To this question, there is a fourfold response. First, because the Psalm, O God, you are my God (Ps 62) signifies thirst for God; in the Psalm, May God be merciful to us (Ps 66), the Trinity is noted, as stated above. This is therefore done to signify the continuity of thirst and desire for God. Second, to note that before the persecution of Antichrist, the believers from the Gentiles, who are brought to mind by the Psalm, O  God, you are my God (Ps 62), and the Jewish people

149

77

Rationale

78

recovering their senses, who are brought to mind by the Psalm, May God be merciful to us (Ps 66), will be one in the faith. After these are joined together, the tribulation of the Antichrist will come, as previously said. Third, the second of these Psalms signifies love of God; thus, it says there: My soul has thirsted for you (Ps 62:2). The second Psalm signifies love of neighbor; thus it says there: Make known among the nations your salvation (Ps 66:3); these loves are so connected that one cannot exist without the other in the Christian profession of faith. Fourth, because the grace which the Church seems to discern in the first Psalm is shown as being conferred in the second; thus She is invited to give thanks in prayer when it says there: Let people confess to you, O God, etc. (Ps 66:4). Therefore, to continue, at the end of this Psalm, O God, you are my God (Ps 62), “Glory to the Father” is not said, because in the Psalm, the misery of the human race is treated; thus, it says there: My soul has thirsted, etc. (Ps 62:2). For all the Psalms treating misery and many other afflictions do not praise God for these things, which they nevertheless should; but in the following Psalm: namely, May God be merciful to us (Ps 66), “Glory to the Father” is added, because it treats the mercy of God through which good things are conferred upon the human race and evil things are removed. As for the rest, the aforesaid two Psalms and the Psalm, Praise the Lord (Ps 148), are never altered, to signify that without faith in and desire for the Trinity, which is expressed in the unity of the two previously noted Psalms, and without the praise of God, which is designated in the Psalm, Praise the Lord (Ps 148), one never should be a Christian. 16. It can also be asked: why does the Church, in the Psalm, Sing joyfully (Ps 99), invite us to joyful singing but She nevertheless does not sing joyfully? On this subject it can be said that the Office of Lauds signifies the Resurrection of the Lord which already has been completed in the Head: that is, in Christ, and still must be accomplished in the members. To note, therefore, that it has already been partly accomplished, a iubilusa is not said at a 

See p. 145 n. c

150

V, 4

the end of the antiphons, especially in those which are said over the Psalms in which there is mention of the Resurrection: for the iubilus is a song conceived in the hope of glory. But because the resurrection still must be accomplished in the members, in some antiphons a iubilus is therefore said. Thus, in Paschal time, we sing a iubilus in the versicles, Responsories and Alleluia, on account of our resurrection for which we have hope; since we cannot see it, and nor are we able to express it, we therefore sing a iubilus with a voice that does not signify [per vocem non significativam].a Therefore, in the antiphons there is no iubilus for the Resurrection of the Lord, which has already been accomplished, nor even in the antiphons at Lauds in whose Psalms there is mention of the Resurrection of the Lord, such as in the first three Psalms, nor at the end of the antiphon of the fourth Psalm, because Nebuchadnezzar, seeing the three boys who were put into the fiery furnace saw a fourth: namely, Christ, consoling them. For those who are in tribulation pray only that they not falter, and such a time is more a place of fearing than of hoping; therefore, at the end of the antiphon of this Psalm a iubilus is not said, especially since in the tribulation of the Saints, the glory of God is not visible. But in the antiphon that is said over the Psalm, Praise the Lord (Ps 148), a iubilus is said, because there is no mention of the Resurrection in it, but mention of the hope of glory that we expect, out of which there is a iubilus. This iubilus was discussed in the prologue of this part.b 17. To continue, the first Psalm of Lauds on Sundays: namely, The Lord has reigned (Ps 92), which is a Psalm of rejoicing, is changed on weekdays to the Psalm: Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50), which is a penitential Psalm. About this topic it should be noted that Sundays and feast days recall the resurrection of the Saints who were there from the beginning and shall be until the end of the world. Thus at Lauds on Sundays and feast days—recalling the reign of the Lord after His Resurrection from bodily Durand treats this subject at length in Rationale, 5.2.32, where I have provided annotated commentary on his terminology. b  Rationale, 5.2.32. a 

151

Rationale

79

death, or the glory of the resurrection of the elect—we sing the Psalm: The Lord has reigned (Ps 92), which is nevertheless said on Sundays at Prime, from Septuagesima until Easter, as will be discussed there.a But weekdays they recall the pilgrimage and penitence of those Saints, and therefore, at Lauds on weekdays, we say the first Psalm: namely, Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50), recalling our resurrection from spiritual death through penitence, or the pilgrimage and penitence or conversion of the elect. For the Jews, whose hearts felt remorse and were converted by the preaching of Peter, often said that Psalm; thus the custom took root among us—we who were converted from the error of the Gentiles—that we often say it in the Offices, in as much as we are incited to conversion and penitence, through which we are able to rise up again. More will also be said about this Psalm under the heading, On Prime.b 18. In addition, in place of the second Psalm: namely, Sing joyfully (Ps 99), which is said on Sundays and feast days, six Psalms are said on the six weekdays. For just as the primitive Church received its inheritance by the preaching of the Saints, afterwards, it entered among the Gentiles, and so too they came to believe; and just as the Jewish people will come to their senses through the preaching of the Saints, at the end of the world, those who will live in the time of the Antichrist will escape the tribulation, the people will be gathered together from the three parts of the world through Her preaching, as was previously said: so it is that in place of the Psalm, Sing joyfully (Ps 99), which consists of the preaching of the Saints, on the second day of the week, the Psalm: Hearken to my words, O Lord (Ps 5) is said, which is the voice of the Church called to the inheritance of the Lord. During Septuagesima, the Psalm: Give thanks to the Lord (117) is said, and will be discussed in that place.c On the third day, the Psalm: Judge me, O God (Ps 42) is said, which recalls the time when the primitive Church entered among Rationale, 6.24.14. Rationale, 5.5.12. c  Rationale, 6.24.20. a 

b 

152

V, 4

the Gentiles. And on the fourth day, the Psalm: To you is owed a hymn in Zion (Ps 64) is said, which is sung as an image of the Gentiles who were converted to God from idols. And on the fifth day, the Psalm: Lord, you have been our refuge (Ps 89) is sung, which is titled: A prayer of Moses, man of God (Ps 89:1), corresponding to the coming to their senses of the Jews. And on the sixth day, the Psalm: O Lord, hear my prayer (Ps 142) is said, which David sang when his son persecuted him, signifying the persecution of the Antichrist. And on Saturday, the Psalm: It is good to give praise to the Lord (Ps 91), which is titled: A Psalm of a canticle on the Sabbath day (Ps 91:1); that is, a day of rest, figuratively showing the Saints collected from the three parts of the world after the persecution of Antichrist, who will abide in a state of rest and confess and sing to the Lord. Therefore, the six Psalms just mentioned are so ordered that the order of Christian conversion can thus be noted in them. 19. But in place of the Psalm, Bless (Dan 3:57–88; 56), six canticles [cantica] are said on the six weekdays because just as that Psalm contains the offering of thanks of the three young boys, so too in these canticles is contained the offering of thanks of the elect. There is as much a difference between a Psalm and a canticle as there is between a good work and an offering of thanks. We read that Moses was the first to have instituted canticles when Pharaoh was submersed (cf. Ex 15:1 sq); then Deborah, the illustrious woman, in the Book of Judges (cf. Judges 5:1 sq); afterwards, other men and women. A canticle is a human voice, but a Psalm is what is sung to the psaltery.a Also, the Psalm demonstrates the works done by the elect of that order, which it signifies, after conversion; but the canticle shows the praise of God for the same works. The canticles will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On Holy Saturday.b

a  b 

Isidore, Etym., 6.19.11; cf. Etym., 3.22.7. Rationale, 6.31.14.

153

80

Rationale

81

20. To continue, for each ordinary day of the week, the second and fifth Psalm are changed because the six Psalms and six canticles which are rotated through the six days of the week are in harmony, in their signification, with the eight Psalms which are sung at Matins on Sunday, or the eight orders of the elect, about which we previously spoke. It is not, therefore, unsuitable for them to be sung in order on a day to day basis, in the same manner that the Psalms of Sunday Matins are sung, or in the same manner as the order of the elect, with whom they are in agreement; numbered in that way so that through them is shown that the orders of the elect in the New Testament were formed in an orderly fashion, from one age to the next. 21. But the Psalms: O God, you are my God (Ps 62), and Praise the Lord (Ps 148), are never changed or omitted, because there never was a time nor will there ever be when the souls of the just are not thirsting for God, the font of living water, and when they will not praise the Lord in the heights of heaven. 22. Moreover, so that these things will be made clearer, it should be noted that none of the six aforesaid Psalms has the word “morning” or its equivalent in it, per se. Morning is divided into six parts: namely, the morning in time, the morning of the heart, of our redemption, of man, of eternity and of worldly prosperity. The morning in time is the beginning and foundation of the faith, about which is said: And there was evening and morning, one day (Gen 1:5). The morning of the heart is the beginning of grace: namely, when grace begins to shine in the heart; thus: Send forth your light (Ps 42:3), and, In the morning you shall hear my voice (Ps 5:4). The morning of our redemption is the time of morning in which our Lord rose from the dead, or when His Resurrection became known; thus: Fill the lands of sunrise and sunset with rejoicing (Ps 64:9). The morning of man is his boyhood or adolescence in which he is in his vigor or flower; thus: In the morning he shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither away (Ps 89:6). Moreover, it is often the case that man passes in the morning of his boyhood; that is, he dies. But if he achieves boyhood and comes to the morning of his adolescence, in which he is in his

154

V, 4

vigor and flower, it is often the case that he then passes. But if by chance he achieves adolescence and comes to the evening time of old age, then without a doubt, he is cut down by death, hardened into a cadaver and he dries up into dust. The morning of eternity is the beginning of eternal glory; thus: Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning (Ps 142:8); that is, the voice of your mercy; namely: Come, you blessed, etc. (Mt 25:34). The morning of worldly prosperity is that prosperity itself; thus: To proclaim your mercy in the morning, etc. (Ps 91:3). Therefore, the penitent who is anxious for his soul rises for prayer, in the morning time, so that he can say: In the morning I will stand before you, and I will see (Ps 5:5), in the morning you shall hear my voice (Ps 5:4), which is found in the first Psalm: Hearken to my words, O Lord (Ps 5). But since this prayer has no effect without the morning of the heart—that is, without the beginning of grace—he therefore says: Send forth your light (Ps 42:3), which is found in the second Psalm: Judge me, O God (Ps 42). But since the morning of the heart depends upon the morning of our redemption, he therefore says: Fill the lands,  etc. (Ps 64:9), which is in the third Psalm: To you is owed (Ps 64). And since he has the morning of the heart, which is an effect of the morning of our redemption, man begins to revile himself; thus follows: In the morning he shall grow up like grass, etc. (Ps 89:6), which is found in the fourth Psalm: namely, Lord, you have been our refuge (Ps 89). But because however much more he reviles himself, that much more he strives for the morning of eternity, for that reason he says: Cause me to hear your mercy (Ps 142:8), which is found in the fifth Psalm: O Lord, hear my prayer (Ps 142). And because no one can come to this point unless he praises God in adversity and prosperity, he therefore adds: To proclaim your mercy in the morning, etc. (Ps 91:3), which is found in the sixth Psalm: It is good, etc. (Ps 91). 23. To continue, the six Psalms which are changed every week day, and the canticles that are said on those days correspond to each other and can be well adapted to the advances in the time of grace. On Monday the state of the primitive Church is recalled, which received its inheritance through the preaching of the Saints, as was

155

Rationale

82

already stated; thus, in this Psalm: Hearken to my words (Ps 5), the Church prays for the eternal inheritance which She takes possession of, which is why in the title of the same Psalm it says: A Psalm unto the end, for her who pursues the inheritance (Ps 5:1). In the canticle he gives thanks, saying: I will give you thanks, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned and you have consoled me (Isa 12:1), which is Isaiah chapter 12. In fact, the anger of God endured until the Passion of the Savior, but then the Lord turned from His fury and the Church was consoled, opening for Her the door of the celestial kingdom, when before, all could have been cast into hell. Also, showing Her anxious care for Herself, in the Psalm She says: In the morning I will stand before you, and I will see, etc. (Ps 5:5). But in the canticle, She is confident and says: My strength and my courage is the Lord (Isa 12:2); that is, it is He through whom I am strong, and whom I am bound to praise. What is said in Hearken to my words (Ps 5), applies to the whole Church, but especially to the primitive Church, to whom the eternal inheritance was first promised by the Apostles, and then the standard of the cross began to be raised among the nations; the canticle applies to this standard, just as those things that precede the canticle in Isaiah make manifestly clear. For it says, a little bit before in that book: In that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a sign for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, and his sepulcher shall be glorious (Isa 11:10). And a little bit after: He shall raise a sign to the nations and gather the outcasts of Israel, etc. (Isa 11:12). Our Savior is the root of Jesse and He Himself stands as a sign for the nations, because the nations look back to Him, and they entreat Him, and His sepulcher was glorious. Even though, covered with our sins, He was degraded for a time, He Himself, through the Apostles and other early Christians, raised up the sign of the cross, in which there is victory, among the nations, so that all would know by whom the Devil was conquered. But before this, He Himself gathered together the outcasts of Israel, when on the day of Pentecost, there were religious men in Jerusalem from every part of the world or nation which is under heaven (cf. Acts 2:5). And from among them, one day three thousand came to believe (cf. Acts 2:41), and on another

156

V, 4

day, five thousand (cf. Acts 4:4); for Paul says to them in the Acts of the Apostles: It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to the Jews first (Acts 13:46). On Tuesday, we recall that time when the Church suffered persecution by the ungodly: first, by the Jews, and afterwards, by different Roman emperors, especially from the time of Nero up to the times of Diocletian and Maximian. That the Church suffered at that time is indicated by the Psalm: Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from a nation that is not holy (Ps 42), and it shows Her sadness when it says: Why must I go about in mourning when the enemy afflicts me? (Ps 42:2). But since She has been freed from this persecution, She sings the canticle: I said (Isa 38:10–20), which is Isaiah chapter 38, which Ezechias sang after he was freed from Sennacherib, and after the illness that had befallen him, so that his heart would not be raised up into arrogant pride (cf. Deut 17:20), or because his heart was raised up on account of the unexpected triumph over the army of Sennacherib. And just as he who was freed gave the glory to God, so too the Church; nevertheless, first She says, as if despairing: I shall behold man no more, nor the dwelling place of rest (Isa 38:11); that is, my Savior, through whom rest must be in me. Indeed, when She saw her own killed all around Her, She said: My generation is at an end (Isa 38:12), and later: My life is cut off, as by a weaver; while I was yet but beginning, he cut me off (Isa 38:19). Nevertheless, hoping, the Church says: The living—meaning, now in your protection—the living: namely, afterwards, in the future rest, he shall give praise to you, as I do this day (Isa 38:19)—meaning, freed from my enemies, I thus do—As the father shall make the truth known to the children (Isa 38:19). Wednesday recalls the time in which the Church began to be exalted over its enemies, when She was granted peace by the Emperor Constantine; thus She sings: To you is owed a hymn in Zion (Ps 64). Zion is interpreted as meaning “lookout,” or “contemplation,”a since in this time of rest, the Church was able Isidore, Etym., 15.1.5; Jerome, Liber interpret. Hebr. nom., 2 Reg. litt. S, CCSL 72: 108. a 

157

83

Rationale

84

to free Herself for contemplation. The title of the Psalm also refers to this; namely: The canticle of Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the people of the captivity, when they began to go out (Ps 64:1). For just as that people began to go out of Babylon, receiving permission from Cyrus, so too did the Church, freed from Babylonian persecution by Constantine the Roman Emperor, after suffering under perverse emperors; She has the hope of making better progress until She arrives at the celestial Jerusalem. Thus, recalling that past persecution, She says: The words of the wicked have prevailed over us (Ps 64:4); and, showing Her progress, She says: You will bless the crown of the year with your kindness (Ps 64:12). 24. The “crown of the year with your kindness” is the time of grace, through which the course of days runs until the end of time; a time at which the fields, that is, those who are entirely swollen with pride, lacking fruitfulness, are replenished with grace. On account of this freedom, the Church sings the canticle of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, which she sang when freed from the persecution of her rival, Feninna: My heart has rejoiced in the Lord (1 Sam 2:1–10), which is [1] Kings, chapter 2. For when the republic began to be ministered by Apostolic men and Christian emperors, the Church was able to open Her mouth widely against Her enemies: namely, the Jews, the pagans and heretics; thus follows: My heart is enlarged (1 Sam 2:1). The Jews who are converted rejoice in the same peace as the Gentiles who converted; thus, on Thursday, in the place of the Jews, we sing: Lord, you have been our refuge (Ps 89). That this Psalm pertains to the Jews is shown by the title, namely: A prayer of Moses, man of God (Ps 89:1). The canticle of Moses applies to the same thing: Let us sing to the Lord (Ex 15:1–18), which is Exodus chapter 15, in the beginning. For just as the Jews rejoiced over the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, so too do Christians today rejoice over the destruction of the perverse emperors who persecuted the Church in their hatred of the Christian name. 25. On Friday, a commemoration of the Lord’s Passion is done; thus, this Psalm is sung: O Lord, hear my prayer (Ps 142), whose title is: A Psalm of David, when his son Absalom persecuted him (Ps 142:1). Just as David had many sons, but one of them, Absalom,

158

V, 4

persecuted him, so too our Lord had many sons, about whom He Himself says: Can the children of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? (Mt 9:15). But one of them persecuted Him: Judas, who is called Absalom, as if to say, aba solem, that is “father of peace,”a on account of the kiss that he gave to the Lord, which is a sign of peace. It is the same with the canticle: O Lord, I have heard your renown (Hab 3:2–19), which is Habakkuk, chapter 3, at the beginning, in which is said: Horns are in his hands, there is his strength hidden; death shall go before his face (Hab 3:4–5). We are accustomed to understanding “horns” as meaning “royalty,” and the sense of this is: “horns in his hands;” that is, his royalty comes from his power. He was worthy of being given this power Himself, or later to make known through His Passion that this power had been given to Him; and of this, He Himself says: All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Mt 28:18). Nevertheless, these “horns” are suitably understood as the two “horns” of the cross; thus, it seems that according to this understanding, it would be better to say that “His hands are on the horns,” than the “horns are in his hands.” But the Prophet Habakkuk wished to say it thus, so that he could show that it was within His power and His will for Him to be crucified, just as He Himself says: No one takes my life from me, but I have the power to lay it down myself, and I have the power to take it up again (Jn 10:18). There: namely, on the cross, for a time, his strength was hidden (Hab 3:4), for He was thought to have been struck by God and humiliated, and death shall go before his face (Hab 3:4), because death was destroyed by His own death. And note that this day is the fifth day from Monday which deals with the Passion of the Savior, just as in the Sunday nocturns, the canticle of scorn for Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Dan 3:57–88; 56) is placed in the fifth place, with the victory of the three young men in the fiery furnace, where there was the image of a fourth, who appeared like a Son of God, or as another translation has it, a This etymology is taken directly from Praepositinus, Tractatus de offic., 4.109 (ed. Corbett), 267. a 

159

85

Rationale

Son of Man; because in the Passion of the Savior, the destruction of the Devil was accomplished and also the victory of the Christian people, gathered from the three parts of the world, by Him who is true Son of God and true Son of Man. But on Saturday, there is a commemoration of the victory of the Jewish people who will be joined to the Church of God at the end of the world, and the Church sings with them this Psalm: It is good to give praise to the Lord, etc. (Ps 91); To proclaim in the morning—that is, in a time of prosperity—your mercy and your truth at night (Ps 91:3); namely, in a time of adversity. This Psalm is entitled: A praise of a canticle of David, for the Sabbath day (Ps 91:1). Thus, it is fitting that this Psalm—in which Judas figures, who persecuted Christ, prefigured by Absalom, who persecuted his father—is sung on Saturday, and which is entitled: For the Sabbath day. That it also refers to the Jewish people is clearly proven by this verse: Upon the ten-stringed psaltery, with a canticle (Ps 91:4). The ten-stringed psaltery is called the Law on account of the Ten Commandments of the Law.a 26. And note that some carry this psaltery but they do not pluck it, such as the faithless Jews, who in their books provide testimony for us, but who are in their hearts, enemies. Some carry it and seem to pluck it, but nevertheless, they do not pluck it, such as the false Christians, who do some good works with sadness. Some carry it and pluck it, such as those who do good works with cheerfulness. This will happen with the Jewish people when they become one with the Church. How the Canticle of Moses: Hear, O heavens (Deut 32:1–18), which is Deuteronomy, chapter 32, pertains to the Sabbath and the Jewish people can be shown from the words of Bede,b who says, in his commentary on Luke: “On the days of the Sabbath, the Jews used to flock together to the synagogues to meditate on the commandments of the Divine Law, putting off worldly affairs, according to this text: Free yourself and see how sweet is the Lord

a  b 

Augustine, Enarrat. in Psalmos, Ps 91.5, CCSL 39: 1282. Bede, In Lucae evangelium expositio, 2.4.16, CCSL 120: 101–102.

160

V, 4

(Ps 33:9).a Therefore, in memory of that ancient religion, that canticle of Deuteronomy is sung on Saturday, in which the state of that people is described, when they had either offended God or were in His favor.” 27. After the antiphon, the little chapter [capitulum] follows in which there is an exhortation so that we not become enfeebled on the journey. And sometimes we say: Blessing and glory (Rev 7:12), Apocalypse, chapter 7; and sometimes: You were once darkness (Eph 5:8), Ephesians, chapter 5; and sometimes: The night is passed (Rom 13:12–13), Romans chapter 13, where we are encouraged to persevere in faith, to strive for works of mercy, to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light; and we are consoled by the promise of glory. And after the little chapter comes the Responsory. Nevertheless, in some churches a Responsory is not said, for it seems superfluous here on account of the Responsories said in the nocturns, because today, the nocturns and Matins are sung in conjunction with each other everywhere. Nevertheless, this reason ceases to exist if Lauds is a separate Office. But in all the other hours, the Responsory follows the little chapter. After the little chapter or Responsory, assenting to the exhortation, the choir sounds the hymn. After the hymn comes the verse; since the promise is noted in the Canticle of Zachary,b which immediately follows, and we are late in believing in those promises, for that reason, the verse precedes it, in an elevated voice, so that we will be roused to believe in the promises of God. And in some churches the verse said is: “We are filled at daybreak with your mercy,”c which recalls the time when the just will be rewarded with their wages after the labor of this world. Thus he says: “We are filled at daybreak,” putting the present for the future, with Prophetic certitude, because at the daybreak of eternity, we will be replenished with the mercy of the a  The Vulgate text of the Psalm reads, gustate, or “taste,” in the plural imperative form. But the text of Bede reads, vacate, from the verb vacare, which means to be unoccupied, free from work, or having time for leisure. b  Also called the Benedictus, Lk 1:68–79. c  Repleti sumus mane misericordia tua (Ps 89:14).

161

86

Rationale

87

Lord, according this text: I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear (Ps 16:15). But in other churches, this is said: “I will meditate on you, O Lord, in the morning.”a Afterwards, aroused by the verse, the choir adds the Canticle of Zachary: namely, Blessed (Lk 1:68–79), which is Luke, chapter 1, which is always said, following the saying of the Apostle: God must be served: In Psalms and hymns and canticles (Eph 5:19); that is, in the heart, in the mouth and in works. Indeed, that joy that we have as a result of that freedom that follows is expressed by the hymn. And since Christ acquired this glory for us, for that reason, so that we not seem ungrateful for a gift of this sort, we break forth in song in the praise of God, beginning the antiphon. And since He freed us, we direct our thanks to Him, and why? Because He visited us in our misery (cf. Lk 1:68), and wrought redemption for his people (Lk 1:68). Why this Canticle is said with a raised voice will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On Holy Thursday.b Or, that Canticle is said after the Psalms, lessons and verse so that we will remember that at the end of the time of the New Testament, which is signified by the aforesaid Psalms of Matins, the wages promised to Abraham will be given to us. But, imbued with the teaching of Christ, which is signified by the lesson, and aroused for the service of God, which is signified by the verse, we will serve God without fear (Lk 1:73) and in holiness and justice all our days (Lk 1:75). 28. To continue, this Psalm, Blessed (Lk 1:68–79), is said in this place because it deals with the precursor of the One who came in the sixth age; and this is the sixth Psalm at Lauds. And note that this Canticle, and the Canticle of Mary: namely, the Magnificat (Lk 1:46–55) are Gospel texts; therefore, we sing them while standing. Also, these two Canticles are not sung in church in the order in which they were written; an order that is presented by the

a  b 

In matutinis Domine meditabor in te (Ps 62:7). Rationale, 6.72.7.

162

V, 4

Master, in his Histories,a where he treats the origin of the precursor: “For the Canticle of Zachary is sung first, even though it was written second because in it we read: He has raised up a horn of salvation (Lk 1:69), which was done in the Resurrection, and because it speaks of the boy who was the rising of the sun, therefore, it is sung at Lauds. The Canticle of the Virgin is sung at Vespers: namely, at the sixth Office of the day because we read there: He has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid (Lk 1:48); namely, of the Church, seen in Mary herself, which was done in the sixth age; and also because it deals with the Incarnation here: He has received Israel (Lk 1:54). Third, the Canticle of Simeonb which follows is sung in the seventh Office, that is, at Compline, because he prays to be dismissed in peace, which will be in the seventh age, of those in peace.” To continue, at those three hours we say three Gospel texts: namely, at daybreak, Blessed (Lk 1:68–79), because there, the true light is announced; at Vespers, Magnificat (Lk 1:46–55), because at the end of the world, as it says there: God destroys the proud and shall exalt the humble (Lk 1:52);c at Compline, Now dismiss (Lk 2:29–32), because after the judgment, the Saints will reign in peace. When the Canticle is finished, the antiphon, which signifies the love or devotion that we ought to have in the praise of God, is repeated. Moreover, while the verse is said before this Canticle, incense is offered, so that devotion, which comes forth from the fire of charity and must exist in every praise will be noted. The censer is the heart of man; the fire, charity; the incense, prayer; the smoke rising on high is the devotion through which one must raise himself up, according to this text: Let my prayer be directed [as incense], etc. (Ps 140:2). More was said about this in the fourth part, under the heading, On the entrance of the bishop to the altar,d and it will be discussed under the heading, On Vespers.e Petrus Comestor, Historia Scholastica, Historia libri Evang. c.  3, PL 198: 1538B-1539A. The “precursor” is John the Baptist. b  Nunc dimittis. Lk 2:29–32. c  My translation reflects the altered text that Durand presents. d  Rationale, 4.6.6. e  Rationale, 5.9.4–5. a 

163

88

Rationale

First, the incense is offered around the altar, for the priest of the Old Law used to enter the Temple in the morning so that he could offer incense over the altar, as will be discussed under the heading, On Vespers.a Incense is offered around the altar to note that the Canticle must be professed with the full devotion of the heart, and so that what happened to Zachary will not befall us; for when he was offering incense, an Angel appeared to him, saying that a son would be born to him, but since he did not believe the Angel, he became dumb (cf. Lk 1:18–20). Let us believe, therefore, in the promises of God, so that we will not become mute in His praises; another reason is presented under Vespers.b After the Canticle, the prayer follows, through which the promise is effected; this was discussed in the prologue of this part.c The Matins which the monks say was discussed in the previous chapter.d

Rationale, 5.9.5. Rationale, 5.9.4–6. c  Rationale, 5.2.55. d  Rationale, 5.3.32 sq. a 

b 

164

[5] ON PRIME

1. After having previously treated the night Office, it is appropriate to say something about the daily Office. And first is the hour of Prime, in which we ought to praise God: on the one hand, because it is the beginning of the day, and He gave us the safety of passing through the night without the obstacles of Satan, just as we entreated Him at Compline. On the other hand, because at such an hour, Christ was handed over to Pilate by the Jews; also, the Angel announced to the women coming to the tomb, when the sun had already arisen, that He was risen. At the same hour, He was seen on the seashore by the disciples who were fishing, saying to them: Children, do you have anything to eat? (Lk 24:41; Jn 21:5).a Then, at the same hour, the Lord used to go into the Temple and the people used to wait for Him; that is, they used to look for Him in the morning; or, they used to hurry to Him in the morning. Then also, the Scriptures say: Seek first the kingdom of God (Mt 6:33). Therefore, the Church rightly praises the Lord at this hour and calls on Him, saying: “O God, come to my assistance,” b etc., with the glorificationc that follows, then it asks to be freed from the persecutions of the world and the temptations of the Devil, just as is made plain in the hymn, “Now that the sun has risen,”d etc. Durand has combined two different Gospel texts and reedited them as one. Deus in adiutorium meum intende. c  Durand means the recitation of the Gloria Patri, or “Glory to the Father.” d  Iam lucis orto sidere. Hymn for Prime; RH 9272, Chevalier 1: 556. a 

b 

165

89

Rationale

2. And it should also be noted that at the hour of Prime, the hymn itself is invariable, because on any day, we have directed ourselves to that aforesaid freedom. It is the same with the hymn for Compline, “Before the day is finished,”a in which the Church asks to be freed from the phantasms of the night; a freedom for which we always strive, as will be discussed under the heading, On Compline.b Also, some churches never vary the antiphon at Prime: since God is invariable, who is the Alpha and the Omega; that is, the beginning and the end (cf. Rev 1:8), for that reason, because He always requires from us our first fruits and tithes, as if always discharging the first fruits of the day, they never vary the antiphon but always say the one for the Trinity, unless some feast should occur, which then would be an antiphon for that feast. Nevertheless, some churches vary the hymn and antiphon on Sundays, week days and in the feasts of God and the Saints. 3. The Psalms follow the antiphon, and from the contents of the preceding hymn, it appears clear why the first Psalm is said: O God, by your name, etc. (Ps 53), in which the Church prays to be freed from its perils and enemies. Then She arms Herself: first, against the enemies, with the cincture of chastity, when She says: Blessed are the undefiled, etc. (Ps 118:1–16). Second, with the helmet of salvation: namely, with hope, when she says: Repay your servant (Ps 118:17–24), which will be discussed under the heading, On Sext.c Third, with the shield of faith, when She says: “Whosoever wishes,”d etc., which contains our faith, as was already discussed, which is our shield and defense, and our victory against the flesh, the world and the Devil and all of his temptations; thus Peter: Resist him steadfast in faith, etc. (1 Pet 5:9). Fourth, She takes up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, when She says the little chapter or lesson that pertains to instruction; for it is necessary that good works come first, which are signified by the Psalms, and then instruction on spiritual or more secret things, according to this text: Jesus began to do and to teach (Acts 1:1). Te lucis. Hymn for Compline; RH 20138, Chevalier 2: 646. Rationale, 5.10.6. c  Rationale, 5.7.1. d  Quicumque vult. The so-called Athanasian Creed. See Rationale, 4.25.8. a 

b 

166

V, 5

4. There are, therefore, three Psalms: O  God, by your name (Ps 53), Blessed are the undefiled (Ps 118:1–16), Repay your servant (Ps 118:17–24), so that we will have at these three hours a defense against internal and external assaults. And they are said with three glorificationsa so that the Trinity is glorified in our works. The second Psalm is: Blessed are the undefiled (Ps 118:1–16), up to Repay (Ps 118:17). The third Psalm is: Repay (Ps 118:17), up to Set the law before me (Ps 118:33), which are comprised of eight verses each. For all together they have sixteen verses that signify the twelve Prophets, and four others designate the four major Prophets: namely, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel; or they signify the twelve Apostles and the four Evangelists. Therefore, these two Psalms comprised of sixteen verses are said so that those things that were said by the twelve Prophets and four major ones, or the twelve Apostles and the four Evangelists ought to be observed by us as much as we can. The significance of the number eight will be discussed under the heading, On Compline.b In some sense, there are also five Psalms, with respect to the division of the eight verses of each Psalm, signifying that the Church asks that death not enter through the windows of our five senses, so that our five senses be defended through the day with Divine aid. The first is: O God, by your name (Ps 53); the second: Blessed are the undefiled (Ps 118:1–8); the third: By what does he correct? (Ps 118:9–16); the fourth: Repay (Ps 118:17–24); the fifth: Deep lies my soul (Ps 118:25–32). 5. And it should be known that the text from Blessed are the undefiled (Ps 118:1–176) up to the Psalm: When troubled, I cried out to the Lord (Ps 119) is one Psalm containing twelve chapters, which, according to Ambrose,c is a paradise of fruit trees and the storehouse of the Holy Spirit; therefore, the Church ruminates on this through the hours of prayer to take the form of the aromatic fruits of paradise, so that She will be an aromatic fruit for God and the world. Durand means three recitations of the “Glory to the Father.” Rationale, 5.10.12. c  Ambrose, De Isaac vel anima, 5.48, CSEL 32: 672. a 

b 

167

90

Rationale

91

But it can be asked: why is this Psalm, O God, by your name (Ps 53) said at Prime, which David sang when the Jewsa wanted to hand him over to Saul? I  respond: because the “Ziphites,” which can be interpreted as meaning “flowering,” are understood as being the Devil, who shows his decayed bloom to his servants. For the Devil, either by himself or through his members sits in ambush for us and then openly persecutes us so that we can be handed over to eternal death. Therefore, in order to avoid his cunning, this Psalm, which David sang when he was saved from his enemies, should be sung at the first hour, at the point of daybreak. After this one, the Psalm: Blessed are the undefiled (Ps 118:1–16) is said, which is filled with moral lessons, because it is necessary that those whom God has freed from the chains and imprisonment of their enemies stand firm in good morals and full devotion. 6. But on Sundays in which the morning Office is said and the Historyb is changed, five Psalms are said at Prime which are at the end of the Sunday nocturn: namely, O God, my God, look upon me (Ps 21); why these Psalms are said at Prime will be discussed under the heading, On Compline.c Nevertheless, in some churches, these Psalms are only said on Sundays from Septuagesima up to Easter, during which time, The Lord has reigned (Ps 92) is said at Prime, on account of the reason written there. On the previously discussed Sundays, the Psalm: Give thanks (Ps 117) is said at Prime, so that nothing is omitted from the Psalter, which must be said in full during the week; and because there, the Resurrection is treated—especially in this verse: This is the day that the Lord has made (Ps 117:23)—to which all Sundays pertain.

Durand derived most of this paragraph from Sicardus of Cremona, who has the “Ziphites [Ziphaei],” not the Jews pursuing David. The text of the Psalm reads: When the Ziphites had arrived they said to Saul, “Has not David been hidden with us?” (Ps 53:2). Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.6, CCCM 228: 257. b  History [Historia] in this instance means the combination of readings and Responsories in the Office of Matins, and this combination changes with the liturgical season. Some of these readings are from the “historical” books of the Bible, properly speaking, but the term can have a broader meaning, and the readings can include some of the Prophetic books as well. c  Rationale, 5.10.12. a 

168

V, 5

And following this thinking, on Sundays, nine Psalms are said at Prime so that we can praise the Trinity in the joy of the Resurrection with the nine orders of Angels. In the first five: namely, O God, my God, look upon me (Ps 21), and those that follow, what is sung about is the Passion of Christ. The Psalm: Give thanks (Ps 117), and the three other daily Psalms intimate that we ought to praise the teaching of the four Evangelists in the four parts of the world. In the Psalm: O God, by your name (Ps 53), we request the dismissal of our errors; in Give thanks (Ps 117), we are exhorted to make a confession of praise; in Blessed are the undefiled (Ps 118:1–16), to perform a work of praise; in Repay your servant (Ps 118:17–24), to the fulfillment of the Commandments. But since faith is the foundation of the Commandments and the victory which conquers the world, and because without faith, what follows fails, the symbol of faith, “Whosoever wishes,”a is added; Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, produced it at the request of the Emperor Theodosius, to eradicate the growing faithlessness of the heretics and to spread the Catholic faith; and the Church decreed that it be sung each day at Prime, because the people come to church at that time most of all; or, because a [profession of] faith is the starting point of salvation. Nevertheless, out of curiosity, some omit it on days when they say “I believe in One God” b at Mass. Others also say that the aforesaid Athanasius, fleeing the Emperor Constantius, composed it in Trier, which is why it is not said in church because it was instituted outside of a primary church.c And take heed, that in this Creed there are principally two parts: namely, the one on the Trinity and the other on the Incarnation of the Word; but it is said before the others out of the freedom given on this choice.d

Quicumque vult. Durand offers a lengthy and historically detailed commentary on the Creed in Rationale, 4.25.1 sq. b  Credo in unum Deum. c  Durand’s term “primary church” is a reference to a Patriarchal church, which in the patristic era only included Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. d  The other Creeds to which Durand refers are the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. a 

169

92

Rationale

Afterwards, the little chapter follows, in which the shepherd consoles the sheep and the father of the household consoles the workers, so that they will not become weak from the heat and the labor, about which we will now speak. And sometimes, this little chapter is said: Grace be to you, and peace from God (Gal 1:3), Galatians, chapter 1; sometimes: Peace and truth (Zach 8:19). 7. After the little chapter, the Responsory follows: “O Christ, Son of the living God,”a etc., so that the Church will show that She assents to and applauds the things that were said in it. But, She nevertheless prays for Herself; thus, afterwards, the verse is added: “Arise, O Christ;” b that is, make us rise up; to “arise” from our vices is also nothing other than to return to the Lord. It should also be known that some churches omit that responsory: “O Christ, Son of the living God” during Advent and Septuagesima, as much because the fathers who lived before the Law and those who were under the Law hoped to be freed from their misery by Christ, as also because He had not come in that time. For that reason, when that time is recalled, the mercy of Christ is especially not invoked. Nevertheless, on the feasts of Saints which fall during this time, they say that verse, because in these feasts, the time of grace is represented. Still, some churches neither say the little chapter nor the Responsory, but only the verse: “Arise,” wishing to imitate the custom of the Apostles, who, as we read, after the Ascension and before the coming of the Holy Spirit, persevered in prayer and good works, just as Luke says: And they, adoring, went back into Jerusalem with great joy. And they were always in the Temple, praising and blessing God (Lk 24:52–53). We do not read that they then gave a sermon to the people; but on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was given to them and it was as if they were confirmed, at the third hour they began to speak to the people. We are instructed by this that we ought, up to the third hour, to devote ourselves to prayer and works, and then at last to teach others, which the lesson or little chapter notes; for the Psalm pertains to works and a  b 

Christe Filii Dei vivi. CAO 6276, Hesbert 4: 71. Exurge Christe.

170

V, 5

the lesson to instruction. Therefore, on account of this, they remove the lesson at Prime and consequently, the Responsory which ought to respond to it. To continue, through Prime we understand the works of the pastor; for that reason this is then said: Look upon your servants, O Lord, and their works, etc. (Ps 89:16), because the pastor, following the example of Christ, ought first to work so that he will be able to exhort others to work at the other hours. Therefore, the little chapter, which is an exhortation or consolation, is not said after the Psalms through which works are signified; but after Prime, the lesson is said, as was said in the prologue of this part.a 8. Next, the prayers [preces] are said, since at the Council of Agde,b it was decreed that the prayers or a little chapter from the Psalms must be said at each of the hours. These are said for three reasons: first, to cut off superfluous thoughts; second, to obtain mercy for the errant sheep and the weary workers; third, to ask for help against our temptations so that we can more securely invoke the Father in the Lord’s Prayer. 9. And the prayers are said in this way: first, the Lord’s Prayer is said, in which there are seven petitions on account of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that we must have, just as will be discussed. But because dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment, etc. (Eccl 10:1), this prayer is preceded by “Lord have mercy.”c It is necessary that something of this sort precedes it, that drives away useless thoughts from the mind, so that when saying the Lord’s Prayer, the spirit that speaks of invisible things will only reflect on invisible things. Accordingly, in the Divine Offices, before the Lord’s Prayer is said, the Kyrie is said three times, or once; afterwards, “Christ have mercy” is said three times, or once; and then again, Kyrie is said three times, or once. The Kyrie is said three times to note the three states of the Divine Majesty and Divinity that we celebrate

Rationale, 5.2.43. De cons. D.5 c.13, Friedberg 1: 1415. c  Kyrie eleison. a 

b 

171

93

Rationale

94

in some manner in the Church; it is said once on account of the one substance [of the Trinity]. The first state was before the adoption of humanity, when the Trinity was invoked without being physically joined to human nature, and used to be called “Lord,” because: The Lord is his name (Ps 67:5). The second state was after the adoption of humanity: namely, when Christ was seen on the earth, and He was nonetheless believed to be God and the Son of God by His followers. On account of His adoption of humanity, anointed with a spiritual oil (cf. Hebr 1:9), He is called “Christ.” Thus, in reference to this middle status, we say: “Christ have mercy.” When we say “Christ have mercy” three times, we show Him never to have been separated from the substance of the Holy Trinity, even though He had become man. But when we say it once, we show that He was alone among men, and no one was found to be like Him in all things. The third state was at the time when He wished to glorify the humanity He adopted, to make it more than it was when it had been mortal. Therefore, because the Trinity is shown in that glorification, we say the Kyrie three times; but it is said once on account of the one substance. The efficacy of these words was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading, On the Kyrie.a And note that these three previously discussed states are described as they relate to us, not on account of God, with whom there is neither transformation nor the shadow of change. After the Kyrie, the Lord’s Prayer follows in which there are seven petitions on account of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit,b through which we merit the seven virtues;c through these we are freed from the seven vicesd so that we can arrive at the seven beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:3–12; Lk 6:20–22). 10. And this prayer is said with a lowered voice and secretly. First, so that through these words, humility and devotion in a  b 

Lord.

Rationale, 4.12.3. Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the

Prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, faith, hope, charity. They are also known as the seven deadly sins. Generally speaking, in medieval theology they were: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride. c 

d 

172

V, 5

prayer will be signified. Second, so that in a sense, turning inwardly, we will spiritually grasp, with great devotion, those things that we pronounce in words. Third, because in the prayer, we speak to God, who not only scrutinizes our words but also our innermost being and our heart. Fourth, to note that this prayer can have a greater effect if done with devotion of the heart than with the cry of the mouth. For even though Moses did not cry out to the Lord with his mouth, nevertheless, the Lord, who paid greater attention to the cry of his heart than of his mouth, said to him: Why do you cry out to me? (Ex 14:15), Exodus, chapter 14. But the end of this prayer is pronounced with an elevated voice, so that it will be affirmed by all, and so that, with the help of the prayers of those present responding “Amen,” we will be freed from temptation; for just as Augustinea says: “It is impossible for a multitude not to be heard.” The beginning of the prayer is also pronounced publicly so that those present will be invited to prayer. Fittingly, the Lord’s Prayer is said so that the spiritual life will be achieved by the soul; for that reason, these words are immediately added: “My soul shall live,” b etc. And then, this follows: “I have gone astray, like a sheep,”c etc., in which there is a confession, for one cannot live in God unless he confesses. 11. Then, “I believe in God”d is said, in which our faith is contained, for it is impossible to please God without faith (cf. Hebr 11:6), and through which they are armed against every adversary, who have been cleansed by the Lord’s Prayer. And the Creed is said in a lowered voice—but the end, with an elevated voice— to note that: With the heart, we believe unto justice, but with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation (Rom 10:10); this was discussed in the fourth part, On the Creed.e Afterwards, as one sighing, the priest says: I have cried to you, O Lord, etc. (Ps 87:14), according to the text of David: Out of the depths I have cried to you, a 

48.

Augustine, Enchiridion ad Laurentium de fide, spe et caritate, c.19, CCSL 46:

Vivet anima mea (Ps 118:175). Erravi sicut ovis (Ps 118:176). d  Credo in unum Deum. e  Rationale, 4.25.1–3. b  c 

173

95

Rationale

O Lord, etc. (Ps 129:1). But, because: The Praise of God is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner (Sir 15:9), because: God has said to the sinner: Why do you declare my justices and take my covenant in your mouth? (Ps 49:16), therefore, he asks that grace be given to him, so that filled with grace he will be able to offer worthy praise, saying: “Let my mouth be filled with praise.”a 12. Many prayers also follow, in which the Church prays, supplicates, intercedes, and gives thanks, according to the teaching of the Apostle to Timothy (cf. 1 Tim 2:1). She supplicates when She says: “O Lord, turn your face away,” b etc. This supplication is proper when it is offered with a sworn oath, such as when this is said: “Through your Passion, free us, O  Lord.”c She prays when She asks that good things be given to Her, such as here: “Create a clean heart in me, O God,”d etc. She intercedes when She asks to be pulled away from the evil forces standing against Her, such as here: “Deign, O Lord, to keep us this day, to keep us safe without sin.”e She gives thanks for what she has already received when She says: “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”f More is said about this under the heading, On Terce.g It can also be said, in another sense, that the Lord’s Prayer, the prayers that follow and the Psalm, Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50) are said because inside the Church there are those who commit the smallest sins and those who commit the greatest. The priest prays for those who commit the smallest sins, and for himself, when he says the Kyrie and the Lord’s Prayer, in which no one can excuse himself, unless he can truly say: Forgive us our debts, etc. (Mt 6:12). For those committing the greatest sins and those rising through penance, the Psalm, Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50) is Repleatur os meum laude (Ps 70:8). Domine averte faciem (Ps 50:11). c  Per passionem tuam, libera nos Domine. Durand’s liturgical source is not clear; this text is more than likely part of a litany and was derived from William of Auxerre’s Summa de offic. eccles., 1 (Douai: Bibl. Mun. n. 65), f. 5vb. d  Cor mundum crea in me Deus (Ps 50:12). e  Dignare, Domine, die ista sine peccato nos custodire. This text is from the hymn, Te Deum laudamus. f  Benedic anima mea (Ps 103:1). g  Rationale, 5.6.2. a 

b 

174

V, 5

said, which properly pertains to the penitent—as was already said under the heading, On Laudsa— and “My soul shall live,” b etc., because the soul of the sinner was dead after a mortal sin. He also exposes his error, saying: “I have gone astray, like a sheep,”c  etc. He asks for a remedy, where he says: “Seek your servant, because I have not forgotten your commandments;”d that is, I am prepared to observe them. 13. To continue, the Church prays for its sins in the prayers, and She especially asks for four things: namely, for impurity to be removed and cleanliness to be conferred; for sadness that comes from the sting of conscience to be removed, and for joy to be conferred, for which She says four portions of this Psalm: Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50). For impurity to be removed, She says: “O Lord, turn your face away from my sins,”e as if She says: Do not punish my sins eternally. But because it can happen that a man has not taken care to have his sins wiped away, for which in the present he is not punished, therefore, She adds: “And erase all my iniquities.”f But for cleanliness to be conferred She says: “Create a clean heart in me, O God,”g etc. But because after having acquired cleanliness, man is ignorant of having attained it and is still torn by the sting of his conscience, She adds: “Cast me not away from your face,” h  etc. Then for joy to be conferred, She says: “Restore unto me the joy of your salvation.”i But because there still remain enemies who strive to drag us into evil, which comes in three ways—namely, through the flesh, the world and the Devil—She therefore puts forth three versicles against these enemies: namely, “Deliver me, O Lord,” j and the other two that follow. When the enemies have Rationale, 5.4.17. Vivet anima mea (Ps 118:175). c  Erravi sicut ovis (Ps 118:176). d  Quere servum tuum, quia mandata tua non sum oblitus (Ps 118:76). e  Domine averte faciem a peccatis meis (Ps 50:11). f  Et omnes iniquitates meas dele (Ps 50:11). g  Cor mundum crea in me Deus (Ps 50:12). h  Ne proicias me a facie tua (Ps 50:13). i  Redde michi letitiam salutaris tui (Ps 50:13). j  Eripe me Domine (Ps 139:2). a 

b 

175

96

Rationale

97

been repulsed, then She can offer praise; thus She says: “So will I say a Psalm to your name;”a and because He must be praised at all times, She adds: “That I may pay my vows,” b etc.; and because He must be praised in every place, therefore, She adds: “Hear us, O God, our Savior.”c Still, because we have been redeemed by the Passion, and through it, our prayer receives its efficacy, therefore we bring to mind what we read and sing in the Passion of the Lord: namely, “Holy God, Holy and Mighty,”d  etc. Thereupon, we exhort our soul to bless Him on account of the gifts that have been given to us, here: “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”e But then, so that the prayer will be pure, She does a communal confession, through which we are cleansed from venial sins; sins without which, the communal life is not easily led. And because the confession of man has no worth unless there is an interior conversion, therefore, She adds: “Convert us, O God, our Savior.”f Besides, at the beginning of the day, She prays to be freed from sin throughout the day, saying: “Deign, O Lord, to keep us this day,”g etc., to the Lord, without whom, human frailty could scarcely exist at any moment. And because it is necessary that the mercy of God follows us just as it came before us, She therefore adds: “Let your mercy,” h etc. At last, She prays for the different ordersi in the Church, and then concludes with the Psalm: Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50), after which our pastor prays alone for everyone, in the Collect. 14. While the priest prays, or he says prayers of this sort on common days, he prostrates himself to the ground so that he will Sic psalmum dicam nomini tuo (Ps 60:9). Ut reddam vota (Ps 60:9). c  Exaudi nos Deus salutaris noster (Ps 64:6). d  Sanctus Deus, Sanctus fortis. Durand’s reference is to the Latin translation of the Greek Christian hymn, the Trisagion (or “Thrice Holy”). It is called the Ter Sanctus in Latin. e  Benedic anima mea (Ps 103:1). f  Converte nos [Deus] salutaris noster (Ps 84:5). g  Dignare, Domine, die ista. This text is from the hymn, Te Deum laudamus. h  Fiat misericordia tua (Ps 32:22). i  “orat pro diversis gradibus Ecclesie.” Durand is referring to prayer for the different clerical “grades,” or orders. a 

b 

176

V, 5

arouse in himself and others a greater devotion; but when the Psalm, Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50) is finished, he rises, while the others remain prostrate; and standing, he says the prayer, because he takes the place of that Priest who is in heaven, and who daily intercedes for us (cf. Rom 8:34). Therefore, he first prays lying down with the rest just as the Lord (cf. Mt 26:39; Mk 14:35; Lk 2:41–42), whose vicar he is, first prayed before He rose again, when He was in the company of sinners and stretched out on the cross (cf. Lk 23:34). Afterwards, he says the prayer standing so that he will recall the Resurrection of the One whose place he takes. Nevertheless, in some churches, everyone rises when the priest rises, by which they signify that they themselves have received the hope of rising from their sins. And note that the sole unity of the Church falls to its face in adoration. 15. On common days, sometimes we pray prostrate, by which eight things are signified. First, the infirmity of the body, because we are made of dust. Second, the infirmity of the spirit, because we cannot raise ourselves up on our own. Third, shame, because we do not dare to raise our eyes towards heaven. Fourth, prudence, because we see the place where we fall; that is, we are cast down in earthly things. Fifth, so that we will signify contrition in our heart. Sixth, because in adoring Christ, we believe that He descended to the earth, and on this earth, He assumed human flesh; and this is what some figuratively show, who wish to mark themselves with the sign of the cross; when first bowing, they touch the ground with their hand. Seventh, because we bring to mind that even though we were created in an angelic state in Paradise, because of our fall, our bodies are now cast among brute animals and the soul is weighed down by the weight of the body. Eighth, so that by this act, we confess ourselves to be sinners and we cling to earthly desires, while we press our body to the belly of the earth and our soul to the pavement. And this was introduced by Abraham, who, falling to the earth, used to adore the Lord, whom the Prophets imitated. Thus, Origena says, in a homily on this Gospel:

a 

Origen, Hom. in Lucam, 17.3, SC 87: 254.

177

Rationale

98

Joseph and Mary were wondering at those things,a  etc. (Lk 2:33): “When the Holy Prophets contemplated something that was more lofty, they fell to their faces, so that their sins would be more fully purged by the collapse of the body.” 16. Sometimes, we also genuflect in private prayers, as did Solomon (cf. 1 Kings 8:54), and the Apostle, who says: I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 3:14), so that through this act, we imply that every knee will bend to Christ (cf.  Phil 2:10); but then we are not prostrate but we stand with our face up, as if saying, by this act: Draw me after you (Song 1:3). What we ought to say when we genuflect will be discussed in the sixth part, under heading, On Easter.b And whenever we stand, it is as if we are joyful that we are going into the house of the Lord. In the first instance, we express, in some sense, our contrition; in the second, our desire; in the third, our hope. But on Sundays and in Eastertide, there is no genuflection, nor is the Kyrie said at the hours of prayer, nor the Lord’s Prayer; but we pray standing on account of the joy of the Resurrection that we are then recalling, about which we will speak in the next part, in the chapter on Easter.c Nor is there any genuflection during the days of Pentecost, during which we recall the freedom given to us by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Nor is there genuflection on other feast days, on account of the joy of those feasts in which we recall the holy society of Angels and Saints who already have eternal joy, except when in the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ. Nevertheless, on those days, we ought to pray standing, with our head bowed, just as the devout women did at the tomb (cf. Lk 24:5), and then we also dispatch prayers filled with tears of this sort for the present life, to note that in the future resurrection, where there will be true freedom and true fellowship, no supplication will be done for any misery; more will be said about this in the sixth part, under the heading, On the Saturday after Pentecost.d Durand’s wording does not strictly conform to the Vulgate text of Luke. Rationale, 6.86.17. c  Rationale, 6.86.17. d  Rationale, 6.113.5–6. a 

b 

178

V, 5

17. Nevertheless, in some churches, the Lord’s Prayer is said at every Office, but standing: for that prayer is the salt and seasoning of the sacrifice. And in the Old Testament, no sacrifice was done without salt, and so too, none of our Offices should seem to be done without it; this was also treated in the prologue of this part.a Fittingly, prayers of this sort mystically signify humility, as will be discussed under the heading, On Compline.b We say this prayer facing the east, which was discussed in the prologue of this part. Finally, a prayer is added that is a greeting: namely, “The Lord be with you,”c which comes before and also follows, because just as the Lord greeted His Apostles after He rose from the dead, saying: Peace be with you (Jn 20:19); and afterwards, when He spoke to them, and after speaking, He said once again: Peace be with you (Jn 20:21). So too the priest, His vicar, after he has risen from his bowed posture, greets his brothers, saying: “The Lord be with you.” And he prays for them, and after the prayer, he again says: “The Lord be with you,” as if he were saying: If you have obtained the grace of God, persevere in that grace. And again, the people say: “And with your spirit,”d as if they were saying: You have prayed for us and we pray for you; this was discussed in the fourth part, under the heading, On the greeting of the people.e Lastly, “Let us bless” f is said, which was discussed in the prologue of this part.g 18. But after the Church has directed Her prayers to the Lord, She implores the prayers of the Saints, saying: “Precious in the sight,” h etc., which does not belong to Prime; this is why some say it after Matins or Lauds. Some also insert, between Prime and “Precious,” Prime for the Blessed Virgin, and some, a Mass for the Dead. And some, who are in religious orders, say this in chapter. Rationale, 5.2.6. Rationale, 5.10.8. c  Dominus vobiscum. d  Et cum spiritu tuo. e  Rationale, 4.14.1–4. f  Benedicamus. g  Rationale, 5.2.62. h  Pretiosa in conspectu (Ps 115:5). a 

b 

179

99

Rationale

Nevertheless, others say that it belongs to Prime, following what was said about this in the prologue, where the lesson is treated,a and they join it with Prime. Then the priest prays in general, in honor of the Trinity, for himself and all present, saying three times: “O God, come to my assistance,” b  etc. Or, this is said three times so that he can seek help against the snares of the Devil, the flesh and the world; or, in honor of the Trinity, and therefore, “Glory to the Father,” etc., is added. The Alleluia does not follow “Glory to the Father,” because the place at which we customarily say it—for example, the chapter—is not sacred. For just as a sacred place signifies that Jerusalem in which that angelic voice—that is, Alleluia—is heard, so too a place that is not sacred represents our pilgrimage; our journey in which we sin. Then, because while we are in this life we sin, we therefore add the Kyrie and the “Our Father,” and afterwards: “Look down upon your servants, O Lord,”c etc., where it says: “And direct their sons.”d Our “sons” are the thoughts that are born in our mind, which we ask to be directed to completing the works of the Lord; the works of our hands are the exterior works that proceed from interior thoughts. But because all works tend towards one thing, therefore the word “work” is said in the singular form, when it says: “And direct the work of our hands;”e and again, our shepherd or pastor prays for all the sheep in general, saying: “Deign to direct, O Lord,”f etc. The service is concluded with a prayer so that the divine grace that precedes our actions will also follow them.

Rationale, 5.2.51 Deus in adiutorium meum intende. c  Respice Domine in servos tuos (Ps 89:16). d  Et dirige filios eorum (Ps 89:16). e  Et opus manuum nostrarum dirige (Ps 89:17). f  Dirigere dignare Domine. a 

b 

180

[6] ON TERCE

1. At the third hour, we deliver our prayers to God because at that hour, according to Mark (cf.  Mk 15:25), Jesus was sentenced to death by the cries of the Jews, and then He was bound to a column by Pilate and flogged. Therefore, we fittingly pray at this hour so that just as Adam was separated from the Holy Spirit by the suggestion of the Devil, the Holy Spirit will deign to fill our hearts at the same hour by virtue of Christ’s crucifixion. At the same hour, the Holy Spirit, which had been promised, was given to the Apostles and they openly spoke of the wonders of God; thus in the Acts of the Apostles: These men are not drunk because it is only the third hour of the day (Acts 2:15); for this reason, we sing the hymn, “Now, Holy Spirit,”a etc. The Psalm, Set your law before me (Ps 1183) is also said, because at that hour, a new law was given to the Apostles. But because man is healed from the disease of sin by the Law of God—according to what is said in Wisdom: For it was neither herb, nor a plaster that healed them, but your word, O Lord (Wisd 16:12)—therefore, in some churches, they say this little chapter: Heal me, O  Lord (Jer 17:14), Jeremiah, chapter 17, and the Responsory: “Heal my soul,” b etc. And sometimes this [little chapter] is said: The charity

a  b 

Nunc Sancte nobis. Hymn for Terce; RH 1286, Chevalier 2: 171. Sana animam meam.

181

100

Rationale

101

of God is poured forth (Rom 5:5), and sometimes this one: I beseech you, brothers, by the mercy of God (Rom 12:1), Romans chapter 12. To continue, since one cannot be healed unless one is converted, therefore the verse follows: “Be my helper, O Lord,”a as if he says: However much I am free and healed and firmly established on your path, I am nevertheless incapable of arriving at the middle of the day without your help, about which is said: Show me where your pasture is, where you lie at midday (Song 1:6);b thus, the verse is said: “Be my helper, O Lord,” and this is added: “Do not abandon me;”c that is, do not let my undertaking be interrupted, because without You, my effort is nothing; “And do not despise me;”d that is, do not condemn me, for I am a mortal; I dare to search for You, the Eternal One, because You are my God (cf. Ps 61:3), who created me and recreated me; You are “my Savior;” that is, He who repairs the snares of my sin. 2. Then, all prostrate themselves in prayer; then the priest follows a form of prayer that the Apostle teaches, saying: [I desire] first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men (1 Tim 2:1), and for all that are in high station (1 Tim 2:2). The supplication is done with an oath for the removal of evil; the prayer, for the procurement of good, or the conquest of evil; the intercession, for the attainment of good, or its accumulation; thanksgivings, for the preservation of the good that has already been acquired. The supplication is here: “I said, O  Lord,”e  etc., where he asks to have his wounds healed and to be given medicine. The prayer is here: “Let your mercy be upon us, O  Lord;” f or here: “O Lord, reveal to us [your mercy],”g  etc. Adiutor meus esto Domine (cf. Ps 26:9). Durand copied this paragraph verbatim from Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 4.32 (ed. Corbett), 230. In his source, the verse is: Adiutor meus est. b  Durand offers a truncated citation of Song 1:6. c  Ne derelinquas me (Ps 26:9). d  Neque despicias me (Ps 26:9). e  Ego dixi Domine (Ps 40:5). The full text of the first line would read, in translation: “I said, O Lord: be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.” f  Fiat misericordia tua Domine (Ps 32:22). g  Ostende nobis Domine (Ps 84:8). a 

182

V, 6

The intercession is here: “Return, O Lord, how long?”a where we intercede, so that with the help of the Lord, all of our adversaries will be removed. The thanksgiving is here: “May your priests be clothed [with justice],” b etc., and this is for all of us. Next, he prays for kings or those who are in high places (cf. 1 Tim 2:2), saying: “God save the king,”c and “Let us pray for our pontiff,”d and for all the living, “Save your people,”e etc. And then for all the dead: “Let us pray for the faithful departed.”f Then, Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50) follows, for those who are in a state of serious sin, just as the Lord’s Prayer came before, for those who are in state of venial sin.g After this, the pastor or the priest rises, and with everyone remaining prostrate, he prays for everyone, which was discussed under the heading, On Prime.h

Convertere Domine usquoque (Ps 89:13). Sacerdotes tui induantur (Ps 131:9). c  Salvum fac regem. d  Oremus pro pontifice nostro. e  Salvum fac populum tuum. f  Oremus pro fidelibus defunctis. g  See Rationale, 5.5.13, for a full discussion. h  Rationale, 5.5.18. a 

b 

183

[7] ON SEXT

102

1. At the hour of Sext, Christ was pierced with nails and crucified for us, which is why darkness fell over the whole world, so that the sun, in mourning the death of its Lord, could conceal itself, as if wearing black vestments, so that those who crucified Him would not be given its light. Also, at this hour, on the day of the Ascension, He reclined at table with the disciples. Therefore, the Church fittingly delivers praises to God, giving thanks to Him because Christ wished to suffer for Her, on account of which She loves Him with great affection; thus, in Canticles: Tell my beloved that I languish with love (Song 5:8); for that reason, the Psalm is then said: My soul has fainted after your salvation (Ps 118:81–88). Then the Reponsory is also said: “I will bless the Lord at all times;”a meaning: I will bless Him because He deigned to suffer for me; that is, for the salvation of my soul. At the same hour, Adam was expelled from Paradise. Therefore, we rightly ought to implore God at that hour, so that through our humility and good works, we might return to Paradise, from which he was expelled on account of his pride. Fittingly, the Office of Sext corresponds with its place in time, just as the Offices of the other hours. For at the hour of Prime there is a beginning; at Terce, progress; at Sext, a consummation. Accordingly, the sun begins to shine at Prime; at Terce, it glows a 

Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore (Ps 33:2).

184

V, 7

more; at Sext, it is at the peak of its heat; and this is indicated by the words of the hymns that begin these hours, as well as at None. The words that are said at Prime correspond with the beginning, in the Psalm: O God, save me by your name, and judge me in your strength (Ps 53:3); that is, separate me from the Zyphites.a For at the beginning of our conversion, we begin to be separated from evil; thus, we justly ask this here, we who we were first separated from that place [Paradise]. What the second Psalm says pertains to this: I wish that my ways may be directed (Ps 118:5), and what the third Psalm says: Repay your servant (Ps 118:17), which can be explained as “repay frequently;” and where it says: Revive me, etc. (Ps 118:17), supply the words: for I was near death through my sin; thus, he asks to be justified though grace. What is said at the beginning of the third Psalm pertains to progress: Place the law before me, O Lord (Ps 118:33), for finding himself placed on the journey, he asks to be given the law of correction. 2. What pertains to the consummation is what is said at the beginning of Sext: My soul has fainted after your salvation (Ps 1186); that is, my soul, placed within Your salvation, has fainted from the things of the world; or it faints after Your salvation; that is, my soul tends towards Your salvation but faints in worldly things. For the more one tends towards the love of God, the more will he grow faint from worldly things, as if he languishes on account of his greater desire, according to this text: Prop me up with flowers, surround me with apples, because I languish with love (Song 2:5). The flowers are understood as the beginning of certain good works; the apples are perfection which also enflames others, in a certain manner, offering consolation. Nevertheless, the soul does not receive full consolation here, but is more afflicted with love; thus follows: My eyes have failed in your salvation, etc. (Ps 118:123).b And in the second part: How have I loved your law, etc. (Ps 118:97). And in the third: My eyes have failed in your salvation (Ps 118:123). For an explanation of Durand’s cryptic reference, see Rationale, 5.5.5. The Latin text is: Defecerunt oculi mei in salutari tuo, which is closer to the wording of Ps 118:82 in the Vulgate. Ps 118:123 reads: Oculi mei defecerunt in salutari tuo. a 

b 

185

Rationale

103

The Responsory pertains to this perfection: “I will bless the Lord,”a and the versicle: “The Lord rules me.” b Now because this versicle has another translation:c The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing that I shall lack; he has led me into a pasture (Ps 22:1–2)— that is, the Lord is my shepherd, in whom I am secure and provided for—thus this follows: And there is nothing that I shall lack (Ps 22:1). For the faithful one believes that his spiritual sustenance will be conferred to him by God, because he already knows that he has been led into a pasture, where the faithful are more fully strengthened in their faith. Thus he says: He has led me into a pasture (Ps 22:2). For the one whom the Lord feeds with the coming of the Holy Spirit, He rules again; that is, He makes him delight in good works, and He leads him on the straight path to that most secure of cities, Jerusalem. To such a one, there is nothing lacking, as the Apostle testifies, who says: I can do all things in him who gives me strength (Phil 4:13). Sometimes, this little chapter is also said: Bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), Galatians 6; and sometimes, this one: Be not conformed to this world (Rom 12:2), Romans 12.

Benedicam Dominum (Ps 33:2). Dominus regit me (Ps 22:1). c  Durand’s direct source for this full paragraph is Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 4.39 (ed. Corbett), 233. Praepositinus provides the alternative translation that comes from Jerome, Liber Psalmorum, Ps 23, PL 28: 1205C. a 

b 

186

[8] ON NONE

1. At the ninth hour, crying out, Christ gave up His spirit (cf. Mt 27:46). For He wished to die for us at the very hour when man was expelled from Paradise.a At the same hour He redeemed, through the woman and the wood [of the cross], those who had been beguiled by the enemy, through a woman and a tree:b “Art by art would deceive, and thus procure a remedy, from what the enemy had used to inflict harm.”c At the same hour, the soldier pierced the side of Christ, from which flowed the two sacraments which the soldier drew for us for our salvation: namely, the water of Baptism and the Blood of our redemption (cf. Jn 19:33–34); and the veil of the Temple was torn in two and the tombs were opened (cf. Mt 27:51–53). Also, at the same hour, He harrowed hell, shattering the impenetrable darkness of the infernal region, smashing its locks; and He led its captive Saints with Him to heaven; and a  Durand states in his commentary on Sext, that Adam was expelled from Paradise at the third hour. See Rationale, 5.6.1. b  Durand’s cryptic reference is to the Gospel narrative of the crucifixion, where Christ entrusts his mother to the care of his disciple John while dying on the cross (Jn 19:25–27). This event in salvation history is juxtaposed with a reference to Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Paradise for eating fruit from the forbidden tree (Gen 3:1–24). c  Ars ut artem falleret, et medelam ferret inde, hostis unde leserat. From the hymn, Pange lingua gloriosi, AHMA n.7, 50:71. These lyrics are not found in the more famous version of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), but come from the version of Venantius Fortunatus (530–609). My translation is not poetic but rather more literal to underscore Durand’s exegetical point.

187

Rationale

104

having put out the flaming lance of the Angel, he restored to Paradise its ancient inhabitants. At the same hour, the group of Apostles was accustomed to come together to pray; and Peter and John used to go up to the Temple to pray (cf. Acts 3:1). At the same hour, Peter went up to the rooftop to pray, when he was carried away in ecstasy, and he saw before him a sheet full of reptiles which came down from heaven, hearing a voice: Peter, kill and eat (Acts 10:13). Therefore, on account of these prerogatives, the Church rightly praises God at this hour, saying the Psalm: Your testimonies are wonderful (Ps 1189), and the Responsory: “Redeem me, O Lord,”a praying for Her redemption, so that She does not appear to have forgotten that She was redeemed at such an hour. 2. We must also consider that at the hour of None, the sun has already begun to decline from its midday point; this state of time therefore implies the state of virtue, for it intimates that the fervor of virtue in which the soul found itself has now become tepid on account of its temptations. For as Blessed Gregoryb says: “The vices tempt us, the virtues humble us.” For when a perfected man is tempted, he descends from the height of interior joy to consider his own fragility, and to see how easy it is to fall, just as is evident in the Apostle, who said: Lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, etc. (2 Cor 12:7).c For Paul rejoiced in his revelation but sorrowed over his temptation; thus he says: For which reason, three times I asked the Lord, etc. (2 Cor 12:8). For unless he had been troubled by temptation, he would not have called upon the Lord so that he could endure it. It was not, however, removed, because virtue, for which joy is owed, is made perfect through infirmity (cf. 2 Cor 12:9). Certain verses of the Psalms at None note these tribulations and anguish, as in the first part: Tribulation (Ps 118:143); and in the second: Many are those who persecute me (Ps 118:157); and in the third: I had strayed, etc. (Ps 118:176). We ask to be freed from Redime me Domine (Ps 25:11). Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, 23.51, CCSL 143B: 1184. Durand’s text is more of a paraphrase than a direct citation of Gregory. c  The rest of this sentence, not provided by Durand reads: There was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me (2 Cor 12:7). a 

b 

188

V, 8

the same thing in the Responsory: “Redeem me;” that is, grant that I will feel the effects of Your redemption, which was done by Your Blood, in the midst of my tribulations. The same thing is found in the verse: From my hidden faults, cleanse me (Ps 18:13); that is, drive away evil thoughts from me and restrain the one who suggests them, following Augustine.a 3. And note that the Sunday Responsories at the three hours— namely, at Terce, Sext and None—suitably correspond with the weekday Responsories. For the weekday Responsory at Terce: namely, “Heal my soul,” b etc., asks for healing of wounds that were inflicted by previous sins. The Sunday Responsory: “Bend my heart,”c etc., and the verse: “Avert your eyes,”d etc., ask for provision for those in the future, which will come in the fulfillment of Divine Commandments. Likewise, in the weekday Responsory for Sext: “I will bless the Lord,”e etc., there is the promise of continual Divine praise. In the Sunday Responsory: “For all eternity, O Lord,” f etc., there is the fulfillment of the promise, for in the first one, he promises that he will praise, and here, he praises. The weekday Responsory for None: “Redeem me, O Lord,”g etc., asks for the effects of the redemption, which is done with a motion of the mind,h that is, love, directed toward God. The Sunday Responsory: “I have cried out,”i  etc., promises the effect of that motion, that is, of love: namely, a cry to God, for the cry of the

Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 4.40 (ed. Corbett), 234. Durand is actually quoting Praepositinus’ exegesis of Augustine’s commentary on Ps 18, not Augustine himself. Cf. Augustine, Enarrat. in Psalmos, Ps 18:13, CCSL 38: 111. b  Sana animam meam (Ps 40:5). c  Inclina cor meum (Ps 118:36). d  Averte oculos (Ps 118:37). e  Benedicam Dominum (Ps 33:2). f  In eternum Domine (Ps 118:89). g  Redime me Domine (Ps 25:11). h  Durand copied this paragraph from Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 4.41 (ed. Corbett), 235. Durand’s text is corrupt and makes little sense. I have corrected his text and my translation is based on Praepositinus’ original. Where Durand has “res mentis,” his source reads, “pes mentis.” i  Clamavi (Ps 140:1). a 

189

105

Rationale

heart comes from love. Nevertheless, in many churches the Responsories are the same, for both weekdays and Sundays. And it should be noted that the verses said at Terce, Sext and None have a neumaa to signify that at no hour are we able to express the eternal joy and reward. Sometimes, this little chapter is said: Prove all things (1 Thess 5:19), Thessalonians chapter 5; and sometimes: For as in one body we have many members (Rom 12:4), Romans 12.

a 

See Rationale, 5.2.32 for a discussion of the meaning of this term.

190

[9] ON VESPERS

1. At the hour of Vespers, the Church signifies the first coming of the Lord, which took place near the evening time of the world [vespere mundi], in the final age; on account of this, She offers thanks to God, singing [Vespers], following what the Apostle says: Upon us the final ages of the world have come (1 Cor 10:11).a In addition, Christ was taken down from the cross at Vespers. At the same hour, at supper, He instituted the sacrament of His Body and Blood (cf. Mt 26:26–29; Mk 14:22–25; Lk 22:13–20), and He washed the feet of His disciples (cf. Jn 13:1–17); and dressed as a pilgrim, He revealed Himself to the disciples going to Emaus, in the breaking of the bread (cf. Lk 24:13–32). Therefore, the Church rightly gives thanks to Christ at this hour. There is also a twofold evening time of the world, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On Epiphany.b 2. Fittingly, just as Sicardus, bishop of Cremona says in the Mitrale,c the Office of the following day begins at Vespers, because the evening prayer timed—that is, the hour of Vespers—is the first Office, according to the custom of Ezra, in his fourfold order of prayer (cf. Ezra 9:3), as was stated in the prologue of this Durand has altered the text of 1 Cor 10:11. Rationale, 6.16.14. c  Sicardus, Mitrale, 4.8, CCCM 228: 277–278. d  Vespertina synaxis is the term Durand copies from Sicardus. It is a Latin transliteration of the Greek word, Σύναξις (synaxis), which means “liturgical assembly.” a 

b 

191

106

Rationale

part.a Thus, the Office of Vespers is named after the evening star [vespera stella], which rises at the beginning of night.b Besides, even though from the beginning of the world, day has preceded night, nevertheless, on the night of the Lord’s Resurrection, night began to precede day, as will be discussed in the sixth part, under the heading, On Holy Saturday, at the beginning.c 3. The Church says five Psalms at this hour. First, on account of the five wounds of Christ, who offered a sacrifice for us in the evening time of the world [in vespera mundi]. Second, for our correction, so that we may weep and ask pardon for the sins which are committed every day, which enter us through the five corporeal senses, according to what Jeremiah says: Death has entered through our windows (Jer 9:21). For who is he, who seeing something, does not entertain the thought? Third, with these five Psalms, the Church fortifies Herself against nocturnal tribulations. For at this hour are intimated the tears of those for whom the sun of justice sets; and such is their state at Vespers, about which it is said: Toward evening, weeping will linger (Ps 29:6); and this will last until morning; that is, until the sun rises on the faithful, which had set on the sinners, according to what follows: And toward morning, gladness (Ps 29:6). And for the same reasons, we strike the breast with five fingers. To continue, the secular clergyd say five Psalms, but the religious orders, four, on account of the reason treated in the sixth part, under the heading, On Advent.e 4. And note that the Offices of Vespers and Lauds have precedence over the other hours in the number of their Psalms, because in the six-fold division of works, only night and day are remembered.f And in the Old Law, the ancient character of the morning and evening Office was commended. Therefore, five Psalms are Rationale, 5.1.2. Isidore, Etym., 6.19.3. c  Rationale, 6.72.8. d  Durand contrasts the cathedral or diocesan clergy with the various monastic religious orders that are cloistered. e  Rationale, 6.2.15. f  Durand’s cryptic reference is to the story of creation in the Book of Genesis 1:1–31. There are six days of creation, and the only time periods mentioned are the “morning” and “evening” of these days. a 

b 

192

V, 9

said during the weekday Office of Vespers, and the Psalms are sung following the theme of the day, so that on the seventh day: namely, on the Sabbath, we celebrate a victory with the praise of God that follows a victory, on account of the Resurrection that follows [on Sunday]. Thus, the first Psalm: Blessed be the Lord God (Ps 143), in the literal sense refers to David’s victory over Goliath; but in the spiritual sense, it refers to our victory over the Devil. Therefore, since after such a victory nothing remains except to praise the Lord, through whom we have had victory, four Psalms follow that are Psalms of praise. In the first, the Church promises to praise God: I will extol you, O Lord (Ps 144). In the second, She rouses Herself to praise: Praise the Lord, O my soul (Ps 145). In the third, She invites others to praise: Praise the Lord (Ps 146). In the fourth, She congratulates the heavenly Jerusalem, saying: Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem (Ps 147); and thus it is with other days and Psalms. In some churches, the hymn follows immediately after the Psalms, and after the hymn, the lesson or the chapter; in some churches, it is the opposite, and in some churches they do not sing a hymn. Those who immediately sing a hymn after the Psalms seem to follow an agreeable order, because: love first comes from the heart, which is designated by the antiphon; then good works follow, which the Psalm signifies; afterwards, rejoicing of the spirit, which is noted by the hymn. But because rejoicing often begets negligence, for that reason, a lesson or chapter follows, which calls man back into his own heart. But those who put the lesson before the hymn want the hymn to take the place of the Responsory; thus, on feast days, when they sing the Responsory after the lesson, they leave out the hymn. Nevertheless, to note a greater rejoicing, in some churches, each of them is sung: and then the Responsory comes before the hymn, to note that we ought especially to respond then to the exhortation given in the preceding chapter, after which the Responsory immediately follows. Still, generally speaking, whenever a Responsory is sung, it ought to be preceded by the lesson to which it must respond. But those who do not sing the hymn seem to be mindful that the Canticle of Blessed Marya follows, and they a 

Magnificat (Lk 1:46–55).

193

107

Rationale

108

exclude the Responsory since the Canticle takes the place of the hymn. For if the Canticle of Zacharya at Lauds excludes the Responsory, how much more does the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary seem to have to exclude it at Vespers. And note that at Vespers, this chapter is said: Blessed be the God and Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ] (2 Cor 1:3–4), 2 Corinthians 1; and this one: And the Lord direct your hearts (2 Thess 3:5), 2 Thessalonians 3. The versicle follows after the hymn; on Saturday: “The evening prayer,” b etc. On other days: “Let my prayer be guided,”c  etc.; and either of these verses designates the time of Vespers, at which time they are sung, which is signified in the words that follow in the Psalm: The raising of my hands is an evening sacrificed (Ps 140:2). The Church wishes that Her prayer will be guided to the Lord, which is taken from the Old Testament, where it says that at the evening hour [hora vespertina], the priest used to enter the Holy Tabernacle or the Temple so that he could offer burning, perfumed incense on the altar, just as in the morning he used to enter to offer incense (cf. Ex 30:6–8). 5. This perfumed incense signifies a sweet odor; from this comes the custom that when the versicle is said, the priest censes the altar to carry out a continual sacrifice, just as there was in the Old Law, under which two lambs were offered: one in the morning, and one late in the day, and the latter one was fatter, to note that charity increases. Therefore, the altar is censed so that we will always have a good odor before God, advancing in knowledge and instruction; and also, because of the promises of God, we ought to be of such a sort that we have a good odor before Him. Or, also at Vespers and Matins, after the Psalms and the lesson, while the verse is said, incense is used to note that no one can present a good odor before God, or give an example of good works to others—which is signified by the incense—unless he first does works

Benedictus (Lk 1:68–79). Vespertina oratio (cf. Ps 140:2). c  Dirigatur Domine (cf. Ps 140:2). d  Sacrificium vespertinum, in the Vulgate, which underscores Durand’s exegetical point. a 

b 

194

V, 9

in the service of God, which is noted by the Psalms; and unless he teaches others, which is noted by the lessons. Thus, a custom arose, that on principal feast days, the antiphon at the Magnificata and the one at the Benedictusb is said three times, or the antiphon is prolonged until all the people who are there are fully surrounded by the incense. And finally, it is said with a neuma, with a voice that does not signify, as was said in the prologue of this part.c The priest, who has a greater rank in the Office of the Church, and who holds the place of Aaron, ought to offer the incense, so that a perfumed incense and a sweet odor will be before God eternally, according to this text: Let my prayer be guided like incense in your sight (Ps 140:2). This was discussed under the heading, On Lauds.d 6. A versicle of exhortation is said at Vespers: namely, so that the sluggish will be aroused to understand the promises of God that are contained in that Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary: My soul magnifies, etc. (Lk 1:46–55), which is Luke, chapter 1. The first promise was made to Noah; thus, in Genesis: I will set my bow in the clouds (Gen 9:13), and it was fulfilled. The second was to Abraham and David: to Abraham was said: And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen 22:18); to David: I will set upon your throne from the fruit of your offspring (Ps 131:11); and this was fulfilled in the Blessed Virgin, which is noted here in her Canticle: He has been mindful of his mercy (Lk 1:54). Through this example we are therefore certain that He will give us the ultimate promise: namely, paradise. This is why that Canticle is said daily, so that a more frequent memory of the Lord’s Incarnation enflames the faithful soul to apply itself in works of the Lord and in instruction, and to devotion for works already started. Since reflective thoughts are noted in that Canticle, just as works are in the Psalms, if we often recall diligently the deeds and words of Magnificat (Lk 1:46–55). Benedictus (Lk 1:68–79). c  Rationale, 5.2.32–33. I  have also provided commentary in the footnotes of those chapters on the complex meanings of this term. d  Rationale, 5.4.3. a 

b 

195

109

Rationale

Blessed Mary, the observance of chastity and the virtue of works, always in Her imitation, will persevere in us. Neither, also, will unwarranted human admiration move us, nor an immoderate appetite for worldly things, nor earthly affection, nor despair for the procurement of pardon for sins committed. Indeed, unwarranted human admiration will not move us because when the Blessed Virgin was commended by Blessed Elizabeth, who said: What is this, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Lk 1:43), Mary was not moved by human admiration, but preserving humility, she cried out: My soul magnifies the Lord (Lk 1:46), and then added: Because he has looked upon the humility of his handmaid (Lk 1:48). 7. And note that she said: He looked upon the humility (Lk 1:48), and she did not say, “virginity,” implying that virginity of the mind is superior to the integrity of the flesh. Likewise, she said humility, because God resists the proud (cf. 1 Petr 5:5), separating them from the lot of blessed, and dispersing them in various places of punishment for the irreverence of sinners. Immoderate appetite for worldly things will not move us, because, just as she said: Our Judge has sent the rich away empty-handed (Lk 1:53), and He has put down the mighty from their seat (Lk 1:52). Worldly affliction will not move us, because God exalts the lowly. In this Canticle, we are reformed by the example of her humility; and also by the Incarnation of God’s Son, through which: He has put down the mighty from their seat and exalted the lowly (Lk 1:52), which is called to mind so that the devotion of our faith will be roused, not despair for the procurement of pardon for sins committed, because: His mercy is from generation to generation, to those that fear him (Lk 1:50). 8. From there, Bedea says the custom arose, that the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin would be sung at the Office of Vespers; and more preferably at the Office of Vespers than at the other Offices. First, because in evening time of the world [vespera mundi], a  Bede, Hom. II in Festo Visitationis Beatae Mariae, PL 94: 21C-22B. Most of paragraphs 6–7 of this chapter are a close paraphrase of Bede’s homily. But Durand derived this material from his principal source, Praepositinus, Tract. de offic., 4.56–58 (ed. Corbett), 239–240.

196

V, 9

with His singular assent, [Christ] came to the aid of a condemned world. Second, because from this assent came the Incarnation, done in the evening time of the world, which has a continuous remembrance. Third, because she is the star of the sea [stella maris],a which, in the evening time of this world, begins to shine on us, just as the evening star [vespera stella], from which the Office is called “Vespers,” b begins to shine at the beginning of night. Fourth, so that our mind, which is grown weary by various thoughts through the day—on the verge of rest: namely, night time—recalling the words of the Mother of God, will be purified, through prayers and tears, with her intercession, from whatever is superfluous or harmful that it contracted during its daily wanderings. Fifth, because the Virgin carried the Lord in the evening time of the world. To continue, the Canticle is sung as a sixth praisec because the Lord came in the sixth age of the world, just as the Canticle of Simeon is a seventh praise, because of the seventh age, of peace, which was treated under the heading, On Lauds.d 9. As to the rest, this Canticle is the exultation of those laboring, whose spirit rejoices in the Lord, because He who is powerful has done great things for them, whose mercy reaches through the ages (cf. Lk 1:49–50). For the representation of this exultation, the lamps are lit for Vespers; or, they are principally lit on account of this Canticle, because it comes from the Gospel; or, to be numbered among those five young and prudent women (cf.  Mt 25:4), we run with the lamps of good works, with the odor of the perfume of the Blessed Virgin, entering with her into the joy of our Lord. And since our works are not radiant in our lamps, unless they are formed by charity, the Canticle is therefore finished with an antiphon, through which charity is signified. a 

140.

Cf. Hymn for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella, AHMA, n. 123, 51:

Isidore, Etym., 6.19.3. Durand’s Latin is cryptic here, but he seems to be saying that in addition to the five Psalms of praise at Vespers, there is a sixth form of (biblical) praise, the Magnificat. d  Rationale, 5.4.22–23. b  c 

197

110

Rationale

111

On weekdays, when the antiphon is sung for a second time, the Church prostrates Herself in prayer, praying a longer time than in the other Offices, because She especially prays for those on whom the sun of justice has set, even though She prays for others; and She does those things that were stated above, under the heading, On Terce, where the prays are treated.a But on solemn feast days, the Collect is immediately said, and we pray as if standing. This has already been discussed, as well as why the Office of Vespers accords itself with the Office of Prime. 10. The Office of the Dead begins at Vespers; nevertheless, it does not have a second Vespers, to note that this Office will have its end when the souls of the saved, freed from every penalty, will fully enjoy eternal blessedness. But the Saints, about whose spiritual glorification the Church is already certain, have a first and second Vespers, if nine lessons are said on their feast. They have a first Vespers for the glorification of their soul that has already been received; the second Vespers is for the glorification of the body which they will have in the future, which will never end. But if the feast has only three lessons, they only have a first Vespers, not because they do not yet have the double robe [of glory] (cf. Rev 7:9), which is accorded to all of the elect, but the Church, to show the difference of honors owed to one group and another, celebrates more solemnly for those whose merits She knows are themselves greater, through miracles or other documentation; although, She cannot have full certainty about this, for: One star even differs from another in its brightness (1 Cor. 15:41). Thus, Augustineb says, in a sermon on Blessed Stephen: “Since the death of the Saints is precious,c what distinction can be drawn among the Martyrs? Who is ‘first’ seems to be a distinction that is imposed.” Nevertheless, sometimes in the preceding Vespers, only one antiphon and one Collect from the feast that follows is said,

a  b 

2138.

Rationale, 5.6.2. (Ps.-)Augustine, In natali Sancti Stephani protomartyris, Sermo 210.3, PL 39:

A paraphrase of Ps 115:5: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his holy ones. c 

198

V, 9

as will be discussed under the heading, On the Vigil of the Nativity.a 11. Lastly, it should be noted that before Compline, those in religious orders leave out the collation,b which traces its origins to the Holy Fathers, who, having said Vespers, used to come together and confer over the Holy Scriptures, similar to workmen who would converse among themselves for recreation. They therefore read at that point the lives and collations of the Fathers, and similar things, which are more preferable for recreation and pleasure; and they question the more erudite ones, if any doubts arise about the readings.

Rationale, 6.12.1 sq. Collatio, or collation is a term used to describe a light meal taken by monks, during which a public reading was done for the community. a 

b 

199

[10] ON COMPLINE

112

1. At the hour of Compline, Christ prayed with His disciples; at the same hour, He sweat drops of blood, and His body was placed in the tomb and guards were assigned to its watch. The Church therefore rightly gives thanks and praise to God at this hour. She celebrates this hour in memory of eternal joy, for when the number of the elect is completed, at that hour, the joy of the Saints will be complete, on the day of general retribution; for this reason, Compline signifies joy. It is also called Compline because in that Office, communal conversation is completed, and food and drink and other things that are necessary for the sustenance of the body are consumed; and accordingly, Compline signifies the end of this present life. 2. Fittingly, this Office begins, contrary to the custom of the other Offices: “Convert us,”a  etc. Since we apply ourselves to Psalmody the whole day, and given that it is almost impossible for us not to have contracted some sort of dust of pride,b and also, because we always stray, according to this text: I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost (Ps 118:176), so it is, that humbling ourselves, we say: “Convert us,” etc. Besides, anyone, however perfect and good Converte nos (Ps 84:5); the full text is: Converte nos, Deus, salutaris noster, “Convert us, O God, our Savior.” b  The word play of the original, as it relates to Durand’s exegetical point, is hard to preserve in translation. He says, literally, that we “tread” or “walk” in psalmody all day [tota die psalmodie insistimus]; thus, it is almost impossible not to pick up the “dust of pride [pulverem superbie].” a 

200

V, 10

he is, ought to esteem himself imperfect and foolish,a according to this text: The just man is his own accuser (Prov 18:17); therefore, the priest says: “Convert us,” etc., indicating in these words that he is perverse: “Indeed, it is a habit of good minds to acknowledge a fault where there is no fault;” b for: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 Jn 1:8). As a consequence, this is why we invoke divine assistance, saying: “O God, come to my assistance,”c etc., so that “Convert us” refers to the removal of previous sins, and “O God, come to my assistance,” to the performance of good works in the future, since without the assistance of God, we are not able to do any sort of good. But since everything ought to be done to the praise of the Trinity, therefore, “Glory to the Father”d follows. To continue, beginning with: “Convert us, O God, our Savior,” we pray that He will convert us from evil and avert His anger from us; and since our merits do not suffice, we ask His assistance, saying: “O God, come to my assistance.” 3. Four Psalms are said to obtain remission of the sins that we commit while we are in this body, composed of the four elements and the four humors or temperaments; or, we fortify the body, composed from these elements, against the phantasms of the night, and we commend ourselves to God; therefore, this is also said then: “Into your hands,”e etc., and “Keep us,” f etc. De pen. D.2 c.40, Friedberg 1: 1202–1203. D.5 c.4, Friedberg 1:9. In the Decretum of Gratian, from which this passage is derived, the text is presented as an authentic letter of Gregory the Great. It is known as the Libellum responsionum, or the “booklet of response,” as the English Church historian Bede named it in his Ecclesiastical History. Purporting to be a response to questions posed by Augustine, archbishop of Canterbury, the text dates from around 600, but its authenticity has sometimes been questioned. The most recent consensus is that it was probably written by Gregory  I. A  critical edition of the text can be found in: Registrum Epist., 11.56a, MGH, Epistolarum tomus 1, edited by P. Ewald and L. M. Hartmann (Berlin: Weidmann, 1891), 339. c  Deus in adiutorium meum intende. d  Gloria Patri. e  In manus tuas (Ps 30:6). The full text is: In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” f  Custodi nos (Ps 16:8). The full text is: Custodi nos, Domine, ut pupillam oculi, “Keep us, O Lord, as the pupil of your eye.” It is also translated as “apple of your eye.” a 

b 

201

Rationale

113

And the Church begins from a voice of perfection, saying: When I called upon him, God heard me (Ps 4:2), for this only applies to the perfected. But since the perfected ought to esteem themselves as being imperfect, following Job: Although I might be simple, my soul is ignorant of it (Job 9:21), therefore, in the same Psalm this follows: Have mercy on me—that is, O  Lord—and hear my prayer (Ps 4:2), which is said by those who are imperfect. Afterwards, with other admonitions for doing good, in the same Psalm, mention is made of eternal peace: In peace itself (Ps 4:9); that is, the peace that is invariable; a peace that we must always have in mind; while the body ought to rest in bed, the mind especially ought to have rest in God. It ought also to rest in hope; thus the second Psalm follows: In you, O Lord, have I hoped (Ps 40:2). 4. But because there is no hope without fear, for otherwise, it would be presumption, therefore, a third Psalm of temptation follows: He that dwells, etc. (Ps 90:1), in which God promises to free the Church. The Devil is like some thief prowling the night, and therefore, when night is falling, the Church says this Psalm against nocturnal temptations. This Psalm is said so that we are freed from four nocturnal temptations; namely: The terror of the night; the arrow that flies by day; the troubles that wander in the darkness; invasion and the midday demon (Ps 90:5–6); that is, from attack by a demon. The first temptation is light and hidden; the second is light and manifest; the third is heavy and hidden; the fourth is heavy and manifest. In the fourth Psalm: namely, Behold, bless the Lord now (Ps 133), the Church blesses God for its freedom from nocturnal temptation here: In the nights, lift up your hands to the sanctuary, and bless the Lord (Ps 133:2). Augustinea says, commenting on this Psalm: “Night is a thing of sadness; the daytime is joyful.” Therefore, night time is understood as a time of adversity; daytime, prosperity; in adversity, the Lord must be blessed, just as in prosperity, following the example of Job, who, having lost his sons and all his possessions, said: The Lord gave, etc., Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). Thus, this is said here: Bless the Lord (Ps 133:1). a 

Augustine, Enarrat. in Psalmos, Ps 133:2, CCSL 40: 1936.

202

V, 10

5. But it can be asked: why is it that only six verses of this Psalm are said: In you, O Lord, have I hoped (Ps 30)? The response is: because when the Lord said the sixth verse: namely, Into your hands, etc. (Ps 30:6), the Lord died in the flesh in the sixth age of the world, on the sixth day, as will be discussed later. Therefore, we rightly sing only six verses of the same Psalm at Compline, so that in this sixth age, in which we were redeemed by Him—just as is found in the final verse: You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth (Ps 30:6)—we conform to His dormition, so that the members have rest and the heart keeps watch, just as His flesh had rest in the tomb and His Divinity kept watch. 6. It should also be noted that in some churches the hymn is sung immediately after the Psalms, perhaps for the reason that through good works, one arrives at exultation, having in the meantime passed all purgation, as those who have been purged pass from this life; another reason will be given. And thus, they first say the hymn before the little chapter, to show mystically that those in whom were completed the things signified by the preceding praises, or those who are perfected, who are signified by Compline, arrive at the exhortation, which is signified by the little chapter. Nevertheless, they do not omit the little chapter, because here exhortation is always useful for persevering in good, because: “It does no harm to spur a galloping horse.”a In other churches, between the Psalms and the hymn they insert an antiphon, or an Alleluia for an antiphon, following the order of Blessed Ignatius,b who was discussed in the prologue.c But in other churches, immediately after the Psalms and the antiphon, or the Alleluia, the lesson follows or the little chapter, with the Responsory: “Into your hands,”d  etc., or another one, since, as they say, a lesson should be said in every Office.

Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto, 2.6.35. A. L. Wheeler, ed., Ovid, With an English Translation. Tristia, Ex Ponto (Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 1924), 348. b  Cassiodorus, Historia eccles. tripart., 10.9, CSEL 71: 596. c  Rationale, 5.2.26. d  In manus tuas (Ps 30:6). a 

203

114

Rationale

115

Afterwards, they add the hymn: “To you before the close of day,”a in which they ask to be protected from all nocturnal tribulations. But others do not say the lesson, as was stated in the prologue of this part,b but immediately after the Psalms, they say a versicle: as much because the time for sleep is not suited to instruction, as for the fact that after Compline, not only must one not go back again for food or drink, but also for instruction, which is signified by the lesson. This is why Blessed Benedictc decreed that no one should speak after Compline. This little chapter is also said: You are in our midst, O Lord (Jer 14:9), Jeremiah, chapter 14. In this Office, the regular clergyd place the lesson before everything else, saying: Brothers, be sober, etc. (1 Petr 5:8–9), so that they not seem to surpass the order of Ezra (cf. Ezra 9:3),e also representing in this Mary Magdalene, about whom the Lord said: She has anointed my body beforehand to prepare it for burial (Mk 14:8); that is, she did what she would have done if I were already dead, if she were allowed. Here too, it is as if this lesson anoints, rendering attentive souls to be watchful before the commendation to sleep. 7. After the hymn, this versicle is added: “Keep us, O Lord,”f or another which notes the effect of the whole Office: for the versicle asks for the protection of the Lord against the perils of the night. And it is said with a high voice [acuta voce], and with a melisma [neuma]g from which, roused and made mindful of the ineffable joy that will be the wages of our labor, we sing the Canticle of Simeon: Now dismiss, etc. (Lk 2:29–32), which is Luke, chapter 2. First, so that with Simeon’s example, finding peace, we will merit to see the light which is Christ. Second, we sing that Canticle because just as Saint Simeon, longing to pass from this life Te lucis ante terminum. Hymn for Compline; RH 20138, Chevalier 2: 646. Rationale, 5.2.43 sq. c  Reg. Ben., c. 42.1, SC 182: 584. d  Durand contrasts the cathedral or diocesan clergy with the various monastic religious orders that are cloistered. Cf. Reg. Ben., c. 18.9, SC 182: 529. e  Durand’s cryptic reference is explained in Rationale, 5.1.2 sq, and 5.2.50–51. f  Custodi nos (Ps 16:8). g  See Rationale, 5.2.32 for a definition of this complex term. a 

b 

204

V, 10

to the next sang it, so too must we sing it when we sleep, as if we are about to die, because sleep is the image of death; we sing it so that through it, we commend ourselves to the Lord. Third, for the reason written under the heading, On Vespers.a Fourth, because this Canticle refers to either coming [of Christ]. Thus, we rightly say it, so that we are drawn to its promises and we take repose from our vices. 8. It should also be considered that while there are seven parts in the other hours: namely, a verse with “Glory to the Father,” a hymn, Psalm, lesson, chant, request, and a prayer,b nevertheless, at three other hours—namely, at Matins, Vespers and Compline— an eighth is added: a Gospel Canticle, since these three hours pertain to an octave; that is, the Lord’s Resurrection. For in the morning, He rose again; at Vespers, He revealed Himself to the disciples; at Compline, He said to the disciples: Peace to you (Jn 20:19). For that reason, the hymn, which is an example of joy, follows the Psalms, so that it will continue with the Gospel of grace. The Gospel of grace in this Office is the Canticle of Simeon: namely, Now dismiss, etc. (Lk 2:29–32), in which we ask for eternal peace, so that just as Simeon, longing to pass after he saw Christ, asked to be dismissed, so too we, after seeing the light of faith, will arrive at the splendor of hope, where there will be eternal peace. 9. Consequently, the Lord’s Prayer and the prayers [preces] are said, with which we fortify ourselves against the phantasms of the night. The Creed is also added, which contains our profession of faith, so that if by chance death befalls us, we will die with a confession of the faith. In some churches, there is also a general confession, just as at Prime: with an alternating confession, in turn, we cleanse ourselves, according to this text: Confess your sins to one another (Jas 5:16), for there is no rest in our time, until we at last arrive at the place in which the Lord dwells. a  b 

Rationale, 5.9.4 sq. Durand draws a distinction here between preces and an oratio.

205

116

Rationale

117

Therefore, this Office is completed with requests and a prayer, following the Apostle: Pray one for another, that you may be saved (Jas 5:16). To continue, the prayers mystically signify humility, which ought to be at the end [of the Office], just as it is necessary at its beginning; and to signify this, this service is begun with the most humble voice: so too, in the completion of the same Office, humility must be shown against pride, into which all who labor in iniquity have fallen. After the prayers, our pastor or priest, commending his flock to God, says the Collect. This is why, after this Office, it is not suitable for anything else to be done, unless it pertains to rest. 10. And give heed to the fact that we do not omit the Apostles’ Creed at Prime and at Compline, because we begin and conclude all of our works in the name of Him, in whom we believe. Similarly, at either Office, we add the confession and Have mercy on me, O God (Ps 50:3), so that however we sin at night or however we fail during the day, we are washed by our confession and penitence, fulfilling this text: Confess your sins to one another (Jas 5:16). These things also reflect what was done in the past; on the day of his duty, the priest [of the Temple] used to offer a measure of flour: half in the morning and half in the afternoon; but our sacrifice is a spirit of humility (cf. Ps 50:19). 11. Finally,a it must be noted that all Offices during the day, when it comes to the Psalms, are invariable; but the night Offices are variable, for a reason. For the night is understood as reflecting this world, which is variable; the day is understood as the eternal realm, which is invariable, about which it is written: By your ordinance, the day perseveres (Ps 118:91). The word “perseveres” is truer in the singular form than the plural, “they persevere,” even though the latter form is pronounced in common. In certain churches, this Office is also invariable, when it comes to the hymn, as was stated under the heading, On Prime.b Also, it is invariable when it comes to the Psalms, lesson, prayers a  There are substantial textual differences between the first and second redaction of the Latin text in this and the following paragraph (12). I have followed the majority reading of the manuscripts of the second redaction. b  Rationale, 5.5.6.

206

V, 10

and Collect, in the manner of a solemnity of a Saint, just as the Office of Prime is not altered. The reason for this is that this Office is about peace, especially that peace for which we hope, which, as was previously said, is invariable. This is the case except on Sundays, when they say these five Psalms at Prime: namely, O God, my God, look upon me (Ps 21), and the ones that follow, and the Psalm: Confess [to the Lord] (Ps 117), as was stated in that place. 12. But why are those five Psalms placed at Prime and the verse, “Into your hands, O  Lord,”a  etc., at Compline instead of at the other hours? I respond: Christ, to whom we sing in these hours, who is the beginning and the end (cf. Rev. 1:8), hanging on the cross began to recite, as we read, this Psalm: O God, my God (Ps 21; cf. Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34), and all of the Psalms that follow, in order, up to this verse: Into your hands I commend my spirit (Ps 30:6),b and He finished there and gave up His spirit. Therefore, we who are placed in the midst of the passions of this world, in imitation of Him at the hour of Prime, which is the start of the hours of the day, and not elsewhere, rightly recite those five Psalms. And at Compline, according to another interpretation, which is the end or the final hour of the day, we ought to say that verse. That this Office pertains to the final hour of the day is made clear with this interpretation. Now at Prime, we say four groups of eighteen verses in the Psalms: we say two for the first, two for the second hour. At Terce, six: two for the third, two for the fourth and two for the fifth hour. At Sext, six: two for the sixth, two for the seventh and two for the eighth hour. And at None, six: two for the ninth, two for the tenth and two for the eleventh hour. A  final hour remains: namely, the twelfth hour, to which Compline pertains, which is noted by the hymn: “To you before the close of day.”c We combine the aforesaid eighteen verses if we observe the two precepts of charity; we make eleven combinations so that, for as many hours of the day in which we fail, we offer one to the In manus tuas Domine (Ps 30:6). I have included this verse, which is missing in the text of the second redaction but found in the first. Otherwise, this passage would make no sense. c  Te lucis ante terminum. Hymn for Compline; RH 20138, Chevalier 2: 646. a 

b   

207

118

Rationale

Lord of the Law and two to the Lord of charity. For the first hour: Blessed are the undefiled, etc. (Ps 118:1); for the second: Repay your servant (Ps 118:17); for the third: Set the law before me (Ps 118:33); for the fourth: Be mindful (Ps 118:49); for the fifth: Teach me goodness (Ps 118:66); for the sixth: My soul has faltered (Ps 118:81); for the seventh: How have I loved? (Ps 118:97); for the eighth: I have hated the iniquitous (Ps 118:113); for the ninth: Your testimonies (Ps 118:129); for the tenth: I cried out (Ps 118:145); for the eleventh: The leaders (118:161). Therefore, there are eleven combinations for the correction of eleven hours of transgressions; and in each group of eight verses, something from the Law of the Lord is remembered, because through the Law the vine is cultivated and the coin of eternity is acquired. There are also twenty-two sets of eight said through the hours of the day, for the reason given under the heading, On Prime.a And they are said two by two; and thus doubled, they make eleven. 13. The number eleven signifies a transgression, just as tenb signifies perfection. Therefore they are said to equal eleven, so that through those things that are said in these verses, He will relieve us from our transgression of His Commandments.

Rationale, 5.5.4 sq. There is a play on words here with the previous lines. Durand refers to the acquisition of the “coin of eternity [denarius eternitatis]” in the penultimate line of the previous paragraph. Here he says that ten signifies perfection [sicut denarius perfectionem]. a 

b 

208

INDEXES

INDEX OF BIBLICAL CITATIONS

Genesis 1:5 9:13 22:18 25:27 28:17 46:2 48:13-15 48:16

10:36 21:9

154 195 195 120 77 80 76 76

Exodus 3:18 12:29 14:15 15:1-18 15:1 15:25 17:8-11 23:19 25:40 26:1 30:6-8 38:13

137 120 163 158 153 77 92 115 63 126 194 109

Leviticus 23:32

119

Numbers 10:35

74

Deuteronomy 17:20 28:66 32:1-18

157 76 160

Judges 5:1

153

1 Samuel 2:1-10 2:1

158 158

1 Kings 7:3 8:28 8:54

94 111 178

2 Kings 1:8 6:6

141 77

3 Kings 8:54

99

2 Chronicles 32:12

211

95 76

110

Index of Biblical Citations

Ezra 9:3

Tobit 12:12

111

Job 1:21 9:21

202 202

Psalms 1 1:3 2 2:2 2:7 3 3:6 4 4:2 4:9 5 5:1 5:3 5:4 5:5 5:8 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13:7 14 15 16 16:8 16:15 17

17:29 18 18:13 18:13-14 18:15 19 20 20:14 21 22:1-2 25:11 26:9 28:2 29:6 30 30:6 32:3 32:22 33:2 33:4 33:9 33:12 40:2 40:5 42 42:2 42:3 43:26 44 44:3 44:15 44:17 46:2 47 47:10 48:6 48:19 49:16 50

64, 103, 191, 204

132 132 93, 132 93 93 132, 138 138 132 202 202 132, 152, 155, 156 156 155 154, 155 156 110 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 133 133 133 133 201, 204 162 133

50:3 50:11 50:12

212

96 134 188 98 134 134 134 96 168, 169, 207 98, 186 188, 189 96, 182 110 192 203 201, 203, 207 83, 115, 117 176, 182 113, 184, 186, 189 100 160 74, 126 202 97, 182, 189 152, 155, 157 157 154, 155 97 93 93 93 93 91 93 93 87 112 112, 124, 174 151, 152, 174, 176, 177, 183 206 174, 175 174, 175

Index of Biblical Citations

50:13 50:19 53 53:3 58:16 60:9 61:3 62 62:2 62:7 62:7-8 63:7-8 64 64:1 64:4 64:6 64:9 64:12 66 66:3 66:4 67:5 67:27 70:8 80:11 84:5 84:8 85:16 87:14 88:16 89 89:1 89:6 89:13 89:14 89:16 89:17 90:1 90:5-6 91 91:1

91:3 91:4 91:11 92

175 206 166, 167, 168, 169 185 112 91, 176 182 146, 148, 149, 154 143, 146, 150 144, 162 146 113 153, 155, 157 158 158 176 154, 155 158 140, 146, 148, 149, 150 140, 150 150 172 110 174 124 176, 200 182 78 173 88 153, 155, 158 153, 158 154, 155 183 161 171, 180 180 202 202 153, 155, 160 153, 160

92:1 94 94:3 94:6-7 94:8 94:11 96:8 99 99:4 103:1 112:4 113:9 115:5 117 117:23 118 118:1-8 118:1 118:1-176 118:1-16 118:5 118:9-16 118:17-24 118:17 118:25-32 118:33 118:36 118:37 118:49 118:55 118:62 118:66 118:76 118:81-88 118:89 118:91 118:97

213

155, 160 160 149 146, 147, 151, 152, 168 146 126, 127 126 110 126 126 127 146, 148, 150, 152 146 174, 176 144 95 179, 198 152, 168, 169, 207 168 181, 185, 188 167 208 167 166, 167, 168, 169 185 167 166, 167, 169 185, 208 167 167, 185, 208 189 189 208 96 64, 96, 121 208 175 184 189 206 185, 208

Index of Biblical Citations

118:113 118:123 118:129 118:143 118:145 118:147 118:157 118:161 118:164 118:175 118:176 119 121:2 122:3 128:3 129:1 131:9 131:11 133 133:1 133:2 137:1-2 138:8 138:16 139:2 140:1 140:2 142 142:1 142:8 143 143:9 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 150:3

Proverbs 3:13 18:17 24:16

208 185 208 188 208 96 188 208 64 173, 175 173, 175, 188, 200 167 92 130 122 174 183 195 202 202 202 111 109 99, 113 175 189 98, 143, 163, 194, 195 153, 155, 148 158 155 193 91 193 193 193 193 145, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151, 154 149 149 116, 117

Ecclesiastes 9:17

214

87 201 65

92

Song of Songs 1:3 1:6 2:5 5:8 6:3 6:11

178 182 185 184 77 139

Wisdom 9:15 14:7 16:12 16:28 18:14 18:15

63 77 181 109 120 120

Sirach 15:9 31:1 38:25 47:10-11

124, 174 121 92 115

Isaiah 6:2 9:1 9:6 9:21 11:10 11:12 12:1 12:2 26:19 31:9 32:17 38:10-20

141 102 77 102 156 156 156 156 143 86 92 157

Index of Biblical Citations

38:11 38:12 38:19 40:12 45:22 58:1 62:6

157 157 157 77 102 126 63

Jeremiah 9:21 14:9 17:14 23:24

192 204 181 109

Ezekiel 1:8 9:2 9:4 9:5 40:31

87 76 76 77 94

Daniel 3:57-88, 56 6:10

113, 145, 146, 148, 153, 159 67

Hosea 14:2

102

Joel 3:2 Habakkuk 3:4 Zechariah 6:12 Matthew 5:3-12 6:6 6:12 6:33

9:15 13:8 14:22-23 15:8 20:1-16 23:3 25:4 25:26-28 25:34 26:26-29 26:39 27:45 27:46 27:51-53 28:6 28:18

159 117 142 112 139 112 197 106 155 191 177 76 187, 207 187 79 159

Mark 1:6 7:6 14:8 14:22-25 14:24 14:35 15:34 15:25 16:9

141 112 204 181 112 177 207 181 142

Luke 1:18-20 1:28 1:43 1:46-55

77

159 1:46 1:48 1:49-50 1:50 1:52 1:53 1:54 1:68-79

109

172 111 140, 174 155

215

164 90 196 144, 162, 163, 193, 195 196 163, 198 197 196 163, 196 196 163, 195 144, 145, 161, 162, 163, 195

Index of Biblical Citations

1:69 1:73 1:75 1:78 1:79 2:8 2:22-40 2:29-32 2:33 2:41-42 3:9 6:20-22 8:5-7 10:2 12:38 13:7 13:8 15:8 15:9 22:13-20 23:34 24:5 24:13-32 24:36 24:41 24:44 24:52-53

163 162 162 109 109 122 93 163, 204, 205 178 177 135 172 129 128 136 135 135 137 137 191 177 178 191 67 165 76 165

John 2:15 2:19 3:14-15 4:20-23 4:23 10:18 10:38 12:32 13:1-17 13:34 14:6 15:4 15:5 16:28 19:33-34

165 93 76 111 112 159 112 80 191 86 112 124 74, 75 78 187

20:19 20:21

216

179, 205 179

Acts of the Apostles 1:1 2:5 2:15 2:41 3:1 4:4 4:32 10:13 13:27 13:46 13:48 16:25-26

166 156 181 156 188 157 125 188 117 157 127 120

Romans 5:5 8:34 10:10 10:14 10:15 12:1 12:2 12:4 13:12-13

182 177 173 129 101 182 186 190 161

1 Corinthians 1:10 2:9 3:11 10:11 10:31 13:4 15:41

106 188 147 191 113 145 198

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 6:1 12:7 12:8 12:9

194 103 188 188 188

Index of Biblical Citations

Galatians 1:3 3:20 4:26 5:17 6:2 Ephesians 3:14 4:26 5:8 5:19 6:12

178 140 161 84, 162 122

Philippians 2:10 4:13

99, 178 186

Colossians 3:17

75

1 Thessalonians 4:15 4:17 5:17 5:19

129 129 113 190

2 Thessalonians 3:5

194

1 Timothy 1:5 2:1 2:2 2:8

Hebrews 1:9 11:6 11:37

170 135 63 122 186

James 1:5 2:26 5:16

128 128 205, 206

1 Peter 5:5 5:8-9

196 204

1 John 1:8 2:15-16 4:19

201 122 86

Revelation 1:8 1:15 4:8 7:2-3 7:9 7:12 14:13 21:2 21:16 22:20

112 174, 182 182, 183 111

217

172 173 141

74, 124, 166, 207 148 63 77 90, 198 161 102 77 131 126

INDEX OF SOURCES

Amalarius of Metz Codex expositionis 2.7.281

(Ps.-)Augustine In natali S. Stephani protomartyris Sermo 210.3 198

Ambrose De Isaac vel anima 5.48167

Basil De Spiritu Sancto 27.66

Augustine Ad inquisitiones Ianuarii Ep 54.2 118 Confessionum libri XIII 9.7.1584 Contra Maximinum Arian. Episcop. 1.1382 De civitate Dei 5.1282 De cura pro mortuis gerenda c.2-4102 c.18102 De sententia Iacobi Apost. Ep 167.4 131 Enarrationes in Psalmos Ps 18:13 189 Ps 50:13 101 Ps 72:1 84 Ps 91:5 160 Ps 118:29.3 96 Ps 133:2 202 Enchiridion ad Laurentium c.19173

Bede Hom II in Festo Visit. Beatae Mariae 196 In Lucae Evang. expositio 2.4.16 160, 161 Bernard of Clairvaux Super Cantica Canticorum Sermo 13.7

77, 110

67

Burchardus of Worms Decretum 8.87105 Cassiodorus Historia eccles. tripartita 10.9 85, 92, 203 Cicero De inventione 2.5582

218

Index of Sources

6.19.11153 6.19.1782 7.10.168 8.11.5668 15.1.5157

Gregory the Great Moralia in Iob 3.43107 23.51188 Registrum Epistularum 11.56a  201

Jacob of Voragine Legenda Aurea c.46.1871 c.181.4 70, 81, 84 c.182 75, 109, 116

Hincmar of Rheims De predestinatione c.29138 Honorius Augustodunensis Sacramentarium De S. Nicol. 

Jerome Ad Damasum Ep. 47 70, 80 Comment. in Danielem 2.6.1067 Comment. in Evang. Matthaei 4.25.6120 Liber interpret. Hebr. Nom. 2 Reg. litt. S  157 Liber Psalmorum Ps 23 186

65

Hugh of St. Victor Didascalicon 2.12116 Hugo de Folieto De claustro animae 2.22116 Innocent III In solemn. dedicat. eccles. Sermo 27

John Beleth Summa de ecclesiasticis officiis c.18b  c.18c  c.19a-d  c.20d  c.21f  c.25f  c.26b  c.30e  c.58d  c.69ga  c.161d 

109

Isidore of Seville De ecclesiasticis officiis 1.684 1.7 85, 87 1.8106 Etymologiae 1.39.296 1.39.1782 3.20.7117 3.22.7153 5.30.14143 6.16.164 6.19.169 6.19.264 6.19.3 143, 144, 192, 197 6.19.585 6.19.787 6.19.8 106, 136 6.19.998 6.19.11-12117

69 69 70 122 136 100 102 100 85 90 102

John Damsacene De fide orthodoxa 4.12109 Landulf the Elder Historia Mediolanensis 2.10-1471

219

Index of Sources

Liber Pontificalis c.39 70, 80 c.4570 c.51 70, 82 c.61108 c.16068

4.56-58196 4.8696 4.109159 Regula Sancti Benedicti c.9-11138 c.13.2140 c.13.12-14140 c.18.175 c.18.9204 c.42.1204

Lothario of Segni De miseria humane conditionis 1.690 Lupus of Olmeto Reg. monachorum ex Script. ­Hieronymi c.1493

Rupertz of Deutz Liber de divinis officiis 1.13101 Sacramentarium, Supplementum Anianse Sp 1022a  142

Ordinarium of Innocent III Ord. Miss.  115, 120, 143 Ordines Romani OR 19.36

Sicardus of Cremona. Mitrale seu de ecclesiasticis officiis summa 4.1 85, 123 4.2101,138 4.365 4.6168 4.7116 4.8191 4.10107

71, 115

Origen Hom. in Lucam 17.3177 In Exodum hom. 6.1381 Ovid Epist. ex Ponto 2.6.35203 Petrus Comestor Historia Scholastica Evang. c.3

Thomas Aquinas In Aristotelis libros Peri Hermeneias Expositio 2, Lect. 4.109 89 Summa Theologiae 2.2, qu 132.1.3 82

163

Praepositinus of Cremona Tractatus de officiis 2.1120 4.12-13100 4.32182 4.39186 4.40189 4.41189

Venantius Fortunatus Pange lingua gloriosi 

187

William of Auxerre Summa de officiis ecclesiasticis Bk 1 83, 174

220

INDEX OF LEGAL SOURCES

Corpus Iuris Canonici D.5 c.4 D.5 c.15 D.11 c.5 D.12 c.11 D.12 c.14 C.23 q.3 c.39 De pen. D.2 c.40

De cons. D.1 c.54 De cons. D.5 c.10 De cons. D.5 c.13 De cons. D.5 c.14 De cons. D.5 c.25

201 137 77, 110 118 117

82 75 82, 103, 171 73 93

X 3.41.1

64

Corpus Iuris Civilis Cod. 1.3.24

70

78 201

221

INDEX OF LITURGICAL TEXTS

Deo gratias 74, 101, 113, 125 Deus in adiutorium meum intende 74, 125, 138, 144,  165, 180, 201 Dignare Domine die ista sine peccato nos custodire 174, 176, 180 Dirigatur Domine 98, 194 Dirigere dignare Domine 180 Domine ad adiuvandum me festina 125, 144 Domine averte faciem 175 Domine labia mea aperies 75, 124, 138 Dominus det nobis suam pacem 74 Dominus regit me 98, 186 Dominus vobiscum 108

Ab occultis meis 98 Ad confitendum nomini tuo 96 Adiutor meus esto Domine 97, 182 Agnus Dei 79 Alleluia, Angelus Domini 91 Alleluia, Pascha nostra 90 Alleluia, Te decet 90 Ars ut artem falleret 187 Ave Maria 73 Ave Maris Stella 90 Averte oculos 189 Beati qui in Domino moriuntur 102 Benedic anima mea 174, 176 Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore 184, 189 Benedicamus Domino 113, 179 Benedicite 145 Benedictionem perpetuam 99 Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel 79,  87, 144, 145,  161, 194, 195

Ego dixi Domine 97, 182 Eripe me Domine 175 Erravi sicut ovis 173 Et cum spiritu tuo 179 Et dirige filios eorum 180 Et omnes iniquitates meas dele 175 Et opus manuum nostrarum dirige 180 Et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam 125 Exaltare Domine 96 Exaudi nos Deus salutaris noster 176 Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus 144 Exurge Christe 97

Christe Filii Dei vivi 170 Clamavi 189 Convertere Domine usquoque 183 Converte nos Deus salutaris noster 75, 176, 200 Cor mundum crea in me Deus 174, 175 Credo in unum Deum 169, 173 Custodi nos 201, 204

222

Index of Liturgical Texts

Fiat misericordia tua

Pretiosa in conspectu Preveni in maturitate

176, 182

Gloria Patri Hec dicit Dominus

80, 81

Quere servum tuum quia mandata tua 175 Quicumque vult 166 Quoniam tu illumines 96

102

Iam lucis orto sidere 165 In eternum Domine 189 In manus tuas 201, 203, 207 In matutinis meditabor in te 144 Inclina cor meum 189 Introite portas eius in  confessione 146 Iube dompne benedicere 99, 100

Redde michi letitiam salutaris tui Redime me Domine Regularibus disciplinis Repleatur os meum laude Repleti sumus mane misericordia tua Requiem eternum Respice Domine in servos tuos

Jerusalem Jerusalem convertere 102 Kyrie eleison

Magnificat 79, 87, 120, 144,  162, 193, 195, 197 Magnificate Dominum 100 Media nocte surgebam 96 Memor fui nocte 96 Ne derelinquas me 182 Ne proicias me a facie tua 175 Neque despicias me 182 Non sit vobis vanum mane surgere 143 Nunc dimittis 79, 163, 204, 205 Nunc Sancte nobis 181 100 183 183 182

Pange lingua gloriosi Pater Noster Per passionem tuam libera nos Domine Per singulos dies

187 73

175 189 105 174 161 94 180

Sacerdotes tui induantur 183 Sacrificium vespertinum 194 Salvum fac populum tuum 183 Salvum fac regem 183 Sana animam meam 181, 189 Sanctorum meritis 88 Sanctus 79 Sanctus Deus, Sanctus fortis 176 Sic psalmum dicam nomini tuo 176 Sicut erat in principio 81

89, 171

Ora pro nobis pie Pater Oremus pro fidelibus defunctis Oremus pro pontifice nostro Ostende nobis Domine

179 96

Te decet laus 139 Te Deum laudamus 121, 130, 134,  137, 138, 174, 176 Te Dominum confitemur 138 Te eternum Patrem 138 Te lucis 166, 204, 207 Tibi omnes angeli 138 Tu autem Domine 99, 100 Ut reddam vota

174 137

223

176

Veni Redemptor gentium Vespertina oratio

78 98, 194

Vivet anima mea

173, 175

NAME INDEX

Adrian I, Pope, 71 Ambrose, 70, 72, 79, 82, 84, 85, 138, 138, 167 Athanasius of Alexandria, 169 Augustine, 77, 82, 84, 101, 102, 105, 110, 118, 131, 138, 173, 189, 198, 202

Hilary of Poitiers, 132 Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII), 81 Hugh of St. Victor, 116

Bede, 160, 196 Benedict of Nursia, 138, 139, 140, 204 Bernard of Clairvaux, 67, 116 Burchardus of Worms, 105

Jerome, 67, 69, 70, 80, 93 Justina, Empress, 84

Ignatius of Antioch, 85, 92, 203 Isidore of Seville, 64, 69, 86, 106, 144

Maximian, Emperor, 157 Nero, Emperor, 157 Nicholas, St., 65

Celestine I, Pope, 70 Charlemagne, 71 Chrysostom, John, 75 Cicero, Marcus, 82 Constantine I, 157, 158 Constantius II, 169

Origen, 177 Paula, 70 Petrus Comestor (called the Master), 163

Damascene, John, 109, Damasus, Pope, 70, 80, 91 Diocletian, Emperor, 157

Sicardus of Cremona, 116, 191 Stephen I, Pope, 75 Theodosius I, 70, 169

Eugenius, St., 71 Eustochia, 70

Urban II, Pope, 68

Gelasius I, Pope, 70, 82, Gregory I, Pope, 70, 71, 105, 107, 115 Gregory VII, Pope, 81, 137, 188

Vigilius I, Pope, 108

224

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

acuta voce, or “high voice” for singing, 204 alta et acuta voce, or “high and piercing voice” for singing, 95 Agde, Council of, 64, 82, 103, 171 Ambrose: baptism of Augustine, 138; composition of chants, 70, 84, 85; composition of Te Deum, 138; imitation of Greek practices, 72; persecuted by Arians, 84 Ambrosian hymns, origins, 84 Ambrosian Office, 71-72 Antichrist, persecution of, 146, 148, 149-150, 152, 153 antiphon, etymology, 85, 86 Athanasius of Alexandria, composition of his Creed, 169 Augustine: conversion from Manichees and baptism by Ambrose, 138; on the persecution of Ambrose by Justina, 84

Celestine I, Pope, arrangement of Psalms, 70-71 censer, symbolism, 163 chorea, or “choral dance,” 85 collobium, or “short tunic,” 141 cuculla, or “cowling” of monks, 141

Benedict of Nursia, arrangement of the Office, 138, 139, 204

Gelasius I, Pope, arranging prayers and chants, 70, 82 Girona, Council of, 117 Gregorian Missal, more widely observed than Ambrosian, 71 Gregorian Office, imposed by Pope Adrian I, 71 Gregory I, Pope, arranging prayers and chants, 70, 71, 115

Damasus I, Pope, arranging order of the Office, 70, 80, 91 deadly sins, seven, 172 Diocletian and Maximian, persecutors of the Church, 157 dieta, or “regimen,” 136 dulia, or “veneration,” 112 enemies of the Church, four, 122 Eugenius, St., preservation of Ambrosian Office, 71 Eutychians, on the nature of Christ, 78 Eva, or “Eve,” signification of her name, 90

canon, etymology, 64 cantica, or “canticles,” 106 cantilena, or “song,” 87 carmine, or “poetic verses,” 84 Capitular Office, 104

225

Index of Subjects

Nicholas, St., showed the virtue of abstinence, 65 nocturna, or “nocturns,” etymology, 123,

Gregory VII, Pope, arranging Psalms and lessons, 137 Hilary of Poitiers, composition of poetic verses, 84 Hildebrand, prior of Cluny, condemnation of a simonist bishop, 81 Hugh of St. Victor, on the three forms of sound, 116 hymn, definition and etymology, 82-83

officium, or “office,” etymology, 69 Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 68 Office of the Dead, 102, 127, 198 Office of Epiphany, 127 prayer towards the east, 109-110 pronunciatio, or “spoken proclamation,” 98 Psalm, definition and etymology, 83, 116-117 Psalms, Fifteen Gradual, etymology and origins, 94 Psalter, defined as “book of hymns,” 83

Ignatius of Antioch, angelic origins of antiphons, 85, 203 incense, symbolism ,163-164, 194195 iubilus, definition, 88, 89, 151 Jacobites, on the nature of Christ, 78 Jerome, arranging order of the Office, 67, 70, 80 John Damascene, on why Christians pray towards the east, 109-110 Justina, Empress, persecution of Ambrose, 84

Responsories, etymology, 106, 136 Saturday in Albs, 137 Septuagesima, 144, 145, 152, 168, 170 simphoniam antiphone, or the “tone of the antiphon,” 91 species sonorum, or “forms of sound,” 116 Stella maris, or “star of the sea” as title for the Virgin Mary, 197

Laudes, or “Lauds,” etymology, 143, 144 latria, or “adoration,” 112 lectiuncule, or “little lessons,” 103 Lucifer, as name for the morning star, 142

Te Deum laudamus, composed by Ambrose and Augustine, 138 Theodosius I, eradication of heretics, 70, 169 Toledo, Council of, 82, 117 transmontana, or star “from beyond the mountains,” 68

Mainz, Council of, 105 Matutinus, or “Matins,” etymology, 143 modulos, or “modes,”

Urban II, Pope, instituted Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 68

Nero, persecutor of the Church, 157 neuma, definition, 88, 89, 90, 204 neumatizando, or “neumatizing,” 88

versus, or “verse,” etymology, 95-96 Vespers, etymology, 64, 98, 143, 191, 192, 196-197

226

Index of Subjects

vox significativa, or a “voice that signifies,” 89

vespertina synaxis, or “evening prayer time,” 191 Vigilia, or “Vigil,” etymology, 121, 123 virtues, four cardinal, 131 vox non significativa, or a “voice that does not signify,” 89 vox reciproca, or “reciprocal voice” of the antiphon, 86

works of mercy, six corporal, 87, 136, 139 Zion, etymology, 157

227