Volume 1

A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood.

Date:
[between 1890 and 1899?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    1053/1096 (page 1033)
    has tlie prayer, “ Respice propitius ad Roman’mi sive Francoruin benignus iniperium.” Thus the Roman work had been adapted for use in France in the ninth or tenth century, and it is impos- sible to say how far this adaptation extended. We know that there were in the monastery at Centula (St. Richerius near Corbey) in the ninth century, fourteen Gelasian and three Gregorian missals, and thus it was inferred by Thomasius that this manuscript might represent the Gela- sian order. All doubt on the subject was re- moved in the year 1777 by Gerbert, who dis- covered three similar books in the libraries of Switzerland, and the sacramentary, as distinct from the Canon of the Mass, may now un- hesitatingly be described as Gelasian. It con- sists of three books, the prayers for great festi- vals, ordinary holy days, and ordinary Sundays, being arranged separately. Scattered over the work we have the word oratio prefixed to the collect of the day ; the secreta as now in the Roman missal; the 'i'ere dignwa varying with almost every ifestival ; on p. 553 the words infra actionem form a rubric to the Gommuni- cantes, and the Hanc igitur is similarly intro- duced. Then we have post communionem, and ad pofMlurn. Thus the benediction followed the communion. There is no mention anywhere of the use of the Constantinopolitan Creed in the service (perhaps we might scarcely expect such mention), but in the Order for the preparation for Baptism (which had commenced on the Monday in the third week in Lent, on p. 533). after the “ opening of the ears,” the acolyth recited this Creed in the name of the children, and the clause on the Procession ran in Greek, tonectupatros emporeuomenon ”; in Latin, “ ex Patre proce- dentem ” (compare Dr. Heurtley’s Harrnonla Sgm- bolica, p. 158, or the writer’s Creeds, p. ISSL The omission of the clause FiUoque is a further indication of the connexion of this volume with Rome. (62.) But when we come to the canon of the Mass, the ‘‘ Canon actionis ” as it is called, which is to be found in the third book (Muratori, p. 695), we find the words, “diesque nostros iu tua pace disponasand, with the exception I shall mention just now, this canon agrees in every respect with what was deemed in the tenth century to be the Gregorian canon. It will be remembered that the Gregorian canon is also to be found in the “ Missale Francorum ” and the “Missale Gallicanum” of Besancon, although the books in other respects differ from the Roman use. it seems probable, therefore, that the work before us indicates that, although the Gelasian Prefaces etc. were used in some parts of France in the ninth or tenth century, still the directions of Charlemagne had been carried out completely, and the Gregorian canon had re- placed all others.*^ d Some questions on this point seem to be set at rest by observation of the following fact. Ratram. in his letter to the Emperor Charles the Bald on the Body and Blood of our Lord, $ 2, refers to two collects used by the priest in the service of the Mass. Of these collects one is in the Gregorian Sacrament ary, and indeed is used to the present day. Both are contained in that published by Thomasius and Muratori as the “ Gelasian,” and they are found nowhere else. Thus we may conclude that this really was the Gelasian sacramentary as used in France in the ninth century; and that this Gelasian (63.) The exce])tion to which 1 have referred is this. In the prayer Gommunicantes of the Gre- gorian canon the twelve martyrs commemorated w'ere all connected immediately with the church in Rome. In the MS. before us mention is also made (either in the text or margin) of Dionysius, Rusticus, Hilary, Martin, Augustine, Gregory, Jerome, Benedict, Eleutherius. Of these, Hilary and Martin are also named in the Missde Francorum ; and they, with Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory, Jerome, Benedict, in the Bobio or Besan^^on copy. Thus these names carry us down to a period far later than Gelasius. Indeed, at p. 515 we have capyitulum Sancti Gregorii I'apae. (64.) Again, there is here no Memento et dm of those who have “ preceded us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace.” It seems, how'- ever, that this is missing from several important manuscripts of the Gregorian canon (see Daniel, i. 38), and thus the omission cannot be regarded as a point of difference between it and the text before us. The same may be said of the clause. Pro quibus tibi offerimus in the Memento Demine. Thus we have no satisfactory direct evidence of the contents of the canon as left by Gelasius.® But I must mention that, as we have it here, we find that after the Lord’s Prayer and the embo- lismus the Peace was given by the priest, with the usual response; announcements were made of festivals or fasts, and of sick persons to be prayed for ; post haec communicat sacerdos cum Omni populo; fourteen collects are given under the title, “ Post commun.” and as many more under the words, “ Item Benedictiones super populum post communionem.” — There is no account of these benedictions in the brief sum- mary of the Gregorian rite to w'hich I must now proceed. (65.) After these remarks the Gregorian Litur- gy will not detain us long. Muratori speaks of four or five MSS. which were known iu his time ; to these the search of later investigators has added several more, so that Daniel professes to give the various readings in the Urdo and Ganon of nineteen MSS. Of these .several present similar titles : “ Liber sacramentorum de circulo anni expositum a sancto Gregorio Papa Romano editum ex authentico Libro Bibliothecae Cubiculi scriptum.” Muratori thinks (not unreasonably) that this repetition of the same grammatical error indicates that these were all (or, all but one) transcripts of one copy taken from the cubiculum of the custodians of the relics at St. Peter’s. The copy which he uses in his margin, has editus. But, as Muratori says, no one can believe that we have the book as it came from the hand of Gregory. The masses vary in the sevei-al editions; some copies have only nine prefaces; others have many more. The festivals vary; all (as I understand) include a commemoration of St. Gregory himself. Even the account, ■“ Qualiter missa Romana cele- sacramentary continued in use in combination with the Gregorian canon. And it follows that we have no dia- tinc ive copy of the tiue Gelasian canon. ( The jiassage from Kalram may be seen in Gieseler, third period, divi- sion i, $ 14, note 6; and the collects referred to in Muratori, i. 657. 671.) e It would appear that one of Gerbert’s MSS. of the Gelasian sacramentaiy contains two prayers for the faith ■ fill departed; one before, the other after, the consecration [Canon, I. 271.]