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.

    1074/1096 (page 1054)
    into Ordinary Sundays: Dgminigae communes, r. per annum. Martene, de Ant. Mon. rit. iv. § 4, from the statutes of Lanfranc, says, *• Quinque dies Dominici sunt, qui communia quaedam inter se habent separata a caeteris diebus Dominicis, Dominica vid. prima de Adventu Domini, Dominica primae Septuagesimae, Domi-, nica prima Quadragesimae, Dominica in medio Quadragesimae, Dominica in' Palmis.” He then proceeds to specify certain ritual peculiarities of those days mainly relating to the dress of the clergy, and the performance of the office in choir.® In this classification Easter day and Pentecost have already been reckoned among the “ quinque praecipuae festivitates.” Another classification given by Durandus [vii. 1-4] defines Dominicae principales v. so- lemnes to be those “ in quibus officia mutantur,” of which he reckons five. Dominica prima de Adventu, Dominica in Octavis Pascha, Dominica in Octavis Pentecostes, Dominica qua cantatur Laetare Hierusalem [sc. Midlent Sunday] et Dominica in Ramis Palmarum; Easter and Pentecost being as before otherwise accounted for. To these the first Sunday in Lent was afterwards added, “ quia fit officii in ea mutatio.” The later Roman arrangement, which is still in force, subdivides the greater Sundays, Domi- nicae majores, into two classes: (1) Sundays of the first class, Dominicae primae classis, viz. the first Sunday in Advent, the first Sunday in Lent, Passion Sunday, Palm Sunday, Easter day, Low Sunday, Whitsunday, and Trinity Sunday: and (2) Sundays of the second class, Dominicae secundae classis, viz. the second, third, and fourth Sunday of Advent, Septuagesima and the two following Sundays, and the second, third and fourth Sundays in Lent. The other Sundays in the year are ordinary Sundays, Dominicae per annum. The Ambrosian rule classifies Sundays accord- ing to their office, as follows:—Easter day, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday are reckoned among the Sokmnitates Domini, the highest class of festivals. The other Sundays are divided into two classes—(1) those which have a proper office, and (2) those w'hich have the ordinary Sunday office. Those which have a proper office—officium propriurn—are the Sundays in Advent, those in Lent, and the Sunday after the Nativity. The Sundays between Easter and Pentecost have the Paschal office—Paschale ofiicium—which has certain ritual peculiarities, and the Sundays from the Epiphany to the beginning of Lent have a mixed office, ojfficium partim propriurn, partim commune. The Sundays from the second after Pentecost to Advent have the ordinary office (officium commune'). The classification of Sundays in the Greek calendar is not so minute. Easter day stands in a class by itself, at the head of all tise festivals of the year; and Palm Sunday and Whitsunday are reckoned among the Twelve,'^ which rank next in importance. ® Among other points it is directed that the refectory tables be covt red with clean cloths (festival mappae ; tint et quotidlanae, lotae tamen), and clean towels pro- vided (manutergia Candida et honesta). d Otherwise called fieo-TroriKal v. KvpiaKal eoprai. They Many Sundays were ('and are still) often desig nated by the first word of the introit of the Roman mass. Thus the first five Sundays in Lent are often known by the names, Invocavit,^ Reminiscere. Oculi, Laetare, Judica ; and the four Sundays following Easter as Quasimodo, Miseri- cordia Domini, Jubilate, Cantate. Some again are customarily known by some peculiarity in the celebration. Thus the Sunday next before Easter ^ is known as Palm S inday and Dominica palmarum v. in ramis palmarum, from the Bene- diction of the palm branches, and the subsequent procession which takes place on that day after terce and before mass; and the Sunday after Easter as Dominica in albis, or more fully in alhis depositis, as it is called in the Ambrosian missal; s from its being the day after the Satur- day on which those who had been baptized on Easter eve laid aside their white garments ; or sometimes as Clausum ** Paschae, from its being the conclusion of the Paschal celebration, and the second and following Sundays after Eastei were sometimes called Dominica i* and ii* and post albas, or post clausum Paschae. Other less familiar designations for particular Sundays which are found, are Dominica carnele- vale, de carne levario v. de carne levanda, which would be Quinquagesima Sunday where Lent began on the following Wednesday, and the first Sunday in Lent in the Ambrosian ritual, which begins Lent on that day: Dominica in Quadra- gesima for the first Sunday in Lent, Dominica mediana v. mediante die festo [Miss. Mozar.] for the fourth Sunday in Lent, Dominica Osanna for Palm Sunday, also Pascha floridum from the * flowers which were associated with Palm branches in the office for their benediction. Thus in the Mozarabic missal the office is to be said ad benedicendos flores vel ramos, and in the prayer of the office the clause occurs, “ Hos quoque ramos et flores palmarum . . . hodie tua benedictione sanctifica.” So also in the Vrdo liomanus, “ Dies palmarum, sive florum atque ramorum dicitur ”; also in the Sarum missal the office is called benedictio jiorum ac frondium, and the phrase creatura florum vel frondium, or equivalent ex- pressions frequently recur in it. In the York missal, too, we find the words “ hos palmarum atque florum ramos, etc. ...” Dominica Poga- tionum V. D. ante Litanias for the Sunday before Ascension.* Many other similar names might be adduced, though several would not fall within our limits of time. W' re originally seven in number, and a mystical reason for that number is given from St. Chrysostom. It was aft' rwards increased to twelve. The list at first con- tained Easter Day, which afterwards was placed by itself, and has otherwise slightly varied, the number remaining at twelve. The next or ier of festivals is called aSwieVara, i. e. not of the twelve; but it contains no Sunday. e Thus the rubrics of the Missal speak of Feria ii», etc. post Invocavit, etc. f So termed in the English Prayer Book, sin the Ambro^ian rite the days of Easter week are called Feria ii», iil*, etc. ... in albis, and those in the week next following Feria ii“, iii*, etc. ... post albas. h This expression must not be confounded wijLh Claves Faschae. * It may be noticed .hat several of these terms have established themselves in familiar use in England, though they nowhere appear in the service books, e. g. Midlent Sunday, I aim Sunday, Rogation Sunday.