medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Offertorium – 21
As we have seen, the Mass for Ash Wednesday is preceded by a service
for the blessing and imposition of ashes. The Mass itself begins with
an introit in the usual way. Its antiphon derives from Wisdom 11 verses
24, 25 and 27:
Misereris omnium, Domine, et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti,
dissimulans peccata hominum propter poenitentiam et parcens illis: quia
tu es Dominus Deus noster.
The psalm-verse is ps. 56 verse 2, actually the first verse of the
psalm:
Miserere mei Deus, miserere mei: quoniam in te confidit anima mea.
This is reprised as the Gradual, with the addition of verse 4 of the
same psalm:
Miserere mei Deus, miserere mei: quoniam in te confidit anima mea.
Misit de caelo et liberavit me, dedit in opprobrium conculcantes me.
The Tract is Psalm 102:10 and Psalm 78:8-9
Domine, non secundum peccata nostra quae fecimus nos: neque secundum
iniquitates nostras retribuas nobis.
Domine, ne memineris iniquitatum nostrarum antiquarum: cito anticipent
nos misericordiae tuae, quia pauperes facti sumus nimis.
The rubric here stipulates: Hic genuflectitur. Why we should genuflect
at this point is not obvious; it is not usual to genuflect during the
Tract. Perhaps it is on account of the invocation of God’s Name, which
occurs in the following verse:
Adjuva nos, Deus salutaris noster: et propter gloriam nominis tui,
Domine, libera nos: et propitius est peccatis nostris, propter nomen
tuum.
The Offertorium, ps. 29:2-3 continues the theme of calling on God for
help:
Exaltabo te, Domine, quoniam suscepisti me, nec delectasti inimicos
meos super me: Domine, clamavi ad te, et sanasti me.
The Communio (psalm 1:2-3) stands apart from the other chants in that
it is not a cry for help, but rather a quiet meditation on God’s law:
Qui meditabitur in lege Domine die ac nocte, dabit fructum suum in
tempore suo.
This is not a direct quotation from the psalm, but an adaptation which
allows us to see how the anitphonist went about selecting and shaping
his material. It may be worth quoting the first three verses of the
psalm to see what he has done:
Beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum,
Et in via peccatorum non stetit,
Et in cathedra pestilentiae non sedit,
Sed in lege Domine voluntas eius,
Et in lege eius meditabitur die ac nocte.
Et erit tanquam lignum quod plantatum est secus decursus aquarum,
Quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo:
Et folium eius non defluet;
Et omnia quaecumque faciet prosperabuntur.
From the first verse he takes only the relative ‘Qui.’ Of the many
praiseworthy things which the just man does, the antiphonist is
interested only in his meditation on God’s law, and this he selects
from verse 2. From the simile about the tree planted by the watercourse
he selects only the line about bearing fruit. A slight change of
word-order makes the verbs more prominent, and brings them into
parallel: He who meditates, will bear fruit.
This example illustrates a tendency which we have seen before, that
whereas the Offertory, together with the Introit and Gradual, are more
or less exact quotations from the scriptures, the Communion is more
carefully worked over to adapt it more thoroughly to its liturgical
context.
Bill.
___________________________________________________________
Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|