medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Luca Ricossa wrote:
>
> First, you have to tell if it is a feast or ferial day. A feast begins
> with the first vespers, a feria begins with matutinum ("midnight" office).
Yes, a feria runs from midnight to midnight, a Feast starts with Vespers the
day before and ends before Vespers on the day itself. For a Double Feast,
Second Vespers on the day itself is included. (How the two Complines are
treated is anuyone's guess.) Matins could never have been at midnight (see
below).
> As others have pointed out, hours were elastic, as sun rises always
> at 6 am and goes always down at 6 pm.
Well, yes, but it is better to say that sunrise is at 12 (of the night) and
sunset at 12 (of the day). Hence Prime (at the 1st hour), Terce (3rd), Sext
(6th) and None (9th).
> The practical organisation
> of the hours could vary from one church to the other, but it can
> roughly be (bear in mind that during most of the middleages the
> ferial day office was followed by the office of the deads and the
> little office of Mary):
>
> Matutinum+Laudes: It should end at dawn (when the sky starts to
> become clear). Both offices together last more or less 2 hours.
This illustrates the problem: Matins can't possibly begin at midnight.
> Prime: sunrise (6 am)
> Terce: (9 am), followed by the Mass
> Sexte: (12)
> None: (3 pm. English word "noon", "afternoon")
> Vespers: Sunset (6 pm)
> Compline: (9 pm)
Better to have Compline begin at the end of twilight.
> The little hours (pr. ter. sext. no.) could be paired by two. During
> fasting days, roughly since the XIII Century, most churches anticipate
> vespers before 12 am (and all other hours accordingly) in order to
> eat at midday. Mass is officially after None.
That can't possibly be right. In the early middle ages there would be two
meals a day during summer: a main one at around midday and a lesser one
later (about 5 p.m. - after None?). During winter (and on fasting days)
there would be a single main meal, but two or three hours later - later
still during Lent.
The Mass of the day could be after Terce, Sext or None, depending in part on
whether there was a Morrow Mass, and when *that* was.
The problem is that every writer on the subject will confidently give times
for the various Hours and services, usually without any hint of doubt or
variation - but they all disagree with each other!
Even in liturgies that are well understood, there is still considerable
uncertainty. Take, for example, the Use of Sarum, and the First Mass of
Christmas, the Missa in Gallicantu (or Mass at Cockcrow - calling it
"Midnight Mass" doesn't help, but does illustrate the problem.) It is
followed by Lauds and the Missa in Aurora (or Mass at Dawn). Dawn would be
at about 8 a.m. When does the cock crow? Probably at about 6 a.m., so
Matins can't start much before about 3.30 a.m. (The day is about 8 hours
long in midwinter, about 18 hours long in midsummer.)
John Briggs
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