medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
John Briggs said:
> As far as Salisbury is concerned, I have somewhat belatedly found a
> reference to the Mass of our Lady being founded by Bishop Richard
Poore on
> 29 September 1225. "A certain number of Vicars" (certus vicariorum
> numerus) were to take part and be paid a penny per day.
> Salisbury Cathedral was dedicated to St Mary, so the 'Lady Chapel'
(where
> the daily Lady Mass was celebrated) was dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
Thank you for posting this, and apologies for the delay in replying.
Considering that Richard Poore (effectively) built Salisbury cathedral,
and dedicated the Trinity Chapel there (surely one of the most
beautiful of English Lady Chapels), also in 1225, this is fascinating.
When I find my reference for this mass being attended by the whole
community, I will post it. Something tells me it is not a solid
assertion.
And...
> Let's take a step back. In the Sarum Use, on ordinary ferias either
the
> previous Sunday Mass or a Votive Mass is said as the Mass of the Day.
A
> Votive Mass may also be said as an extra Mass. On a Saturday, the
Votive
> Mass is of Our Lady. I am going out on a limb here, but I would
suggest
> that Lady Chapels were built because of the daily Lady Mass - or the
other
> way around, of course.
I'm not sure what point you are making here. These masses were surely
all at the high altar? I am taking it as read that the daily Lady Mass
was said at a separate Lady Altar, and trying to get closer to the
connection between the development of such elements of the Marian
liturgy and that of Lady Chapels as separate buildings.
The assumption that Daily Lady Masses and Lady Chapels go together is
unproved, worth investigation - but also widespread and not
unreasonable. To explore this further, I am interested in such questions
as, 'who attended the daily Lady Mass?' and 'when did the practice of
this Mass become common?' and 'to what extent was the Lady Chapel used
during greater Marian feasts, and who attended these?'.
> Almost certainly the latter. It is said that the cathedral choirs of
> today descend from the Lady Chapel choirs, rather than the main
choirs.
> Don't forget that monasteries (probably including the cathedral
priories) > would only have had lay singers and boys in the Lady Chapel
choir (e.g.
> Thomas Tallis at Waltham Abbey).
I understood the development of these 'professional' choirs, employing
choir boys and lay singers, was linked to the use of polyphony, and took
place in the c14 and (especially) in the c15 - when many cathedrals had
them (Lincoln and Canterbury are further examples). Much but not all of
such singing took place at Lady Mass and thus in the Lady Chapel. But
surely the c13 and earlier Lady Masses would not have been
polyphonically embellished and would have used members of the community
(in a secular church, choir boys, vicars, perhaps a handful of canons),
albeit a small-ish group of these people? Was there any other kinds of
embellishment or elaboration that set these services apart?
> Don't confuse the Lady Mass with the Morrow Mass (Morning Mass), the
Mass > in Capitulo (so-called because it is immediately after the
chapter
> meeting) and at Salisbury celebrated at the high altar, when
presumably
> all the chapter were expected to attend.
Indeed - I believe at some cathedral attendance at one of these was
required to trigger residency payments. But - and this is something of
an aside from the question of Lay Masses - I get the impression that the
order of these masses - especially those in the morning - varied
slightly from Use to Use. Secondary sources for different rites
certainly list them in varying order, but this may be confused writing
rather than an actual difference in practice.
Revd Gordon Plumb said:
> The practice seems to have varied from place to place. But I haven't
found > any evidence so far that everyone was on a three-line whip, so
to speak!
> Here are some references I have found.
Thank you so much for all these references. If I come across more
similar, would you like me to return the gift, as it where?
> At Exeter the Lady Mass was said about 7.45am and "was attended by all
the > minor clergy and probably some of the canons". (Nicholas Orme,
Exeter
> Cathedral as it was: 1050-1550, Devon Books, 1986. p69.
That's about the maximum one might expect for a daily event in a secular
cathedral at which the 'whole community' was expected to attend.
> At Lincoln the Lady Mass was being observed by 1220 and by 1320 enough
> benefactions had been accumulated to provide a daily attendance of a
> special team of a celebrant and four assisting vicars. (A History of
> Lincoln Minster, ed Dorothy Owen, Cambridge UP, 1994, pp52-3 - with
> references to the Registrum Antiquissimum).
A similar 'special team' was funded at the Hereford Lady Chapel in 1330
after a donation by Lady Joanna de Bohun. She was given the honour of a
burial monument in said Lady Chapel. In both cases the creation of a
Lady Chapel (the Hereford Lady Chapel is circa 1220, construction may
have begun significantly before this), and presumably the practise of a
daily Lady Mass, comes well before the creation of this 'team'.
[Hereford cathedral: A history G Aylmer and J tiller, eds hambledon
2000]
> At Canterbury (A Benedictine foundation) it had long been the custom
that > the celebration of the Mass should be attended daily by the
precentor and > seven monks - and from 1305 these were augmented by four
clerks of the
> four principal side altars of the church. (A History of Canterbury
> Cathedral, ed Collinson, Ramsay and Sparks, OUP, 1995, p 414).
This is very interesting. I wonder where this mass was celebrated. There
were important Lady Chapels in the nave (relocated to the Martyrdom
transept in the c15) and the crypt. I will check the reference; there is
also good liturgical information in 'Canterbury Cathedral Nave'.
[Canterbury cathedral Nave: archaeology history and architecture, vol I:
Blockley, Sparks, Tatton-Brown et al, 1997]
> At Ely Cantors, monks and boys sang at the Lady Mass - and in 1383-4
John > de Bukton II, keeper of the Lady Chapel, gave the boys 2s for
singing at
> the mass of St Mary. (History of Ely Cathedral , ed Meadows and
Ramsay,
> Boydell, 2003, p 87.
Ely's Lady Chapel was in the south choir aisle before an Episcopal
injunction (presumably) triggered the construction of the current Lady
Chapel, which was underway when this payment was made. It would be
fascinating to link the establishment of payments for a separate choir
with the building of the Lady Chapel, but I suspect this is wishful
thinking and the payments had been going on for some time.
> The Lincoln Statutes recognised that residentiaries should not be
forced
> to attend all the hours - but only one principal hour every day or
high
> mass unless he was being bled or was ill or otherwise occupied in the
> business of the church. The poor old vicars choral bore the burden of
the > opus dei!(assiduitatem enim exigimus moderatam; non ut singulis
diebus et > noctibus omnibus horis ecclesiasticis cogatur interesse; set
singulis
> diebus uni hore canonice ad minus, vel Misse maiori illius diei,
intersit, > nisi [minutus] fuerit [vel] infirmus, vel alias in negocijs
Ecclesiae
> occupatus...) Lincoln Statutes Vol iii, p325
This is one of the more remarkable practices of the secular cathedral
and greater collegiate churches. The canons were barely present, their
Chapter Houses must have been virtually empty for Chapter meetings, and
their vicars practiced the opus dei but had no voice in chapter. They
doubtless received rich rewards in heaven.
Jon Cannon
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