medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
yes, my Latin is rusty, if it ever had shine at all, so I probably spelled that wrong.
I've managed to get myself into a situation where I need to do a bit of liturgical history research, specifically the history of celebrating Mass and other
Christian rituals while facing East. I'm guessing the Collective will provide the usual bibliography of erudite and useful tomes - which will be highly
appreciated - but if anyone has some short answers to the following, it will be appreciated:
- at what point does the practice of facing East become dominant? I seem to recall some arguements that Christians ALWAYS faced east when celebrating
the liturgy, but cannot verify that. I have heard some argue that even in context of the Passover at the time of Christ the practice was to sit/recline at table
facing east. This sounds suspect, but again, I have no verification one way or the other.
- It is my impression that while orienting churches, et al was standard practice in the East, it was not so in the West. Bamberg Cathedral, for instance, I
seem to recall is aligned N/S, not E/W. . . I also seem to recall reading in Jansen's History of Art that even in pre-Christian "paganism" temples in the East
were oriented, while in the Roman west they generally were not. Clarify my perceptions?
- What sources are there which shed light on the character of the ante-Nicean Liturgy? I obviously have a plethora of references on structure and practice
during that era, and yes, I am plodding through bibliographies looking for further resources, however thusfar I've not discovered specific description of how
the community would arrange itself during the various Liturgies. My initial impression is that communal arrangement was relatively free-form, not unlike the
approach to early (again, ante-Nicean) anaphoras.
- Finally, it is my impression that some developments in liturgical art and architecture emerge in direct continuity from the immediate past (Gothic out of
Romanesque, Early Byzantine out of Late Antique) but other times there is a conscious and almost radical break with the previous era (Renaissance from
Gothic). Is there any basis for this impression or is that more the subject for a thesis/dissertation?
Thanks for whatever and all information provided.
George the Less
George R. Hoelzeman
G.R.Hoelzeman Studios
Liturgical Design Consultant
grhstudios.com
[log in to unmask]
**********************************************************************
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
|