medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

From: Ms B M Cook <[log in to unmask]>

>> is this how Henriquez is organized?
 
>> how curious.
 
>> or, perhaps that's Standard Procedure for Monologionae.
 
> Monologia. (?)

whatever.

> AFAIK it is the standard procedure for a "Necrology" or an "Obituary Book"
and this is a similar item although it has much more in it.

yes, it is, and i didn't realise that this is essentially what you have there
with the Henriquez.

> However, after an Intoduction and a copy of the Charter of Charity (I
think!!) it lists the Notable Persons, both Saints and Blesseds under their
Day of Commemoration which is given in both Roman and later European forms.

sounds like it's just an early modren continuation(!) of a Necrology, intended
as a service book (as you note by its format below).

>[This is the day the death is commemorated but NOT NECESSARILY the date of
the death - that is a separate topic!!!!)]

it may be!!!!

*usually* (to my vey limited knowledge) the entry is dated by the day (the
*year* of death is irrelevant, and virtually *never* given) on which the news
of the death of the person reached the institution in question --so, in
principle, the deceased's home institution will have the death date correctly
(unless it happened, say, late at night), the outlying instittions of the town
will have him on that date or the next day, more distant places days --or even
as much as a week or so-- later.

at Chartres, someone associated with the cathedral may be in the cathedral's
necrology on one day (that of his death, presumably), the same day or the next
in the necrologies of the abbey of St. Peter or the collegial of St. John
(both just down the hill, on opposite sides of he oppidum), perhaps a day or
even two later for the abbey of Josaphat (2.5km. down the river), 2-4 days
later for the other institutions in the diocese.

(rare) exceptions to this "rule" i've found are what i have styled "cluster
obituary" entries, where it appears that lay and clerical members of the same
family share either the same day, or 2-3 days in sucession.

the coincidence of having 2-4 people in the same family die on the same (or
nearly the same) *day* (though perhaps years apart) is, of course, extremely
unlikely.

there are three or four instances of these "clusters" of related obits in the
necrology of St. Peter's of Chartres particularly, and i have just assumed
(and would welcome any other ideas on the subject) that they served a special
purpose: the famiies in question (one of which includes an abbot of the house)
lived out on their estates in the Beauce, and having the commemorative masses
for their kin all occur on the same --or sucessive-- days would have been more
convenient for them to make a single trip "into town" once a year, rather than
several sperate ones.

but, i'm really just guessing.

as i say, i'd welcome alternative interpretations.

>Additionally, the entry under each day of the year is in two parts. There is
the Name of the Commemorated in large typeface followed by a brief sentence
describing their worth; this is then annotated with footnotes - in some cases
in considerable detail - together with scholarly reference to sources.

as far as i know (which ain't much), ms. necrologies don't differentiate
between the simple entry (date and name) and whatever supplementary material
(if any) which might be added to the obit.

i have no idea whether or not all this material (when it is present) was
actually *read* as part of a commemorative service every day --but see no
reason why not.

the lengthiest entries in the Chartres necrologies are those of important
people --Bishops, Abbots, major patrons of the institutions-- and it's easy to
believe that remembering the Good Deeds of the deceased would have been
fitting on the ocassion.

> Hence my request to know more about Barnabas of Montalbo whose *Chronicon*
is cited as a source and who seems to have fallen out of the collective
memory at least as far as this List in concerned.

well, it's pretty easy for a guy like Barnabas of Motalbo to disappear down
the list's Memory Hole.

No Blame.

Perseverance Furthers.

> When I add that the Monologion is a massive Folio with an elegant pale
golden binding and clasps and is clearly intended for a lectern somewhere.

yes, it's clearly a Service Book.

far as i know (not very far), the Chartres necrologies are "standard" size
mss. --octavos or small quartos.

> It came to me in its own acid-broof box and had to be read on a black
cushion designed to cradle the spine and reduce strain. It also showed signs
of heavy wear both within and without, so I would venture to opine that the
book was intended for daily use and the entries in large typeface were
intended to be read out at one or other of the Daily Offices in a Cistercian
monastery. The footnotes would be of use to anyone deciding that the person
commemorated would make good sermon fodder for that day and would know where
to go and do his homework.

those all sound like Good Guesses, to me.

alas, the late Brother Chrysogonus was something of an expert on (among many,
many other things) late Cistercian (i.e., Trappist) liturgy.

if you want to persue this avenue, you might write to David Bell at
Newfoundland --he published a very nice little book on Rancé a few years ago
and if he doesn't happen to know about the usages to which Henriquez would
have been put he certainly will know of someone who does.

a very knowledgable --and generous-- person, is David.

http://www.mun.ca/rels/dnb.htm

http://www.mun.ca/honours/research/bell_video.php

> Standard Necrologies have little more than the name and a brief phrases.

usually, yes.

a quick browse through the volumes of Molinier's edition of the necrologies of
the province of Sens

http://gallica.bnf.fr/Catalogue/noticesInd/FRBNF30830781.htm

will give one a quick, rough and ready idea about the nature of them, and most
of the entries (esp. in the Benedictine ones) are depressingly laconic.

several of those in the dio. of Chartres, however, contain quite a mine of
information, about all sorts of things, family relationships, property
holdings, reliquaries, donations, building activity, etc.

the necrologies (11-14th cc.) of the Cathedral are the richest example of the
genre i've ever come across --though the others in the diocese are also quiet
informative, suggesting that there seems to have been something of a tradition
in the region of making these books more than just simple lists of names
arranged by date.

> THIS work is far more elaborate but is in the same general category. It also
has an alphabetical Index - which is a brave step in the right direction but
was badly compiled and probably not checked or proof-read at all.

well, yeah, but it's French, after all, and why would one expect anything more
of an index in a French book?

the index is there, EN PRINCIP, so what's the problem?

> Does this enlighten ?

lite enough.

not very much smoke, though (viday Abelard's comment about Anselm of Laon).

> I didn't have a look at Feb 29 ......

and i don't know what might have happened on any given 29 Feb.

Henry D. France's death date is 15 November (1175).

c

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