medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear John,
Pfaff begins his preface with a paragraph that explains the reasoning behind the book's title, and defines its subject more fully than a brief title can. Here's the key sentence, to my mind: "To call it _The Liturgical Books of Medieval England_ would misrepresent what is attempted: a genuinely historical account of what can be known about the Latin liturgy as used in England during the middle ages, based primarily . . . on evidence drawn from the surviving service books and fragments." (p. xiii) He is exceptionally careful and meticulous in the inferences he draws from the surviving evidence, and that's part of what I admire about his scholarship.
I don't have time to explain all the ways in which I'm finding the book useful for my own purposes; that would require a long essay, since I've been finding something helpful on almost every page. But here's the condensed version. I'm doing research on English liturgical manuscripts (esp. the hagiographical texts that survive in breviaries)-- trying to relate the manuscripts to each other on the basis of their texts, as well as their provenance and date (where those can be determined), and to figure out why even the manuscripts of a given Use show such enormous diversity with regard to their lessons on saints. I'm learning a lot from Pfaff's expertise on both the
manuscripts and the church history behind them, and I'm also benefiting greatly from his general discussions of methodology (in such sections as "Some principles concerning evidence" and the excursus on "method in the comparison in liturgical texts").
As for the lack of a bibliography, I've noticed that many academic presses no longer allow their books to include both detailed footnotes and a bibliography. Given that choice, I'll gladly skip the bibliography-- especially when the footnotes are as full and informative as Pfaff's tend to be.
If you want to continue this discussion, I suggest that we do so off the list. There's no reason to keep subjecting the rest of the list members to our disagreements.
Sherry
----- Original Message -----
From: John Briggs <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 12:58 pm
Subject: Re: [M-R] First Impressions: Pfaff - The Liturgy in Medieval England: A History
To: [log in to unmask]
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Yes, I'm sorry too :-)
>
> But you haven't addressed my central concern (also that of the only
> customer review so far on Amazon.co.uk): that the subject of the book
> is the primary sources and secondary literature for the study of the
> liturgy in medieval England, rather than it being a history of that
> liturgy itself.
>
> I should be grateful if you could explain exactly *how* the book is
> useful to your own work, as that was something which I couldn't quite
> understand; despite its length the book doesn't seem to me to treat
> any particular topic in sufficient detail to be likely to satisfy
> specialists. Do you have any comment on the absence of a bibliography,
> and how that might affect your use of the book?
>
> I rather feel that a compilation of flaws and omissions would be a
> melancholy exercise, best left to reviewers. I see no prospect of
> future printings.
>
> John Briggs
>
> ---- SHERRY L REAMES <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> >
> > Dear John,
> >
> > I'm sorry to hear that you're finding Richard Pfaff's book so
> disappointing. From my perspective it's enormously useful-- perhaps
> because my own work, like his, is focused primarily on liturgical
> texts, and especially on the many different medieval versions of those
> texts that survive in various manuscripts and have never been printed.
> Given your own interest in the music and in the early printed
> editions, you are in a good position to see flaws and omissions that
> occurred neither to Pfaff nor to me (or others who read his book
> before publication).
> >
> > If you would like to notify him about errors that should be
> corrected in the next printing, you might send him a letter in care of
> Cambridge University Press. Or just send him an email-- his address
> is still [log in to unmask] .
> >
> > Sherry Reames
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: John Briggs <[log in to unmask]>
> > Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009 4:38 pm
> > Subject: [M-R] First Impressions: Pfaff - The Liturgy in Medieval
> England: A History
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
> > >
> > > I have finally received my copy - I had to pre-order from Amazon
> to
> > > get anything like a sensible discount, which meant a considerable
>
> > > delay while my copy crossed the Atlantic twice!
> > >
> > > I have to say that my first impressions are not favourable. Some
> > > variation on "glued binding" is not at all suitable for a heavy
> book
> > > of over 600 pages. There is no bibliography - there is a list of
> > > "Bibliographical Abbreviations", but needless to say, not all
> > > abbreviated references are included, so the index has to be
> pressed
> > > into service to find the first occurrence where the reference
> should
> > > be spelled out. At which point we discover that the prefatory
> matter
> > > is not indexed...
> > >
> > > But the major concern is that it does not do what it says on the
> tin:
> > > it is NOT 'a' (and certainly not 'the') history of the medieval
> > > English liturgy in any recognisable sense of the term. It is
> rather a
> > > chronologically arranged commentary on medieval liturgical texts
> and
> > > their editions. It is readable enough, but only really
> comprehensible
> > > if you already know what the author is writing about. I have only
> just
> > > started reading, but I have yet to encounter any actual liturgy.
> In
> > > order to avoid any sense of Whiggish progress, the story just
> peters
> > > out as the Reformation is approached. There is an alarming
> footnote on
> > > page 1: "The Latin service books printed c.1554-57, during the
> reign
> > > of Mary Tudor, are not part of our concern."
> > >
> > > I rather rashly stated, in response to a query about the publicity
>
> > > bally-hoo: "Actually, Sherry L. Reames is best qualified to
> pronounce
> > > such a book as "major" and "authoritative" - just as Richard W.
> Pfaff
> > > is certainly the best qualified to write it." I would now wish to
>
> > > reconsider my position (probably on both counts) - and perhaps recant.
> > >
> > > All consideration of music has been excluded. This has had one
> > > unfortunate effect which Sherry Reames should have picked up when
>
> > > reading the Sarum sections: Pfaff makes no reference to - indeed
> seems
> > > to be completely unaware of - Nick Sandon's "Use of Salisbury". As
> the
> > > six volumes so far published represent a critical edition of the
> > > Temporale of the Mass (words and music, rubrics translated into
> > > English), it can hardly be ignored by anyone writing on the Sarum
> Use
> > > (or so I thought...) The treatment of the "Missa in Capitulo" in
> the
> > > second edition of volume 2 would have spared Pfaff his rather
> tortured
> > > discussion on p.420 (Sandon may not be right, but he makes more
> > > sense!) And it is musical considerations which make sense of the
> > > gradings of feasts, something which Pfaff seems to find puzzling.
> > >
> > > There is an inexplicable howler in a footnote on p.426: "There
> were
> > > two prior printings of this 'Great Breviary,'" [...] "and one of
> the
> > > Sarum antiphonal (in two vols, only the winter volume being
> extant)."
> > > The two volumes of the Sarum antiphonal were, of course, printed
> in
> > > 1519 and 1520 respectively; the 1520 (summer) volume is not only
> > > extant, but Harper (Forms and Orders) lists its contents, while
> Frere
> > > (Antiphonale Sarisburiense) gives the locations of copies!
> > >
> > > Pfaff claims to have taken account of literature published
> "through
> > > 2006", but is unaware of Gerald Bray's "Records of Convocation" -
>
> > > which rather vitiates his discussion of Wilkins' "Concilia" (p.28).
> > >
> > > But I come back to my original main point: it is not in any sense
> a
> > > history of the liturgy, and not a book for the non-specialist,
> > > although it is hard to see how much use it is likely to be for the
>
> > > specialist (especially without a bibliography...)
> > >
> > > John Briggs
> > >
> > > **********************************************************************
> > > 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
> >
> > **********************************************************************
> > 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
>
> **********************************************************************
> 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
**********************************************************************
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
|