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Dear list members,

Recently, I've been working with the three volumes of English Benedictine
calendars edited by Francis Wormald for the Henry Bradshaw Society.  In only
two of the pre-1100 calendars are the feast days of saints graded as either
"in capis" or "in albis," yet both appear to be additions to the original
A-S calendars.  In one instance, Wormald indicates that this addition is of
thirteenth century origin, and in the other the date of the addition is
ambiguous.  In the post-1100 calendars, the earliest use of the grading "in
capis" and "in albis" seems to come from the late twelfth century, in one
case "before 1170," according to Wormald.  This has led me to conclude that
the grading of saint's days as "in capis" and "in albis" in England dates
from the end of the twelfth century at the earliest.

Is this conclusion correct?   If not, could anyone tell me when it became
common in medieval England to observe saint's days as either "in capis" or
"in albis"?  If it was a common observance prior to the late twelfth
century, would this higher grading have been indicated on the calendars in a
manner other than "in capis" or "in albis"?  How?

Any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

James B. MacGregor
Department of History
University of Cincinnati
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