John, I mentioned Adams' book in a message sent a few days ago, reproduced below FWIW. DId it come through to the list?

On 10 December 2015 at 12:27, Paul Chandler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

The bibliography on grace at meals, as far as I can see, is quite old. However, the article in the old Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is by Herbert Thurston, who was a great scholar and can be relied upon. Apparently the standard source in English is still Henry Lancelot Dixon, "Saying Grace" Historically Considered, And Numerous Forms of Grace Taken from Ancient and Modern Sources; with Appendices, Oxford: J. Parker and Co, 1903 (mentioned by Thurston).

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church has a very brief article "Grace at Meals", with much the same bibliography as Thurston, basically all pre-1913. However, a recent title of possible interest there is Reginald H. Adams, The College Graces of Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford: Perpetua Press, 1992 (95p.), with texts in Latin and English and a historical introduction (another ed., Bodleian Library, 2013). A link to the GoogleBooks description: http://tinyurl.com/nw4kq4o

I notice, by the way, that if you wanted to buy this book on the used book market, you could pay somewhere between GBP4.00
or GBP143.80, depending where you shop. Another baffling price differential. -- Paul Chandler

On 13 December 2015 at 01:37, BRIGGS JOHN <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the following book:

Reginald Adams, The College Graces of Oxford and Cambridge (Oxford: The Perpetua Press, 1992)

This has more than anyone could wish to know about graces, including their history. The earliest graces are found in the Gelasian Sacramentary (Orationes ante Cibum [including one still used or adapted: "Benedic, Domine, dona tua, quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per.] and Orationes post Cibos).

The word "grace" comes from the Latin plural 'gratiae' - most commonly encountered post cibum, obviously.

The commonly found two-word formula "Benedictus benedicat" seems to be a 19th-century introduction, but the phrase itself may have a much longer history, probably as a monastic greeting - as a reference is given* to 16th-century Protestant writer poking fun at an ignorant Cistercian who said "Bernardus bernardat"!

*given as R. Hospinianus, De origine et progressu monachatus (Zurich, 1587), f.179v - I haven't checked this, is anyone in a position to do so?

While we're at it, prayers were used to bless all sorts of things. My favourite is the Prayer for Purifying Beer in which a Mouse or Weasel has Drowned [Pro Emendatione Cervise et Aliorum Elementorum Si Mus aut Mustella Mergitur Intus] found in the Durham Collectar and the Egbert Pontifical.

John Briggs

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Paul Chandler, O.Carm.
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