Dear Brenda,

It seems to me you are perfectly right: this practice seems to have been very common in the Middle Ages, particularly regarding nuns and also the monks who were not priests. It's unclear for me if the psalms should have to be sung in a single session or spread over time: I am inclined to think it was done - and not only one psalter - in once. The champions of that practice may have been the Fontavelle monks (Umbria, Italy), with a bit of excess even P. Damien found too excessive!

Best from

Andre Yves Bourges

2016-04-11 13:25 GMT+02:00 Ms B M Cook <[log in to unmask]>:

medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

While reading the transcripts of some mortuary rolls, I have not been surprised to see that the recipient religious house offers masses and / or acts of charity for the repose of the soul of the dignitary named in the scroll. However some recipients offer "a psalter" and I am a bit unsure what this involves. Would I be right in supposing that it involved reading / saying / singing all 150 psalms as an offering ? And if so, would all the psalms be sung together in a single session or would they be divided up and a few sung each day ?

Just curious and finicky about details!

Brenda M. Cook
Independent Scholar

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