medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

Preface (4)

Leaving aside for a moment the Embolism, which gives each preface its
particular character, we come to what Ward and Johnson call the
Eschatocol, which is a very fancy word for a concluding formula. It was
brought into being by the introduction of the Sanctus, which as we have
seen was not there in the prayer of Hippolytus. The eschatocol is a
sort of hymn leading up to the Sanctus, and we need to look at that
first in order to understand the eschatocol. The Oxford Dictionary of
the Christian Church gives this account of the Sanctus:

"The hymn of praise which follows the Preface in the Eucharist and
begins with the words 'Holy, holy, holy' (Isaiah 6:3). It appeared in
some synagogue prayers, and, thogh used by Christians from an early
date, it was not apparently part of the earliest Eucharistic rite; the
allusion to it in St Clement of Rome (1 Clem. 34:6f) need not be
liturgical. By 350, however, its use in the Eucharist in most Eastern
and some Western Churches is reported in the treatise 'De Spiritu
Sancto' attributed to St Ambrose. Its use in the East is attestede by
sermons ascribed to Asterius, by St Gregory of Nyssa and St John
Chrysostom. It may have been introduced in Rome by Sixtus III (432-40)
but it was slow to be established in the West and as late as 529 the
Council of Vaison had to direct that it be always included. To the
angelic cry 'Sanctus' was soon added the human acclamation 'Benedictus
qui venit' (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in
the highest). This is found in the 8th-cent Latin rite, the Eastern
liturgies of St James and St Chrysostom . . ."

The Sanctus derives from Isaiah 6:3, the prophet's vision in the
Temple:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood
the seraphim; each had six wings; with two he covered his face, and
with two he covered his feet [a euphemism for 'private parts'] and with
two he flew. And one called to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.'

This is reprised at Revelation 4:8

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of
eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing,
'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to
come.'

This insistence that the angelic beings never cease their song is
theologically important, and is alluded to, as we shall see, in the
eschatocol. The point is that the angels worship God ceaselessly. We
cannot do this, since we need to pause for breath, to eat and sleep and
get on with our lives, but when we come to Mass we join in, for a few
minutes, with the worship that is being offered ceaselessly in heaven.
The polyphonic music of the late medieval and renaissance Church is a
conscious attempt to imitate the song of the angels. No single human
being can sing without ceasing: we need to draw breath. But a choir of
three or four or five voices can do an impression of angels' song,
because when one voice pauses the others continue, and so the praises
never fall silent. Do listen to a Mass by Palestrina or Byrd with this
in mind.

The Benedictus which follows the Sanctus and has at some times been
regarded as part of it, at other times as a separate song, derives from
the story of Christ's entry into Jerusalem at Matthew 21:9,

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted,
'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'

It is thought appropriate to sing this at this point because Christ is
believed to be about to enter his city, that is to take up residence on
the altar under the forms of bread and wine.

[It was no doubt for this reason that Cranmer omitted the Benedictus
from his translation of the Mass; he had no expectation that Christ
would make a personal appearance during the consecration. Again, I
mention this to demonstrate that these texts are charged with
potentially controversial meaning.]

The phrase 'Hosanna in the highest' is also transferred to the end of
the Sanctus, so that the full Latin text of the Sanctus/Benedictus is:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit
in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.

Next time we shall go back to the eschatocol and see how it introduces
the Sanctus.

Bill.

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