LITURGICAL MANUSCRIPTS

The term “liturgy” refers to a system of religious prayers and other elements that together make up a religious service. The Catholic liturgy has two broad components: the Mass and the Divine Office.

The medieval Christian (the Catholic) Church required a number of different types of books to guide both those officiating and those participating in the liturgy. Many of these manuscripts include both text and music for the service. Most medieval liturgical books were usually arranged according to the liturgical year, divided into sections for the Temporale, Sanctorale, and the Common of Saints. The Italian Choral Service Book in this exhibit contains the Sanctorale for St. Agnes, St. Lawrence and the Finding of the Holy Cross. [See Table Case #1]
The size of the various liturgical manuscripts varied depending on their function. Usually missals and breviaries were smaller in size, because they generally were used by only the one person officiating at the Mass. Graduals, antiphonaries, and choir books were often much larger, depending on the size of the group using them. Unlike modern choirs where each performer often has his or her own copy of the music, medieval choirs often read from the same book, propped in front of the group. If the choir was very large, the choir book would need to be extremely large, so that everyone could see it.

Regardless of the specific function, patron, or time period of a manuscript one decorative element is common to almost all musical liturgical manuscripts: the initial or large letter. The initial could be simply decorated or it could be floriated, historiated or inhabited. The initials were also used as visual place markers, to indicate a new verse, service or a new day. There was a definite hierarchy of size and decoration according to the function of that initial.

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