Du Livre d’Heures médiéval au Paroissien du XXe siècle

Abstract

Historical research on the Liturgy of the Hours often runs into this vast and complex question: which offices were frequented by the lay faithful and how? Among the most precious sources, prayerbooks often remain poorly known or neglected, and largely absent from university libraries. Yet for many centuries they permitted the laity to pray all or part of the divine office. This article sketches a history of these prayerbooks. If it is very hard to accede to an efficient practice of prayer, this study clearly indicates an increasing consideration of the possibility of lay participation in the divine office. The first part presents the evolution toward two types of books with a common origin in the medieval Book of Hours. It then recalls the fundamental role of Sunday vespers in Catholic pastoral life, as a weekly prayer for the whole parish, certainly practiced with varying regularity until its quasi disappearance in the 60's. The third part analyses the books, especially from the 20(th) century, general ones like missals or specialized like the various types of breviaries. Production of these books permitted the Liturgy of the Hours to grow considerably during the 1920's, all the while diversifying itself in an uninterrupted process until Vatican Council II, a new turning point in the history of the Liturgy of the Hours and the laity.