Liturgical Tradition of Rome in the 11th Century: A Preliminary List of Manuscripts

Abstract

This article examines manuscripts that help reconstruct the authentic liturgical tradition of the city of Rome in the eleventh century. This tradition goes back to the early Middle Ages and, contrary to the hypothesis of Th. Klauser and M. Andrieu, did not undergo “Germanisation” after the imperial coronation of Otto I the Great but existed with certain changes until the thirteenth century. To determine whether manuscripts belong to this tradition, it is necessary to use a complex methodology that considers the data of palaeography, art history, musicology, and liturgy. It should be distinguished from the liturgy of some monastic congregations (Cluny, Monte Cassino), which were represented in Rome and its suburbs. The books of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, which represent a distinct version of the reformed worship, should be considered separately. The analysis of the manuscripts is carried out in the article according to the types of liturgical books: Lectionaries, Sacramentaries, Graduals, Antiphonaries, etc. Additionally, the article analyses surviving medieval lists of books kept in Roman churches. The author concludes that authentic Roman liturgy is reflected in 32 surviving manuscripts of different types (3 more require additional study). For most of them, the author establishes their affiliation with a particular Roman church or monastery. Most of them reflect the state of worship during the period of the Gregorian reform, but some of them make it possible to study the previous stage in the history of liturgy in Rome. As an excursus, the author considers the origin of the Evangelistary-Sacramentary Arch. Cap. S. Pietro. F 12, which, according to the author, was not created in Rome, as was commonly believed, but in the abbey of San Tommaso in Foglia.