The Medieval Pontificalia and the Necessitates Temporum: A Study of the Church's Liturgy Responding to the Needs of the Time

Abstract

The Medieval Pontificalia and the Necessitates Temporum:A Study of the Church's Liturgy Responding to the Needs of the Time Ryan T. Ruiz (bio) ABSTRACT The history of liturgical books is a perennial story of unity and diversity. The development of sacramentaries, pontificals, and rituals presents a rich dialogue between the Roman Rite and the religious experience of a given people. The medieval pontificals, in particular, provide an insight into the fruit born from this dialogue. The "book of the bishop" not only contained rites requisite for the local pontiff, but also those that would eventually pass into the book of his priests—the Rituale. This essay examines how the medieval pontificalia helped the Church's liturgy respond to the realities of the day. Special attention is paid to the Pontifical of William Durandus, which served as a template for the Tridentine Pontifical. KEY WORDS History of liturgical books, medieval pontificals, William Durandus, necessitates temporum, organic development INTRODUCTION In the introduction to his critical edition of the medieval Roman pontificals, documents that include the Pontificale Romanum of the twelfth century, the Pontificale Curiae Romanae of the thirteenth century, and the Pontificale Romanum [End Page 26] of William Durandus, the learned liturgical scholar of the early twentieth century, Michel Andrieu, noted that the genesis of the Roman Pontifical was rooted in the organic, albeit at times socio-politically motivated, correspondence between the Church of Rome and the Frankish empire.1 Noting that "the Pontifical, or Book of ceremonies normally reserved to the bishop, was not known in Rome until the tenth century," coming to Rome from across the Alps,2 Andrieu highlights how the composite nature of this liturgical book reflects an important characteristic of the Roman Rite's organic development in general: the preservation of the genius of both the traditions of Rome and those traditions that served the pastoral needs of the cultures in which the gospel had been received. According to Andrieu, "the material for [the Pontifical] was . . . borrowed simultaneously from documents, sacramentaries, and ordines from Rome, and from the native books which had preceded them or still competed with them in [End Page 27] daily practice."3 While this liturgical exchange of the patrimony of Rome with the customs of newly evangelized non-Roman cultures can be observed in other genres of liturgical books—for example, the late antique sacramentaria and modern ritualia—the pontifical, as the book of the bishop, provides a unique lens by which to examine the Church's response to socio-political realities and the pastoral needs of the times, the necessitates temporum, through the ministry of the chief shepherd of the local church. In going about this discussion it is important to recognize the danger of layering contemporary constructs onto the past, which can inevitably create anachronistic interpretations of historical developments. To be sure, the motivating factor for any perceived liturgical cross-pollination in the medieval pontificalia should not be assessed from the modern perspective of interculturation.4 To do so would be somewhat spurious since little evidence supports the medievalists' thinking with such a category in [End Page 28] mind. However, while this essay wishes to keep distance from eisegetic analyses, it nevertheless hopes to identify in the medieval pontificalia elements that can serve as analogies to present day discussions related to the preservation of the purity of the liturgical patrimony of Rome while likewise respecting the necessitates temporum. To this end, particular focus will be paid to the Pontifical of William Durandus that, due to its navigation of this question, set the stage for future editions of the Roman Pontifical. From this study of the "book of the bishop" and its ramification on the Church's response to the socio-political and pastoral realities she faces in every age, it is hoped that we might identify some points of reflection for the contemporary Church as she continues the organic development of the lived reality of the liturgy, safeguarding the ancient patrimony of the Roman Rite, while striving to meet the diverse pastoral needs of the day. LITURGICAL EXCHANGE IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD The Church's accommodation of her liturgical ordines to respond to the exigencies of the day has...