The Rites of Durham, by William Claxton, ed. Margaret Harvey and Lynda Rollason

Abstract

This new edition of the Rites of Durham must surely mark the first time that the same text has been published three times within the same records society series, yet this anomaly is more than justified by Margaret Harvey and Lynda Rollason’s thorough and insightful work. The Rites have long been considered something of a historical puzzle. Both previous editions, by James Raine in 1843 (Surtees Society, 15) and Joseph Fowler in 1903 (Surtees Society, 107), noted that the earliest surviving MS was dated 1593, but followed previous antiquarians in treating it as a largely accurate compilation and remembrance of the layout, rituals and legends of pre-Reformation Durham Cathedral and Priory. This tantalisingly detailed record, compassing everything from the descriptions of the monastic and civic feast-day processions with the relics of Saints Cuthbert and Bede, to the process of admitting sanctuary-seekers and the intricacies of the lifting mechanism for the shrine cover, has been approached by historians (with varying degrees of caution) as vital evidence for the late medieval cathedral experience.