General remarks

GENERAL REMARKS ON SECTION ‘ADV’

The ‘ADV’ section of the tables contains the Advent part of the year from the 1^st Sunday until the Vespers of December 23.

If we wish to go beyond the mechanical transcription of the sources and arrive at the real structures of the Office we shall meet difficulties of the most varied kind in each season. The root of the problems in the Advent part is that the Office is defined here by the occurrence of different, almost uncoordinated calendar systems. One set of items is arranged according to days beginning on the 1^st Sunday in Advent. The selection of other items depends on how far a given day is from Christmas. And the system may also be influenced by the position of some special occasions such as the Ember Days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after December 13), and the feast day of some saints, first of all of St. Thomas the Apostle (five days before Christmas). The situation is depicted in the following draft:

Medieval sribes adopted the most diverse methods of arranging the material in a book, independent of its actual order in the liturgical practice. Late sources facilitate the orientation of the users by means of rubrics, tables and rules, whereas the early manuscripts often leave us in total uncertainty.

In order to minimize trouble in this respect, as a maximal duration of Advent we will count four full weeks and a Saturday in the 4^th week (although this day coincides with the Vigil of Christmas and its material is therefore anticipated in the 3^rd week). We attempt to identify the set of chants actually sung by the users of the source on each day of this ‘longest Advent’. The feasts of saints including that of St. Thomas will be disregarded, even though the latter may upset the order and require transpositions.

Compline before Matins on the 1^st Sunday is to be sung each Saturday night, whereas the one set down after the 2^nd Vespers is valid for all the other days. The 1^st responsory of this Matins has three verses for this occasion all over Europe, performed in some churches with a special scenario.

A universal rule for the weekday Matins is to sing the versicle and the responsories of the 1^st Nocturn on Monday and Thursday, those of the 2^nd Nocturn on Tuesday and Friday, the items of the 3^rd Nocturn on Wednesday and Saturday. In the following only the exceptions will be listed. (Some churches altered this system in the 1^st week of Advent to avoid the repetition of the 1^stresponsory, whose three verses were too many.)

In some churches the order of the chants differed slightly on Sundays and weekdays, therefore the latter will be described again at point 1f2.

Certain days had more antiphonae majores (Ab-Am) than necessary. The surplus items were mostly transferred to the Little Hours, regulated by the special rubrics of the sources or made by tacit consent.

On certain Sundays many sources contain extra responsories. They will be marked here as R4 / V4, etc. or R+ / V+ although the Nocturn had, in fact, only three responsories. The surplus items were sung according to choice in place of another responsory or during the following week, and sometimes the scribe recorded them as remnants of what had once been a more extensive repertory.

The items belonging to the 3^rd and 4^th weeks and those of the Proper of December 17–23 occur mixed in the liturgical books. Our tables will, however, clearly distinguish the two systems, the units of which are as follows:

The antiphons ‘O’ (see Nos. 3050–3160) were generally written in one group though they are to be sung, as a matter of fact, one each day from December 17 onwards. (If there are more than seven items, the series had to be begun earlier.) However, it is good to know that other chants of a similar scheme were often included in this group, such as the commemorations de beata Virgine, de Nativitate on St. Thomas’ day, and also the de beata in the Nativity night. The various rites observe different rules in the case of a ‘short’ Advent when the Magnificat antiphons are pushed out of their place by the ‘O’ antiphons.

In the manuscripts there is a special set of responsories called Historia Clama after the name of its first piece. It is either written in one group separately or distributed among several days. These pieces are supposed to be sung during the last days in Advent in agreement with local customs (e. g. on the last four to six days, whereas some may be repeated if their number is insufficient or they can be assigned to Ember Days, etc.). In this edition all of them are gathered at the 4^th week in Advent, along with other items for the actual last week in Advent.

The most important chants in this period are the antiphons for the Lauds of the last six weekdays (Impositionslaudes). The order of their impositio is regulated neither by the sequence of the days during the 3^rd and 4^th weeks (like the Ab-Am items) nor by that of the days between December 17 and 23 (as is the case of the ‘O’ antiphons). In fact, each set is the Proper of a given weekday, the last one of its kind, whether celebrated in the 3^rd or the 4^th week. Here the cycle is begun with f2, but any other day can be taken as the first if it falls on December 17.

This series gave rise to another difficulty regarding the layout of the book. The items Ab-Am were frequently written down as the Proper of the weekdays of the 3^rd and 4^th weeks. The scribes often paired the last six weekday-Lauds with the Benedictus antiphons of the 3^rd week, others with the Benedictus antiphons of the 4^th week (to avoid the necessity of turning the pages), again others added the Benedictus antiphons of both the 3^rd and 4^th weeks to the ‘last six’ series.

The situation becomes even more complicated by Ember Days which take their antiphons from the daily Gospel. The scribe either entered them separately in the Quattuor Temporum section or inserted them in their proper place in the 3^rd week, sometimes even among the items of the given day of the 4^th (!) week where they cannot actually be sung. So he combined them with the antiphons of the last six Lauds which were frequently sung in the same Office.

For the sake of clarity all the Lauds antiphons will be listed at the 4^th week (No. 3460–) along with the other Proper chants of the day (Invitatory, Benedictus antiphon). Disregarding the arrangement of the scribes all the Ab items of f4, f6 and Saturday will be written to the 3^rd week in such a way that the item connected with the Ember Day Gospel will always be the first and the other(s) sung on any given day, which is not Ember Day, will be entered as second and marked with Ab+. The same day of the 4^th week will refer to this place with the word ‘vide’. The Invitatories of Ember Days are placed similarly under 3f4, 3f6 and 3Sabb.

The last section of the table is devoted to the Vespers on December 23 called in some codices Vigila Vigiliae. It would be more logical to include this Hour in the section NAT, yet for technical reasons it has been left here and marked as ‘Vig-V1’.

GENERAL REMARKS ON SECTION ‘NAT’

The ‘Nat’ section of the tables contains the incipits of the Office from the Matins of the Vigilia Nativitatis up to the beginning of the Lent period. The majority of the sources clearly define the Lenten structure from the 1^st Vespers of prima dominica Quadragesimae on. Therefore the Offices of Ash Wednesday and the subsequent three days are included in the ‘Nat’ table.

The 4^th antiphon of the Vigilia Nativitatis is a variable item having the rank of the appropriate weekday (‘secundum diem’) different each year which has to be taken from the series of Lauds antiphons of the last Advent week (3490 etc.).

Christmas night was provided in the old Roman tradition with double Matins, composed partly of different and partly of common items. In later centuries one of these series (the same all over Europe) was assigned to the feast itself, while the other one was transferred to the Octave. The rites, however, vary in the solution of this problem: some put the second set of antiphons on the first free day during the Octave, others on the Sunday infra Octavam or on the feast of Circumcisio. Dissimilarities can also be found in the selection and arrangement of the second set of responsories.

In most rites Christmas Matins closed with special celebrations (Genealogia Christi, one or more antiphons in commemoration de beata Virgine) and joined to the midnight Mass. These added components of the different rites are recorded in the notes and commentaries, not in the tables.

Christmas Lauds preceded by the midnight Mass and followed by the missa in aurora was generally sung in an abbreviated form (5 psalms and the Benedictus, each with their own antiphons). The full form presented here in the tables was used extra chorum and also during the Octave.

2^nd Vespers of the dies Nativitatis did not close with the antiphon of the Magnificat (see below). Nevertheless we shall include here the order of Compline valid from December 25 on and also the table of commemorations in the following form:

The local traditions greatly differ in the choice, ordering and assignment of the antiphons for commemorationes during the Octave, and the differences of arrangement in the various codices also make it difficult to gain a clear picture. To assist the readers in the comparison of rites all the antiphons are included in one list in the order of their appearance. In some cases the items are integrated into the customary commemoratio de nativitate vel/et de beata Virgine (at the end of the Lauds and Vespers), in others they are used as antiphona major to the Benedictus or Magnificat on the days free from the celebration of saints (see also the notes to 12560).

All the items belonging to the Offices of St. Stephen, St. John and the Holy Innocents and preceding the Matins of the day are recorded as 1^st Vespers, although they were used in most churches only as an extended commemoration (responsory + hymn, Antiphon + versicle + oratio, the former two not everywhere) after the 2^nd Vespers of the previous day. The customary commemorations and the close of the Hour followed these anticipated items. (See the commentaries to each rite).

The Office of St. Stephen (sporadically also that of St. John and of the Holy Innocents) has two different forms in some rites, one for the feast itself and the other for the Octave (January 2‒4). If there are only a few modifications they have been marked as additions to the chants of the feast (with rubrics at this day or at the Octave). These offices did not have proper chants for all parts of the liturgy, the missing pieces were taken over from the commune sanctorum. In some rites the Saint’s Proper was combined with some parts of the Christmas Office.

In cases when the local tradition required a special series for the Octave they will be recorded at the parallel section of the feast itself in the table provided with an asterisk and the inscription ‘Oct’. These three days had an Octave of medium rank with a simple commemoration infra octavam and a full office on the eighth day.

The local traditions and the individual sources differ also in the celebration of the feast of St. Thomas the Martyr (December 29). His feast is omitted altogether in some of them, in others only a commemoration is suggested, while others prescribe the officium commune with a few items of the proper, and in some traditions the whole rhymed office is celebrated. The feast of St. Thomas is inserted most frequently into the pars temporalis of the books. Considering the great diversity of the customs, we transfer this day to the sanctorale.

The selection, arrangement and assignment of the proper chants for the Christmas Octave is one of the most divergent elements of medieval manuscripts. It was a general rule to make at least commemoration of Nativity each day, while some churches added the daily Offices from December 26 to the abbreviated Christmas Hours ad modum officii parvi BMV. December 30, or – where the feast of St. Thomas was not celebrated – December 29 was the first day free for the ferial Christmas Office. Its order, a variant of the Office of dominica infra octavam and the material of the two dates are often mixed in the description of the codices. On December 31 the office of Pope St. Sylvester is sung (combined with some Christmas chants) or the Christmas
ferial Office (with commemoration of St. Sylvester). For an easier comparison this material is presented here in the following way:

the antiphons of the commemorationes are grouped together at the end of the Christmas Office;
the special chants for the ferial Office (if any such items exist) are given after December 28;
the Sunday Office is recorded in full;
the adaptation of the Sunday chants to the ferial order is given in the commentaries.

In the tables here is no room for the octavae between January 2 and 4. The special items (if there are any) can be included under additional figures in the festal Office and the forms observed on the Octave day are recorded in the commentaries.

The order of the Vigilia Epiphaniae depends on whether it falls on Sunday or on an ordinary weekday. The most important information is gathered in the table (including the Magnificat antiphon of the 1^st Vespers which is to be sung, of course, only at the Sunday Office), leaving the details for the commentaries.

On the day of Epiphany the Roman Liturgy omitted the invitatory and the hymn and included Psalm 94 in the 2^nd Nocturn. In general usage the invitatory was sung again in the Octave and Psalm 94 was accordingly left out of the 2^nd Nocturn. Therefore the order of psalms and antiphons had to be rearranged for the Octave. The rites are not concordant, however, concerning the date when the festival order had to be replaced by the rearranged one. Consequently, the modifications will be recorded in our tables within the festive Office itself (distinguished by a sign + and the inscription ‘Oct’).

During the Octave the festive Office was sung in a more or less modified form (in some rites the Nocturns of the Matins of the feast were distributed singly among the days within the Octave); they had three readings and three responsories at Matins and proper Ab-Am antiphons for each day. The daily Office brought into harmony the following factors:

the numbering of the day within the Octave;
the rank of the day within the week;
the insertion of the Sunday;
a combination of pro festo and pro octava items.

Our tables leave enough room open for an average ordering where the special features of the traditions can be fixed (completed with notes and commentaries). The 2^nd and 3^rd days are more elaborated, leaving space for new items. On the subsequent days the pieces already introduced will be utilized (as recorded in the notes and commentaries), and in addition, of course, the daily antiphons for the Benedictus and Magnificat.

The 2^nd Sunday after Epiphany opens the weeks per annum structured by the ordinary Psalter. The antiphons, hymns, versicles are to be taken de psalterio in this period (as described in the ‘Ann’ section of the tables). In some of the Psalter sections a double arrangement is given of which the hiemalis variant must, of course, be taken at this season.

Other chants of the Office are also specific to the season, first of all the post-Epiphany period with words borrowed from the psalms. (It may be supposed that this cycle was originally extended to a longer period of the year.)

The third layer is made up of the antiphonae majores taken from the Gospel of each Sunday. If the source contains more than two of them for a week, the surplus items are listed in the sources after the Am of the Sunday (in our tables this method is always followed) or distributed among the subsequent feriae (when they were actually performed).

The chant material for the Sundays of Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima (D70, D60, D50) follows partly the order of the per annum period, partly the seasonal scriptura occurrens (and also the sequence of the Gospels). The clearest arrangement (but not the only one used) was to take the responsories of D70 from the Historia de Adam, those of D60 from the Historia de Noe and of D50 from the Historia de Abraham. In many rites, however, the responsories were identical on D70 and D60 (along with the antiphons of the Lauds) and on D50 responsories from both the Historia de Noe and de Abraham were selected.

The Pre-Lenten (and also the Lenten) Sundays generally had more responsories than the nine required by the cursus saecularis. The scribes recorded the surplus pieces mostly after the ultimum dominicae, albeit they were actually sung on the subsequent weekdays (as shown by the rubrics or parallel sources). To facilitate the comparison of the different traditions we assign the surplus items continuously to f2, f3 etc., acccompanied by the necessary notes.

The four days before the 1^st Sunday in Lent are of transitional character. The responsories and antiphons are taken from the per annum, de psalterio and the D50 material while the Ab-Am antiphons follow the sequence of Lenten Gospels. The penitential antiphons sung in the place of the customary suffragia and followed by a versicle and an oratio are recorded in the tables with the remark ‘Ap’ (antiphona pro peccatis or pro populo).

GENERAL REMARKS ON SECTION ‘QU’

The ‘Qu’ section of the tables lists the office chants from the 1^st Sunday in Lent to Lauds of Holy Saturday. The weeks are numbered continuously over the whole Lenten period, the Dominica Passionis being thus marked ‘D5’, the Dominica Palmarum ‘D6’ and the last days of the Holy week ‘6f5’, ‘6f6’, ‘6Sabb’.

According to an almost universal custom one of the nocturnal responsories was anticipated at the 1^st Vespers of each Sunday.

The structure and the chants of Compline are not always obvious. Many sources do not assign an antiphon to the psalm and we can only guess that it was taken from the Psalter section. The responsory is often missing and it is doubtful whether this item was omitted or taken from the Psalter. The antiphon to Nunc dimittis is frequently proper to Lent, sometimes being different for Sundays and weekdays (the latter is recorded as ‘D-CC’ in the tables), moreover it could vary in one- or two-week periods. In this respect even the same rite may show incongruencies.

The cycles of responsories (D1: De Quadragesima, D2: Historia de Jacob, D3: de Joseph, 4D: de Moyse, D5‒6: de Passione Domini) generally exceed the number nine needed for the cursus saecularis. The majority of the sources list the surplus items after the last Sunday responsory, while others shift them to the following weekdays (to f2, sometimes also to f3, f4). The method of redaction often varies even with books belonging to the same rite, and the actual situation can only be reconstructed by collating the sources. At any rate, these responsories must have been sung on weekdays (unless copied only out of a feeling of reverence for tradition). We will record them in this way, even if they were originally included on Sunday in a certain number of sources.

It is well-known that the Little Hours of the Lenten period had rather short but musically elaborated responsories after the model of the responsorium prolixum (instead of the responsoria brevia). The three sets of these responsories appeared in two-week turns. We count among these series the responsories for the 2^nd Vespers on Sunday sung probably on weekdays, too (often unmentioned, however, in the weekday rubrics). As regards the distribution of these Vespers responsories there may have been some differences in the rites (Sunday – weekdays, length of one turn, etc.) rather than in the Little Hours.

At the end of Lauds and Vespers a single suffragium (antiphon + versicle + oratio) called pro peccatis or pro populo was inserted, which is recorded in the tables on the day ‘1f2’ for Lent and ‘5f2’ for the tempus passionis.

The Ab-Am antiphons are assigned to the pericopes of the Lenten days. There are days with more than two of such pieces and the surplus items were either omitted or shifted to the Little Hours or copied simply out of respect for tradition. The facts cannot always be accurately established, since the antiphons are frequently listed without any qualification.

From the 5^th Sunday onwards the Office is governed by particular rules, the most important being the omission of the doxology in the Invitatory and the responsories. There are other changes in the order of the Compline antiphons, the set of versicles and the suffragium pro populo.

In Holy Week the weekday responsories are no longer assigned to the Sunday set in most of the sources, the assignment being indicated day by day. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Easter each had a set of antiphons for Lauds, and Proper antiphons for the Little Hours as well. Other peculiarities varying according to tradition are enumerated in the tables and notes.

The Office on the three remaining days of the Holy Week differs from any other celebration and reflects a very old state of the Roman Liturgy. It lacks the Invitatory, the hymns, the Capitulum and some other parts; at Lauds and Vespers only psalms, canticles and oratio were performed. The Little Hours were only recited in prose in a simple way.

At the end of the Lauds, however, a solemn litany was sung, provided with different names in different European churches. The scheme of this invocation is: Kyrie eleison – Verse – Domine miserere – Christus Dominus, all repeated three times with changing verses (the latter supplemented in some rites by other trope-like verses). Neither the litany nor the different local additions will be included in our tables, whereas the selection of verses typical of a given tradition is recorded in the commentary.

GENERAL REMARKS ON SECTION ‘P’

Section ‘P’ of the table contains Eastertide beginning with the 1^st Vespers on Easter Day and leading up to the end of the Pentecost Octave. This period shows a great many peculiarities and local characteristics both with regard to distribution and material, and even the performance itself (consuetudines) had undergone changes in the course of centuries. In fact the arrangement of the liturgical books is rather different in this section. All these factors would make the comparison extremely difficult, if not impossible, unless we accept the existence of a unified system against which the concordances as well as the divergences of the local customs can be weighed. This normalized form is based on the actual correspondences; the varying usage and repertory of the individual rites and sources can be demonstrated by means of the additional numbers in the table and also by the commentaries.

The numbering of Sundays applied in the table differs from the medieval custom, which started either at the dominica in octava or at the dominica post octavam. For the sake of clear arrangement our tables follow the present-day usage: Easter-Day will be the 1^st Sunday, the feast of Whit-Sunday the eighth.

On Easter-Day 1^st Vespers is replaced by a single antiphon to Psalm 116 and by another to the Magnificat, which is attached to the end of the Easter Vigil. The structure of the Compline is also irregular on this evening.

The Matins of this Sunday consists, according to the cursus saecularis, of one Nocturn only which has three antiphons and three responsories. At Lauds on this day and during the whole week the Gradual and the Alleluia of the Mass are sung after the psalms, and the Hour ends with the Benedictus (and Oratio). All other parts are omitted. During this week the Little Hours are also restricted to the psalms and the Oratio.

On the other hand, Vespers is celebrated in a special extended form during the whole week, following the ancient traditions of the basilics of Rome (vesperae baptismales). The Hour begins with Kyrie, then the 1^st to 3^rd psalms of the Vespers are sung. The first part closes with the Gradual and the Alleluia of the Mass, the Magnificat and Oratio, after which a procession goes to the baptistry, accompanied by a processional antiphon in most churches, where the rest of the vesperal psalms and some other chants are performed (varying in the different rites, e. g. a 2^nd Alleluia, a 2^nd Magnificat, a versicle and orationes). Then the community returns to the choir singing another processional antiphon, and a versicle + oratio finish the ceremony. This rite is repeated with alternating psalms, antiphons and the verses of the Gradual and Alleluia during the whole week.

Following Vespers the table presents the order of Compline for the whole week, and then all the variable parts of the pro octava Offices. The Saturday liturgy differs, however, from that of the other days, and in many places the regular order of Eastertide is introduced on that day.

The order of the paschal Sunday Office is a crux for all who wish to interpret medieval choirbooks. In principle the medieval churches had two possibilities: either to introduce a three-Nocturn form at Matins or, which was more frequent, to create a one-Nocturn variant. The other Hours could follow in their own way and the weekdays could agree with the Sunday arrangement. After about 1000, however, a new usage was introduced in many churches at different times and in different forms: on Sundays the Office and the Mass of Easter-Day were repeated while the Proper of Sundays was transferred to the next Monday. By doing so the following characteristic situation emerged for these days: on Saturdays the 1^st Vespers was sung, made up of the elements of Eastertide and Easter-Day; the Sunday itself repeated the liturgy of Easter-Day in most parts (occasionally enlarged by some items omitted there, e.g. the hymn). The Vespers on Sunday evening played a double role, being the last part of the previous Office and at the same time the overture to the actual Sunday Office celebrated on Monday. The Sunday Office followed on Monday and was closed by a third Vespers. The liturgical weekdays started only on Tuesday and thus the number of weekdays decreased. Taking these changes and variations into consideration the number of combinations was rather high and different in the various rites.

If we wish to compare the sources in real terms, we have to create order in the tables. First of all it may be stated that the majority of the medieval sources (at least those written in the 12^th or 13^th centuries and later) prescribe the Office of Easter-Day for Sundays. In spite of this we put the Proper of Sundays into the Sunday lines (although they were sung on Mondays). 1^st Vespers follows here in the actual form, while 2^nd Vespers must be sung twice, somewhat altered: first on Sunday evening then on Monday. For this reason we have to add two antiphons for the Magnificat (if there is any difference between the two days’ celebration). What lies outside this scheme will be recorded in the additional lines of the table or in the notes and commentaries.

After 2^nd Vespers the schedule of Compline is presented for the whole Eastertide followed by the ferial form/forms of the Easter season.

Another problem is that the responsories attached to the scriptura occurrens appear on D2 (transposed to Monday). The distribution of these responsories is different according to the structure of Matins (1- or 3-Nocturn scheme) and the number of responsories retained. At any rate, it is a common rule that the surplus responsories (beyond 3 or 9 respectively) are to be sung on weekdays. The local traditions vary in defining the week when the first cycle (Historia de Apocalypsi) was to be replaced by the second one (Historia de libro Psalmorum). Thus we are compelled to separate the two sets of responsories from the order of weeks and to present the first cycle before the day of D2 and the latter before D4 (albeit actually imposed according local usage). The individual solutions can be interpreted along the lines of this normalized form by the means of commentaries and notes.

The pieces of the third layer of in tempore paschali are connected with individual Sundays: they are the antiphons of the Benedictus and the Magnificat, taken mainly from the words of the daily Gospels. The number of the pieces in each set is higher than necessary and the surplus items are sung during the next week. There are two possibilities for listing them: either distributed among the various days (in which case it is rather difficult to compare the rites) or enumerated after the Sunday antiphons. We will follow this second method even if a given source proceeded otherwise. It is worth mentioning that the Roman Liturgy had in stock a group of Eastern antiphons suitable for the whole season. This set was either collected in one place in the medieval books or distributed among the various days as their proper chants. In this respect the system typical of a given tradition will be followed.

The three days before Ascension (dies Rogationum) may have had their own antiphons for Benedictus as appears from the tables.

The feast of Ascension (‘6f5’ in the tables) was celebrated with three-Nocturn Matins in some churches and with a one-Nocturn form in others. In the latter case the N2-N3 were shifted to the following days of the Octave. We have chosen to present the material in the three-Nocturn scheme and to explain the actual practice in the commentaries. The Proper antiphons for the various days of the Octave appear in the table according to the succession of days if the distribution is clear, or in one group if the distribution is optional or impossible to determine.

Whit Sunday was celebrated with a one-Nocturn Matins everywhere. The additional responsories were introduced during the Octave. On days f2 to f4 some space has been left blank for new items while the reorganization of the already known chants between the remaining days will be clarified in the commentary. On Whit Sunday (and also on Ascension Day in some places) the antiphons of the Lauds reappear at Vespers with certain additions or changes, therefore space has been left blank for introducing new items into the tables.

The Octave of Pentecost generally ends on Saturday. However, the ancient practice of celebrating the eighth day on next Sunday left traces on the liturgical order of some traditions or sources. Whenever they are characteristic of the rite we include them in the tables. If they are arrangements of certain individual sources they will be registered in the notes.

GENERAL REMARKS ON SECTION ‘ANN’

At the beginning of the section ‘Ann’ the chants of two post-Pentecostal feasts can be found. The Office of Trinity is incomplete or ambiguous in many sources. As it is well known, this feast was introduced as late as the turn of the 10^th–11^th centuries. Its liturgical institution was by no means uniform as far as the age of the introduction and the day of celebration are concerned. Some churches preserved the full Octave of Whit-Sunday and commemorated the new feast on Monday. The feast of Corpus Christi created even later is either missing in the early sources or appended to the main text.

The most important part of the Office, the order of the Psalterium comes after these feasts. It serves as a basis for the whole year; all the items not determined by the Proper of the day or the season must be taken from this unit. The Psalter may occupy different positions in the medieval codices: it may head the breviaries, come after the feast of Epiphany in the antiphonaries or after the Pentecostal section in other cases. It can often occur several times in the same book, in full or specified by rubrics (sometimes with slight contradictions in meaning). Due to its importance this section required a distinguished position and a clear-cut arrangement in the tables. Within the liturgical books the inner order of the Psalter was based on one of the following two principles: either the daily sequence of the Hours or the numbering of the psalms was observed (Matins + Lauds of every day, the Little Hours being inserted after the Sunday and Monday Lauds, followed by all the Vespers of the week, and finallly the Compline). We intend to adapt this latter scheme.

Some of the pieces vary in the winter months. The variants will be included here in the same place of the Office marked by an asterisk (+) and discussed additionally in the notes.

In many sources the scheme of the Compline is poorly recorded. Sometimes even such features as whether the psalms are sung with antiphon(s) or simply in directaneum, whether a responsory is sung at all, etc., remain unclear.

Following the Psalter the tables included here contain the material of the summer and autumn seasons per annum. These Offices were made up of three layers: the Psalter (mentioned above), the Historiae and the Sunday antiphonae maiores. The pieces taken from the 2^nd and 3^rd groups were entered conjunctly or mixed in the medieval books. For the purpose of comparing the local traditions it will be more practical to present these layers separately.

The words of the Historiae cycles, i.e. the responsories for Matins and the antiphons for the 1^st Vespers on Sundays are taken from the biblical scriptura occurrens of the Office as follows: Historia Regum (from Trinity until the end of July), Histora Sapientiae (August), Historia de Job (1^st and 2^nd weeks of September), Historia de Tobia, Judith, Esther (the rest of September), Historia Maccabeorum (October), Historia Prophetarum (November) each ‘imposed’ on the nearest Sunday to the kalendae of the month.

The number of responsories, which is nine in the cursus saecularis, is generally higher than necessary and their distribution is not always clear. It is therefore more practical to list all in one series, as many sources actually do. Similarly, all antiphons will be grouped together following the set of responsories. The Historia de Esther for the 5^th, incomplete week in September contains only a few responsories which were combined – in rather different ways – with the responsories of the Historia de Judith. In many churches one of the nocturnal responsories was anticipated at 1^st Vespers on Sundays and its selection was more or less accurately recorded in the rubrics. Wherever such a device proves to be typical in a given tradition we will mention it in the commentary.

The repertory of the Gospel antiphons (‘Ab’ and ‘Am’) follows the numbered sequence of the post-Trinity Sundays. The extra items were again sung during the week but only rarely can their actual order be established exactly. In many sources all these antiphons were notated in one single group distributed among Sundays. It seems to be sensible to add the surplus items to the 2^nd Vespers and mark them ‘Am+’.

This section, and with it the whole chart, closes with two additional Offices, the first being that of the Dedicatio ecclesiae which fits easily into the general scheme. The other is the Officium mortuorum celebrated in the full, three-Nocturn form only for the dead or as a general commemoration on some days. On weekdays of lesser rank it was sung in the abbreviated, one-Nocturn form as an addition to the ferial Office. The Officium mortuorum had only 1^st Vespers, Matins and Lauds. In most of the rites a set of six times three responsories was offered to fill up the whole week frame. The other 3×3 group is included here after the N3-R3 item. The structure of the Officium mortuorum is fairly similar to that of the Triduum Sacrum in that both lack all the other parts except the psalms, canticles and the readings with their antiphons and responsories, and often the Invitatory, too.