not only for the Mass or Divine Liturgy, but for all other sacraments, blessings, sacramentals, and rites of every kind as well.*
-Ritual Function books, sacramentaries, Roman missal, etc. It’s possible that these primary sources are scarce, so any suggestions of leads would be really helpful to me. Thank you (:
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That was the simplified version of what I’m interested in. For extra context into my question and interest… this is what I posted in R/Catholicism (it has not gone over so well so far lol) :
I want to read the the primary source text of every document that was authorized to be used for Mass or Divine Liturgy, all other sacraments, blessings, sacramentals, and rites of every kind as well (Pre-printing press). from the creation of the Roman church in England up to (1400) where should I begin?
not only for the Mass or Divine Liturgy, but for all other sacraments, blessings, sacramentals, and rites of every kind as well.
-Ritual Function books, sacramentaries, Roman missal, etc.
I’m not interested in any explanations of the politics or movements or narratives or historical figures from this time. 1.) I need the *barebones context of the primary source document and why theologians believe that the document is truly what it is purported to be. 2.) The original Sacramentary with the prayers, one or more books for the Scriptural readings, and one or more books for the antiphons and other chants. *Full Missal
I was listening to a live stream mass service this morning, when we began to pray the confíteor, suddenly I was awestruck by how great this prayer was. So, this led me to look up its history online. I found an article where I learned learned that Until 1969, the Confiteor was spoken twice at the beginning of Mass, after the recitation of Psalm 42/43, once by the priest and once by the server(s) or by the deacon and subdeacon. It was also said, once only (not by the priest), before Communion was distributed to the faithful, until Pope John XXIII in his 1960 Code of Rubrics had it omitted.
that there was also an alternate version: I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed: through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints, and you, brethren, to pray for me to the Lord our God
I learned that From 1604 to 1962, the Roman Missal also prescribed that, at the words mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, those reciting the Confiteor should strike their breast three times. Saint Augustine of Hippo said: "No sooner have you heard the word 'Confiteor', than you strike your breast. What does this mean except that you wish to bring to light what is concealed in the breast, and by this act to cleanse your hidden sins?"
I was just shocked by the fact that I looked up something that I thought would be have a simple story behind it, come to find out it’s actually pretty complex. I’m a history buff, so when I became interested in learning about ancient Egypt, instead of reading some modern historians interpretation, I turned to Herodotus of Halicarnassus and his account of Egypt. (Earliest surviving primary text). When I wanted to know about the education systems of the early Roman empire, I turned to Pliny the elder. In the same way, I want to start at our earliest recorded accounts or primary text.
Thank you so much! (:
I'm afraid I have to agree with the commenters over at r/catholicism. What you are asking for does not exist. If I understand you correctly, you have defined a restrictive set of search terms that end up being mutually exclusive. It seems that you are looking for
To put it briefly, the Catholic Church did not authorize English translations for use in Mass before 1450. Liturgy was conducted in Latin. There were a number of variants of the Roman Missal that were celebrated in England. The Sherbrooke Missal (scan available here) is an example of an early 14th century liturgical text produced in England (probably East Anglia). It is in Latin. There are other similar texts in various university libraries, museums, cathedrals, and private collections. All are in Latin.
If you're curious about the liturgy that was used in England before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent, but you can't read Latin, there is still plenty available for you. Here is a PDF of a modern English translation of the Use of York, a variant of the Roman Rite that was used in much of Northern England until the Council of Trent introduced the Tridentine Mass. Here is a modern translation of the Use of Sarum, originally introduced at Salisbury Cathedral in the 11th century shortly after the Norman Conquest.
That's not to say there are no Christian texts from the Late Middle Ages in their original English. This website includes a scan of a manuscript of Wycliffe's bible. It is in English, of a sort. It is written in Middle English as it was used in the late 14th century. It is also written in a script that would be difficult for most modern readers even if it were written in a more familiar language. Take a look, and you'll see why people over at r/catholicism were saying that you're really talking about pursuing a graduate level degree.
On a more general note, I know you said you want to read the original documents free of any discussion of historical narrative. But that's not a good way to approach learning about the history and importance of a document. If you read the translations of the Use of York and the Use of Sarum linked above, you'll find that they are broadly similar, but differ from each other in a few notable ways. They are also both similar to the "standard" Roman Rite, but again, are slightly different. If all you do is read them, devoid of any broader historical context beyond basic time and place, then all you'll be able to do is read them, notice the differences, say, "Huh, that's interesting," and move on. You need to know the context to really understand the significance of those differences. For instance, the Use of Sarum was introduced by Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, who was originally a Norman nobleman who participated in the Conquest. His background is definitely relevant for understanding how the Use of Sarum compares to the Use of York, which has less Norman influence. I strongly suggest that if this is something you are interested in, you should get your hands on an academic study of the history of liturgy. At the very least, find a collection of texts that includes commentary. Medieval Liturgy: An Introduction to the Sources, by Cyrille Vogel is a good place to start. The Divine Office in the Latin Middle Ages: Methodology and Source Studies, Regional Developments, Hagiography by Fassler and Baltzer is another good choice.
Edit: fixed links