In thinking about liturgy and what we can do about it, Caelius earlier raised the frightening prospect of a Prayer Book revision in 2008. If GC’06 transpires as it seems to be unfolding, the church will be in chaos with departures, fights at the parish and diocesan levels, and an exodus of the more conservative folks currently within ECUSA. All in all–a prayer book revision at this time would be…less than prudent. The wheels are already in motion though. A book called “Enriching our Worship” is, I believe, essentially a volume of trial liturgies.

I thought I’d head over to ECUSA’a website to see what I could find on this. When you go to liturgy and music you are sent to another site which at least looks and feels like an official ECUSA site for all things worhip and liturgical: The Worship Well. Again, I know nothing about it but the little bit I’ve glanced at has me concerned. Why, you ask? Well…try the opening lines for resources for the season:

The end of summer and the beginning of fall–here in North America, anyway!–is an excellent time to incorporate eco-justice themes into your community’s worship. …

If we’re thinking about doing something about this prayer book revision we may well already be behind the power curve. Perhaps it’s time for a conspiratorial memo of our own… ;-)

Over at Topmost Apple there’s a discussion about the east-wall altar written—I believe—by a current or former dean of Nashotah House. In any case, it’s interesting to see the responses. Furthermore, it’s time to set them within the larger picture. Academic thought tends to move in pendulum swings. A good idea moves a field in a certain direction. The trajectory pushes the idea to its acceptable limits. Then beyond them into the borders of wacky-land. The next generation pulls it back more toward the center in an vaguely Oedipal exercise of doktor-vater slaying and this movement, in turn, moves the pendulum in a different direction. The process repeats itself in generational cycles.

The field of liturgy has been dominated by the success of the Liturgical Renewal movement. This is the Protestant side of the movement that resulted in Vatican II. Essentially it called for a return to third/fourth century norms, an elevation of the place of the people, and the suppression of clericalism. It’s tied in to Baby Boomer notions of equality and social justice making itself present in the liturgy. The young fiery proponents of this way of doing things that shook things up then are now the endowed-chair professors and are starting to retire if they haven’t died already. So—we’re talking Don Saliers, Gordon Lathrop, Aidan Kavanaugh, Paul Bradshaw, etc. These people were responsible for the liturgies enshrined in the liturgical books of the late second half of the twentieth century.

But now—their time is over.

The critiques have already begun. The east-wall altar discussion is symptomatic of a larger questioning of their theological and liturgical project. They turned the altars around. They put the liturgy back into the vernacular of the people (remember y’all—until the most recent BCP and the LBW services were still in thees and thous…). They emphasized the role and participation of the people. Now, we’re starting to rethink these innovations. Now we get to look at them again through the lens of time. It’s time for us to start sorting through in order to find what we’ve gained and what we’ve lost. And certainly, gains were made. Dirty bathwater was poured out. However, it’s now our job to discover the babies that went with it and to re-collect them. It’s time to re-question some of the assumptions that were foundational to these scholars.

In the course of this sorting process, however, the pendulum is being pushed—but where does it go now? As we move the pendulum away from the borders of wacky-land (self-congratulatory congregation-centered prayers, entertainment liturgy, etc.) where should it go from here? Where does the renewal move?

The way I read it—feeling the pulses that are out there—I’d like to see it move to rediscovering monastic qualities. A lot of us are drawn to this, especially some of the Benedictine forms. The rhythm of the Offices, living into the Psalter, a community at prayer lay and clergy combined, the antiquity and authenticity of a prayer tradition rooted in our common Catholic heritage and emphasized again in the Anglican Reformation all speak to a postmodern world that earns high marks for style but low marks for substance.

What do you think?

Chris over at Lutheran Zephyr is thinking about stewardship time. I left a comment over there that I think really needs to be expanded on. I don’t have the brain cells to do it now but here’s the basics.

Good philanthropy is about creating a solid and stable investment. You should never have to feel like you are begging money from your donors or, worse yet, extracting gifts. The first gft you extract is the last one you’ll ever see from any given donor. Assuming that you do have a legitimate cause and are attending it to (heh–not always a given, unfortunately), the fund-raiser’s task is to demonstrate to constituents that a) the donor and the organization share key concerns and motivations and that therefore b) a donation to the organization is a good investment that will 1) advance the donor’s interests, 2) assist the organization, and 3) improve life for the organization’s service population. In good philanthropy, everybody wins. It’s good *stewardship*.

In all my time in churches, I’ve never heard any clergy approach stewardship this way. Instead it’s: you have it, we need it; you warm our pews, so fork it over. Now–let’s be clear. Clergy should not be thinking of themselves primarily like non-profit execs. I know some people and places that exalt “leadership” languages and resources to the point where they’re nigh indistinguishable and I think that’s a problem. Hwever, I think this is an area where the church can do some learning.

If congregations and their leadership–both lay and clergy–are doing church right then we are 1) proclaiming Christ incarnate, crucified and resurrected, 2) putting the congregation in touch with the power of the resurrection through good liturgy and good education, and 3) offering sound ministries that enable people to act in love towards their neighbors, especially those less fortunate. That’s just the start, of couse, but here’s my question. Aren’t these three things important to your congregants? Can your congregants see that your church is doing these things? If the answer to both of these is yes, then you’re in a good place for a dscussion of stewardship as investment. I suspect that the answer to both of these isn’t always yes. If so, shouldn’t we as leadership types start thinking long and hard? Can we in good faith ask people to invest? If not, why not–and get it fixed damn fast.

So there you have it–my “temple talk” for stewardship season… ;-)

There would have even been a quiz last week…but I was in Philly for M’s ultrasound. It’s a healthy girl! We’re thrilled, of course, especially about the healthy part. Not that we’re not thrilled about the girl part–we are–but neither of us were surprised in any way on that one. We’d both “known” it was a girl through different means for a while; the ultrasound confirmed it.

Anastasia’s dissertation progress is sparking me to do more writing. I just *have* to get back in the groove of things. So here’s my plan–I’ll write for as long as I can tonight, then post on it. See? We get a built in shame factor going on that way… So I can’t renege on it unless I delete this post which I can’t do because it tells y’all about my newest daughter.

Upon asking my father-in-law about advice for rasing a houseful of girls, he–a more-or-less mild-mannered middle-school language teacher–replied: “Keep lots of beer on hand…” :-)

I confess to you, my brothers and sisters…I was a total slacker this morning and slept in when I ought to have been singing the morning office in honor of Michael and all angels. Here’s my penance:

Archangel Michael, great protector
Shield us from the demons’ wrath;
Of the angels, great director
Keep our feet from error’s path.

True defender of the Chosen,
Mighty prince of Israel
In the burning wastes and frozen
Kept the Lord’s own people well.

Now the nations call upon thee,
Leader of the heavenly band,
Hail the hosts with weapons fiery
Lead them forth by thy command

Furthermore this day we honor
All the heavenly hosts abroad;
Messengers of His high Splendor,
Those who do the will of God.

Burning seraphs tend the altar
Voices hymning in accord
Chant the song that shall not falter,
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord.”

Fire-formed spirits of the Maker,
God-breathed race of wind and flame,
Servants of the high Creator,
Do the will of that great Name

Blessed Michael, we beseech thee,
And thy nine-choir’d kin,*
May our supplications reach thee,
Keep us pure and free from sin.

To the High World-Shaper glory
And to Christ, His only Son,
Of the Spirit tell the story,
While the ages ever run.

* This is a line of spondees thus the beat goes |And thy | nine | choir’d | kin.

It’s iambic tetrameter. I have no clue what tune to put it too but there are plenty out there–pick one! ;-)

* Things are off-the-hook busy around work these days and I’ve been applying my few blasted brain cells to juggling matters there. If you’re expecting correspondence from me it may be a couple of days…

* Restructuring of chapter 2 is stalling. I feel like I’ve got a buch of wooden blocks, I’m trying to build the right shape with them but I also know I need to saw/sand and otherwise change the shape of several of them to get it to work right.

* I was home over the weekend which was nice and much needed. (I go there most weekends but it was particularly nice this past week-end as a respite.) At one point Lil’ G was playing in my bag and pulled out my Office book. She started paging through it and saying “Amen…Amen…Amen…Amen” When M asked her what the book was she said “the God is Great book.” (The mealtime prayer there is always “God is great, God is good…” so that’s apparently become her short-hand for prayer.

* Intelligent Design meets…well, it’s hysterical. Hat tip to Dr. Cook at Ralph the Sacred River.

*Anastasia tagged me for the five idiosyncracies meme. Umm…still working on it. Do I have idiosyncracies? My ways of being are natural to me–sometimes it’s hard to say what’s odd… I’m sure Dave and others will be happy to suggest some lest I miss them… ;-)

* More later as brain cells regenerate.

Last night I wrote one of the best paragraphs I think I’ve written for the diss that absolutely grabs the heart of chapter two. Here it is:

The interpretation of a text is fundamentally shaped by the circumstances within which it is normatively encountered. The Gospel of Matthew was normatively encountered by early medieval monastics within the context of the liturgy, Mass and Office. The reading of Matthew within these liturgies was understood as a means of direct communication between Christ—made present as mediated by the Gospel-book—and the community at prayer. The reading of Matthew was the presentation of authoritative teachings on life, death, morals, and doctrine by Christ to His people. Complex levels and layers of meaning were teased from the text and presented for the edification of the gathered community by the preacher with the assistance of the Tradition—understood to agree but not be univocal—also presented and transmitted through the liturgy. To understand early medieval monastic exegesis and the catechetical hermeneutic, then, is to understanding the process of learning for and learning through the liturgy that grounded this encounter and the communal interpretation of Matthew.

The bad news is, now I need to rethink and restructure chapter 2 in light of this new moment of clarity. Dang. Much will be accomplished by the use of cut and paste during this period, but shuffling sections is always an awkward process compositionally since you’re no longer heading in exactly the same direction so topic sentences need revision, paragraphs must be revised in light of their topic sentences, etc.

Classical, we make the distinction between invention, arrangement, and style (mewmory and delivery are the other two since rhetorical composition was originally for oral delivery). Cicero and others imply that these are concrete–but not for me. One of the accurate criticisms that my director had as we struggled through my proposal is that the act of writing rather than abstract conceptualization is where a lot of my thoughts arise. It’s when I’m writing the actual document that I get cool new insights; my arrangement and style become my invention. That’s wonderful, but in order to make a coherent presentation I ought therefore to go back and re-arrange. That’s what this dissertation has been a process of doing. I reconceptualized and re-outlined chapter one at least three or four times and I’ve been doing the same with chapter two. With one it wasn’t until I had about 75% of the text that things really clicked. Hopefully this paragraph should fully cement the structure of 2 but we’ll see if that turns out to be the case in the long run.

Hmm. reading it over I’m not completely happy with the prose styling… The concepts are there but some of the expressions could use work…

At Mass last night the lector read a section of 2 Timothy 3 as the Epistle for the feast of St Matthew. This inlcudes good ol’ 3:16 which actually is a favorite verse of mine:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

I suppose I have a medieval view of this passge. Every little jot in the text has some sort of meaning–even if you have to reach for it–and that a moral or theological teaching about how to grow in righteousness and virtue is secreted away where you would least expected it.

But the thought that came to mind last night was, “Huh–that’s odd, some how *proof-texting* got left off the list. Wonder how that happened…”

I. Introduction

Early medieval service books—sacramentaries, collectars, psalters, etc.—often began with kalendars (the ‘k’ is a convention used to identify this particular genre). Various kinds of information are collected within these documents. They cover twelve pages—one for each month. At the top of each month is collected information. This can be as simple as the month’s name, but most kalendars give the name of the month in several languages, the signs of the Zodiac that fall within the month, and identify the number of days in the month. The number of hours contained in the day and night are often found either at the top or bottom of the page.

Below this introductory material, the days of the month are laid on in a single column following the Roman reckoning (counting days until the Nones, Ides, and Kalends of each month). Letters and/or numbers typically appear here for the sake of calculating the days of the week. There is an adequate space for notes after each day. Saint’s days or other fixed occasions appear here. Other seasonal information especially notes of an astronomical or astrological nature are noted here as well. Sometimes the deaths of local or national notables were entered into kalendars. An example may be found here, taken from the Leofric Missal, folio 39r.

The Menologium is an Old English poem written in heroic meter that summarizes the key points of the Kalendar, noting the beginning days of each month and the important liturgical observances that fall within it. Clearly, its author had a kalendar before him as he worked; the purpose of the composition is less clear. Perhaps it served as a method for teaching young monks the basics of the kalendar. Perhaps it served to instruct those destined to be parish priests in the feast-days that they must observe. Certainly in an age of limited clerical literacy a memorized form would have been a helpful pedagogical tool. Its original purpose notwithstanding, it gives us an important window onto the way that the Anglo-Saxon clergy constructed time.

II. Methodology

I have chosen to be extremely literal and wooden in this rendering into English—I hesitate to call it a translation. I opted to do this for a number of reasons. First, translating poetry into prose changes the entire shape of the document and how a reader approaches it. To alter the form is to change the text in ways that need not occur. Second, translating poetry into prose forcibly resolves certain ambiguities built into poetry. Part of the art of poetry is poetic multivalence—a disjunctive phrase can mean a couple of different things within a poem; to turn it into prose is to resolve the ambiguity, normally selecting one and only one of the many possible options. Third, by maintaining the line structure of the poem, someone with little or no knowledge of Old English can compare my rendering with the original (found here) and gain a sense of what the original text was like and—furthermore—cite line numbers that correspond to the standard modern edition (of course, the original was written without line-breaks; these are a modern editorial convention).

The work below will seem very stilted and choppy; that’s partly because it’s quick-and-dirty. It’s partly due, however, to the nature of OE verse. Thus, a quick intro to OE verse is necessary. First, OE poetry is distinguished by heightened diction and, pre-eminently, by patterns of alliteration. This will seem odd to our ears and eyes at first—OE poetry did not rhyme but instead shared a pattern of repeating initial sounds. Second, each line is split by a caesura—a pause—effectively dividing it into two half-lines. Alliteration links the two half-lines together. Each of these half-lines tends to be quite short ranges from two to five words. Furthermore, the OE heroic verse tradition will often break the narrative flow of a poem by inserting epithets (a descriptive term linked to a proper name), antinomasia (a distinctive term without a proper name), or kennings (descriptive poetic neologisms that are essentially one or two word riddles). (For more info, see the standard introductory work, Mitchell and Robinson’s Guide to Old English or—better yet—the third book of Snorri Sturlson’s Prose Edda which contains the only treatise on Germanic poetics that survives from the Middle Ages).

Thus, here are the first four lines in OE with some markings. The alliterative sounds are bolded; antinomasia are in italics.

Crist wæs acynned, cyniga wuldor,
on midne winter, mære þeoden,
ece ælmihtig, on þy eahteoðan dæg
Hælend gehaten, heofenrices weard.

[æ= ‘a’ as in cat; þ= ‘th’ as in think; ð = ‘th’ as in this]

So, some of the odd English below is a result of keeping closely to the patterns and conventions established here. A few of the phrases I’m really unsure about–they’re set off with brackets.

III. Rendering into (Modern) English

Christ was born, the king of glory
in the midst of winter, sublime prince,
eternally almighty. On the eighth day
the Savior was named, the guardian of the heavenly kingdom.
So the same time a great company,
a countless people, have the new year,
because the month comes, we think,
on the same day to town:
the first month, which the great people
formerly called Ianuarius
and after the fifth night, that baptism-time
of the eternal Lord comes to us,
his famous twelfth-day,
the battle-brave hero, observed in Britain
here in this land. Likewise after four weeks
that Solmonath (Feb) comes to town
without two nights, as you count them,
fair Februarius, wise warrior,
old law-learned one. And after one night
we celebrate the mass for Mary,
mother of the King, because she Christ on that day,
the Son of the Ruler, brought to the temple.
Then after five nights, over is
winter in the camp. The warrior then
after seventeen numbered nights
suffered death, the thane of the Savior,
the glorious Matthias, as I have heard.
Then Spring has been brought to town,
to men in the camp. Likewise as is well known
after three and two (days), to men everywhere
comes the month to commoners and lords
(except when the extra day is announced properly
every fourth year; then it comes further
one night later to our town),
adorned with ice, it brings hailstorms
around the earth, cruel Martius
proud Hlyda (Mar). Then the saint
after eleven nights, the shining noble,
Gregory, in the faith of God,
glorious in Britain. Likewise Benedict
after nine nights thus sought the Savior,
hardy and brave, then praised well
in wise writings, servant of the Ruler,
by rule-fast men. Likewise also by counting-craft
in the same time the equinox is observed,
for the Lord God created at the beginning
on this same day the sun and moon.
Ho, after four nights the Father sent,
from when the equinox the lords observe,
his archangel, salvation was announced
to the great Mary, that she the Creator should
bear, the best of kings, as it is known
throughout the earth; it was a glorious event,
well-known to the people! Likewise after four and three
nights-counted, then the Savior sent
the month Aprelis, in which frequently comes
that glorious time, to the joy of men,
when the Lord arose; then rejoicing is fitting
everywhere wide abroad as the prophet sang:
“This is the day when the Lord for us
the Wise One acted, for the nations of men,
to all happy earth-dwellers with joy.”
We cannot this time calculate by counting
the number of days, nor the Ascension of the Lord
up into the heaven, because it ever changes
with the reckoning of the wise but shall the wise-with-winters
in the cycle find with skill the holy days.
We should nevertheless yet
the remembrance of the martyrs hereafter reckon,
Advancing forth with words, to sing the matter,
that after nineteen nights and five,
then in Eastermonath (Apr) comes to us
when men the relics of saints begin to lift up,
with holy adornment; that is an exalted day,
the famous Great Litany. Likewise in the city quickly
after six more nights, elegant in ornaments,
with trees and herbs, comes radiant to move
gloriously into town. Brings with benefit,
great Maius everywhere around the host.
On the same day, the coming of the nobles,
Philip and James, who gave up their lives,
the bold vassals, for the love of the Creator.
And after two nights then God showed
the more blessed Elena the most noble cross,
on which suffered the Lord of Angels
for love of men, the Creator on the gallows
by leave of the Father. Likewise after the first week
less one night then it brings to men
sun-bright days, summer to town.
with warm weather. Then the fields quickly
flower with blossoms, likewise happiness rises
around the earth among many classes
the living people, speaking praise
to the manifold King, honoring his excellence,
the Almighty. Then after eight and nine
days are counted, then the Lord received
into the other light Augustine
cheerful in heart, who when he was here in Britain
the lords obeyed him in following
the will of God, as the wise one commanded him—
Gregory. Nor have I ever heard of a man of old
any before, who ever brought
over the salty sea better teachings than
the famous bishop. Now in Britain he rests
in Canterbury near the throne,
in the famous minster. Then the month brings
after two and four, a long time
before Litha (Jun) to us to town
Iunius in former times, in which the jewel rises
up in the heavens, the highest in the year,
the brightest of the stars, and descend to its station,
going down to its seat. Then it will the wide 
earth behold and go about slower
over the earthen world the fairest light
of the creations of the world. Then the thane of glory
after thirteen, the favorite of the Lord,
John, in former days was born,
and ten nights also. We that time keep
in mid summer greatly with nobility.
Widely is honored, as is well-fitting
the time of the saints around the heroic men,
Peter and Paul. Lo, the apostles
faithful to their Lord, suffered in Rome
after mid-summer, as is greatly known,
five nights further, terrible tribulation,
a famous martyrdom; they had formerly many
wonders worked among the nations
such that they after accomplished countless
manifestations and signs through the Son of the Creator,
the chief retainers. Then at once comes
after two nights the time to us,
Julius month, in which Jamesa
fter four nights, giving his life,
and twenty, secure in his heart,
wise and steadfast teacher of the people
son of Zebedee. And then the feast comes
after seven nights when the summer brightens,
Weodmonath (Aug) to town everywhere comes
Augustus to the mighty people
Loaf-mass Day. So the harvest comes
after this time without any lack
beautiful, fruit-laden; prosperity is revealed
fair in the fields. Then forth is known
after three (?) nights, the people are strengthened
through the martyrdom of, famous deacon,
Laurence, had now life after
with the Glory-Father, from afflictions to a reward.
Likewise then after five days, the fairest maiden,
the wife of Glory, sought the Lord of Hosts
for the peace of her Son, a victorious home
in paradise; the Savior had then
a fair foster-reward, a recompense to the woman
forever and ever. Then indeed is,
after ten nights the time when honored
Bartholomew is, here in Britain,
an event well-honored. Likewise also widely
by lords is uttered the death of the noble one
after four nights, who the Fair One formerly
sprinkled with water, the royal child of glory,
the man fittingly. Concerning him the Ruler said
that no man greater upon earth
from a woman and man would be born.
And then after three nights among many men
then Haligmonth (Sep) appointed for men
comes to the people, as it by the prudent,
the ancient most wise, formerly was founded,
fair Septembres and that on the seventh day
then was born the greatest of queens
the mother of the Lord. Then a number of days
after thirteen, an honorable thane,
the wise evangelist, offered his spirit
Matthew to his decree of fate,in eternal joy.
Then altogether comes
after three nights thus to the people widely
the day of equinox, to the oldest men.
Lo, we honor widely around the earth
the archangel’s time at the harvest,
Michael so that many know
five nights after when to the people
by the lords announced the equinox.
And after two nights then the Teotha month (Oct)
comes to the people, to the wise in thought,
October into town to us in abundance,
Winter-filled, as they widely say
on the island of the Angles and Saxons,
men with wives. Likewise the time of warriors
after twenty, the two heroes,
and seven nights, namely together
in one day. We then of the nobles
of old learn, that the illustrious
Simon and Jude, are feasted,
dear to the Lord; because they obtained their doom,
the blessed ascent. And then speedily comes
after four nights to the abundance of the people
Blotmonath (Nov) to town, as men know,
Novembris, down to men
blessedness, as no other does
a month more of the mercy of the Lord.
And on the same day we all keep
the feast of the saints who in death or before it
worked in the world the will of the Lord.
Afterward the day of winter widely comes
on the sixth night, [sun-bright receives
a harvest with praise] of ice and snow
fettered with frost, by the command of the Master,
that we might not dwell in green lands,
adorned fields. Then after four nights
then Martin, the famous death-date,
a man without error sought the Ruler,
Lord of Angels. Then after eight nights
and four then went to God,
sunk into the sea-ground, a victorious man,
thrown into the sea, who formerly many men
upon Clement often called upon when in need.
And then after seven nights, dear to the victory-Lord,
noble Andrew up on a cross
gave up his ghost in the faith of God,
eager in the journey. Then is brought to the people
morning to men, a month to town,
Decembris, to the men of the armies,
formerly Yula (Dec). Likewise after eight and twelve
counted-nights then the Savior himself
with braveness gave Thomas
with hardships the eternal kingdom,
with boldness the hero-man his blessing.
Then after four nights then the Father of Angels
sent his Son into this vast creation
to comfort the people. Now you may find
the times of the saints which a man shall keep
as the command was commanded around the British kingdom
by the Saxon kings at this same time.

IIII. Brief Commentary

In a preliminary comparison between the Menologium and two early eleventh century kalendars from Winchester (BM Cotton Ms. Titus D. xxvii, ff. 3-8b and Cam. TC Ms. R. 15.32 pp. 15-26 [Wormald’s 9-10]) shows that the Menologium is correct except for a single odd error and that, in the main, it contains the feasts in the kalendars that have vigils appointed for them. (Important medieval feasts can be ascertained in two ways: 1) they have octaves—additional celebrations one week after the original date, and 2) they have vigils.) Of course, it must be noted that the two kalendars (the only ones I have on hand) are defective and have no vigils marked until The Nativity of St John the Baptist (June 24). Nevertheless, here are the observances of the Menologium in order. Feasts with vigils in these two kalendars are in bold:
Christmas (Dec 25)
Circumcision (Jan 1) [not listed but the vigil would have to be marked on Dec 31]
January 1
Epiphany (Jan 6)
February 1
Purification of the BVM (Feb 2)
Spring begins (Feb 7)
St Matthias (Feb 24)
March 1
St Gregory (Mar 12)
St Benedict (Mar 21)
Spring Equinox (Mar 21)
Annunciation of the BVM (Mar 25)
April 1
Easter (no date given)
Ascension (no date given)
Rogation Days/Letania Maior (Apr 25)
May 1
Sts Philip and James (May 1)
Invention of the Holy Cross (May 3)
Summer begins (May 9)
Augustine of Canterbury (May 26)
June 1
Nat. of John the Baptist (Jun 24)
Sts Peter and Paul (Jun 29)
July 1
St James (Jul 25)
Lammas Day (Aug 1)
Laurence (Aug 10)
The Assumption of the BVM (Aug 15)
St Bartholomew (Aug 25)
Decollation of John the Baptist (Aug 29)
September 1
Nat. of the BVM (Sep 8)
St Matthew (Sep 21)
Autumn Equinox (Sep 24) [Roman]
St Michael and All Angels (Sep 29)
October 1
Sts Simon and Jude (Oct 28)
November 1
All Saints (Nov 1)
Winter begins (Nov 7)
St Martin (Nov 11) [no vigil in these kalendars, but it does have an octave]
St Clement (Nov 23)
St Andrew (Nov 30)
December 1
St Thomas (Dec 20)
Christmas (Dec 25)

The odd error is the dating of the feast of St Laurence. The Menologium gives a space of three nights after Lammas; it ought to be nine instead. The three is certainly original in the text as the alliterative pattern depends upon the ‘þ’ in “þreo” and “þeodne” (l. 144). Either a “six” dropped out somewhere, there is a transcription error, or the text is defective here. The next feast—the Assumption of the BVM—is reckoned five nights later which is correct (Aug 15) based on the proper date for St Laurence.

V. Summary

In conclusion, this text gives us a valuable look at the English-language reception of the Latin liturgy. In connection with two other vernacular documents, Seasons for Fasting and Ælfric’s sermon for Trinity Sunday (Pope XIII), the Menologium represents both the importance attached to the kalendar and the means for its propagation among illiterate priests and laity alike.

Dr. Adam (aka AKMA) has posted some of the material he presented at a clergy day. The first part* is an excellent overview of the problems of interpretation in an ecclesial context and maps some of the very real issues at work in our Anglican debate. What he leads to without saying in so many words is a spirit of generosity and hospitality when it comes to other peoples’ readings of Scripture. I think he has absolutely hit the nail on the head.

The perennial Christian problem, though, is courage. How do we maintain the courage and conviction to be open-minded, hospitible and generous even when we suspect heartily that our readings and sometimes our very person will be met with close-mindedness or even hatred? As I see it, this perspective reopens the age-old debate about Christian attitudes to abuse. What is the texture of the specturm from being abusive in turn (which clearly is bad) to playing the role of the Christian door-mat (which is equally bad). I’ve always envisioned that there is a place somewhere on that spectrum where vulnerability and openness pass through the paradox of the cross that transforms weakness into strength where the very meekness and innocence of the lamb standing as if it had been slain is transformed into the eschatological power of the conquering lion of the tribe of Judah (cf. Rev 5:5-6). Of course, finding that place can be a real trick…

The Menologium is translated; I hope to post it later tonight.

*I’m attempting a trackback…we’ll see if it works. [Update: Didn’t work…hmmm.]