52 - Monastic Liturgy, 1100–1500: Continuity and Performance

Summary

Monastic liturgy in the high and late Middle Ages was defined by a broad continuity of practice across time and place. From the later eleventh century, when the “Benedictinization” of monastic liturgy was complete (as described by Jesse Billett in this volume) to the sixteenth century and even beyond, the basic structures of monastic liturgical observance remained largely the same. Monks and nuns spent much of the day singing the divine office in services that corresponded essentially to the hours prescribed by the Rule of St. Benedict (RB). In addition to the psalmody of the office, the mass (often two daily masses) was part of the monastic day. The cycle of the year structured around the liturgy included various forms of ritual commemoration that shaped the experience of time and history in a monastic community. While individual elements varied among orders and houses, the long-term stability of the shared features created a continuous liturgical tradition over the centuries.