C
CatholicSooner
Guest
Does anyone have a recommendation of a book that covers the vast history of the mass? From the beginning to the present day?
- Status
V
Vico
Guest
We once studied some works of Adrian Fortescue at our parish. There is one you might be interested in:
Crusader13
New member
Also there’s small booklet by Michael Davies that is excellent. It gives you a very basic summary of the history of the mass and even though it’s not as thorough as others it’s still pretty informative.
A Short History of the Roman Mass.
A Short History of the Roman Mass.
Last edited:
C
CatholicSooner
Guest
Thank you. I actually already bought this on amazon. Only like five bucks and one day delivery. Crazy
D
dochawk
Guest
There are limits on how far and detailed it’s possible to go.
Until fairly modernly, it was the Roman practice to destroy the old books when new ones came out.
And even by the time of Trent, a lot of knowledge had been lost as to which parts belonged to the people, and which to the priest, leading them to have the priest say them all “for good measure.”
We know that the Roman Canon is one of the earliest anaphora (but older are also still in use).
We know that the Mass of Rome was widely but far from universally used in the west before Trent, and similarly for the use of Latin.
We know when certain specific changes were made (such as moving the Lord’s Prayer until after the consecration).
But the really “juicy” stuff is largely lost to history
It’s somewhat better in the east, but I don’t know of the existence of details before St. Basil’s liturgy.
I think that the liturgy of Addai and Mari is, I believe, pretty much its second century self, but I could be wrong.
Note that the early anaphora sometimes omit things we take as givens today–the Roman Canon lacks an explicit epiclesis, while the anaphora from Addai and Mari lacks an explicit institution narrative.
That said, there is plenty of information out there.
You might want to sort through the forums at byzcath.org; this has been hashed out at times with actual experts and liturgists participating. (and to roughly quote Fr. Serge of blessed memory, a liturgist himself, the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist is that you can sometimes negotiate with a terrorist!
)
Until fairly modernly, it was the Roman practice to destroy the old books when new ones came out.
And even by the time of Trent, a lot of knowledge had been lost as to which parts belonged to the people, and which to the priest, leading them to have the priest say them all “for good measure.”
We know that the Roman Canon is one of the earliest anaphora (but older are also still in use).
We know that the Mass of Rome was widely but far from universally used in the west before Trent, and similarly for the use of Latin.
We know when certain specific changes were made (such as moving the Lord’s Prayer until after the consecration).
But the really “juicy” stuff is largely lost to history
It’s somewhat better in the east, but I don’t know of the existence of details before St. Basil’s liturgy.
I think that the liturgy of Addai and Mari is, I believe, pretty much its second century self, but I could be wrong.
Note that the early anaphora sometimes omit things we take as givens today–the Roman Canon lacks an explicit epiclesis, while the anaphora from Addai and Mari lacks an explicit institution narrative.
That said, there is plenty of information out there.
You might want to sort through the forums at byzcath.org; this has been hashed out at times with actual experts and liturgists participating. (and to roughly quote Fr. Serge of blessed memory, a liturgist himself, the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist is that you can sometimes negotiate with a terrorist!
)
C
CatholicSooner
Guest
Thanks a bunch for the detailed response. Great stuff
- Status