Music and Liturgy in Medieval Britain and Ireland

Reveals the rich liturgical ecology of medieval Britain and Ireland and the religious and lay communities who shaped it.

Ann Buckley (Edited by), Lisa Colton (Edited by)

9781108493222, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 January 2022

340 pages
25 x 17.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.81 kg

From music written in praise of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English saints to the selection of Gospel readings by the Dominicans, this book introduces readers to the richness of medieval liturgical culture from across Britain and Ireland. Each of its three main sections opens with a chapter that offers a contextual frame for its key themes. With contributions from leading experts in pre-Reformation music and its sources, the book's focus on Insular liturgy – rather than that of only one part of Britain or Ireland – allows readers to learn about the devotional, political and creative networks at play in shaping liturgical practices: personal, secular, monastic, lay, and professional. The opening part includes broader discussions of Uses, including that of Salisbury, and case studies explore Insular witnesses to devotional activities in honour of both local cults and widely known figures, including St Columba, St Margaret, St Katherine, and the Magi.

Part I. Liturgical Texts and their Contexts: 1. Textual witnesses to insular liturgies Ann Buckley and Lisa Colton
2. Contexts for the late medieval pontifical of Anian, bishop of Bangor: Issues of the 'Local' and the 'More-Than-Local' John Harper
3. Insular uses other than that of Salisbury John Caldwell
4. Saints and their sung texts in manuscripts of the Sarum Sanctorale: The case of Margaret, Virgin and Martyr Matthew Cheung Salisbury
Part II. Patterns in the Veneration of Regional and Local Saints in Insular Liturgical Sources: 5. Introduction to Part II Ann Buckley and Lisa Colton
6. Plainchant offices for the saints of medieval Britain and Ireland: Some reflections on their local and national significance David Hiley
7. Insular saints in Irish Sarum sources of the office Ann Buckley
8. Responsory verses for Irish and insular saints: Medieval singer-composers at work Barbara Haggh-Huglo
9. Pater Columba: The Irish and Scottish offices of St Columba of Iona (Colum Cille) Ann Buckley
Part III. Textual Witnesses to Insular-Continental Networks: 10. Introduction to Part III Ann Buckley and Lisa Colton
11. Nation, Identity and the Liturgical Cult of St Katherine of Alexandria in Twelfth-Century England James J. Blasina
12. The Dominicans and their Identity in Medieval Britain and Ireland: Evidence from Dominican Gospel Lections Eleanor J. Giraud
13. Liturgy and Devotion in Insular Witnesses to the Cult of the Three Kings of Cologne Lisa Colton
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Medieval & Renaissance music [c 1000 to c 1600 AVGC2], Music [AV]