The Roman Mass
From Early Christian Origins to Tridentine Reform

A history of the common structure and ritual shape of the Roman Mass from Eucharistic origins to the Tridentine reform.

Uwe Michael Lang (Author)

9781108832458, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 September 2022

456 pages
23.4 x 15.9 x 3 cm, 0.8 kg

'I can imagine it is gratifying to an author when his accumulated scholarship can come together in one splendid volume. I know it is gratifying to a reader when he discovers a 1500-year history of the 'Ordo Missae', written with a new, synthetic approach, that attends to classic texts of liturgical history, gently questions shortcomings, explains the current issues, attends to new methodologies in order to nuance current opinion, and interweaves topical concerns into historical narrative. A history must be more than a simple concatenation of dates and facts. These must be woven into a narrative tapestry if they are to command interest, and this is Fr. Michael Lang's masterful accomplishment.' David W. Fagerberg, The Thomist

This volume offers a new, synthetic overview of the structure and ritual shape of the Roman Mass from its formative period in late antiquity to its post-Tridentine standarisation. Starting with the Last Supper and the origins of the Eucharist, Uwe Michael Lang constructs a narrative that explores the intense religious, social, and cultural transformations that shaped the Roman Mass. Lang unites classical liturgical history with insights from a variety of other disciplines that have drawn attention to the ritual performance and reception of the mass. He also presents liturgical developments within the broader historical and theological contexts that affected the celebration and experience of the sacramental rite that is still at the heart of Catholic Christianity. Aimed at scholars from a broad swathe of subjects, including religious studies, history, art history, literature, and music, Lang's volume serves as a comprehensive history of the Roman Mass over the course of a millenium.

Introduction
1. The last supper
2. The Eucharist in the early church
3. Development of Eucharistic prayers in the third and fourth century
4. The formative period of Latin liturgy
5. Roman stational liturgy
5. The expansion and adaptation of the Roman liturgy in the Carolingian Age
7. From the Ottonian Revival to the High Middle Ages
8. Decline and vitality in the later Middle Ages
9. The Tridentine Reform
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2]