capitis, oculorum infirmitatem, manuum, pedum, brachiorum, pectorum, simulque et intestinorum atque omnium membrorum tam extrinsecus quam intrinsecus et medullarum dolorem expellat.' 1 or allusions to the attacks of monsters, and to the powers of necromancy :— 'Morsus uero bestiarum, canum rabiem, scorpiorum, serpentum, uiperarum, atque omnium monstruosorum leniat dolores, et superinducta sanitate plagarum sopiat cicatrices. Impetum quoque demonum, uel incursiones inmundorum spirituum, atque legionum malignarum uexationes, umbras et inpugnationes, et infestationes. Artes quoque maleficorum, chaldeorum, augurum et diuinorum incantationes et uenena promiscua, que spirituum inmundorum uirtute nefanda et exercitatione diabolica conficiuntur iubeas, domine, per hanc inuocationem tuam ab imis uisceribus eorum omnia expelli.' 2 Another objectionable element exists in the frequent invocations of and prayers to the saints, which are found provided for use in all the service books of this date. Such appeals for the assistance of the saints assume three different shapes. Firstly, the indirect, to which no objection can be taken; the prayer being directly addressed to God, that the petitions of such and such a saint or saints may be accepted on the worshipper's behalf. Instances of this kind abound in all the carly Sacramentaries, Roman and other. The doctrine is thus stated in a preface for S. Tyburtius :— 'Vere dignum æterne Deus. Qui dum beati Tyburtii martyris merita gloriosa ueneramur, auxilium nobis tuæ propitiationis adfore deprecamur, quoniam credimus nos per eorum intercessionem, qui tibi placuere, peccatorum nostrorum ueniam impetrare. Per.'3 This belief in the efficacy of the prayers of departed saints finds endless variety of expression, of which one more sample must suffice: 'Concede, quesumus, omnipotens deus, ut intercessio nos sanctæ dei genetricis Mariæ, sanctorumque omnium Apostolorum, Martyrum, Confessorum, ac Virginum, et omnium electorum tuorum ubique lætificet, ut dum eorum merita recolimus patrocinia sentiamus. Per.' 4 Secondly, there is the direct form of address to saints, confining itself to a request for their prayers in the wellknown formula 'Ora pro nobis.' For this purpose saint after saint is invoked in a certain order of classification, and in the form of a litany. Such litanies are found in all the previously described Anglo-Saxon Missals. They are sometimes of great length. The litany in the Leofric Missal invokes, 2 Ibid. f. 351b. 1 Leofric Missal, f. 350a. 3 Ibid. f. 185a. 4 Ibid. f. 2166. after the Blessed Virgin Mary, angels and apostles, fiftyfour martyrs, fifty-one confessors, twenty-nine virgins and widows.1 Thirdly, there are direct prayers to the saints, not only requesting their intercession, but their succour in danger, defence in life's temptation, consolation in trouble, and so forth. The following specimen is taken from a tenth-century AngloSaxon Book of Devotions. It is a prayer to S. Benedict, written for the use of a monastic community which observed his rule : 'Clarissime pater et dux monachorum, Benedicte, deo dilecte, nulli Sanctorum in orbe terrarum uirtutibus inferior, qui dum Christo iuxta nominis presagium meruisti placere, legem sanctam et benedictam monachis instituisti, adiuua me remissionem consequi peccatorum. Eripe me, pie pastor sancti ouilis tui, ouem infirmam ab infernalium fame luporum; neglegentias meas cotidianis sanctis precibus tuis absterge; mentem meam ad amorem tuorum conuerte preceptorum; uitam meam iustifica; actus meos guberna; cogitationes purifica; animam custodi; corpus tuere, et adiuua me cotidie in preceptis tuis proficere, teque patrem piissimum toto corde diligere, et omne quod contrarium Deo est despicere, sicque in presenti uiuere, ut tormenta eterna euadere, et illuc ualeam pertingere ubi tu sine fine cum Christo regnas. Amen.' 2 But the saint most frequently and passionately invoked, and to whom the most extravagant epithets were applied, trenching upon the Divine prerogatives, was the Blessed Virgin. Mariolatry is no very modern development of Romanism. There was a mass in her honour3 every Saturday, in accordance with the hebdomadal arrangement of votive masses drawn up by Alcuin. She was then, as now, invoked next after God in all litanies, before archangels, and angels and apostles; and whereas other saints were invoked once, her invocation, as now, was generally triple. She was not only ‘Dei genitrix' and 'Virgo Virginum,' but in a tenth-century English litany she is addressed thus: 'Sancta Regina mundi, ora pro nobis. 6 In another Service Book of the same date there is a 1 Leofric Missal, f. 266a. 2 Cott. MSS. Tit. D. xxvii. f. 89b. 3 It is entitled 'In Honorem Sanctæ Mariæ.'-Leofric Missal, f. 215a. 4 As in the Litany 'In Sabbato Sancto' in the present Roman Missal. 5 Psalter at Salisbury, MS. 180, f. 1716. Tit. D. xxvii. drawing of the Trinity, in which the Father and the Son are represented as aged men, somewhat alike, each with a cruciferous nimbus, and each with the right hand extended, and holding a book in the left. The place of the third Person is occupied by Our Lady with the Child in her lap holding a book, and with the dove, as an emblem of the Holy Ghost, resting upon her crowned head. Satan bound in chains under the feet of the central figure is being thrust into the open jaw of a monster representing hell, and Arius and Judas Iscariot, with ankles manacled, occupy the two lower corners of the design. This picture is followed by prayers to the Blessed Virgin, some of the expressions in which are quite in keeping with her elevation into a throne of equality with the Blessed Trinity. They are somewhat lengthy; but as they have never been published, perhaps their length will be pardoned on the score of their importance towards gaining a true estimate of the doctrines in vogue in the English Church before the Conquest : 'Singularis gratia, sola sine exemplo mater et virgo Maria, quam Dominus ita mente et corpore castam inuiolatamque custodiuit, ut digna existeres ex qua sibi nostre redemptionis pretium Dei Filius corpus aptaret, obsecro te, misericordissima, per cuius partum totus saluatus est mundus, intercede pro me misero, spurcissimo, cunctis iniquitatibus fedo, ut qui ex meis actibus nihil aliud dignus sum quam eternum subire supplicium, sed tuis, Virgo splendidissima, saluatus meritis et intercessionibus perenne celorum consequar regnum, annuente Ihesu Christo Filio tuo Domino nostro. Qui cum Patre, &c.'1 2 'O Virgo Virginum, Dei genitrix Maria, mater Domini nostri Ihesu Christi, regina Angelorum et totius mundi, oraculum eternæ uitæ, claritatis celorum, que nec primam similem uisa est habere sequentem, per pretiosum sanguinem filii tui Domini nostri Ihesu Christi, quem in pretium nostræ salutis effudit, et per sanctam, et venerabilem, et salubrem crucem eius, in qua adfixus stare dignatus es[t] pro salute generis humani, qui est fabricator mundi, et inter mortis supplicium, quod ipse Dei Filius sponte pro nobis in cruce pati uoluit, se suo discipulo sancto Iohanni commendauit dicens "Ecce mater tua," adiuua nos, et per gloriosam resurrectionem eius adiuua me miserum peccatorem sanctis meritis tuis et precibus tuis infirmitate corporis mei et animæ meæ nunc laborantem, et in hora exitus mei ex hac presenti uita, et in omnibus tribulationibus et angustiis meis, et in omnibus necessitatibus meis in hoc seculo et in futuro, illi ad laudem et gloriam et honorem, qui, &c.' 4 3 The following prayer to the Blessed Virgin is taken from 4 Ibid. f. 84b. 1 f. 82a. 2 Sic for claritas. 3 For te. the Book of Cerne, written a century earlier than the MS. from which the previous extracts have been made.1 'Sancta Dei genitrix, semper uirgo, beata, benedicta, gloriosa et generosa, intacta et intemerata, casta et incontaminata, Maria immaculata, electa, et a Deo dilecta, singulari sanctitate predita, atque omni laude digna, que es interpellatrix pro totius mundi discrimine, exaudi, exaudi, exaudi nos, sancta Maria. Ora pro nobis, et intercede, et auxiliare(i) ne dedigneris. Confidimus enim et pro certo scimus quia omne quod uis potes impetrare a Filio tuo Domino nostro Ihesu Christo, Deo omnipotenti, omnium sæculorum rege, qui uiuit cum Patre, &c.' 2 Although prayer of this description was most frequently addressed to the Blessed Virgin, it was by no means confined to her. Angels were directly appealed to. Other saints, especially patron saints, were frequently objects of devotion, such, prayer being especially addressed to S. Peter among the Apostles, and to S. Michael among the Angels, who were both believed to be endowed with exceptional powers. One example of a Collect to each of them is subjoined, with its heading, taken from the Book of Cerne. 'ORATIO AD SANCTUM PETRUM. 'Rogo te, beate Petre, Princeps Apostolorum, et Clavicularius regni cælestis, qui (habes) potestatem a Domino nostro Ihesu Christo animas ligandi atque soluendi, cœlum claudendi et aperiendi (uirtutem) suscepisti; subveni mihi, pius intercessor, ut per tuæ protectionis auxilium absoluar, et inferni tenebras euadere, et portam regni cælestis, te aperiente, merear intrare, per summum Pastorem et sanctissimum obsecro te, cui dixisti, "Tu es Christus filius Dei uiui," cui gloria in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.' 3 'ORATIO AD SANCTUM ARCHANGELUM Michahelem. 'Sanctus Michahel, Archangelus Domini nostri Ihesu Christi, qui uenisti in adiutorium populo Dei, subueni mihi apud altissimum iudicem, ut mihi peccatori donet remissionem omnium peccatorum meorum. Propter magnam miserationum tuarum clementiam exaudi me, sancte Michahel, inuocantem te. Adiuua me maiestatem (tuam) adorantem. Interpelle pro me gemiscentem, et fac me castum ab omnibus peccatis. Insuper obsecro te preclarum atque decorum summe diuinitatis ministrum, ut in nouissimo die benigne suscipias animam meam in sinu tuo sanctissimo, et perducas eam in loco refrigerii, pacis, et quietis, ubi sanctorum animæ cum lætitia et innumerabili gaudio futurum iudicium et gloriam beatæ resurrectionis expectant, per eum qui uiuit, &c.'4 Enough of original material has, it is hoped, now been ' Now in Cambridge University Library, 46, i. 10. 3 Ibid. fol. 8ob. 4 Ibid. fol. 76b. brought before the reader to substantiate our two assertions: firstly, that these ancient Service Books of the English Church are replete with collects and other devotional formulæ of great delicacy of thought and beauty of expression, differing as widely from modern compositions of the same character as fine old specimens of Venetian glass or Dresden china are superior to the wares exposed in a nineteenth-century shop window; secondly, that although the language is beautiful, the matter is often most objectionable. It is curious to think that a Church which tolerated the above prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints should have been looked upon by the leading bishops at the time of the Reformation, and should be described by recent Anglican historians, as a model of primitive and orthodox simplicity. As we read them we wonder that the reformation of our formularies did not take place in the tenth instead of in the sixteenth century. Their perusal leaves us more satisfied with what we have got, and less inclined to grumble at what we have lost, in our own Book of Common Prayer. It is hoped, too, that the taste afforded here of the contents of ancient MSS. may whet the public appetite to demand further publication of these documents. On purely literary grounds, we may appeal to the various learned societies in London, and to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, to unlock the treasures of our large public libraries. On ecclesiastical grounds we desire to have published these repertories of beautiful prayers, applicable for every festival, and in almost every emergency, which it is hoped may be borrowed for use, or at least may serve for models of composition, whenever from time to time devotions for special occasions are put forth by authority in the Church of England. ART. III.-PRINCIPAL SHAIRP'S WRITINGS. Fifth edition. (Edin I. Culture and Religion. By J. C. SHAIRP, Principal of the United College, St. Andrews. burgh, 1875.) 2. Studies in Poetry and Philosophy. By J. C. SHAIRP. Second edition. (Edinburgh, 1872.) 3. Robert Burns. By Principal SHAIRP, &c. Macmillan and Co., 1879.) (London: |