Papers by Arthur Westwell
Standardization in the Middle Ages, ed. Line Cecile Engh and Kristin B. Aavitsland, 2024
Books for the celebration of the Mass, known as sacramentaries, survive in great variety from the... more Books for the celebration of the Mass, known as sacramentaries, survive in great variety from the Early Middle Ages. The contributions of their medieval compilers have rarely been acknowledged, as most studies have focused on the establishment of a single authoritative form, especially in the influential edition of Jean Deshusses. This form, based on the Roman family of the so-called Gregorian sacramentary, has itself become the standard reference for the early medieval mass liturgy. But, in the manuscripts, we can see that compilers used the standard structure of the Gregorian to continually adapt this especially variable tradition. This article examines this process of adaptation from various angles, arguing that the Gregorian “standard” was a vehicle for vibrant adaptation. It first considers the production of two deluxe books at Corbie, showing how each one responds in a different way to the variance of traditions with different methods that gave starkly differing results. It then considers how a standard might be quite different in another regional context, by showing that the fragmentary “Missal of Lodi” from a monastery in Olonna enriched the Frankish Gregorian with material and methods that are characteristic to northern Italy. Finally, it considers how composers of new masses took on the Gregorian’s language and formulation to address changing devotional priorities, using Alcuin’s composition of new masses to show how a standard register and language could be adapted to a wholly new purpose, a characteristically medieval engagement with principles and methods of standardization
A number of conferences have provided milestones along the way to this happy end. Special thanks ... more A number of conferences have provided milestones along the way to this happy end. Special thanks are due to my fellow presenters and the organisers at 'Texts and Identities' in Cambridge, Berlin and Vienna, 'Rethinking Carolingian Correctio' in Cambridge and Utrecht, 'Medieval Rites' at Yale, 'Senses of Liturgy' in Bristol, 'Rewiring Romans' at the Norwegian Academy in Rome, 'Ritual and Historiography in the Middle Ages' in Münster and my colleagues at the Cambridge Medieval History Seminar, among others. For three special months the staff and my fellow award-holders at the British School at Rome made me a home away from home in the most amazing city on Earth. My college for seven years, Queens', has supported me through them all. For materially enabling the work without which this thesis could not have been accomplished, I would also like to thank the Trust of Roger and Ingrid Pilkington, the Bibliographical Society, the H.M. Chadwick Fund, Queens' College, and Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst. One of the great privileges of studying this stock of texts has been the chance to visit the great libraries and collections of Europe. The staff have been universally welcoming to a scholar, and sincerely interested in discovering what I will do with their manuscripts. For all their help, my gratitude goes to to the staff at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Bibliothèque national de
Writing Sounds in Carolingian Europe: The Invention of Musical Notation. By Susan Rankin. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 2018. xxiii + 404 pp. £90 (hardback). ISBN 9781108421409
Early Medieval Europe, Nov 29, 2020
Papers of the British School at Rome, Oct 1, 2017
This is very important for our understanding of Italian interstate relations, of the epigraphic h... more This is very important for our understanding of Italian interstate relations, of the epigraphic habits of early Italy, and of Rome's eastern policy. For the purposes of my dissertation, whether Rome decided to adopt the Greek manner of sending official letters because there was no similar practice in Italy or despite there being a pre-existing Italian practice is very important, and should be considered in any evaluation of the language of the Greek in the inscribed Republican letters. This is because the earliest extant Roman letters in Greek are notable for their close adherence to the standards of Hellenistic official epistolography. One important implication in the light of this consideration is that if, before the end of the second Macedonian War, Rome and the Italian states did not use official letters with the expectation that the recipient would display them, Rome's decision to adopt the Greek method would demonstrate an acute awareness of eastern diplomatic and administrative practice, and a great deal of wisdom in so doing. If there was such a system already in place in Italy, however, Rome's decision to adopt the Greek method instead of the Italianwhich would have been unfamiliar to the Greekswould be even wiser. This also would be strong evidence against the long-held view of Roman linguistic imperialism in the East by emphasizing that using Greek was central to Rome's policy from an early stage. The majority of my time at the BSR was spent on analysing the historical evidence for Rome's early interstate relations; and on firsthand inspection of official, interstate documents in inscriptions. Although there is further research to be conducted, my findings to date indicate that it is highly unlikely that the Romans sent official documentsespecially lettersto other Italian states with the expectation that they would inscribe them before the second Macedonian War; it seems likely that this did not become a feature of Roman interstate relations until the period of prolonged administration in the East. From the earliest stages Rome and the Italian states made use of treaties as the official document par excellence in interstate relations. In the East, however, the Romans quickly recognized the importance of utilizing the range of official documentsletters being particularly importantand the necessity of using Greek. The project has been a success for building the framework of the introductory chapters of my dissertation, as well as providing material for a journal article.
Three Ninth-Century Liturgical Fragments Identified as Pontificals in Heidelberg, Douai and Innsbruck
Revue Bénédictine, Jun 1, 2021
Correcting the liturgy and sacred language
Manchester University Press eBooks, Apr 25, 2023
Monastic communities and canonical clergy in the Carolingian world (780-840): categorizing the church , 2022
Early Medieval Europe, 2022
Letters of Alcuin of York attest that he composed a liturgical book he called a 'missal' while he... more Letters of Alcuin of York attest that he composed a liturgical book he called a 'missal' while he was abbot of St Martin's basilica in Tours. No manuscripts of this missal survive. It has to be recovered from much later sacramentaries copied in Tours, which have been subject to significant subsequent reworking. This article makes a new attempt to draw out the contents of the missal from these later sources, assuming that the later adjustments by others are an equally valid attempt to improve the usability and comprehensiveness of the book as Alcuin's original endeavour. The discovery of fragments of a much earlier sacramentary from Tours in Solothurn Staatsarchiv also makes a significant contribution to the process. * The research for this study was conducted at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, supported by the Mellon Foundation. I would like to thank colleagues there, especially Jonathan Black, and also Dr Silvan Freddi of Solothurn Staatsarchiv for making this research possible. The comments and suggestions of my reviewers were extremely helpful. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
Heliger Dienst, 2022
Eine Vielfalt von Missale und libelli Das Mittelalter hindurch betonte die Gesetzgebung der König... more Eine Vielfalt von Missale und libelli Das Mittelalter hindurch betonte die Gesetzgebung der Könige, Bischöfe und Synoden mehrfach die Forderung, dass jeder Priester sein eigenes Messbuch zur Verfügung haben solle. Ein Beispiel dafür ist die Anweisung Ludwigs des Frommen zwischen 818 und 819: "Quatenus presbyteri missalem et lectionarium siue ceteros libellos sibi necessarios bene correctos habeant" oder "Alle Priester sollen ein Missale und ein Lektionar sowie andere für sie notwendige und gut korrigierte Büchlein haben".2 Viele Ressourcen wurden aufgewendet, um diesem Bedarf gerecht zu werden. In der Tat waren Messbücher eine der wichtigsten Möglichkeiten, wie die Vorstellungen der Obrigkeit den lokalen Klerikern in ihren kleinen Pfarrkirchen weitergegeben werden konnten und dadurch auch periphere Gemeinden erreichten. Um aber die Messliturgie des frühen Mittelalters zu verstehen, müssen wir zunächst eine "Überlebensverzerrung" unserer Quellen berücksichtigen: Die Handschriften, die in den entlegenen, armen Kirchen dem täglichen liturgischen Gebrauch dienten, haben kaum bis heute überlebt, anders als so manche Prachtbände aus Klöstern und Kathedralen, die noch heute in ihrer prachtvollen Ausgestaltung bewundert werden können. Vor der durch den Buchdruck geschaffenen Einheitlichkeit gab es außerdem keine zwei völlig identischen liturgischen Bücher. Das Verständnis liturgischer
Scriptorium, 2022
The library of the Archiepiscopal Chateau in Kroměříž, Czechia preserves a Carolingian manuscript... more The library of the Archiepiscopal Chateau in Kroměříž, Czechia preserves a Carolingian manuscript that until now has not sufficiently attracted scholars' attention. As previous researches in Czech have demonstrated, the manuscript is a Sacramentary of the Gregorian type, copied in the diocese of Reims towards the end of the ninth century, perhaps at the monastery of Saint Pierre d'Hautvillers. The textual version of the manuscript, the pre-Hadrianic version, is particularly rare and attested only in the famous Sacramentary of Trent. Although the compilers of the Kroměříž Sacramentary used parts of the well-known Hucusque Supplement in order to enhance their text, the main body of the Sacramentary still preserves many of the peculiarities of a more ancient recension. Further unique liturgical material in the manuscript is also identified and edited. The presence of prayers for victory over pagan enemies suggests the Viking attacks which overtook Reims in 882 represented a real threat, or a very recent one, at the time the manuscript was copied.
St. Emmeram: Liturgie und Musik vom Mittelalter bis zur Frühen Neuzeit, 2023
On the 21 st of August 1683, the great Benedictine savant Jean Mabillon arrived at the monastery ... more On the 21 st of August 1683, the great Benedictine savant Jean Mabillon arrived at the monastery of St Emmeram in Regensburg. 1 In the record of the trip published from his diaries, Iter Germanicum, he noted the treasures he saw there, such as the chasuble of St Wolfgang (today in the Regensburg Domschatz), and the treasures of the library, including the Codex Aureus of Charles the Bald (today München Bayerische Staatsbibliothek [D-Mbs], Clm 14000), which he declared to be among the most beautiful manuscripts he had ever seen. 2 But Mabillon also took special notice of another early medieval manuscript, which has subsequently attracted less attention, though it was personally important to Mabillon in order to settle a vexed question of liturgical studies. Majoris momenti est, said Mabillon, quod in Glossis Mss super Canones Apos tolorum et Decretales Pontificum legitur. 3 He had spotted in this manuscript an explanation of the ancient Roman custom of the Fermentum, since it was mentioned in the famous letter of Pope Innocent to Decentius of Gubbio written in 416. 4 As Mabillon noted, liturgical historians of his day had been divided on what Innocent meant by the Fermentum but the gloss on Innocent's letter now settled the question:
Mélanges de l'École française de Rome -Moyen Âge, 2020
Bibliothérapies médiévales-Varia-Outils et méthodes pour l'histoire des Églises entre Orient et O... more Bibliothérapies médiévales-Varia-Outils et méthodes pour l'histoire des Églises entre Orient et Occident Atelier doctoral : Outils et méthodes pour l'histoire des Églises entre Orient et Occident
Die Handschriften der Hofschule Kaiser Karls des Großen. Individuelle Gestalt und europäisches Kulturerbe, 2019
Charlemagne's court, the library attached to it, and the manuscripts stored and copied there, hav... more Charlemagne's court, the library attached to it, and the manuscripts stored and copied there, have always occupied a central place in the traditional story of the development of the Western liturgy. The Court School Manuscripts, produced in this atmosphere, are necessarily intertwined with pressing questions about the monarch's direct involvement in the process of liturgical change, the Carolingian construction of liturgical authority, and the reception of Roman patterns of worship across the realm ruled from Charlemagne's seat. The manuscripts in question transmit the Roman liturgical year, notably seen in the significant comes evangeliorum at the end of the six complete gospel books and, particularly, this same structure is inherent to the Godescalc Evangeliary, Paris BnF NAL 1203, which gives the pericopes of the Gospel readings each in their dedicated day of the year. These manuscripts, are therefore, in structure and in conception, ,liturgical' in many of the same
Words in the Middle Ages / Les Mots au Moyen Âge, 2020
Carolingian interventions in the liturgy are often presented within a broader framework of societ... more Carolingian interventions in the liturgy are often presented within a broader framework of societal and linguistic improvement, sometimes characterised with the Latin term correctio. In such a framework, the words of the liturgy occupy a central place. It is argued that the impulse to correct Latin during this period stemmed from anxieties surrounding the efficacy of prayers spoken in poor Latin, expressed noticeably in the 789 Admonitio Generalis concerning priests: "but they pray badly using uncorrected books".
Papers of the British School at Rome, 2018
The study of medieval liturgy is well served by a fuller appreciation of the unique richness of i... more The study of medieval liturgy is well served by a fuller appreciation of the unique richness of individual manuscripts. One example, Vat. Lat. 7701, is a key piece of evidence for uncovering the reception of the Carolingian project to 'correct' liturgy in Chieti, Abruzzo. This manuscript is a 'pontifical', created for the personal use of a ninth-century bishop of Chieti. Within this book, he described and prescribed his own liturgical duties, those which made up his office as the Carolingians understood it. The peculiarities of the manuscript and some of its unique features are best understood by reference to this imperative. Alongside other products of the Carolingian scriptorium at Chieti, the manuscript reveals that even bishops at the southernmost tip of the Carolingian Empire saw themselves as fully engaged in an Empire-wide programme to amend liturgical practice, which did not aim for uniformity but led to significant creativity. This programme was associated with imperial authority, but led by bishops themselves. Local liturgical variation is undeniable in our manuscript, but the sharing of texts and communication with sees all across the Empire are equally visible components. Lo studio della liturgia medievale può trarre vantaggio da un più pieno apprezzamento della ricchezza, unica nel suo genere, di manoscritti personali. Un esempio in tal senso è il Vat. Lat. 7701, una fonte chiave per gettare luce sulla ricezione a Chieti (Abruzzo) del progetto carolingio di riforma della liturgia. Il manoscritto è un 'pontificale', creato per uso personale di un vescovo di Chieti nel IX sec. All'interno di questo libro, egli descrive e stabilisce i suoi doveri liturgici, quelli che erano competenza della sua carica secondo quanto inteso dai Carolingi. Le peculiarità del manoscritto e alcune delle sue caratteristicheuniche nel loro generesi possono capire bene facendo riferimento a questa esigenza. Insieme ad altri prodotti dello scriptorium carolingio di Chieti, il manoscritto rivela come persino i vescovi nelle parti più meridionali dell'impero carolingio percepissero il loro pieno coinvolgimento in un programma di modifica globale della pratica liturgica, che non mirava all'uniformità ma che portava a una significativa creatività. Questo programma era associato con l'autorità imperiale, ma condotto dai vescovi stessi. La variazione liturgica locale è innegabile nel nostro manoscritto, ma la condivisione di testi e la comunicazione con le vedute di tutto l'impero sono componenti ugualmente visibili.
ACTA Rewiring Romans, 2019
This article examines a number of Carolingian liturgical manuscripts (Wolfenbuttel Herzog August ... more This article examines a number of Carolingian liturgical manuscripts (Wolfenbuttel Herzog August Bibliothek Wissembourg 91, Cologne Dombibliothek MS 138, Vienna Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod.ser.n. 2762 and Paris Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal 227) each containing texts now known as the ordines romani. These texts are "stage directions" for the liturgy, distinguished by their reference to the practices of the Church of Rome. While the ordines romani certainly give precious information about Roman liturgical practice, the Frankish contribution to shaping and displaying these texts in line with their own priorities and usages must be acknowledged too. For example, these manuscripts all combine ordines romani with texts about Roman history and topography. For these readers, the desired imitation of Roman liturgical practice was not about copying any particular text or practice by rote, but a deeper form of participation that involved the construction of an image of Rome across a whole manuscript. The given image of Rome responded to the institutional or personal needs animating the manuscript. These manuscripts compel us to imagine diverse practices of reading within and without liturgical performance.
Talks by Arthur Westwell
Books by Arthur Westwell
Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture XXXIX Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Culture ... more Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture XXXIX Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Culture LXXXVIII
The series of beautiful sacramentaries made at Saint-Amand in the later ninth century offer us unique insight into an early medieval scriptorium at work. These manuscripts contain principally the prayer texts for the celebration of the Mass, a ceremony which stood at the centre of monastic life in this period. They display how this largely neglected genre discloses creativity and initiative on the part of the monks of Saint-Amand, who re-organised and re-composed this especially versatile literature. They made their books uniquely comprehensive and full of insight into how the mass liturgy was re-made at a critical period in its development. This innovative study makes these sources accessible for the first time.
In-depth study of script, decoration, and content enables a new appreciation of the context in which the deluxe Saint-Amand manuscripts were produced. It foregrounds ecclesiastical patronage, the political and intellectual dynamics at the waning of Carolingian power, and the intensive collaboration of scribes, artists, and liturgical composers, as well as the unique ways liturgical manuscripts can inform our understanding of medieval life and thought
Uploads
Papers by Arthur Westwell
Talks by Arthur Westwell
Books by Arthur Westwell
The series of beautiful sacramentaries made at Saint-Amand in the later ninth century offer us unique insight into an early medieval scriptorium at work. These manuscripts contain principally the prayer texts for the celebration of the Mass, a ceremony which stood at the centre of monastic life in this period. They display how this largely neglected genre discloses creativity and initiative on the part of the monks of Saint-Amand, who re-organised and re-composed this especially versatile literature. They made their books uniquely comprehensive and full of insight into how the mass liturgy was re-made at a critical period in its development. This innovative study makes these sources accessible for the first time.
In-depth study of script, decoration, and content enables a new appreciation of the context in which the deluxe Saint-Amand manuscripts were produced. It foregrounds ecclesiastical patronage, the political and intellectual dynamics at the waning of Carolingian power, and the intensive collaboration of scribes, artists, and liturgical composers, as well as the unique ways liturgical manuscripts can inform our understanding of medieval life and thought
The series of beautiful sacramentaries made at Saint-Amand in the later ninth century offer us unique insight into an early medieval scriptorium at work. These manuscripts contain principally the prayer texts for the celebration of the Mass, a ceremony which stood at the centre of monastic life in this period. They display how this largely neglected genre discloses creativity and initiative on the part of the monks of Saint-Amand, who re-organised and re-composed this especially versatile literature. They made their books uniquely comprehensive and full of insight into how the mass liturgy was re-made at a critical period in its development. This innovative study makes these sources accessible for the first time.
In-depth study of script, decoration, and content enables a new appreciation of the context in which the deluxe Saint-Amand manuscripts were produced. It foregrounds ecclesiastical patronage, the political and intellectual dynamics at the waning of Carolingian power, and the intensive collaboration of scribes, artists, and liturgical composers, as well as the unique ways liturgical manuscripts can inform our understanding of medieval life and thought