Reading, Writing, and Doing Liturgy

The reform and correction of liturgy was a central plank of the broader programs of Carolingian reform in the late-eighth and ninth centuries. Among the books produced to effect these reforms were liturgical handbooks containing rubrics (ordines), as well as instructions, commentaries, and prayers, among other texts. These composite collections, sorts of how-to guides to the liturgy, were paramount in accomplishing the goals of a reformed liturgy and an educated clergy, and they manifest what I argue are the twin pillars of the Carolingian liturgical project: ordo and ratio. In the context of contemporary discussions of the liturgy by both theologians and in legislation it is evident that Carolingian liturgical reform was both concerned to correct how the liturgy was celebrated (ordo) and how it was understood (ratio). I will discuss several of these manuscripts that were compiled with different liturgical communities in mind to demonstrate the ways in which creativity, adaptation, and appropriation were hallmarks of early medieval liturgical life.

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