The Bobbio Missal (Paris, 13246) is a seventh-century Christian liturgical

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

that probably originated in France. The Missal contains a

lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...

, a sacramentary and some canonical material (such as a

penitential A penitential is a book or set of church rules concerning the Christianity, Christian sacrament of penance, a "new manner of reconciliation with God in Christianity, God" that was first developed by Celtic monks in Ireland in the sixth century A ...

). It was found in Bobbio Abbey in Italy by the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk

Jean Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B., (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabil ...

between June 4 and June 9 of 1686. The Missal is the earliest liturgical manuscript surviving from the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Its specific authorship and provenance is much disputed, though general agreement points to the valley of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

, with Besançon (Mabillon's suggestion) and

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.

List of contents

*Excerpts from Pseudo-Theophilus’ commentary on the

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

(later addition) *Pseudo-Augustine's sermon De Dies Malus (later addition) *Daily readings *Canon ''Missae'' *''Adventus'' *''Vigilia natalis Domini'' *''Natalis Domini'' *St. Stephen *The Holy Innocents *Sts. Jacob and John *''Circumcisio Domini'' *''Epiphania'' *''Cathedra Sancti Petri'' *''In Sollemnitate Sanctae Mariae'' *''Quadragesima'' *''d Aurium Apertionem'' *''Expositio Symboli'' *''Traditio Symboli'' *''Cena Domini'' *''Lectiones in Parasceue'' *''Sabbato Sancto'' *''Orationes in Vigilio Paschae'' *''Benedictio Caerei'' *''Ad Christianum faciendum'' *''Ordo Baptismi'' *''Vigilia Paschae'' *''Pascha'' *'' Inventio Sanctae Crucis'' *''Litaniae'' *''Ascensio Domini'' *''Quinquagesima'' *A daily reading *St. John the Baptist *St. John's Passion *St. Peter and Paul *St. Sigismund *Martyrs nspecified*A Martyr nspecified*A Confessor nspecified*St. Martin *A Virgin nspecified*Dedication of a Church *For the sick *St. Michael *''Pro iter agentibus'' *For a priest acerdos*''Missa omnimoda'' *Votive Masses *For the living and the dead *''In domo cuiuslibet'' *Sunday Masses *''Apologia'' *''Missa Pro Principe'' (later addition) *''Devotiones sive imprecationes'' (later addition) *''Missae cotidianae dominicales'' *''Depositio sacerdotis'' *For the Dead *''Exorcismi salis et aquae'' *''Oratio in domo'' *Various Benedictions *''Orationes vespertina et matutina'' *''Exorcismum olei'' *''Benedictio olei'' (later addition) *''Penitential'' *''Orationes super paenitentem'' *''Benedictio hominis cum domo sua'' (later addition) *''De lege ad missam celebrandam'' (later addition) *''De septem gradibus ecclesiae'' (later addition) *''De Peccatis ad infirmum ducentibus'' (later addition) *''De tempore nativitatis Christi'' (later addition) *''Orationes pro paenitentibus'' (later addition) *''Benedictiones panis'' (later addition) *''De omnibus cursibus'' (later addition) *''Symbolum apostolorum'' (later addition) *''De libris canonicis'' (later addition) *''Orationes ad missam'' (later addition)

Provenance

Jean Mabillon believed the Missal to be of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

tradition. He cited the collections "post nomina", "ad pacem" and the formula of the "Contestatio" as being characteristic of Gallican Liturgy. He also cited similarities between the Bobbio Missal and the '' Missale Gothicum'' (and ''Gallicanum Vetus'') and the ''Lectionary of Luxeuil''. The order of some significant feast days in the Bobbio Missal were also similar to the Gallican tradition; this ruled out the Mozarabic, Ambrosian or Roman traditions. The order of the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

in the Bobbio Ambrosian, such as the placement of the scripture readings and the

Pax Vobiscum Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...

. distinguishes it from the African tradition (here Mabillon quotes

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

to support his deductions). The content of the Missal do not completely match with the contents of the Gallican ''Missale Gothicum''. Mabillon explains that

was not uniform in

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

prior to

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

and his reforms. Thus differences between dioceses and even parishes in their liturgy were common. Mabillon dated the Missal to the late 7th century. As proof, he mentions that the name “Bertulfus” was found in the margin of a leaf. That would refer to the Abbot of Bobbio in the mid 7th century. The contents of the Missal listed as collections, readings from the prophets, the

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

and the

gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, contestations of the Mass for the whole year and a

. The penitential is particularly of interest to Mabillon, as it increases our understanding of that era. Mabillon states that it is possible the Missal could have come from, and been in use at, Besançon, the location of the Luxeuil Abbey. This is because the Missal includes the mass for

St. Sigismund Sigismund ( la, Sigismundus; died 524 AD) was King of the Burgundians from 516 until his death. He was the son of king Gundobad and Caretene. He succeeded his father in 516. Sigismund and his brother Godomar were defeated in battle by Clovis's s ...

, King of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

. Mabillon states unequivocally that the Missal could not have originated in Bobbio, as it does not refer to or contain any local saints or

St. Columbanus Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...

and his disciples. In addition, the Missal does not contain monastic materials used at that time in Bobbio by the monks. As the Missal does not contain anything about Columbanus and his disciples, Mabillon guesses that St. Columbanus himself may have been involved with the Missal, placing it in the Celtic tradition - but Mabillon does not elaborate on this. The ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' (1917) in its entry on the

Celtic Rite The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...

, lists the Bobbio Missal in its section entitled "Manuscript sources - Irish (whether insular or continental)". Mabillon notes that in the "Missa Pro Principe" (Mass for the Prince), after the "Contestatio" in the Canon, the name of the martyr Eugenia is commemorated as well as the other usual saints, this being a unique occurrence. It also happens in the mass for Christmas Eve. This special inclusion of Eugenia could be linked to a province or part of Frankia where a cult of Eugenia was prevalent, but Mabillon knew of no such place. Mabillon's title for the manuscript is ''Sacramentario de Ecclesia Gallicana'' (''Sacramentary of the Gallican Church'') - that is, a book about Gallican liturgy. He deemed that more correct than calling it a Gallican Liturgy or a Liturgy from Bobbio, both of which titles refer specifically to books containing only liturgy.

Modern scholarship

Many modern scholars consider the Bobbio Missal to be "one of the most intriguing liturgical manuscripts from early medieval Francia". The most comprehensive study to date is

Yitzhak Hen Yitzhak Hen ( he, יצחק חן; born 1963) is Anna and Sam Lopin Professor of History, formerly at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). Since August 2018 he has been the director of Israel Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew Uni ...

and Rob Meens’ ''The Bobbio Missal: liturgy and religious culture in Merovingian Gaul''. This book of collected works by international scholars who met in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

in 2001 examines in detail "virtually all of the issues that have swirled around the Bobbio missal". It was published in 2004, and summarizes the history of scholarship on the manuscript in terms of

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

paleography Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

, Latin spelling and

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mos ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and liturgy amongst other aspects.

Rosamond McKitterick Rosamond Deborah McKitterick (born 31 May 1949) is an English medieval historian. She is an authority on the Frankish kingdoms in the eighth and ninth centuries AD, who uses palaeographical and manuscript studies to illuminate aspects of the po ...

suggested that the Missal could have been a gift to a certain priest or bishop, in celebration of his ordination or perhaps a special appointment. She says, "the book itself, therefore, may be witness to a complex web of social and pastoral association, and possibly to the relationship between a bishop and his clergy. Such a gift... would most likely have been a working copy, designed for constant reference and use". McKitterick also indicated that the additions to the Missal, which occurred at a later time, may have been added by members of the community in which the book was used, for practical purposes. McKitterick agrees with Mabillon on the origin of the manuscript in

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

or somewhere in South-East France, around the late 7th/early 8th century, and that it was not designed for use in a monastic community. David Ganz reports that the script in the Bobbio Missal is the "earliest true minuscule, a script which allowed scribes to save space without sacrificing legibility". Marco Mostert, building on E.A. Lowe's division of the script into four characteristic styles of writing - M, M2, a and A - asserts that three of these styles were meant to be read aloud: "Having considered the punctuation and word spacing of the oldest quires, we have found the conventions of M to be consistent with those of late antique (liturgical) books meant for reading aloud by a native speaker of Latin - even if the consistency of the punctuation may leave something to be desired... M2 follows M’s conventions, as did A. The scribe of a, however, does not seem to have meant his texts to be read aloud (or performed) by anyone but himself". Charles and Roger Wright note that additions were made to the Bobbio Missal - that is, texts were added some time afterward by a subsequent

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

, notably the

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

"De Dies Malus" and an untitled question/answer dialogue primarily regarding biblical and

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor