The Pater Noster cord (also spelled Paternoster Cord and called Paternoster beads) is a set of Christian prayer beads used to recite the 150

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

, as well as the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...

. As such, Paternoster cords traditionally consist of 150 beads that are prayed once or 50 beads that are prayed thrice. One end of the Paternoster cord has a

Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

and the other end has a tassel.

History

The Pater Noster cord was used in

Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late Prehistory of Ireland, prehistoric era until the 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Norman invasi ...

, often sung in the form of

Celtic chant Celtic chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Celtic rite of the Catholic Church performed in Celtic Britain, Gaelic Ireland, and Brittany. It is related to, but distinct from the Gregorian chant of the Sarum use of the Roman rite whic ...

. In the

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

, persons who were illiterate simply recited the Lord's Prayer (known as the ''Pater Noster'' in the

Ecclesiastical Latin Ecclesiastical Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian theology, Christian thought in Late antiquity and used in Christianity, Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration ...

liturgical language A sacred language, liturgical language or holy language is a language that is cultivated and used primarily for religious reasons (like church service) by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Some religions, or part ...

) 150 times instead of the 150 Psalms, hence giving these Christian prayer beads the name of the Paternoster cord.

Development and use

In 3rd century

Roman Egypt Roman Egypt was an imperial province of the Roman Empire from 30 BC to AD 642. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai. It was bordered by the provinces of Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea, ...

, the

Coptic Rite The Coptic Rite is an Alexandrian liturgical rite. It is practiced in the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Coptic Catholic Church. The term ''Coptic'' derives from Arabic , a corruption of Greek ''Aígyptos'' (, “Egyptian”). The Coptic Rit ...

Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Wadi El Natrun, then known as ''Skete'', in Roman Egypt, beginning around the Christianity in the ante-Nicene period, third century. The ''Sayings of the Dese ...

Scetes Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt deposits ...

carried pebbles in pouches to count their

praying File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

of the Psalms. The Pater Noster Cord, however, originated in the 8th century

Celtic Church Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unified and identifiab ...

as a means to count the recitation of the one hundred and fifty

in the

Christian Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

, which are incorporated into the

fixed prayer times Fixed prayer times, praying at dedicated times during the day, are common practice in major world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism Jewish law requires Jews to pray thrice a day; the morning prayer is known as Shachari ...

of Christianity. Those who could not read or had difficulty memorizing the canonical hours prayed the

one hundred and fifty times. Ropes of 150 knots prayed once or ropes of 50 knots (to be counted thrice) were made, giving the Pater Noster Cord its current form. The use of the Paternoster Cords spread throughout Western Christendom. The oldest examples to be found were discovered by archaeologists during an excavation of the Celtic monastery on

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...

in 2022: made of

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

, they are believed date from the 8th- or 9th-century. The Pater Noster cord has been carried by Christians who wear it off of their

girdle A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for w ...

or belt, or also hang it off of "the neck or wrist or arm". Others have worn the Pater Noster cord by attaching it to a

brooch A brooch (, ) is a decorative jewellery item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gem ...

worn on the breast, or simply carrying it in their hand. According to the '' Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh'', the elderly

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

, spent the day before his death at the hands of

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

Brodir during the

Battle of Clontarf The Battle of Clontarf () took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted an army led by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse- Irish alliance comprising the forces of Sigtrygg Silkbea ...

in 1014 away from combat, kneeling upon a cushion, and singing 50 Psalms, 50 paters, 50 aves, and then reciting the next 50 Psalms using a Pater Noster cord.

Assemblage

The making of Paternoster Cords in the

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

was done by

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s who were distinguished based on the kind of materials they used to assemble them ("coral and shell, amber and jet, or bone and horn").

Present day

In the present day,

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

s such as the Solitaries of DeKoven (a community of Anglican hermits) make Pater Noster cords to support themselves.

References

{{Psalms Celtic Christianity Christian prayer Christianity in medieval Scotland History of Catholicism in Ireland Latin Church Lord's Prayer Prayer beads Psalms

History

Development and use

Assemblage

Present day

See also

References