Auditory Devotion

Sounds of the Past

Music can evoke feelings of comfort or awe; it can bring people together and strengthen a sense of community. The exact origins of using song and sound in devotional practice is unknown, yet we know it far predates the Christian Church. The role auditory worship played in medieval Christian religion should not be overlooked. To speak and sing the words of these sacred texts was to be spiritually connected to God in an almost tangible way.

Auditory devotion can be seen in the fragments of medieval manuscripts that were cut and transformed by nineteenth-century collectors. A high proportion of cuttings came from choir books: large manuscripts meant to be read by the whole choir. This is because the size of such books – up to three-feet (one metre) wide when open - meant there was more space for decoration. The music in these choir books was written in different forms of plainsong, a chant that was normally sung a cappella (or unaccompanied) by monks and nuns, and was popular in the medieval church.

Graduals, of which there are examples dating back to the ninth century, contain the music and text sung during religious services, specifically the Mass, throughout the year. Antiphonaries (or Antiphonals) contain the music and text sung during the celebration of the Divine Office, a cycle of prayers recited at regular, prescribed hours of each day, as first codified in the sixth century. The book of Psalms in the Bible comprises sacred hymns or verse, which, traditionally sung as part of the liturgy, also encompass an important part of Christian worship. The Psalms were collected in Psalters to be sung by choirs, while the seven Penitential Psalms became a standard feature of Books of Hours.

Explore the Cuttings

Leaf from a Book of Hours with an Historiated Initial ‘C’ showing a Choir Singing

Manuscript cutting illuminated initial ‘r’ for cistercian gradualmanuscript cutting illuminated initial ‘r’ for cistercian gradual

Manuscript Cutting: Historiated Initial ‘R’ from a Cistercian Gradual showing Monks Singing

Manuscript cutting leaf from a gradual showing king davidmanuscript cutting leaf from a gradual showing king david

Manuscript Cutting: Leaf from a Gradual with an Historiated Initial ‘A’ showing King David presenting his Soul to Christ

Leaf from a Gradual with an Historiated Initial ‘A’ showing the Annunciation

Manuscript cutting illuminated initial ‘a’ from a choir book showing a knightmanuscript cutting illuminated initial ‘a’ from a choir book showing a knight

Manuscript Cutting: Leaf from an Antiphoner with an Initial ‘A’ showing a Knight in Armour

Manuscript cutting leaf from a choir book showing a nativity scenemanuscript cutting leaf from a choir book showing a nativity scene

Manuscript Cutting: Leaf from an Antiphoner with an Historiated Initial ‘H’ showing the Nativity

Manuscript cutting leaf from a choir book from the convent of saint claremanuscript cutting leaf from a choir book from the convent of saint clare

Manuscript Cutting: Leaf from an Antiphoner from the Franciscan Convent of Saint Klara, Cologne with an Historiated Initial ‘D’

Manuscript cutting leaf from a choir book introducing advent sundaymanuscript cutting leaf from a choir book introducing advent sunday

Manuscript Cutting: Leaf from a Gradual introducing Advent Sunday with an Illuminated Initial ‘A’

Manuscript cutting illuminated initial ‘d’ showing christ, saint peter and saint andrew’manuscript cutting illuminated initial ‘d’ showing christ, saint peter and saint andrew’

Manuscript Cutting: Leaf from a Choir Book with an Historiated Initial ‘D’ showing Christ, Saint Peter and Saint Andrew

Historiated Initial ‘C’ showing Christ in Glory from a Gradual for Siena Cathedral