The Later Fourth Century
The Later Fourth Century
This chapter focuses on liturgical developments in the later fourth century, including psalmody of the Fore-Mass and communion time. Monastic psalmody had a specific influence on two liturgical developments of the later fourth century, including the daily ecclesiastical Office and the popular psalmodic vigil. The psalmody of the Fore-Mass is a more complex subject than communion psalmody. The many patristic texts that refer to it raise questions on a few issues of basic importance, including the number of psalms that were typically sung at each service, the nature of the historical shift from psalm as reading to psalm as chant, and the typical manner of Fore-Mass psalmody. Another issue is the degree of continuity or discontinuity between the psalmody of the ancient Fore-Mass and the chants of the early medieval Roman Mass Proper. The classic assumption about the structure of the ancient Fore-Mass, formulated by Louis Duchesne, is that the readings and chants are followed by a symmetrical fivefold sequence which includes Old Testament reading, psalm, New Testament reading, psalm, and gospel.
Keywords: Old Testament reading, New Testament reading, Fore-Mass psalmody, communion time, Roman Mass Proper
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