English Coronation Ordines in the Ninth and Early Tenth Centuries

This volume presents new editions and translations of the two earliest texts for the rite of royal anointing in Anglo-Saxon England, the First Ordo and the Second English Ordo. It offers valuable insights into the early history of the rite and is a significant contribution to scholarship.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 21 February 2023
Publisher: Henry Bradshaw Society

This volume presents new editions and translations of the two earliest texts for the rite of royal anointing in Anglo-Saxon England. The First Ordo, believed to date back to the ninth century, perhaps even earlier, is the earliest surviving coronation liturgy from anywhere in the West. The compilation of the Second English Ordo has been assigned to the late ninth or early tenth century. David Pratt's edition and translation present this highly significant material in a scholarly yet accessible manner for the first time. New editions are desirable not only for the intrinsic value of scrutinizing the text and transmission history of both ordines but also for the light they can shed on the early history of the rite of royal anointing in England. Unfortunately, the study of this history cannot be approached with reference to a single authoritative manuscript but must be explored comparatively by examining the manuscript record of later Anglo-Saxon and Frankish pontificals and identifying patterns of development.

The First Ordo, believed to date back to the ninth century, perhaps even earlier, is the earliest surviving coronation liturgy from anywhere in the West. The compilation of the Second English Ordo has been assigned to the late ninth or early tenth century. David Pratt's edition and translation present this highly significant material in a scholarly yet accessible manner for the first time. New editions are desirable not only for the intrinsic value of scrutinizing the text and transmission history of both ordines but also for the light they can shed on the early history of the rite of royal anointing in England. Unfortunately, the study of this history cannot be approached with reference to a single authoritative manuscript but must be explored comparatively by examining the manuscript record of later Anglo-Saxon and Frankish pontificals and identifying patterns of development.

Weight: 476g
Dimension: 147 x 224 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781907497377