The Rationale Divinorum Officiorum of William Durand of Mende

A New Translation of the Prologue and Book One

Timothy Thibodeau

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9780231512213
• Topic: Teologia e religione
• Subtopic: Pratiche e rituali cristiani

The Rationale Divinorum Officiorum is arguably the most important medieval treatise on the symbolism of church architecture and rituals of worship. Written by the French bishop William Durand of Mende (1230-1296), the treatise is ranked with the Bible as one of the most frequently copied and disseminated texts in all of medieval Christianity. It served as an encyclopedic compendium and textbook for liturgists and remains an indispensable guide for understanding the significance of medieval ecclesiastical art and worship ceremonies.

This book marks the first English translation of the prologue and book one of the Rationale in almost two centuries. Timothy M. Thibodeau begins with a brief biography of William Durand and a discussion of the importance of the work during its time. Thibodeau compares previous translations of the Rationale in the medieval period and afterward. Then he presents his translation of the prologue and book one. The prologue discusses the principles of allegorical interpretation of the liturgy, while book one features detailed descriptions of the various parts of the church and its ecclesiastical ornaments. It also features extensive commentary on cemeteries, various rites of consecration and dedication, and a discussion of the sacraments.

Thibodeau is a well-respected historian who has published extensively on the history of Christianity and the liturgy of the medieval Church. He is also coeditor of the critical edition of the Rationale in Latin. His translation is an indispensable guide for both scholars and general readers who hope to gain a richer understanding of medieval art, architecture, and culture.

BOOK ONE

ON THE CHURCH AND

ECCLESIASTICAL PROPERTY AND

FURNISHINGS; ON CONSECRATIONS

AND THE SACRAMENTS

ON THE CHURCH BUILDING AND ITS PARTS

In the first part of this work we have decided to treat certain topics in general, namely: the church¹ and its parts; the altar; pictures, images, and ecclesiastical ornaments; bells; the cemetery, and other sacred and religious places; the consecration of a church; the consecration of an altar; consecrations and anointings; the ecclesiastical sacraments.

1. The first thing we shall consider is the church building and its parts. It should be noted that concerning churchly things, some items pertain to the physical structure in which the divine offices are celebrated; others are spiritual, that is, they apply to the community of the faithful, or the people who have been gathered as one by their ministers, by Him who makes them dwell in one accord in his house [cf. Ps 67:7]. Just as the physical building is constructed from a group of stones joined together, so too the Church is spiritually constructed of diverse men gathered together.

2. Church, which is a Greek word, means “convocation” in Latin, because the Church calls everyone to herself; and this name corresponds more appropriately to the spiritual definition of the Church than the material because here, men are gathered together, not stones; though oftentimes, the name of the thing signified is attributed to the thing that it signifies. The material Church thus represents the spiritual, as noted where the consecration of a church is discussed.² On the other hand, the Church is called “catholic” in Greek, that is, universal, because it is established and extended throughout the world, because those who believe in God throughout the world should be gathered in one congregation, or because in her subsists a universal doctrine for the instruction of all the faithful.

3. Synagogue means “congregation” in Greek, which is a name that was used by the Jewish people itself.³ It was customary to still call their gathering a synagogue even when the term church was being used; however, the Apostles never used the term synagogue but always church, perhaps to make a distinction between the two.

4. The present Church is called Zion on account of its pilgrimage on earth; though far removed from the promise of its celestial blessings, the Church contemplates them; therefore Zion means “contemplation.”⁴ And on account of its future homeland and its peace, it is called Jerusalem, a name that means “vision of peace.”⁵ The Church is also called the house of God, which is derived from the word dogma, which in Greek means “morally upright,” as if to say in God’s house, men are especially in one accord. Sometimes we say kyriaca, that is Lord’s house; sometimes basilica, which is Greek and in Latin means, a “king’s residence,” or “regal” place [regalis] from king [rex], that is, from the word for king [basilio] in Greek; the earthly palaces of kings are so named, but our house of prayer is called a king’s residence because the King of Kings is served there. Sometimes the Church is called a temple, as if to say that it is a huge canopy [tectum amplum] under which sacrifices are offered to God our King; sometimes it is called God’s tabernacle, since this life on earth is a pilgrimage, and in this journey the Church proceeds to the fatherland, as we now say; or sometimes it is called a tabernacle as if to say it is “God’s inn” [taberna Dei], as is noted in the sixth part, On the dedication of a church.⁶ Why the Church is also called the Tabernacle or Ark of the Covenant will be discussed in the part On the altar.⁷ Sometimes a Church is called a martyrium, since it exists in honor of some martyr; sometimes it is called a chapel, for the reason noted in the second part, in the treatise On the priesthood;⁸ sometimes it is called a cloister; sometimes a sacristy; sometimes a sanctuary; sometimes a house of prayer; sometimes a monastery; and sometimes an oratory. Nevertheless, generally speaking, any place established for prayer can be called an oratory.

Moreover, the Church is sometimes called the Body of Christ; sometimes it is called a virgin, according to the text: The jealousy I feel for you, etc. [2 Cor 11:2]. Sometimes it is called a bride to whom Christ has betrothed himself in faith, about which we read in the Gospel: He who has the bride is the bridegroom [Jn 3:29]. Sometimes it is called a mother because she daily provides God with spiritual sons through Baptism; sometimes, she is called a daughter, according to the Prophet: In place of your fathers, daughters are born to you [Ps 44:17]. Also, the Church is regarded as a widow, because on account of her afflictions, she grows dark, just as Rachel could not be consoled [cf. Jer 31:15]. Sometimes she is depicted as a harlot because she is assembled from among the nations, and because she closes her bosom to no one returning to her. Sometimes she is called a city—on account of the communion of her saints, her citizens—walled with the fortification of the Scriptures, by which heretics are beaten back; she has diverse types of stones and tongues because the merits of each of her members are diverse, as we shall see. Whatever the synagogue received from the Law, the Church now receives through grace from Christ, who is her bridegroom, replacing it with something better. To be sure, the foundation of an oratory or church is nothing new. For example, the Lord decreed to Moses on Mount Sinai that he make a Tabernacle with wonderfully fashioned curtains; it was divided into two parts by a veil, whose first part was called “holy” where the people offered sacrifice; the interior was called the “Holy of Holies,” where the priests and Levites ministered [cf. Ex 26:3137], as noted the prologue of the fourth part.⁹

5. And after this Tabernacle was consumed by old age, the Lord commanded that a Temple be built that Solomon constructed, in a most marvelous manner, which was divided into two parts just as the Tabernacle was [1 Chr 8:1–66]. From both—that is, from the Tabernacle and the Temple—our material church takes its form, in whose outer part, the people listen and pray; in the sanctuary the clergy pray, preach, offer praises, and minister.

6. Moreover, the Tabernacle, because it was made during the wandering of the Israelites, sometimes serves as a figure of the world, which passes away, and its concupiscence; and for that reason it consists of the four colors of the curtains, just as the world was composed of four elements. Therefore God in the Tabernacle is God in this world. Just as the Temple was reddened with the blood of Christ, the Tabernacle clearly serves as figure of the Church militant, which does not have a permanent earthly city but seeks a future one [cf. Heb 13:14]; therefore, it is called a “tent [tabernaculum],” for tents are the dwellings of soldiers. God in the Tabernacle is God among the faithful who are gathered together in his name. The first part of the Temple, in which the people used to sacrifice, is the active life, in which the people labored in the love of their neighbors; the other part, in which the Levites ministered, is the contemplative life in which the love and contemplation of God is the only task for a pure gathering of religious men. The Tabernacle is transformed into a Temple because one hastens from warfare to a triumph.¹⁰

7. A church must therefore be built as follows: after having prepared the place of its foundation, according to the text “The Lord’s house is well established on a solid rock,”¹¹ the bishop or priest who has permission to preside, sprinkles it with holy water to banish thenceforth the demonic spirits, and places the principal stone, into which a cross is imprinted, on the foundation.¹²

8. A church should also be built as follows: that its head properly look towards the east—about which we shall speak in the prologue of the fifth part¹³—namely, towards the rising point of the equinoctial sun, thus signifying that the Church, while battling in this world, should display moderation and equanimity, in both prosperity and adversity; it should not therefore face the rising point of the midsummer sun, as some do. Besides, if the walls of Jerusalem were built into a city by the Jews, at the order of the Lord, as the Prophet says [cf. Ps 121:3], how much more should we build up the walls of our churches.

9. Indeed, the material church in which the people have come to praise God signifies the holy Church in heaven, constructed of living stones. This is the Lord’s house, firmly built, whose foundation is Christ, the cornerstone; the foundation upon whom have been placed the Apostles and Prophets [cf. Eph 2:20], just as it is written: His foundations on the holy mountains [Ps 86:1]. Those built-up walls are the Jews and the Gentiles, coming to Christ from the four corners of the world, who have believed, continue to believe, and will believe in Him. Moreover, those faithful who are predestined for life are the stones in this structure whose walls will continue to be built until the end of this world. Stone is placed on top of stone when the teachers of the Church attend to the education of her children, for their teaching, correction, and fortification in the holy Church. He who takes upon himself the burden of his brother carries a stone, so to speak, for the construction of the Church. The bigger stones, and the polished or square ones that are placed on the outside wall—in the middle of which lie the smaller ones—are the more perfected men whose merits and prayers sustain the weaker men in the holy Church.

10. Moreover, the cement, without which the wall cannot remain steadfast, is made of lime, sand and water. The lime is fervent charity which joins itself to the sand, that is, earthly works, because true charity contains the greatest concern for others, joined with care for widows, the elderly, orphans, and the infirm; therefore, those who have charity desire ardently to work with their hands that those hands might help others. In order that the lime and the earth can be used to build the wall, they are bound together with a mixture of water. Since the water represents the Holy Spirit—just as the stones cannot be joined to build a stable wall without cement—so too neither can men be joined together to build the Heavenly Jerusalem without charity, through which the Holy Spirit conducts their work. All of the stones in the wall are polished, squared, fine, and firm, that is, they represent the Saints; namely, those are arranged by the hands of the Supreme Artisan to remain constant in the Church, among whom some are carried by others, while they bear no burdens, such as the more simple members of the Church; others are supported while they bear others, such as those in the middle [the clergy]; and others carry burdens but are not borne by others—unless they are supported by Christ, who is their sole foundation—such as the perfected. One charity joins all of them in the manner of cement, so to speak, as long as the living stones are joined together in peace. Christ was our wall in His discourse, and our rampart in His Passion.

11. Certainly, when the Jews were building the walls of Jerusalem, their enemies ranged against them to impede their work, to such an extent, that as we read in Ezra [cf. Ezra 4:7], when attacked by their enemies, they were laying stones in the wall with one hand, and with another hand they were fighting against them. And we too, building the walls of the Church, are surrounded by enemies, namely our vices, or perverse men who wish to impede our works. Thus when building up the walls, that is the virtues, we attack the enemy; and according to the custom of the Jewish people, we bear our weapons, that is: The shield of faith, the breastplate of justice, the helmet of salvation, the sword of God’s word [Eph 6:14–17], in our hands so that we can defend ourselves against them, and our pastor or priest represents Christ for us, who teaches us in the readings and protects us in his prayers.

12. Next, in the Old Testament, the Lord showed out of what material the Tabernacle should be made, saying to Moses in Exodus 25 and 35: Collect the first fruits, that is, whatever is precious among the people of Israel, but receive them only from him who shall offer it on his own accord, namely: gold, silver and bronze; hyacinth, purple and twice-dyed scarlet, that is, goat’s hair; and hyacinth, purple and scarlet-colored linen, that is a type of fabric from Egypt which is supple and white; and goat’s hairs and ram’s skins dyed red, which we call “Parthian,” since the Parthians were the first to have thought to dye them in this manner; and hyacinth-colored skins and shittim wood [Ex 25:2–5; cf. Ex 30:1–6].¹⁴

13. And Shittim is the name of a mountain, a region, and a tree that is similar to a white thorn bush in its flowers; and it is a light wood, incorruptible and unconsumed by fire. And oil for the lamps, spices for the perfumes and sweet-smelling incense; onyx and other precious stones and gems with which they shall make a sanctuary for me, in which I shall dwell in their midst, lest they have to worry about returning to the mountain [cf. Ex 35:8–9]. These things, fully covered by the Master in his Histories, can be followed in his commentary on Exodus.¹⁵

14. The arrangement of the materials of the church can be likened to the human body. The chancel, that is the place where the altar is, represents the head; the cross, from either side, represents the arms or the hands,¹⁶ while the remaining part extending to the west is seen as the rest of the body. The sacrifice of the altar signifies the offerings of the heart, and according to Richard of St. Victor,¹⁷ the arrangement of the church signifies the threefold ordering of those saved in the Church: the sanctuary signifies the order of virgins; the choir, the order of the continent; the body of the church, the married. The sanctuary is narrower than the choir and the choir is narrower than the body because there are fewer virgins than continent, and fewer still of them t...