The Mass; A Study of the Roman Liturgy
London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1913. Second impression. 12 mo. (7 5/8 inches tall) original red cloth, blind-stamped front board, gilt spine. Modest tanning to blank flyleaves, minor foxing to edges and early leaves, slight toning to spine, corners sharp, gilt bright. A near-fine copy. Item #1278
"IT IS ONLY IN THE ROMAN (OR GALLICAN) RITE THAT THE EUCHARISTIC SERVICE CAN CORRECTLY BE CALLED MASS"
Second impression of Adrian Fortescue's history of the Roman Liturgy—published a year after the first impression.
The liturgy of the Church is rooted in Our Lord's command at the Last Supper. Fortescue's study is "a very convenient single volume treatment of the Mass from the early to the modern period, which well resumes the theories of Probst, Baumstark, and others on the textual history of the Canon, tells the history of the Missal during the middle ages and gives an account of developments since the Council of Trent" (Stanley Morison). A short Preface (dated, "A. F. / Letchworth, Easter, 1912") acknowledges other liturgies but only for the sake of necessary comparison with the Roman Rite. "The present time is perhaps hardly the most convenient for attempting a history of the Mass. For never before have there been so many or so various theories as to its origin, as to the development of the Canon, the Epiklesis and so on."
The text in divided into two main sections. Part I: The History of the Mass and Part II: The Order of the Mass. From the Westminster Library (the publisher's "series of manuals for Catholic priests and students") edited by Msgr. Bernard Ward and Herbert Thurston, S.J. A brief Editor's Preface assures that the handbooks in the series will emphasize the pastoral aspects of theology and "be representative of Catholic scholarship in all English-speaking countries." The main text is supplemented with an Appendix I: The Names of the Mass, and Appendix II: The Epiklesis. With a List of Books ("a very slight guide to an enormous bibliography") in six parts and a substantial Index. Approbations. Stanley Morison. English Prayer Books: An Introduction to the Literature of Public Worship.
Price: $75.00