4th century saw important steps toward the formation of the Offices. Drawing from
eastern rites, Ambrose (340–397) brought the antiphonal performance of psalms and the
singing of hymns to the service; in turn, the flourishing of monastic life at this time
generated a need for a measure of uniformity in the celebration of the Hours. This
standardization was achieved in large part through adoption of the Rule of St. Benedict,
although Benedictine practice was but one of many uses; variants persisted throughout
the Middle Ages, particularly in the Franciscan and Dominican communities.
The Divine Office consists of a daily cycle of seven Hours in addition to Compline,
the night office. The “named” or Greater Hours are Vespers, Matins, and Lauds,
performed at sunset, night, and before Mass, respectively. These three emerged out of the
vigils of the earliest Christian services and are the most elaborate musically. The Lesser
Hours—Prime, Terce, Sext, and None—are celebrated at about 6 A.M., 9 A.M., noon,
and 3 P.M. and are linked symbolically to the moments of the Passion and, in some
regions, the periods of salvation history. The frequency and arrangement of these periods
of common prayer draw their inspiration from two biblical passages: the exhortation from
Luke 18:1 to pray always, and Psalm 118 (119): 164: “Seven times a day I praise you.”
By the end of the 13th century, the Offices were contained in three books: Breviary,
Antiphonary, and Choir Psalter. The Breviary, designated for the officiating priest,
generally included Proper items only (those specific to a given feast day or liturgical
season). The Antiphonary was the principal choir book and contained all of the Proper
items; the Choir Psalter supplemented this with the Common items of the Office, which
were fixed regardless of the season or feast day. It was only later that almost all of the
texts were merged into the portable form of the Breviary, suitable for private devotions.
Edmund J.Goehring
[See also: BENEDICT, RULE OF ST.; LITURGICAL BOOKS]
Bradshaw, Paul F. Daily Prayer in the Early Church: A Study of the Origin and Early Development
of the Divine Office. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Vogel, Cyrille. Medieval Liturgy:An Introduction to the Sources, rev. and trans. William G.Storey.
Washington, D.C.: Pastoral, 1986.
CANTUS CORONATUS
(“crowned song”). Prize-winning songs in the puys were said to be “crowned,” and 13th-
and 14th-century manuscripts identify about thirty songs as chansons couronnées. The
theorist Johannes de Grocheio (fl. ca. 1300) identified the highest-level secular songs as
cantus coronatus, works that maintained elevated courtly poetic language and melody.
His examples, Ausi comne unicorne (King of Navarre) and Quant li roussignol
(Chastelain de Coucy?) were composed by noble trouvères. In 15th-century music, the
term has been applied to series of long notes marked by fermatas, perhaps indicating
passages of improvised vocal ornamentation.
Lawrence Earp
[See also: GROCHEIO, JOHANNES DE; PUY]
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