152 LaCitadeSancta
above all the lesser processions were the two great processions of the spring-
time. Unlike other processions of the year, these involved the entire city,
clergy and laity. They traversed not a single neighborhood but the entire
city. Medieval Christians knew these as the Major Litanies on the feast of
Saint Mark the Apostle ( 25 April) and the Minor Litanies on the three days
before Ascension Thursday (forty days after Easter). Neither of these events
was ‘‘minor,’’ and the Minor Litanies were the more impressive and impor-
tant. The Major Litanies were very ancient, predating even the feast of Saint
Mark with which they coincided. From the eight century, at least, writers
linked this ceremony to theRobigalia,the ancient pagan procession to ward
off crop blight.^62 Saint Claudius Mamertus of Vienne supposedly instituted
the Minor Litanies, or Rogation Days, after a great fire in 469. Pope Leo III
( 795 – 816 ) introduced them into Roman practice, and from there they spread
throughout Europe.^63 Both observances were old by the age of the com-
munes, and the cities happily observed them, creating a fitting expression of
unity and order.^64
The processions of both litanies were identical in form. First came the
city clergy. They had a processional order among themselves: Leading were
acolytes with candles and incense, then the processional cross and banners
of the city. Next came deacons and subdeacons carrying the city’s major
relics, then the bishop carrying his pastoral staff, followed by a priest sprin-
kling holy water. As the parade moved, the city churches pealed their bells.
To the symbolist, the clergy represented an image of the leaders of the holy
people of Israel. The candles and incense were the pillar of fire and the pillar
of cloud of Exodus. The reliquaries represented the ark of the covenant; the
bishop with his crosier, Moses with his staff. The sprinkling of holy water
recalled the rites of the Passover Lamb in Egypt. The bell ringing during the
procession evoked the memory of the trumpets that threw down the walls of
Jericho.^65
The symbols evoked sacred power, and the processional order did not
reflect mere allegorical fancy. Popular attention focused especially on the
city’s relics. The right to carry them and their order in procession could
generate contention. Resolution of disputes over this privilege might even
require intervention from Rome.^66 Each city had a different order. Prior
Galdo of San Vincenzo explained the practices at Bergamo. There the arch-
- So Sicardo,Mitrale, 7. 6 , col. 368.
- On these rituals, see John Baptist Mueller,Handbook of Ceremonies(St. Louis, Mo.: Herder, 1956 ),
341 – 42. - For north Italian practice generally, see Sicardo,Mitrale, 7. 6 , cols. 367 – 70.
- See commentaries on symbolism in ibid., col. 370 ;Ordo Senensis, 2. 39 ,p. 439 ; Verona, Biblioteca
Capitolare,ms lxxxiv, fol. 114 r. The Minor Litanies also recalled the journey of the apostles to Mount
Olivet, as in Sicardo,Mitrale, 7. 8 , col. 373. - For examples of this, see Valsecchi,Interrogatus, 68 – 73 , 118 – 22. On use of relics in processions, see
Nicole Herrmann-Mascard,Les reliques des saints: Formation coutumie`re d’un droit(Paris: Klincksieck, 1975 ),
197 – 200. I thank Paul Flemer for referring me to this book.