482 Mass, liturgy of
Modern Times (Manchester: Manchester University
Press, 1949).
Mass, liturgy of Mass was the name used to designate
the celebration of the Eucharist beginning in the fourth
century and became usual in the fifth. It designated the
recital of prayers, sending to GODthe prayers that the
priest said at the ALTARwhile celebrating the sacrament of
the Eucharist. It was the central liturgical practice of
Christianity during the Middle Ages. Pope GREGORYI THE
GREAT established Mass in its later usual form; later
changes related merely to details. He set the prayers to be
offered, the doctrines to be promoted, and the music to
accompany the commemoration of and actual reenact-
ment of the Last Supper, when Christ turned the bread
and wine into his body and blood. It was also a commem-
oration of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to redeem and
make HEAVENattainable for humankind.
The ritual had to convey this in a way comprehensi-
ble to the average Christian. It had to include gestures
and activities to accomplish this, thus the paraphernalia
and the impressive but distancing ceremony. It was usu-
ally conducted publicly or before an audience. Private
masses by individual PRIESTSbecame common over the
course of the Middle Ages, especially after the evolution
of the idea of PURGATORYand hired intercession for the
DEAD. The content of masses were linked with particular
devotions and the liturgical year. Rules were established
to encourage attendance and participation. Artistic repre-
sentations concentrated on the role of the priest in bring-
ing all this about. Only the priest could officiate and
carry out Mass. He was necessary for the sacrament of the
Eucharist and for effecting the real presence of Christ.
See alsoGREGORIAN CHANT; HYMNS, HYMNALS, AND
HYMNOLOGY; LITURGICAL BOOKS; MISSAL; SEVEN SACRA-
MENTS; UTRAQUISTS.
Further reading: Adrian Fortescue, The Mass: A
Study of the Roman Liturgy(London: Longmans, Green,
1917); Josef A. Jungmann, The Mass: An Historical, Theo-
logical, and Pastoral Survey,trans. Julian Fernandes and
ed. Mary Ellen Evans (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical
Press, 1976); Hans Lietzmann, Mass and Lord’s Supper: A
Study in the History of the Liturgy,trans. Dorothea H. G.
Reeve (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1979); Richard W. Pfaff,
Medieval Latin Liturgy: A Select Bibliography (Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1982), 18–25.
al-Masudi, Abul-Hasan Ali (ca. 896–956)historian,
polymath
Al-Masudi was born in BAGHDADabout 896, moved to
SYRIA, and died in Egypt in 956. A SHIITE, he traveled
extensively and wrote The Meadows of Gold,an important
and famous topical history of early medieval ISLAMand
the non-Islamic world. He was a good storyteller and
included much useful knowledge for modern scholars.
Further reading:al-Masudi, The Meadows of Gold:
The Abbasids,trans. and ed. Paul Lunde and Caroline
Stone (London: Kegan Paul, 1989); Tarif Khalidi, Islamic
Historiography: The Histories of Masudi(Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1975); C. Pellat, “Al-
Masudi, Abul-Hasan Ali b. al-Husayn,” Encyclopedia of
Islam6.784–789; Ahmad M. H. Shboul, Al-Masudi and
His World: A Muslim Humanist and His Interest in Non-
Muslims(London: Ithaca Press, 1979).matrimony SeeFAMILY AND KINSHIP; MARRIAGE.Matthew Paris (ca. 1200–1259)English Benedictine
monk, chronicler
Born about 1200, Matthew became a monk in 1217 at the
BENEDICTINE abbey of Saint Alban’s, among the most
important in ENGLAND. Though a monk, he had access to
information since Saint Alban’s was an important center on
the road north from LONDON. He was also personally pre-
sent at several events, such as the marriage in 1236 of King
HENRYIII and Eleanor of Provence (1223–91) and a feast
of Saint EDWARD THECONFESSORin 1247 at the palace near
the Abbey of WESTMINSTER. In 1247 or 1248 Pope INNO-
CENTIV sent him to NORWAYto reform a monastery. He
became the annalist for Saint Alban’s in 1236.
His immense works survived in a fairly complete
state. His Chronica majora,a universal chronicle begun
in about 1240, was a revised continuation of a chronicle
of one of his predecessors at Saint Alban’s, Roger of Wen-
dover (d. 1236). His historical work included a history
of ENGLANDfrom 1066 to 1253 and two abridged histo-
ries. He also wrote a history of the abbots of Saint
Alban’s from 793 to 1255, a history of the founders of
the monastery, and several saints’ lives. Matthew was
critical of his sources, a good storyteller with a taste for
gossip and a strong conservative bent. Some of his color-
ful anecdotes, especially those about King JOHN, should
not be taken too seriously. He was critical of the king
and of taxation on the church and was jealous of the
MENDICANTfriars. He drew many interesting and enlight-
ening heraldric devices, illustrations, and maps for these
manuscripts. He died in 1259.
Further reading:Richard Vaughan, ed. and trans.,
Chronicles of Matthew Paris: Monastic Life in the Thirteenth
Century(Gloucester: A. Sutton, 1984); Suzanne Lewis,
The Art of Matthew Paris in the Chronica Majora(Berke-
ley: University of California Press, 1987); Richard
Vaughan, Matthew Paris(Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1958).Mecca (Makka) Mecca is a pilgrimage city in the
Hejaz in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, which
became the holiest site for Muslims. It was an important
commercial and religious town even before the time of