hymns, hymnals, and hymnology 363Monastic rules, such as that of Saint BENEDICT, speci-
fied a liturgical role for hymns from the sixth century and
promoted the development of repertoires proper to the
different hours of the liturgy of the monastic office.
Before the 11th century, hymns were sung almost exclu-
sively by monks. Thereafter, communities of canons and
most clerics celebrating the office began to incorporate
hymns into their rituals and ceremonies.
HYMNALSIn the late eighth and early ninth centuries, the first
Frankish monastic hymnals were developed; they were
soon replaced by an approved hymnal by Saint Benedict
of Aniane (d. 821), the great Carolingian reformer. It
was in part devised by ALCUINat Tours. Several addi-
tional collections and hymns were created in the Car-
olingian period, such as the Veni Creator Spiritus,likely
by HRABANUSMaurus. All these enriched the repertoire.
In terms of surviving manuscripts, the earliest known
hymnals were made in the eighth century and were in
the form of composite books bound with much other
material used in the liturgy. Through the whole of the
Western Middle Ages, no one repertoire was able to
dominate all liturgical traditions. By the central Middle
Ages, the hymnal, along with all the other books touch-
ing on the office, was essentially integrated into the
BREVIARY.
Further reading:David W. Music, Hymnology: A Col-
lection of Source Readings(Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press,
1996); Éric Palazzo and Christopher Walter, “Hymn,
Hymnology.” EMA1.708–709; Joseph Szövérffy, A Concise
History of Medieval Hymnody(Leiden: Brill, 1985); Ruth
Ellis Messenger, The Medieval Latin Hymn(Washington,
D.C.: Capitol, 1953).