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Grimald of Saint Gall: Benedictiones Episcopales

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This is a collection of episcopal blessings for the course of the church year, the solemn blessings pronounced by a bishop over the people at Mass before communion. It is preceded by a notice of the sixteenth-century editor Jacobus Pamelius, who gathers early evidence for the custom from Damasus, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine and councils, and cites a prologue in which Grimald says he has added such blessings for the whole year. The blessings follow in order from Advent through Christmas, Saint Stephen and the later feasts. Each is made up of short petitions answered by Amen, as in the sample, which asks that the hearers become imitators of the patience of Christ.

Grimald (d. 872) was abbot of Saint Gall and archchaplain to Louis the German, and his name is attached to liturgical books of the Carolingian reform. Collections of episcopal blessings were a distinctive feature of Gallican and Frankish usage, preserved in benedictionals and sacramentaries, and this one shows the form they took in the ninth century. The texts are useful to students of the liturgy and of Carolingian prayer language, though the editor’s introduction should be read as later matter.

About this edition. The Latin text comes from Corpus Corporum, the Latin text repository of the University of Zurich (edition: Jacques-Paul Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 121, Parisiis 1852), reused with attribution for non-commercial purposes (CC BY-NC-SA). Every word has been analyzed with LatinCy, a neural language model for Latin — click or tap any word for its dictionary form, part of speech, and complete morphology, together with the full entry from Lewis & Short’s A Latin Dictionary.

Latin · Early Christian Writings
Benedictiones Episcopales
Grimald of Saint Gall · Jacobi Pamelii Monitum · every word parsed
BookJacobi Pamelii MonitumBenedictiones de Adventu DominiBenedictio Proxima Dominica Nativitati DominiIn Vigilia Natalis Domini vel TheophaniaeB. in Nocte Natalis Domini Primo GalliciumB. in Nocte Natalis Domini, Primo ManeB. in Die Natalis DominiB. in Natali S. StephaniB. in Natali S. JoannisB. in Natali InnocentumB. Dominica post Natale DominiB. in Octava DominiB. in TheophaniaB. in Octava TheophaniaeB. Dominica I post TheophaniamB. Dominica II post TheophaniamB. Dominica III post TheophaniamB. Dominica IV post TheophaniamB. Dominica V post TheophaniamB. Dominica VI post TheophaniamB. in Purificatione Sanctae MariaeB. in SeptuagesimaB. in SexagesimaB. in QuinquagesimaB. Dominica I QuadragesimaeB. Dominica II QuadragesimaeB. Dominica III QuadragesimaeB. Dominica IV QuadragesimaeB. Dominica V QuadragesimaeB. Dom. IndulgentiaeB. in Coena DominiB. de Passione DominiB. in Sabbato SanctoB. in Die Sancto PaschaeB. in Octava PaschaeItem B. de Resurrectione DominiB. de Sancta CruceB. in Die Ascensionis DominiB. in Vigilia PentecostesB. in Die Sancto PentecostesB. in Octava PentecostesB. Dominica I post Octavam PentecostesDominica IIDominica IIIDominica IVDominica VDominica VIDominica VIIDominica VIIIDominica IXDominica XDominica XIDominica XIIDominica XIIIDominica XIVDominica XVDominica XVIDominica XVIISabbatum in XII LectDominica XVIIIDominica XIXDominica XXDominica XXIDominica XXIIDominica XXIIIDominica XXIVB. Dominica I post PentecostenB. Dominica II post PentecostenB. Dominica III post PentecostenB. Dominica IV post PentecostenB. Dominica V post PentecostenB. Dominica VI post PentecostenB. Dominica VII post PentecostenB. Dominica VIII post PentecostenB. Dominica IX. post PentecostenB. Dominica X. post PentecostenB. Dominica XI post PentecostenB. in Natali S. Joannis BaptistaeB. in Natali Apostolorum Petri et PauliB. in Festivitate S. MariaeB. de Martyrio S. Joannis BaptistaeB. in Commemoratione Omnium SanctorumB. in Natali Unius ApostoliB. in Natali Unius MartyrisB. in Natali Plurimorum MartyrumB. in Natali Unius ConfessorisB. in Natali Plurimorum ConfessorumB. in Natali Unius VirginisB. in Natali Plurimorum VirginumB. de Sancta TrinitateBenedictiones Quotidianis Diebus DicendaeB. in SynodoB. super Regem Tempore SynodiB. in Ordinatione EpiscopiB. in Anniversario PontificisB. pro Iter AgentibusB. in Dedicatione EcclesiaeB. in Dedicatione Violatae EcclesiaeB. in Anniversario Dedicationis EcclesiaeB. in Triduano Jejunio
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« Benedictionem episcopalem, inquit Radulphus Tungrensis, de Can. Obseru., propos. ult., Martialis episcopus, apostolorum discipulus, ex magisterio apostolorum tradidit, Ambrosius dicere coepit, isque mos ex eo usquequaque conualuit. Apostolicus autem hanc tantum quae finita missa dicitur, dicit. » Pulchre profecto paucis his uerbis integram rei seriem complexus est, diuinorum officiorum indagator, si quis alius diligentissimus. Et uero primis illis saeculis usitatam hanc benedictionem comprobatur ex locis DD. Damaso, Ambrosio, Hieronymo, Augustino, Carthaginensis concilii Patribus, Leone Magno et Agathensi concilio, mutuatis. Quorum loci citati, uti recte interpretatur Micrologus, cap. 21, has benedictiones, sicuti et Toletano concilio statutum fuit, ante communionem ab episcopis olim factas indicant: quod etiamnum obseruari uidemus ab episcopo Parisiensi, dum publicum missae sacrificium celebrat. Harum exemplar per anni circulum adiecisse se dicto prologo testatur Grimaldus. « Addidimus, inquit, etiam et benedictiones, ab episcopo super populum dicendas. » Quare et libro Sacramentorum ipsius eas subiecimus, in eorum gratiam apud quos adhuc uiget hic benedictionum ritus, etsi iam inde ab aetate Radulphi Romae a summo pontifice non obseruatus.
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Text: Perseus Digital Library, licensed CC BY-SA. Dictionary: Lewis & Short (Perseus, CC BY-SA). Morphology: LatinCy — machine parsing, corrected against the AGDT & PROIEL treebanks and Morpheus.
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