Sanctus Suithunus

by Steffen Hope

Swithun was bishop of Winchester in the mid-ninth century. Based on evidence from charters, Michael Lapidge has suggested that his episcopate covered the period 852-63 (LAPIDGE 2003, 4). As suggested by the celebration of Swithun’s dies natalis, he died on July 2. On the orders of Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester (r.963-84), his body was exhumed and translated to a more prominent place within cathedral on July 15, 971 (LAPIDGE 2003, 8). Swithun’s cult became widespread throughout England, and was one of the most important native cults in the Middle Ages. Within the Norse sphere, the cult of St Swithun was strongest in Norway, and the only known surviving text pertaining to Swithun that was composed specifically for a Nordic institution is a liturgical office used in Stavanger.

The reason why Stavanger was a hub for the cult of St Swithun is most likely that when the city was established as an episcopal see sometime in the 1120s, the first bishop was Rainald (or Reinald) who might have come from Winchester (LAPIDGE 2003, 56-57). According to an inventory from 1517, Stavanger cathedral possessed one of St Swithun’s arms, and it is likely that this relic was brought by Rainald for the consecration of the cathedral. Consequently, Swithun was the patron saint of Stavanger diocese. 

Our understanding of the cult of St Swithun in medieval Norway is fragmentary. Eldbjørg Haug has argued for an active cult prior to the twelfth century (HAUG 2009, 462-5; HAUG 2010, 270-1), but these arguments have been criticised by Knut Helle (HELLE 2008, 577; 2009, 691). (For an overview of this debate in English, see ALVESTAD 2021.) While it is not unthinkable that Swithun was known in parts of Norway early in the Christianisation period, there is no evidence to suggest that there was an active cult prior to the establishment of the Stavanger diocese.

The dies natalis of St Swithun, July 2, was included in the number of feasts which were mentioned as particularly holy days in the law of the Gulathing province (PAC AND HOPE 2025, 215-16). This law code was revised and committed to writing in the 1160s, which demonstrates that the cult of St Swithun had attained a high status in the Gulathing province by the mid-twelfth century. The Gulathing law was valid for the parishes and communities along the western seaboard, and did not apply in every part of Norway. Consequently, we do not know the status of the cult of St Swithun outside of the Gulathing law province in the twelfth century.

Based on sources from the thirteenth century, it seems that St Swithun was regarded as an important saint within the Norwegian church organisation. The inclusion of both the dies natalis (July 2) and the translatio (July 15) in Icelandic manuscripts that are believed to contain the Ordo Nidrosiensis – the liturgical repertoire for the entire Norwegian church province – suggests that Swithun was venerated throughout Norway in the course of the thirteenth century, at least by the clergy. A few other thirteenth-century documents further support the hypothesis that Swithun had some importance outside of Stavanger diocese. In 1280, King Eirik Magnusson (r.1280-99) was crowned on July 2 in the cathedral of Bergen (DN 1, 69). On July 14 of the same year, Bishop Thorfinn of Hamar issued a proclamation of indulgence for 40 days to those who visited or otherwise helped the recently burned cathedral church of St Swithun (DN 3, 249).

In later medieval Norway, Swithun’s main feast appears to have been July 15 since his dies natalis was replaced by the feast of Visitatio Mariae after 1389 (DYBDAHL 2011b, 138; see also DYBDAHL 2011a). In Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519), Swithun is included in the litany, and the calendar includes his translation feast with the rank of semiduplex, the second highest liturgical rank. Breviarium Nidrosiense contains both a text for his translation, comprised of six lessons, and also the Historia de Sancti Suithuno, comprised of nine lessons, which is placed towards the end of the breviary along with other feasts that have been appended to the sanctorale, including the feast of Sanctus Kanutus Rex.

Historia de Sancto Suithuno

The Historia is a complete office with antiphons, responsories and lessons that convey the story of St Swithun. The office has most likely been used in Stavanger cathedral (see Date and place below). As far as we know, the text of the office only survives in the printed Brevarium Nidrosiense, and no manuscripts containing the office have hitherto been identified. The breviary only contains the text of the office, while the musical notation is lost.

At the time of its composition (see Date and place below), the office was performed at Swithun’s dies natalis, July 2. There might have existed an office for the translation feast on July 15, and it is tempting to suggest that the translation of Swithun’s arm from Winchester to Stavanger might have been commemorated locally in Stavanger, either on July 15 or on a different day. No evidence for such a scenario exists, however.

Title

The title Historia de Sancto Suithuno is used in the Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519). Such titles are typical of liturgical offices in the Middle Ages.

Incipit

Laetare plebs Wentoniae.

Explicit

Gloria magna tibi.

Size

The surviving chants of the Historia comprise 150 lines of liturgical poetry. In Breviarium Nidrosiense (see Medieval reception and transmission below), there are also additional chants from the common of saints, as well as collects, chapters, and lessons. The lessons cover roughly 217 lines (some of these are not full lines). The collect for Matins – which is the only one written in full, and which appears to have been repeated at Lauds – is comprised of 13 lines. Taken together, the Historia runs across six pages in Breviarium Nidrosiense (pp.894-99; ccc.ij.-ccc.iv.).

Editions

• DREVES, G. 1892: Analecta Hymnica medii aevii XIII, Leipzig, 235-37.
• GJERLØW, L. 1979: Antiphonarium Nidrosiensis ecclesiae, Oslo, 143-45, 184-85.
• LAPIDGE, M. 2003: The Cult of St. Swithun, Oxford, 129-33.
• SPERBER, I. 2019: Breviarium Nidrosiense, Oslo, 1342-48.

Translations

• (English) LAPIDGE, M. 2003: The Cult of St. Swithun, Oxford, 133-34.

Commentaries

• GJERLØW, L. 1979: Antiphonarium Nidrosiensis ecclesiae, Oslo, 184-85.
• LAPIDGE, M. 2003: The Cult of St. Swithun, Oxford, 129-33.

Date and place

Due to the liturgical metre used in the chants (see Composition and style below), the office is likely composed in the second half of the twelfth century (LAPIDGE 2003, 129). It is unclear whether the office was composed in Stavanger, or whether it was commissioned from elsewhere – such as Winchester – by the bishop and/or cathedral clergy. Regardless of where it was composed, it was certainly intended for Stavanger, since the city is mentioned in the Magnificat antiphon (see Summary of contents below).

It is uncertain whether the office was performed outside of Stavanger diocese prior to its inclusion in Breviarium Nidrosiense in 1519. Michael Lapidge has suggested that Swithun might have been included in the Nidaros liturgy already in the 1150s when Jon Birgerson, bishop of Stavanger (1135-52) became the first Norwegian archbishop (LAPIDGE 2003, 57). Jon died in 1157, and it is doubtful whether the extensive programme of textual production – which included both the revised law of the Gulathing province and the eventual completion of the Ordo Nidrosiensis – was initiated at such an early stage of the history of the archdiocese. While Swithun was most likely subject to some degree of veneration at the metropolitan see by the beginning of the thirteenth century, we should not expect the Stavanger office to have been in place this early.

The placement of the Historia de Sancto Suithuno towards the end of the Breviarium Nidrosiense can be explained in two ways. One possible explanation is that with the institution of the feast of Visitatio Mariae on July 2 after 1389, the Historia was moved from its original position in the sanctorale to what is in practice an appendix of the breviary. Another explanation is that the office was included at a later stage in the editing process, and added to the sanctorale for unknown reasons – possibly out of respect for a saint who might not have been important in Trondheim, but who was the patron saint of a diocese. (A similar mechanism might explain the similar placement of the feast of Sanctus Kanutus Rex, who was not important in Trondheim – perhaps not even in Norway – but who had acquired a high status in the Kalmar Union by 1519.) This second explanation would entail that the office had not been performed in Trondheim before 1519. It is likely that the performance of the Historia was limited to Stavanger diocese for most of the Middle Ages.

Summary of contents

The office contains chants and readings for Vesper, Matins, and Lauds. The present summary follows the order in which the elements of the liturgical office are grouped together. This is done in order to provide a better sense of how the content of the office is received by its audience.

Vesper is comprised of two antiphons, one chapter, one responsory, and one responsory.

The first antiphon (Gloriose presul aue), the chapter, and the hymn (Iste confessor) are all from the commune sanctorum and describe the ideal confessor and bishop. The responsory, Signorum, is also performed after the ninth lesson (as indicated in the breviary) and will be described below. The Magnificat antiphon is a general praise for Swithun, but it also marks the connection between Winchester and Stavanger and might allude to the transfer of Swithun’s arm relic, as the chant begins with ‘rejoice citizens of Winchester, be glad people of Stavanger’ (Letare plebs Uentonie gaude gens Stauangrie’).

Matins is comprised of a collect, an invitatory antiphon, nine antiphons, nine lessons, and nine responsories.

The collect praises God for Swithun, who shines in miraculous signs.

The invitatory antiphon is an exhortation to praise Swithun who is summoned to Heaven and pleasing to God.

The three antiphons of the first nocturne praise his upbringing in the laws of God (Orthodoxis parentibus), his god-fearing ministry (Seruit deo in timore), and the many qualities that demonstrated his sanctity (Multis eum virtutibus).

Lesson 1 is a summary of Swithun’s youth, which is dated to the reign of Ecgberht of Wessex (r.802-39). The lesson states that Ecgberht was the eighth Christian king after King Cynegils was converted by Saint Birinus, who, in turn, is called the apostle of the West Angles. Responsory 1 (Sanctus Suithunus) praises his upbringing and his future career as a priest. Part of the responsory reuses text from the first antiphon of Matins.

Lesson 2 reflects on his childhood. Responsory 2 (Traditur ingenuis) praises his studies and his learning.

Lesson 3 describes his early priesthood under Bishop Helmstan of Winchester, and his qualities as a man of the Church. Responsory 3 (Presul Uentonie) states that upon the death of the bishop, Swithun was elevated to this rank.

The three antiphons of the second nocturne recount his time as a priest under Helmstan (Deum amans), and his pious life and his preaching (Honoris illum). The third antiphon (Ales diuini) is a reflection on how the soul of a saint travels to God’s mountain (Heaven) and is thereby strengthened.

Lesson 4 describes how Swithun gained the king’s friendship. Responsory 4 (Ordine sublimis) is a general reflection on how those in higher orders are made more sublime through their merits, and the versicle demonstrates this with a reference to the miracle of a poor woman’s eggs that were restored through Swithun’s intercession.

Lesson 5 describes how Swithun became bishop on the death of Helmstan. Responsory 5 (Pauperibus miseris) praises his care for the poor.

Lesson 6 recounts that Swithun was supported by Æthelwulf, the king’s son and successor. Responsory 6 (Uiuendi metas) is a reflection on how those who life a virtuous life will be rewarded.

The first two of the three antiphons of the third nocturne (Adesse cupit; Eterno regi paruit) reflect on the rewards of pious living. The third antiphon (Euoluto) repeats Swithun’s elevation to the rank of bishop, repeating some of the words from lesson 5.

Lesson 7 recounts how Swithun restored churches and how he avoided pomp and luxury. Responsory 7 (Congeries gibbi) recounts a miracle story about a hunchback.

Lesson 8 recounts how Swithun strove to follow Christian doctrine from his earliest years. Responsory 8 (Diues homo) refers to a miracle story concerning a man who met, and escaped from, monstrous women.

Lesson 9 recounts the death of Swithun and contains a praise of his saintly conduct. Responsory 9 (Signorum) states that Swithun shone in many miraculous signs. This responsory is also sung at Vesper.

Laudes is comprised of six antiphons, including the Benedictus antiphon. A rubric states that the collect for Laudes is the same as above (i.e., for Matins).

The first five antiphons – which are the regular Laudes antiphons – are concerned with Swithun’s miracles and qualities. His virtues shone to Heaven (Presul Suithunus) and the earthly citizens mourn him (Surreptum). Swithun is placed in a humble tomb, yet the miracles demonstrate his sanctity and glory (Cum locus exiguum), and all sicknesses are cured there (Omnibus infirmis). The last regular antiphon (Laus tibi) is a general song of praise. The Benedictus antiphon (Letabunda) is a reflection on the happy occasion of Swithun’s feast.

Second Vespers includes one regular antiphon and the Magnificat antiphon. The regular antiphon (Magne sator mundi) is song of praise for God who glorified Swithun.

Composition and style

The collect and the lessons are all written in prose. For further details, see LAPIDGE 2003, 123, and GJERLØW 1979, 143).

Most of the antiphons and responsories are written in syllable-counting rhymed verse, except the first Vesper antiphon. This style is typical of late twelfth-century liturgy, and consists of lines where the stress falls on either the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable, also known as paroxytone (p) or pro-paroxytone (pp) stress.

In the following overview, the chants are presented in the order in which they appear in the liturgical office.

The Magnificat antiphon consists of 8 lines of rhyming couplets. The lines are all in proparoxytone stress and each line contains 8 syllables, with the exception of the second line – ‘gaude gens Stauangrie’ – which has only 7 syllables. In both Analecta Hymnica (DREVES 1892, 235 and in the edition of Antiphonarium Nidrosiense GJERLØW (1979, 184) this line has been hyper-corrected by the addition another syllable to make the meter. The line therefore reads ‘gaude gens Stauangariae’ in DREVES 1892. This hyper-correction has been carried over into the edition by LAPIDGE (2003, 129). In Breviarium Nidrosiense, however, the line only consists of 7 syllables. In the edition of Breviarium Nidrosiense by SPERBER (2019, 1343), the line is correctly transcribed.  

The invitatory antiphon is a rhyming couplet with two lines of 15 syllables in paroxytone stress.

The antiphons for the first nocturne all consist of two rhyming couplets with the following scheme: 8pp+8pp+8pp+8pp. The third antiphon is an exception, where the first line only contains seven syllables.

The responsories for the first nocturne have the following schemes: 5p+8p+5p+9p+7p+7pp (MR1); 7p+10p+6p+8p+6pp+7pp (MR2); 6pp+10p+5p+9p+5p+7pp (MR3).

The antiphons for the second nocturne have the following schemes: 8pp+8pp+8p+8pp (MA4); 8pp+8pp+8pp+8pp (MA5); 8pp+8p+8pp+8pp (MA6). They are all comprised of rhyming couplets.

The responsories for the second nocturne have the following schemes: 6pp+9p+6p+8p+7pp+7pp (MR4); 7pp+9p+6p+9p+5p+7pp (MR5) (here with the proviso that ‘coepit’ in the third line is pronounced as two syllables); 5p+8p+9p+7pp+8p+6pp+7pp (MR6).         

The antiphons for the third nocturne have the following schemes: 8pp+8pp+8pp+8pp (MA7); 8pp+8pp+8pp+8pp (MA8); 8p+8p+8pp+8pp (MA9). They are all comprised of rhyming couplets.

The responsories for the third nocturne have the following scheme: 6p+10p+6p+9p+7pp+7pp (MR7); 6p+10p+6pp+8p+6p+7p (MR8); 7p+7pp+6p+9p+10p+6p+7pp+8p (MR9) (with the proviso that ‘coetibus’ in the second to last line is pronounced as two syllables).             

The five first antiphons of Laudes have the following scheme: 5p+8p+5p+7pp (LA1); 9p+6p+6p+7p (LA2); 10p+6p+6p+7p (LA3); 6p+9p+6p+7pp (LA4); 8p+9p+7p+8p (LA5).

The Benedictus antiphon has the following scheme: 6p+8p+7p+9p+6p+9p+6p+8p.

The Magnificat antiphon for Second Vespers has the following scheme: 6p+8p+6p+7pp+5p+8p+6p+7p.

Sources

The liturgical texts are drawn from both the Vita Sancti Swithuni from the late eleventh century, and from the Miracula Sancti Swithuni. As suggested by Michael Lapidge (2003, 134), the office is likely to have been composed by someone with access to both texts, which in turn points to Winchester as its place of origin. This hypothesis also explains why the lessons are so focused on English history, which might not have been equally prioritised by a liturgical composer based in Stavanger.  

Vita Sancti Swithuni provides the material for the antiphons of the first nocturne (chapter 1), the second nocturne (chapter 2), and the third nocturne (chapter 4). Lessons 1-3 are drawn from chapter 1-2 of Vita Sancti Swithuni, and the responsories recount miracle stories from chapters 1-6. Lessons 4-6 are taken from chapter 3-4 of Vita Sancti Swithuni, and the responsories are drawn from chapters 1-6. Lessons 7-9 are drawn from from chapters 7-8 of Vita Sancti Swithuni. Curiously, lesson 8 begins ‘Uixit autem’ rather than ‘Vixit igitur’, which might be a choice on the part of the liturgist. The responsories from the third nocturne are drawn from chapters 2-3 of Miracula Sancti Swithuni.

Purpose and audience

The main purpose of the Historia de Sancto Suithuno was to honour St Swithun and to demonstrate that he was held in high regards by the cathedral clergy in Stavanger. Since any liturgical office is a communication between the performing clergy and the recipient saint – as well as the omniscient and omnipresent God – the office served to strengthen the bond between the patron saint and his flock. The office also had as its purpose to educate the cathedral clergy and other ecclesiastical or monastic audiences about the history and the qualities of St Swithun. In particular, it was important for the cathedral clergy to teach its own members about the institution’s patron saint, so that the clergy would venerate the saint in accordance with how his cult centre understood and imagined him, and so that they could ensure that the knowledge about Swithun’s history and qualities was passed on to later generations. The office was, in other words, one of the mechanisms by which the cathedral’s institutional identity was formulated and perpetuated across centuries.

In addition to the main intended audiences – God, Swithun, and the cathedral clergy – the laity who was present at the cathedral during St Swithun’s feast would also have been an audience to the performance of the Historia. The laity had no active part in the liturgical performance, but we should expect that they would nonetheless understand something of what the office tried to communicate of the glory of the patron saint – if not in words, so at least in music.

Medieval reception and transmission

The office was included in the Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519), and it is likely that the office was transmitted to the metropolitan see shortly before the content of the breviary was brought to Paris for printing, perhaps as early as 1515 (GJERLØW 1986, 70; KARLSEN AND HAREIDE 2019, 3). No known manuscript sources have survived, and it is therefore impossible to say whether the office was transmitted beyond the diocese of Stavanger before the sixteenth century. Since the Historia was probably composed in the second half of the twelfth century (see Date and place above), it is likely that the veneration of Swithun in the diocese of Bjørgvin – which, like Stavanger, belonged to the Gulathing law province – had begun before the composition of the Stavanger office. In the diocese of Bjørgvin, the feast(s) of St Swithun would most likely have been performed with liturgical material from the common of saints (commune sanctorum), and we should not expect that the cult of Swithun was strong enough in Bjørgvin diocese to warrant the importation of a proprium office.

Commemoratio de translatione Sancti Suithuni episcopi et confessoris

This is a short office for the translation feast of St Swithun that is included in Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519). As stated in the calendar of the breviary, Swithun’s translation had the rank of semiduplex, which meant that the office contained six lessons. In the Breviarium, the office contains only a few chants. These are mainly from the common of a confessor bishop, and only the incipits – the first words – are recorded (see Sources below). Most of the texts – including all the six lessons – are performed during the third nocturne.

Title

The title Commemoratio de translatione Sancti Suithuni episcopi et confessoris is used in the Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519). The title appears to be unique to the Breviarium. The use of the word “commemoratio” rather than “historia” might reflect the feast’s rank of semiduplex, as per the breviary’s calendar.

Incipit

Confessor domini.

Explicit

Iste est, qui ante.

Size

The office covers one page and most of a column in Breviarium Nidrosiense. The chants are all indicated by their incipits. The collect runs across five and a half lines. Taken together, the lessons cover 66 lines.

Editions

• SPERBER, I. 2019: Breviarium Nidrosiense, Oslo, 1078-79.

Translations

No translations have yet been made.

Date and place

The materials used for the Commemoratio are older than the Norwegian cult of St Swithun (see Summary of contents and Sources below), but it is possible that the materials were put in their current order in Norway. Three of the responsories and the Invitatory antiphon – all of which are from the common of saints – are also used for the feast of Swithun’s translation in a thirteenth-century Icelandic manuscript whose content is believed to reflect the Ordo Nidrosiensis (GJERLØW 1968, 367). The manuscript in question is AM 680 a 4to.

It is possible that the office on which the Commemoratio was used in Stavanger diocese from the earliest stages of the Norwegian cult of St Swithun, and that it was later brought to Trondheim. Since the first lesson mentions the exhumation of Swithun’s body, although briefly and as a past event, the office might have been performed on his dies translatio from the beginning. This supposition is supported by the evidence of AM 680 a 4to.

The current shape of the office is probably a consequence of the institution of the feast of Visitatio Mariae after 1389, through which Swithun’s dies natalis was removed from the metropolitan sanctorale, and which appears to have diminished the status of Swithun’s cult in Trondheim. The Commemoratio is most likely based on an office of nine lessons, and has been reduced to six lessons to accommodate the translation feast’s rank of semiduplex.

For the question of place, the issues presented here are important. While it seems overwhelmingly likely that the Commemoratio is based on an older office used in Stavanger, we do not know whether the shortened version is a product of the clergy at the Stavanger episcopal see or the metropolitan clergy in Trondheim.

As for the date of the Commemoratio, its terminus post quem is 1389, since the edited office is a response to the institution of the feast of Visitatio Mariae. The impact of this change in Norway was probably not immediate, however. It is likely that Swithun’s cult was less diminished in Stavanger, and that the dies translatio was celebrated with a full office of nine lessons throughout the diocese. If we accept the hypothesis that the Commemoratio was given its surviving form in Trondheim, the relatively close contacts between the metropolitan see and the Papacy might have ensured that the liturgical changes were introduced more quickly here. We should therefore expect that the Commemoratio was composed or edited relatively shortly after 1389.

Summary of contents

The office contains four antiphons, three responsories, one collect (oratio), and six lessons. The chants are all from the commune sanctorum, and feature in the common of a confessor bishop. They are only recorded by their incipits, and all provide descriptions of the ideal confessor and the just man of the books of the Old Testament (see more in Sources below).

Lesson 1 recounts the story of a blind man who had lived five years in Rome and was healed by the intercession of Swithun.

Lesson 2 recounts the healing of a man who was falsely accused of theft and blinded.

Lesson 3 recounts the healing of Prior Byrhtferth’s blindness.

Lesson 4 recounts the restoration of broken eggs.

Lesson 5 recounts the healing of a boy who fell off a horse.

Lesson 6 contains general praise of the many mute and blind people from all across England who were healed through the intercession of St Swithun.

Composition and style

The chants of the Commemoratio are in prose, as is typical of the material from the commune sanctorum.

The lessons are mainly based on Lantfred’s Translatio et Miracula (see Sources below), and retain some of his stylistic traits (see LAPIDGE 2003, 224-32).

Sources

As mentioned above (see Summary of contents), the chants are all taken from the commune sanctorum, presumably the common of a confessor saint.

The collect is similar to one found in the Sarum missal (LAPIDGE 2003, 103). The Use of Sarum was the liturgical order of Southern England, i.e., the church province of Canterbury, to which Winchester belongs. It is likely that the collect belongs to the earliest material for St Swithun used in Norway, and that this was transmitted from Winchester together with the arm relic when Rainald became bishop of Stavanger. However, the collect itself is part of the commune sanctorum and can also be found in the liturgical offices of other saints, and we cannot discard the possibility that it has been brought to Norway from a different source.

Four of the six lessons contain stories found in Translatio et Miracula Sancti Swithuni by Lantfred, the earliest hagiography about St Swithun. They are not taken verbatim from Lantfred, however. Lesson 1 is from chapter 16; lesson 2 is from chapter 26; lesson 3 is from chapter 28; and lesson 5 is from chapter 31 (see LAPIDGE 2003, 298, 310, 316, and 318 respectively). Lesson 4 is possibly taken from Vita Sancti Swithuni, which is from the eleventh century (LAPIDGE 2003, 636). Lesson 6 contains a passage that fits verbatim with the so-called Epitome Translationis et Miraculorum Sancti Swithuni, an abbreviation of Lantfred’s Translatio et Miracula dated to the late tenth century (LAPIDGE 2003, 570). The Epitome does not contain the other chapters from Lantfred that have been used for the lessons, and is therefore only the source of the sixth lesson.

Purpose and audience

The main purposes of the Commemoratio are the same as those described for the Historia de Sancto Suithuno (see above), namely to provide material for the proper veneration of a saint whose place in the Norwegian cult of saints was well established, yet not of great importance outside of Stavanger diocese.

Unlike the Historia de Sancto Suithuno, the Commemoratio in its surviving form was most likely not a product of the Stavanger cathedral clergy, but rather the result of editorial interventions by the Trondheim cathedral clergy. The purpose of the abbreviated office was to adapt the office to changes in the liturgical calendar. The intended audiences were the parishes of the church province who were expected to follow the liturgical order set down by the archbishop’s authority.

Medieval reception and transmission

The Commemoratio office is only known through Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519). That the manuscript AM 680 a 4to contains some of the same chants for the feast of Swithun’s translatio suggests that the office has been transmitted throughout the Norwegian church province, either completely or in parts. The version found in Breviarium Nidrosiense is most likely an abbreviation of an older and longer office cycle (see Date and place above).

Bibliography

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