Exultet roll
An Exultet roll is a long and wide
The Exultet roll takes its name from the opening words of the chant in Latin: Exultet iam angelica turba coelorum ('Let the angelic host of heaven exult').[2][3] These words were sung by the deacon during the blessing and lighting of the Paschal candle at the Easter Vigil.[2][3][5] The chant included prayers, canticles and lections.[5] Although based on the Pontifical liturgy, the form of the ceremony and the Exultet as practised in southern Italy is attributed to Archbishop Landulf I of Benevento (r. 957–982). It spread throughout southern Italy largely through the influence of the abbey of Montecassino.[2]
Outside of their one annual liturgical function, Exultet rolls were objects of display. They featured initials decorated with interlace in a distinct Beneventan style and miniatures in a "Byzantinizing" style.[2] They were large, consisting of parchment membranes up to 30 by 80 centimetres (12 in × 31 in) bound end to end to a total length of up to 9 metres (30 ft). The luxurious miniatures are among the largest found in European manuscripts up to that time.[6]
Gallery
-
Decorated initial E (text is right-side up) -
Prayer for the pope and emperor (text is upside down) -
Beekeeping scene (text is upside down)
Notes
- ^ a b Reynolds 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Hourihane 2012.
- ^ a b c d Brubaker 1984.
- ^ Wilson 2010.
- ^ a b Devonshire Jones, Murray & Murray 2013.
- ^ Kelly 1996, p. 3.
Bibliography
- Avery, Myrtilla (1936). The Exultet Rolls of South Italy. Princeton University Press.
- Joseph R. Strayer (ed.). Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Vol. 4. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 565.
- Devonshire Jones, Tom; Murray, Linda; Murray, Peter, eds. (2013). "Exsultet (Exultet) rolls". The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Hourihane, Colum P., ed. (2012). "Exultet rolls". The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. pp. 488–489.
- Kelly, Thomas Forrest (1996). The Exultet in Southern Italy. Oxford University Press.
- Reynolds, Roger E. (2010). "Exultet roll". In Robert E. Bjork (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press.
- Wilson, N. G. (2010). "Exultet roll". The Oxford Companion to the Book. Oxford University Press.