Leofric Missal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leofric Missal
Paschal Hand illustration from the Leofric Missal
Date	10th and 11th century
Provenance	Lotharingia and England
State of existence	surviving
Manuscript(s)	Bodleian Library Bodley 579
Genre	Missal

The Leofric Missal is a very old and special book. It's an illuminated manuscript, which means it's a handwritten book decorated with beautiful pictures and designs. This book was created in the 900s and 1000s. Today, you can find it at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University in England. It's listed there as MS Bodl. 579.

What is the Leofric Missal?

The Leofric Missal is named after Bishop Leofric, who was the Bishop of Exeter from 1050 to 1072. He gave this book to his church, Exeter Cathedral.

Even though it's called a "Missal," it's not exactly a typical missal. A missal is a book used in church services (called Mass). The Leofric Missal is more like a collection of different texts and notes.

How the Book Was Made

The story of the Leofric Missal begins around the year 900 AD. The first part of the book, called a sacramentary, was made in a place called Lotharingia. This area is now part of modern-day Germany and France. A sacramentary is a book containing prayers and instructions for church services.

Later, during the 900s and 1000s, more parts were added to the book in England. These additions included:

• A calendar showing important church holidays.
• More information and instructions for celebrating the Mass.
• Some old legal notes written in Old English.

The very last additions to the book were made during the time when Leofric was the Bishop of Exeter. A note on the first page, written in the 1000s, says that Bishop Leofric gave the book to his cathedral. This handwriting style came from Exeter Cathedral.

What's Inside the Missal?

The Leofric Missal has three main parts, which scholars like F. E. Warren have called "A," "B," and "C."

Section A: The Oldest Part

Section A is the original sacramentary. It was probably created in the late 800s. This part includes a large, decorated letter on one page (page 154). This letter has designs of human and animal heads, along with interlace patterns. These decorations were likely added in England in the early 900s.

Section B: Illustrations and Calculations

Section B has 21 pages of interesting material. It includes a calendar, other notes about calculating dates, and four pages of illustrations. These illustrations are full-page drawings made with different colored inks. They were added around 970 AD in England.

These drawings show an early example of a new art style that came from Reims (a city in France). This style influenced the famous Winchester art style in England. One drawing on page 49 shows the Hand of God pointing to the paschal cycle, which is how the date of Easter is calculated. Other pages show figures representing "Life" (Vita) and "Death" (Mors). These figures were part of an ancient method of divination (trying to predict the future) to see if a sick person would live or die.

Another page (page 50) has diagrams and a drawing of a person's head in a circle. These helped people calculate the date of Easter. Many of the drawings are decorated with acanthus leaves, but they have faded over time. It seems that all of Section B was put together at Glastonbury Abbey. Because there is no mention of Edward the Martyr, who died in 979, scholars believe this section was added before that date.

Section C: A Mix of Notes

The rest of the book, called Section C, is a collection of many different texts. Over thirty different scribes (people who copied books by hand) wrote these texts during the 900s and 1000s. This section contains information about the Mass, notes about freeing enslaved people (called manumissions), and other various notes. All these additions were made by English scribes.

Unlike the other sections, Section C isn't all in one place. These notes were added at the beginning and end of the book, and also filled in blank spaces throughout the other two sections.

Who Put It All Together?

Scholars have different ideas about how the Leofric Missal came to be.

One scholar, F. E. Warren, thought that Bishop Leofric brought Section A (the sacramentary) to England in the 1040s after returning from mainland Europe. Warren believed Leofric then added Section B, which was an existing manuscript he acquired, and Section C, which were notes he had collected.

However, other scholars, like Robert Desham, believe that Section A was already in England by about 940 AD. Desham argues that Section B was created specifically before 979 to update the older, foreign sacramentary. According to Desham, Section C was added over time during the 900s and 1000s. This means that Bishop Leofric might not have had a big role in creating the Missal as we know it today.