St Moluag's Advent

All the O's

Image from the Grimbald Gospels, Canterbury, 11th Century.

Dear All,

Instead of our usual programme of fortnightly emails on Fridays, this month we will instead publish a short reflection for each of the O’Antiphons based on that days theme. For those a little unclear about what the O’Antiphons are and their history, below is a short excerpt from the brillant Dr Eleanor Parker on her blog site A Clerk of Oxford:

In medieval England, 16th December was the first day of the sequence of texts known as the O Antiphons. (In other parts of the church they began on 17th December, but they lasted eight days, rather than seven, in English tradition.) Every day between now and Christmas Eve, at Vespers, in the early dusk of a midwinter evening, the antiphon would be one of these ancient songs of longing and desire, which address Christ by a series of allusive titles drawn from scriptural tradition and appeal to him: Come. The antiphons cry out to Christ as the embodiment of wisdom, justice, hope, and light - the liberator of captives, the bringer of unity, the sun who will lighten the darkness of this darkest season of the year. Click here for the rest of her article.

The O’s were thought to originate in 6th or 7th century Italy, commonly beginning on the 17th and lasting until the 23rd December, although there were variations that included O Virgo Virginum or O Gabriel. More about that in a minute however. The O’s are most commonly ordered as follows:

17 December: O Sapientia - O Wisdom

18 December: O Adonai

19 December: O Radix Jesse - O Root of Jesse

20 December: O Clavis David - O Key of David

21 December: O Oriens - O Dayspring

22 December: O Rex Gentium - O King of the Nations

23 December: O Emmanuel

However you will note above I included an excerpt that speaks about medieval England - what about Scotland? In pre-reformation England the Sarum rite was the Ordo used by all the Churches in England, having been developed by St Osmund at Salisbury Cathedral in the 11th Century. It then spread to Scotland and Ireland. In Scotland it was the Norman influence of St Margaret and her sons that would have probably brought it. The Sarum rite would become preeminent throughout Scotland dislodging the original Gallician rite of Ireland and Scotland. By the 16th Century we have a snapshot of liturgical life in the Aberdeen Breviary which is in essence the Sarum rite with local Saints inserted into their days.

Because of this I thought we would rely on the Sarum O’s which include the O Virgin of Virgins which I think is a lovely way to bring in the time of waiting. This means we will start on the 16th December with O Sapienta and end with O Virgo Virginum on the 23rd.

We have some great guest writers and familar ones to so I have no doubt they will help us draw in the time of waiting.

The Editor - Eric

P.S For those of you interested in a Gallician Advent; it would begin on the Feast of St Martin (11th November) with ember day fasts instructed for 3 days a week until Christmas. Monastic and Seculars in Scotland would have observed this but it is known that the laity in other parts of Europe took up the practice. Scotland was heavily influenced by the Irish Church - which itself drew on the holy austerity of the Desert Fathers, as well as the links with Gaul (St Ninian) from which the original decree came. With all that in mind - I would say it was enthusiastically embraced!