Understanding the Old Hispanic Office
Understanding the Old Hispanic Office
Kati Ihnat, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Rebecca Maloy, University of Colorado Boulder
Raquel Rojo Carrillo, University of Cambridge
Based on highly original archival and palaeographical research, this is the first methodological and factual primer in English on the distinctive liturgical tradition of early medieval Spain. It provides clear and approachable blueprints for future work on the description and analysis (musical, theological and cultural) of this and other liturgies. For non-specialists, the authors introduce the main features of Old Hispanic liturgy, its manuscripts, its services and its liturgical genres. For specialists, they model a variety of ways to work with the Old Hispanic materials in depth, incorporating notational, musical, theological and historical perspectives. For those interested in musical notation, the book lays out a method for working with unpitched neumes, with illustrative results, that will inspire and challenge others working on monophonic chant. For historians and liturgists, the texts and melodies are analysed in combination with the theological context that informed their creation.
- Makes this unfamiliar liturgy and its sources accessible to readers with no prior knowledge
- Uses a close reading of one liturgical day as a case study of an interdisciplinary approach
- Offers methodological models for studying Old Hispanic notation and melodies
Reviews & endorsements
‘… contains a wealth of information for specialists and nonspecialists alike. Since this review can hardly do justice to it, readers are encouraged to find out for themselves just how useful this reference book can be and to appreciate the patience and sheer intellectual power that stand behind each chapter.’ Kathleen Sewright, Notes
‘This study both provides an essential resource for further study of the Old Hispanic rite and demonstrates its importance for musicologists, historians, liturgical scholars, and theologians.’ William Flynn, Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies
Product details
February 2025Paperback
9781108994019
474 pages
244 × 170 mm
Not yet published - available from
Table of Contents
- 1. The Old Hispanic office: evidence and silence Kati Ihnat
- 2. The liturgical year in the Old Hispanic rite Raquel Rojo Carrillo and Emma Hornby
- 3. Old Hispanic liturgical manuscripts Emma Hornby and Raquel Rojo Carrillo
- 4. Old Hispanic genres: chants, prayers and readings Emma Hornby and Raquel Rojo Carrillo
- 5. The Old Hispanic liturgical day Emma Hornby and Raquel Rojo Carrillo
- 6. Old Hispanic musical notation: its characteristics and an analytical methodology Emma Hornby, Rebecca Maloy and Raquel Rojo Carrillo
- 7. Melodic language in Old Hispanic chant: illustrating an analytical methodology Emma Hornby and Rebecca Maloy
- 8. Text, melody and theology in the Old Hispanic Marian office Kati Ihnat and Rebecca Maloy.
