Liturgists and Dance in the Twelfth Century: The Witness of John Beleth and Sicard of Cremona

Abstract

Liturgists and Dance in the Twelfth Century: The Witness of John Beleth and Sicard of Cremona 1 CONSTANT J. MEWS D ANCING is not often associated with Christian liturgy, at least in modern experience. Yet according to the Mitralis de Officio of Sicard, bishop of Cremona (1185 -1215), composed about 1200, the circular dance (chorea) provides a key metaphor for understanding the liturgy of Easter. 2 Sicard here draws together two earlier discussions of the subject, both from the twelfth century and of enormously wide influence, manifesting a more positive attitude toward dance than found in many early medieval commentators on the liturgy: the Gemma animae (Jewel of the soul) of Honorius Augustodunensis, composed for a monastic audience in the early twelfth century, probably in Germany, and the De ecclesiasticis officiis of John Beleth, a secular cleric writing probably in Paris circa 1150-1160. 3 While many scholars have observed the renewal of interest in the pagan authors within a literary context in the twelfth century, the witness of liturgical commentaries from the period has been little noticed. Sicard implies that the festivities of the pagan Saturnalia and its associated freedom 1 I am indebted to Dawn McGann for originally awakening my interest in liturgical dance, and am grateful to Donnalee Dox, Bruce Holsinger, and many others for discussing issues and translations in this paper.Constant J. Mews is professor of history and director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University, Australia.

Star Paths and Traces of Dance

“…In his analysis of Sicard's texts, Constant J. Mews notes that this can be observed in the perception of dance, ball games and labyrinths. There are at least three areas that are linked in one way or another to the pre-Christian logic of circular movements and were practiced as early as in Sicard's time, as well as much later (Mews 2009).…”

“…The Italian versions were likely slightly smaller than the French ones. 64 Their antiquarian depictions show that Theseus and the minotaur were painted in the centre of them (Mews 2009: 517, Wright 2001.…”

“…The first refers to the reversal of roles that occurred during Easter in some areas in the Middle Ages (see also Mews 2009). This reversal inverted the social order, which meant that one's social inferior or subordinate could, in one way or another, criticise, mock, or otherwise address the existing social hierarchy.…”

Orientation of the Romanesque churches in the region of Val d’Aran, Spain (11th–13th centuries)

“…An ensemble of Romanesque churches situated in the Pyrenean region of Val d’Aran in northern Spain, built between the 11th and the 13th centuries, is presented in this paper. Several authors, such as José Antonio Íñiguez Herrero (Íñiguez ), Santiago Sebastian (Sebastián 352–5), Nicolas Reveyron (Reveyron ), Francesca Mambelli (Mambelli ), Constant Mews (Mews ) and Eduardo Carrero (Carrero ), claim Romanesque buildings were designed under the influence of the main liturgies of that period: Gemma animae ( c .1120), by Honorius of Autun (1080– c .1153); Rationale divinorum officiorum ( c .1150), by Jean Beleth ( fl . 1135–82); Mitralis de Officio (1190), by Sicardus Cremoniensis, Bishop of Cremona (1185–1215); and Prochiron, vulgo rationale divinorum officiorum (1291) by Guillaume Durand (1230–96).…”

Topología de la arqueología litúrgica del primer románico del Val d’Aran

“…Las construcciones del románico se realizaron bajo la influencia de las principales liturgias de la época, según exponen diversos autores como José Antonio Íñiguez Herrero (1986), Santiago Sebastián (1994), Nicolas Reveyron (2003), Francesca Mambelli (2004), Constant J. Mews (2009), Eduardo Carrero (2009 Así, las primeras iglesias aranesas se forjan en el contexto románico con este entorno litúrgico. Además, Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867-1956) les atribuye una conexión lombarda (Puig i Cadafalch 1906).…”