We left off our discussion of the History of the Mass in at the end of the fourth century. By this time the structure of the Mass was pretty well formulated in the West. Although there would be more alterations, the basic structure would never again change.
It should be noted, however, that the Mass in the East was diverging in format from the Mass in the West at this point. The eastern Mass was becoming far more ornate with far more ministers than were present in the Mass of the West. One other interesting side note, for the Masses of the West when there were multiple priests present *each* of them preached, and the bishop preached last. There were no 45 minute liturgies during this period of time.
During the fifth century the Mass in the West spread and took on regional characteristics. Sadly, there is very little documentation from this period of time, although there are anecdotal references. There are, however, two major "families" of liturgical styles that we can follow: the Roman-African and the Gallic. While we do not have a single complete text of any of the African Masses we have enough references to believe that it was very similar to the Roman Mass. This, in part, was due to the relative closeness of the major sees of African and Rome -- especially during the time of Augustine.
The Gallic liturgy influenced a number of other local areas, and so we divide the Gallic liturgy into four families: Gallican, Celtic, Mozarabic (Spanish) and Ambrosian (Milanese). Of these, both the Mozarabic and the Ambrosian are still in use today!
The Ambrosian rite is named after St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan where it is still in use (the 200 year rule allowed it to continue both after Trent and after Vatican II). This Mass was influenced by the Mass in Rome and, at the same time, influenced the Mass in Rome.
The Mozarabic Mass also escaped the Tridentine reform by virtue of its antiquity, although it is still in use in only one place, a chapel in the cathedral of Toledo. In fact, Cardinal Ximenes established this around the year 1500 to ensure the continuation of the Rite which uses the Missale Mixtum which the cardinal himself had compiled. This Mass also shows substantial Roman influence. Through the careful use of older manuscripts, it is possible to reconstruct the "pure" Mozarabic Mass prior to the Moorish invasion of Spain (711).
The Celtic Mass was found among both the Irish and the Scots and was spread by the Scotch-Irish monks during their travels. In fact, this liturgy reflects a "wandering mysticism" due to the incorporation of components of both Western and Eastern Masses. There were also portions that were distinctly Celtic in origin.
The Gallican liturgy, on the other hand, reflects an independence and exclusiveness that is consistent with the character of the people. This Mass, although very well known, disappeared by the start of the eighth century. The best preserved of these Masses is from the Missale Gothicum which is a sacramentary that was supposed to have come from the Gregorianmünster in Alsace.
According to Jungmann "The beginnings of the Latin Mass in Rome are wrapped in almost total darkness. The oldest documents to register such a Mass are nearly all the work of diligent Frankish scribes of the eighth and ninth centuries, and even with all the apparatus of literary criticism and textual analysis, we can hardly reconstruct any records back beyond the sixth century, certainly not beyond the fifth. For the most part, whatever is here transmitted as the permanent text -- especially the canon, but likewise the major portion of the variable prayers of the celebrant, and the readings -- is almost identical with present-day [1945] usage. We are thus brought face-to-face with a sharp contrast: the Latin Mass as it has been practiced ever since, and the Greek Mass to which Hippolytus attests -- and a broad gulf between."
Thus, the Roman Canon and the Te Igitur went virtually unchanged from the sixth century down through Trent and up to the reform of the Mass at Vatican II. There are, however, numerous variations that we shall see as we continue this study. One such variation found in the canon is the communicantes, Hanc igitur which is not found in the canon at the end of the fifth century. By the end of the sixth century, however, it has appeared, although the memento of the dead is not present.
One interesting manuscript of this era is the Stowe Missal which goes back to Pope Gelasius I (492-496). This reflects an interesting combination of rites, but shows the common bond between Alexandria and Rome. During the fourth century the Mass starts abruptly with the readings, and then slowly develops the opening hymn. The General Intercessions were present in the Mass under Pope Felix (483-492) but had disappeared by the sixth century. We should also note that the fifth century in Rome was a time that did not lend itself to liturgical advances as they were faced with the Lombard invasion and a Gothic threat. However, as the pope took on more and more of the civil role (the emperor in Byzantium was too far away) the liturgy also became more and more conformed to the civil sense of pomp.
Among the oldest known Mass books are several different types of books. Today we have two basic books plus an additional. The basic are the Lectionary and the Sacramentary and the "additional" is the Ceremonial of Bishops which contains special rites pertinent to bishops (the ordination Masses are found in here). These old books reflect a similar breakdown with the sacramentary being comparable to what we have today. There were also the apostolus which contained the normal lessons and the evangelium which contained the Gospels. This would correspond loosely to the Lectionary and the Book of the Gospels. The cantatorium contained the music for the schola cantorum (a schola is like a choir, but different in ways that are not within the scope of this discussion). Another book found from those days that we still have is called the "ordo" (ordines) which contains the guidelines explaining which Mass to celebrate when.
Some of the ancient sacramentaries that still exist today include the Sacramentarium Leionianum (Leonine Sacramentary) which dates from about 540. This book is incomplete since the period from Christmas to April is missing. Interestingly, there are fourteen Masses for the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr! This sacramentary is of more than passing interest since 174 of the prayers from it were also found in the Missalae Romanum of the Mass of St. Pius V. The Gelasian Sacramentary is a complete document found in a single manuscript. There are, however, two versions of this, an earlier and a later. The older form is considered the authentic Gelasian since the later one shows substantial alteration and dates from around 800. Although it cannot be proven, the sacramentary dates from the period of the papacy of Pope Gelasius I and so it carries his name. It shows great Gallican influences in places.
We'll resume this discussion with the eighth century.