Christopher Wordsworth • 1894
This volume is a sort of anticipated companion volume to the HBS edition of the Directorium Sacerdotum, a variety of ordinal or directory, which was privately compiled by Clement Maydeston, who though a priest held formally the post of 'deacon' at the Brigittine Abbey of Syon, Middlesex (c. 1390-1456). Despite these origins, the compilation acquired a de facto official status. The Directorium Sacerdotum itself was published belatedly as [20] and [22].
The Directorium aimed in part at providing calendrical and rubrical solutions for those observing the Sarum Use. It did this by a distinction between the practice of the Salisbury cathedral chapter and the practice that could reasonably be required from the many others in England who followed in general the Sarum Use. Maydeston's position was that outside the Salisbury chapter it was reasonable to make modifications to meet local conditions and calendars. This was deemed unacceptable by some, who maintained that the practice observed at Salisbury itself should be followed everywhere. This line of argument ignored the fact that in any case there were contradictions between the existing manuscript drafts of the Sarum ordinal and the rubrics of the liturgical books.
The edition focuses in particular on two printed texts which offer Maydeston's defence. The first is the Defensorium Directorii Sacerdotum printed in successive editions of the Directorium Sacerdotum by Wynkyn de Worde in 1495 (Duff, n. 293; GW 8459; STC 17723), the text being collated with Caxton's folio edition of 1487 (Duff, n. 290; GW 8456; STC 17720), Leeu's quarto of 1488 (Duff, n. 291; GW 8457; STC 17721), and a number of texts representing the pro-Sarum revision made by William Clerke: the Pynson quarto editions of 1497 and 1498 (Duff, nn. 294, 295; GW 8460, 8461; STC 17724, 17725), the Wynkyn de Worde quarto of 1499 (Duff, n. 296; GW 8462; STC 17726), the Pynson quartos of the Ordinale Sarum of 1501, 1503, and 1504 (STC 17727, 17728 formerly also 16230, 17728.3 formerly 16231; the 1504 is in fact now thought to be by Wynkyn de Worde). The second is the text Crede Michi, a longer and more considered rubrical tract compiled by Maydeston but incorporating rubrical adjudications made by the Salisbury canons c. 1440-1450, and partly based on an earlier work by one John Raynton. The text given is that printed by Wynk:yn de Worde in the quarto of 1495, collated as before with Caxton's folio edition of 1487, Leeu's quarto of 1488, and a number of texts representing the Clerke revision: the Pynson quarto editions of the Ordinale Sarum of 1501, and 1508 (STC 17727, 17728.5), to which is added John Raynton's draft of Crede Michi from London, British Library, Additional MS 25456.
In addition, fragments of Caxton's edition of the Ordinale Sarum, c. 1477-1478, amounting to 16 pages, are reprinted from British Library C.40.1.1/5 (see Duff n. 336; GW 8455). There are also extensive appendices containing related rubrical material. Appendix I gives the text of the Regula de omnibus historiis inchoandis from London, British Library, Additional MS 25456 (c. 1450-1455). Appendix II gives the Regula de VII historiis, and other pieces from the Sarum Breviary printed by Raynaldus de Novimagio, at Venice in 1483 (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Velins 1685+1686; Duff, n. 61; GW 5446), while Appendixes II and IV offer still other kindred material in short quotations taken from a variety of sources and interspersed with commentary.
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