Nidaros ordo

Sunday 22 November. Twenty-Fifth and Last Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of St Cecilia, virgin and martyr. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 23. St Clement, pope and martyr. Com. St. Felicity. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 24. St Crisogonus, martyr, three lessons. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 25. St Katherine, virgin and martyr, nine lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 26. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 27. Feria VI. Mundi domina.
Saturday 28. VIGIL OF ST ANDREW, apostle. De te virgo.

This brings us to the end of the liturgical year. I hope you have enjoyed these glimpses into the Nordic past, and if you are a pre-Reformation cleric of the Province of Nidaros perhaps you have found it a useful guide to the recitation of your Breviary.

For next year I might content myself with publishing a monthly kalendar.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 15 November. Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of the Octave of Saint Martin. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 16. Feria II in Oct. St. Mart. Commemoration of St Edmund, bishop and confessor. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 17. Feria III in Oct. St. Mart. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 18. Octave day of St Martin, three lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 19. Feria V. Commemoration of St Elizabeth, widow Ave stella matutina.
Friday 20. St Edmund, king and martyr, nine lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 21. THE PRESENTATION OF MARY THE VIRGIN, major double. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 8 November. Octave Day of All Saints, semidouble. Commemorations of the Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, and of the Four Crowned Saints, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 9. THE CROWN OF THORNS OF THE LORD, major double. Commemoration of St Theodore, martyr. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 10. St Menna, martyr, three lessons. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 11. ST MARTIN, bishop and confessor, double. Rogamus te.
Thursday 12. Feria V in Oct. St. Mart. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 13. St Brictius, bishop and confessor, three lessons. Com. Oct. St Mart. Mundi domina.
Saturday 14. Sabbath in Oct. St. Mart. Salve regina.

Monday's feast is a good excuse for this:

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 1 November. ALL SAINTS, summum. Commemoration of the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 2. Feria II in Oct. All Ss. Commemoration of the Souls. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 3. Feria III in Oct. All Ss. Com. St Eustachius and his companions, martyrs. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 4. Feria IV in Oct. All Ss. Rogamus te.
Thursday 5. Feria V in Oct. All Ss. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 6. St Leonard, abbot, nine lessons. Com. Oct. All Ss. Mundi domina.
Saturday 7. Sabbath in Oct. All Ss. Com. St Willead, bishop and confessor. Salve regina.

Willead (properly Willehad) was a Northumbrian missionary, bishop of Bremen, friend of Alcuin.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 25 October. Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 26. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 27. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 28. SS SIMON AND JUDE, apostles, double. Rogamus te.
Thursday 29. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 30. St Quintin, martyr, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 31. VIGIL OF ALL SAINTS. Alma redemptoris.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 18 October. Saint Luke, evangelist, semidouble. Com. Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 19. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 20. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 21. Eleven thousand virgins, three lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 22. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 23. St Severinus, bishop and confessor, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 24. Sabbath. Salve regina.

The 11,000 were the supposed companions of St Ursula, celebrated thusly by St Hildegard:

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 11 October. Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 12. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 13. FEAST OF RELICS, major double. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 14. Saint Calixtus, pope and martyr, three lessons. Rogamus te.
Thursday 15. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 16. Feria VI. Mundi domina.
Saturday 17. St Martha, virgin not a martyr, three lessons. Com. St Justus, martyr. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 4 October. SAINT FRANCIS, confessor, double. Commemoration of the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 5. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 6. St Faith, virgin martyr, three lessons. Com. St Eskill, bishop and martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 7. St Birgitta, widow, semidouble. Com. St Mark, pope, Ss Marcellus & Apuleius. Rogamus te.
Thursday 8. St Demetrius, martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 9. St Denis and his companions, martyrs, single. Mundi domina.
Saturday 10. St Gereon and his companions, martyrs, three lessons. Salve regina.

Twa-three items of local interest here. St Eskill was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to Sweden; in most places his feast is observed on 12 June - why not here? St Bridget of Sweden is rather grudgingly categorised as a vidua in the Breviary calendar; in the body of the book she is a sponsa christi.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 27 September. Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saints Cosmas and Damian, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 28. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 29. ST MICHAEL, archangel, major double. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 30. St Jerome, presbyter and confessor, semidouble. Rogamus te.
Thursday 1 October. Ss Remi and German, bishops and confessors. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 2. St Leodegar, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 3. Sabbath. Salve regina.

Is that the third St German(us) in the calendar? I will not attempt to "disambiguate" them! St Leodegar is also known as St Leger; the horse race, being named after a Colonel St Leger, does not take place on the feast day.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 20 September. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 21. SAINT MATTHEW, apostle and evangelist, double. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 22. St Maurice and his companions, single. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 23. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 24. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 25. Saint Firmin, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 26. Sabbath. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 13 September. Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemorations of the Octave of the Nativity of Mary, and of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 14. EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS, major double. Com. Oct. Nat. Mar. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 15. Octave day of Mary the Virgin, semidouble. Com. S. Nicomed, martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 16. St Eufemia, virgin martyr, three lessons. Com. Ember day. Rogamus te.
Thursday 17. St Lambert, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 18. Ember day. Mundi domina.
Saturday 19. VIGIL OF ST MATTHEW, apostle and evangelist. Com. Emb. day. Salve regina.

Euphemia has long been, and, rather wonderfully, still is, a popular name in the Northern Isles.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 6 September. Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 7. Feria II. (The office of St Adrian is celebrated today by anticipation.) Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 8. NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN MARY, double (?). St Adrian, bishop and martyr, three lessons (see yesterday's entry). O florens rosa.
Wednesday 9. Feria IV in the Octave of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Commemoration of St Gorgon, martyr. Rogamus te.
Thursday 10. Feria V in Oct. Nat. Mar. Com. St Audomarus, bishop. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 11. Feria VI in Oct. Nat. Mar. Com. Ss Prothus and Iacinctus, martyrs. Mundi domina.
Saturday 12. Sabbath in Oct. Nat. Mar. Salve regina.

With St Adrian and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have a situation similar to that involving Ss Hermes and Augustine a couple of weeks ago: an annual clash of celebrations. Here the same solution has been arrived at - to anticipate the lesser feast on the previous day, which happens to be vacant - but here the transfer has not gone as far as changing the date of Adrian's feast day. Instead, we have a rubric on the 7 September: Hic cantentur de eo iii. lc. noct. (Here the three matins lessons about him are sung.) All this doesn't leave the kalendarist enough room to give us the rank of Mary's feast, but as it is printed in red and has an octave, we can assume it is at least a double feast.

The Nativity of the Virgin is one of those offices which survives in the Choir Antiphoner of Nidaros Cathedral, and it has been recorded by the Schola Sanctae Sunnivae.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 30 August. Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Ss Felix and Adauctus, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 31. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 1 September. Saint Egidius, abbot, single. Commemoration of St Priscus, martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 2. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 3. Feria V. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 4. Translation of St Cuthbert, bishop and confessor, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 5. St Bertinus, abbot, three lessons. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 23 August. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 24. SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, apostle, double. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 25. St Audoen, bishop and confessor, three lessons. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 26. Feria IV. Rogamus te.
Thursday 27. St Hermes, martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 28. St Augustine, bishop and confessor, semidouble. Mundi domina.
Saturday 29. Beheading of John the Baptist, nine lessons. Commemoration of St Sabina, widow. Salve regina.

Audoen is Ouen, bishop of Rouen, and not the first saint from what is now Normandy that we've come across in the Nidaros calendar. Evidence perhaps that the liturgical reforms of William of Volpiano lie somewhere in the substrata of the Nidaros use.

St Hermes was an early Roman martyr (like Sabina). His feast was traditionally observed on the 28th. The thirteenth-century Ordo Nidrosiensis Ecclesie gives rather vague instructions about how to negotiate the clash of this feast with that of St Augustine of Hippo. By the time of the printed Breviary of 1519, the pragmatic decision had obviously been taken to transfer Hermes permanently to the 27th.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 16 August. Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. Commemorations of the Octaves of St Laurence and of the Assumption. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 17. Octave day of St Laurence, three lessons. Com. Oct. Ass. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 18. Feria III in Oct. Ass. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 19. Feria IV in Oct. Ass. Rogamus te.
Thursday 20. Feria V in Oct. Ass. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 21. Feria VI in Oct. Ass. Mundi domina.
Saturday 22. Octave day of St Mary, semidouble. Com. Ss. Thimoteus and Simphorian. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 9 August. Tenth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of the Octave of the Translation of St Olaf, king and martyr. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 10. ST LAURENCE, martyr, double. Com. Oct. Transl. Olaf. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 11. St Tiburcius, martyr, three lessons. Com. Oct. Laur. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 12. Feria IV in Oct. Laur. Rogamus te.
Thursday 13. St Ypolitus and his companions, martyrs, three lessons. Com. Oct. Laur. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 14. VIGIL OF THE ASSUMPTION. Comm. St Eusebius, bishop and confessor, and Oct. Laur. Alma redemptoris.
Saturday 15. THE ASSUMPTION OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, summum. Com. Oct. Laur. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 2 August. Ninth Sunday after Trinity. Commemorations of Saint Stephen, pope and martyr, and of the Octave of the Natale of St Olaf, king and martyr. Anthem after Compline: Alma redemptoris.
Monday 3. TRANSLATION OF ST OLAF, summum. Comm. of the Invention of St Stephen, protomartyr, and of Oct. Nat. Olaf. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 4. Feria III in Oct. Nat. Olaf. Com. Transl. Olaf. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 5. Octave day of the Natale of St Olaf, semidouble. Comm. Transl. Olaf, and St Oswald, martyr. Rogamus te.
Thursday 6. Transfiguration of the Lord, nine lessons. Comm. Transl. Olaf, and St Sixtus, pope. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 7. St Donatus, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 8. Vigil of St Laurence, martyr. Com. St Ciriacus and companions, martyrs. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 26 July. Eighth Sunday after Trinity. Commemoration of Saints Christopher and Cucuratus, martyrs. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 27. The Seven Sleepers, three lessons. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 28. VIGIL OF ST OLAF. Commemorations of St Pantaleon, martyr, and of Ss Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrice, martyrs. Alma redemptoris.
Wednesday 29. ST OLAF, KING AND MARTYR, summum. Rogamus te.
Thursday 30. Feria V in Octave of St Olaf. Com. Ss Abdon and Sennen. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 31. Feria VI in Oct. Olaf. Com. St German, bishop and confessor. Mundi domina.
Saturday 1 August. The Chains of Peter, semidouble. Com. Oct. Olaf. Com. Maccabees, martyrs. Salve regina.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 19 July. Seventh Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 20. Saint Margaret, virgin, semidouble. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 21. St Praxed, virgin not a martyr. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 22. St Mary Magdalene, semidouble. Commemoration of St Wandregisillus. Rogamus te.
Thursday 23. St Appollinaris, bishop and martyr, three lessons. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 24. VIGIL OF ST JAMES. Commemoration of St Cristina, virgin martyr. Mundi domina.
Saturday 25. ST JAMES, apostle, double. Salve regina.

In the kalendar of the Nidaros Breviary, St Margaret's feast-day is unusually printed in red, a privilege normally reserved to feasts of double rank or higher. I wonder whether the immense popularity of this saint made her natale a sort of day of devotion?

Wandregisillus was the founder of the Abbey of Fontenelle, a.k.a. Saint-Wandrille, in the lower Seine valley not far from Le Havre. I wasn't able to get that far East on my recent visit to Normandy, but I did manage to pick up their CD of a typical Sunday Mass (fully Gregorian) in the very well-stocked Siloë bookshop on Mont-Saint-Michel. It was in writing of the conventual Mass at Saint-Wandrille that Patrick Leigh Fermor captured so brilliantly the effect of Gregorian plainsong in A Time to Keep Silence.

Friday's saint is Christina the Astonishing, who was formerly commemorated in a chapel of which Fr Bede Rowe may have some recollection.

Nidaros ordo

Sunday 12 July. Sixth Sunday after Trinity. Anthem after Compline: Ave regina celorum.
Monday 13. Feria II. Sub tuum presidium.
Tuesday 14. Feria III. O florens rosa.
Wednesday 15. The Dispersal of the Apostles, semidouble. Rogamus te.
Thursday 16. Translation of St Swithun, bishop, semidouble. Ave stella matutina.
Friday 17. St Alexis, confessor not a bishop, three lessons. Mundi domina.
Saturday 18. Sabbath. Salve regina.

The feast of the divisio apostolorum, kept in various parts of the Church even into the twentieth century, commemorates the missionary activity of the apostles after their departure from Jerusalem to the peripheries.

UPDATE: See now the Muniment Room for details about the survival of this feast in England as late as 1910.