8 - Decline and Vitality in the Later Middle Ages

Summary

Standard liturgical textbooks have generally tended to give the later medieval period (from about 1200 onwards) short shrift: the early Christian Eucharist, which originated as a spirit-filled expression of communal worship, is said to have become an almost exclusively clerical exercise of a hypertrophied ritual system. The formation of national languages and cultures meant that Latin as the language of the liturgy became even more removed from the language of the people. Consequently, it is argued, lay participation largely disappeared, including the reception of Holy Communion. The faithful would rather occupy themselves with private, largely visual devotions while the priest as the ritual professional offered Mass at some distance, in a language they could not comprehend.