The founding and establishment of the Dominican order of friars was one of the defining developments of the first half of the thirteenth century. After a period of rapid growth and spread, the order set about establishing and promulgating forms of worship for use in all of its communities. This liturgy became highly influential and was used well beyond the Dominicans' own churches. This book considers the making of the Dominican liturgy and its chant from two perspectives: first, the material production of Dominican liturgical books, and second, the crafting of a unique Dominican liturgical tradition. This is explored through the microcosm of three thirteenth-century exemplars, which acted as a blueprint for the Dominican liturgy for centuries to come. This study of the physical and conceptual making of the liturgy, considered in dialogue, illuminates the development of the Dominican liturgy, granting us new insights into the practices and values of those involved.

‘With consummate command of the manuscripts and their scribes, Giraud unpicks the processes by which a medieval religious order unified its worship practices. Her insights bring far-reaching implications, not only for scholars of the Dominican order, but also for anyone interested in music palaeography, book production and wider traditions of thirteenth-century music.'

Henry Parkes - Associate Professor of Music, University of Nottingham