The Fabric of Worship: Liturgy and Its Artefacts in the Medieval English Province of Carmelites

Abstract

The shape of Carmelite liturgical and devotional practices in the Middle Ages was determined by a number of influences. The forms of liturgical prayer on Mount Carmel were the Mass and the recitation of the psalter, although it is possible that only the Mass was  celebrated in common, the recitation of the psalms being an individual activity. There was an alternative to the psalter for those who could not read. It has recently been confirmed that the Carmelite rite of Mass and Divine Office owed much to the Rite of the Holy  Sepulchre of Jerusalem. This rite in itself was not entirely native to the Holy Land but had been brought over from France by the Latin  Crusaders of the twelfth century. The influence of the French liturgy can be seen in the calendar of Saints which exhibits several  unique features, such as the feast of S. Louis of France.