Vorau
The Liber ordinarius of Vorau.
The Augustinian monastery of Vorau in eastern Styria was built by Salzburg’s Archbishop Eberhard I. (c. 1085-1164) in 1163 following an endowment by Ottokar III., Margrave of Traungau (1129-1164), and became part of the group of Salzburg canons. The monastery’s first provost was Liupold (1163-1185), who had been dean of the Augustinian monastery of Seckau, while four canons came from Salzburg cathedral chapter. As attested by the many manuscripts surviving from this time, including numerous liturgica, Vorau’s library already began to flourish significantly under the second provost, Bernhard I. (1185-1202), who had previously been custodian and librarian in Seckau. The Liber ordinarius (Vorau Cod. 99) governing the liturgical practice of this monastery, which was situated in the easternmost part of the Archdiocese of Salzburg, was a copy of the Salzburg ordinarius of 1198 (A-Su M II 6). It had come to Vorau from Suben and was subsequently revised and tailored to the needs of its new location. This book served as a template for numerous liturgica produced in Vorau itself until a liturgical reform introduced the “pure” rite of Salzburg Cathedral (while retaining some local propria) in the 15th century. This reform is attested in numerous surviving 15th-century Salzburg missals and breviaries that follow the cathedral rite. A monastery’s liturgical order is based upon Libri ordinarii, of which Vorau has one with full musical notation (Cod. 99, early 13th century) as well as two with partial or no notation (Cod. 333, second half of the 13th century and Cod. 30, 14th century). Vorau monastery is thus one of the few places whose medieval liturgy and liturgical music is documented more or less seamlessly with no major gaps.
The older ordinarius Cod. 99, a direct copy of a Salzburg template, is available as the Salzburg variant in the edition of the Salzburg rulebook. Codices 333 and 30 served as the basis for the Vorau edition described here. The quotes from liturgical-scientific summaries, of which the Salzburg ordinariuscontains so many, are missing in these two sources apart from two exceptions; the typical division into seasons (sex aetates) at the beginning of the text is missing likewise. In Cod. 99, the use of neume notation is modelled on the Passau Liber ordinarius. In contrast to the main Salzburg sources, which have neumes throughout, Cod. 333 uses neume notation first and foremost for the chants of the Ordinary of the mass and for the last word of many versicle incipits. The liturgical order corresponds to the Salzburg rulebook, and the local adaptations for use in Vorau monastery that were added in Cod. 99 are lacking in the main text. Cod. 30, however, contains two addenda to the ordinarius, with information on feasts specific to Vorau. The older addition (first quarter of the 15th century) sets out the structure of the feast of Visitatio Mariae, which was newly introduced at the time (fol. 21r), on the day preceding Translatio Thomae apost. (3 July). Thomas and Mary are Vorau’s main patron saints. The second addendum, which judging by the writing was made towards the end of the 15th century, contains the following material specific to Vorau: Conceptio Mariae (fol. 22r), Thomae apost. (23r), Dorotheae (23v), Iulianae (CS, 24r), Conversio Mariae Magdalenae (24v), De armis domini (25r), Sigismundi (→ Georgii, 26r), Erasmi (CS, 26r), Viti (26r), Achacii (26r), Translatio Thomae (with octave, 26v+27r), the Passau celebration for Inventio Stephani (27r), Eustachii (CS, 28r), Infra octavam omnium sanctorum (28r) and some special offices for Mary (28vff).
It is certainly possible that the main text of the two more recent versions was in use in Vorau’s monastery parishes, a conclusion suggested by the fact that the liturgical explanations were not included and the Vorauproprium is missing. If this is the case, then these two sources would be the only surviving copies attesting the use of the ordo of the Salzburg cathedral canons in a country parish.
Apart from a few irrelevant divergences, Cod. 30 is an exact copy of Cod. 333 and was thus not taken into account in our transcription. However, the abovementioned addenda in Cod. 30, which are missing in Cod. 333, were coded.
by Robert Klugseder