By Canon W. H. Jones. 323 



sources. The good bishop invented or introduced little himself; 

 what he did was this — to make selections out of the practices which 

 he saw in use around him, and so to arrange the sundry offices that his 

 clergy, who were both Norman and English, might have one uniform 

 rule to guide them whilst discharging their various functions. 

 Moreover the "Use of Sarum'' was drawn up, and promulgated, 

 for his own diocese only; he, at least, had no authority to do more 

 than this. Still, though there were other " Uses,'' such as those of 

 York, Hereford, Bangor, and Lincoln, the acceptance of the " Use 

 of Sarum," not only in the south of England, but in other parts of 

 the kingdom, is unquestionable. We have express testimony to 

 this fact by John Brompton, a Cistercian and Abbot of Jervaulx, ia 

 Yorkshire, who, writing within one hundred years of Osmund's de- 

 cease, says — "Osmundus composuit librum ordinalem ecclesiastic! 

 officii, quem ' Consuetudinarium ' vocant, quo fere nunc tot^ Anglic, 

 Walli^, utitur, et Hibernia." 



These words of John Brompton, which refer to some earlier copy 

 of Osmund's work than now exists, have led to some confusion. He 

 speaks of a " liber ordinalis " (=ordinal) which he says in his time 

 — he flourished c. 1198 — was termed "consuetudinarium" (=con- 

 suetudinary). It is true that these two terms are used sometimes 

 in a sense more extended than their original meaning, and that, so 

 to speak, they overlap each other — at all events a " consuetudinary " 

 is so employed as to include an "ordinal." Nevertheless they are 

 distinct works — in fact, in the copy of the " consuetudinary " which 

 remains to us, we have allusions more than once to the " ordinal " 

 as a perfectly separate production. The " ordinal " was the book 

 which regulated the whole duty of the canonical hours, or, to use 

 Lyndwood's words, — " Liber in quo ordinatur modus dicendi et 

 solemnizandi divinum officium," The priest might learn from it 

 what festivals he was to observe, and the proper office appointed 

 throughout the year, at least so far as any changes were concerned, 

 from the common service of the day ; what lessons were to be read 

 at any given service ; what responses — they were formerly called 

 " histories "—were sung ; what commemorations were to be made 

 during the week. In truth it indicated much the same thing, and 



