Young—Or do Prophet arum. 
69 
followed, under the rubric Conductus 144 ad tabulam, by the famous 
“Prose of the Ass,” beginning, 
Orientibus partibus 
Aduentauit asinus. 
Then follow the troped chants; for the complete Canonical Office 
and Mass. 
The rubrics accompanying the text are brief and apply, in gen¬ 
eral, strictly to the liturgical ceremonial. There is no suggestion 
of burlesque. 145 At Beauvais and elsewhere, however, the cere¬ 
monial included acts of revelry such as a drinking bout and a 
censing with pudding and sausage. 146 For our present purpose we 
may omit a survey of these revels as a whole, and need mention 
merely the fact that at Beauvais, during the singing of the “Prose 
of the Ass, ’ ’ an asinus was actually brought into the church. 147 
What, then, is the relation of the Laon Ordo Prophetarum and 
the Rouen Festum Asinorum to the Feast of Fools or similar eccle¬ 
siastical ludif For an answer, which I cannot improve, I adopt 
the able words of Chambers : 148 
144 “Conductus design e un morceau de musique ou plutOt de chant qu’on exe- 
cutait en marchant” (Villetard, p. 75). 
145 Villetard (pp. 49-51, 73—82) considers and interprets the rubrics in detail. 
One’s attention falls questioningly upon the rubric Conductus ad ludos, which 
introduces the charming Noel (Natus est) just before the Te Deum of Matins; 
but Villetard (p. 50) interprets this rubric as referring to the departure of the 
congregation from the church “pour alle se reorder quelques instants.” The 
serious tone of the observance at Sens is observed by Chambers (Vol. II, p. 281) 
and by Villetard, the latter expressing himself (p. 51) as follows: “Rien, en 
effet, k relever, dans cette vaste composition, qui soit de nature k choquer le 
godt le plus exigeant. L’ouvrage, dans son ensemble, est incompatible avec 
l’idee du plus leger desordre.” Chambers reminds us (Vol. I, p. 288), however, 
that the more extravagant ceremonies would not be likely to be recorded in a 
formal service-book. 
148 See Chambers, Vol. I, pp. 286-287. I know of no complete edition of the 
Circumcision office of Beauvais. Villetard (pp. 219-232) gives a complete 
analysis of its content, and Chambers (Vol. I, pp. 284-287) gives a general de¬ 
scription. Chambers (Vol. I, pp. 279-281, 287-288) points out the fact that the 
Circumcision office written for Sens by Pierre de Corbeil has undergone a 
reform from which the Beauvais office escaped. 
147 See Chambers, Vol. I, pp. 286, 331; Villetard pp. 49, 232. Concerning the 
use of the ass in ecclesiastical ludi in general, see Chambers, Vol. II, pp. 330- 
332. There is no proof that Pierre de Corbeil allowed an ass to appear in his 
ceremony; but his use of the “Prose of the Ass” indicates that at one period or 
another the ass may have been used. 
143 Chambers, Vol. II, pp. 56—57. The foot-notes are annotations of the present 
writer. 
