Young—Officium Pastorum. 
365 
As to the rendering of such a trope wte have also external 
evidence in the following ordo , applicable to the diocese of 
Rouen in the eleventh century. 1 
Post Terciam uero iiet processio. Qua finita, duo clerici 
circa alt are stabunt, qui uersus, scilicet Ho die cantandus est, 
oantabunt. Qurbus secundum uersum regentes chorum re- 
spondebunt. Primi tertium dicent. Et hoc finito, cantores 
OfRcium 2 incipient, et celebre perfinient. 
According to this ordo the parts of the trope are dramatically 
distributed as follows: 
duo clerici: Hodie cantandus est nobis puer 
regentes chorum: Quis ist iste puer? 
duo clerici: Hie enim est 
In this distribution, however, there seems to be no suggestion 
of impersonation, for we cannot reasonably infer that the Duo 
clerici represent the Obstetrices of the Rouen Officium Pas¬ 
torum, or that the Regentes chorum represent the Pastores 3 
The rubric circa altare is, perhaps, a recognition once more 
either of the presence of an actual preesepe at the altar, 4 or 
of the symbolical formula altare est preesepe . 5 6 
A similar dramatic distribution of parts is indicated by the 
rubrics in the following: 
6 tropi in nat iuitate domini: 
Hodie cantandus est nobis puer, quern gignebat ineffabiliter 
ante temjpora Pater, et eundem sub tempore <fol. 89 r > gen- 
erauit inclita Mater. 
Montpellier, Bibl. de la Faculte de Medecine, MS. H. 304, Miscel¬ 
lanea saec. xii, fol. 32r. For the complete ordo of Christmas see below, 
Appendix D. Concerning this manuscript in general, and concerning 
its association with Rouen and with Jean d’ Avranches, see Modern 
Philology , Vol. VI (1908), pp. 201-227. 
2 Officium is the Gallican word often used for the Roman Introitus. 
3 The extract quoted above should be 1 studied in connection with the 
complete text given below in Appendix D. There it will be observed 
that the Pastores cease to rule the choir after Lauds: usque ad fmem 
Matutinorum regent chorum (Montpellier, MS. H. 304, fol. 32 r ). I in¬ 
terpret Matutinorum as meaning Matutinw Laudes=Laudes. 
4 The ordo mentions the Presepis Officium (Montpelier MS. H. 304, 
fol. 32r). 
5 See above, pp. 306-311, 336-7. 
6 Munich, Cod. lat. 27130, Graduale-Troparium Ottoburanum saec. 
xii in., fol. S8v-89l 
