Gradual, MS 7021, from the Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Section of Poznań University Library, as an example of post-Trent reception and implementation of Georgian plainchant in Polish liturgical celebration

Abstract

The gradual MS 7021 (kept at Poznań University Library) is one of the earliest examples of the reception of post-Trent reform of Gregorian plainchant in the seventeenth century Poland. The volume comes from the scriptorium of Benedictine convent in the Chełmno congregation. The article’s aim is to present the liturgical alterations and changes that occurred in the Polish Republic in the early seventeenth century with the example provided by an analysis of the content of the Benedictine manuscript as well as other available sources. Additionally, the article examines the problem of the reform of the Georgian repertoire introduced by the Apostolic See and the its subsequent reception in Poland. In the liturgy of the Western World, the most significant outcome of the post- Trent reform was the introduction of standarised principal liturgical books, which in consequence led to a unification of liturgy in the whole of the Church’s life. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth adopted the breviary and the Roman Missal, the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, as well as the antiphonary and gradual. Local traditions, however, were attempted to be retained in these liturgical books, so that the proper Roman rite could not have been implemented to the full. However, the gradual, MS 7021 BU UAM, from the Toruń scriptorium of the Benedictine convent, is an example of the implementation the Trent reform in the seventeenth century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that has no connections with any local or locallybased monastic tradition. The Benedictine nuns from the Chełmno congregation were undoubtedly prominent in the history of the Trent reform in the Republic of Both Nations. By dissenting from the spirit of St. Benedict’s rule professed by the Tyniec Benedictines, and by creating their own rule based on the resolutions of the Council of Trent, the convent adopted an innovative and attractive stance. The cooperation of the nuns with the Jesuits from the Society of Jesus, who were also promoters of the liturgical reform, was also instrumental. The article shows how important it is to carry on with research studies on Polish music and liturgical sources from the post-Trent period. The article is also an important contribution to the investigation and description of a source that, as yet, has not been satisfactorily addressed.