Worship, Art, and Community: The Liber ordinarius (LO) as a key manuscript to medieval Halberstadt

• Applicant: Dr. Patrizia Carmassi
• Subject Area: Medieval History ; Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 524849834

The chief aim of this project is to produce a critical annotated edition of the Halberstadt Cathedral’s Liber ordinarius in digital and printed form, considered within its cultural, ecclesiastical, and liturgical context. The 14th cent. manuscript is today held at the Russian National Library under the shelf mark F. 955 op. 2 Nr. 8 and will remain difficult to access for the forthcoming future. However, there is a digital copy of the manuscript held by the library at the Institut für Musikforschung (Universität Würzburg) which has been made accessible to the researcher. As this reproduction is of high quality, the edition would still be possible even without the original. The Halberstadt LO is a unique source which can only be fully understood through an inter- and meta-disciplinary approach. By analysing the text through the creation and detailed annotation of the edition, we can also examine the text beyond its liturgical content and reveal the intertwined artistic, historical, and cultural threads which lie at the heart of the church community of Halberstadt. This is not only true for the period when the LO was first written down, but also for the period before (through the gradual establishment of traditions) and after (through the constant revisions and additions which are documented in the manuscript). It also proves to be particularly advantageous for the project that many liturgical manuscripts from Halberstadt remain there and in Halle. Those which are relevant for the project shall be digitised and linked to the edition by the end of the funding period with financial support from the Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt and the cooperation of the Herzog August Bibliothek. Moreover, the rich range of church treasure still held today in Halberstadt is unparalleled. Thus, the LO provides an exceptional tool to determine the function and ritualistic use of the objects in the cathedral treasury such as the display of relics, the localisation of liturgical rites, the endowment of feasts and altars, and processions. In addition, the LO situates historically and topographically the rare wealth of liturgical objects and manuscripts preserved in the church treasury of Halberstadt. A digital edition of the LO would offer the added benefit of making links with relevant digital sources (liturgical texts and books, holy sites and objects). For this purpose, a part-time DH position would be needed for the development of the digital infrastructure. Hence, this truly unique document which sheds light on church history in North Germany would be made fully accessible to other scholars for the very first time.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Finland
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Dr. Outi Merisalo