Thursday, January 6, 2011
The history of the Rosary
A TALK ON THE HISTORY OF THE ROSARY,
COMPILED BY JOY
As long as mankind has been aware of a greater power than himself, he seems to have prayed, and kept a tally of those prayers. The number of repetitions of a prayer has been in the nature of a salutation – as in “three cheers’ and a “21 gun salute” – the more you repeat the salutation, the more you honour the deity prayed to.
Prayer beads themselves predate Christianity. Sandstone sculptures of the Sunga and Kushan period show Hindu sages holding rosaries (185 BC – AD 320). Hindus predate Christians by 9 centuries B.C. Prayer beads were, and still are, used in Buddhist prayer, and it could be that the custom of counting prayers on a string of beads was brought back to Europe by the Crusaders, who had seen many and varied types of strings of prayer beads. But isn’t it likely that mankind could come up with the same bright idea in several places at once? A need to count prayers would surely bring the same responses worldwide.
The word itself – BEAD – comes from the old word BEDE – to pray. At a time when each bead needed to be hand shaped and drilled before it was threaded, the name of the use transferred to the object itself – and beads came into the language of the world.
The Desert Fathers counted their prayers by moving small stones from one pile to another. St Paul the Hermit, around the year 341, started the day with 300 small stones in a fold of his cloak, and threw them away one by one as he said his prayers. He certainly wouldn’t have been doing much with his hands during that time, holding his cloak and the pebbles. Perhaps it was more sensible to move them from one pouch to another? Others used notches on a stick. In Egypt a device like a cribbage board, with holes and pegs, was favoured in the 4th Century.
The form of our rosary has its roots in the Our Father. Early monks were expected to recite all 150 Psalms every day as part of their Daily Office. Those who were literate had a Breviary, with page markers, but the majority of monks were illiterate, and they were asked to repeat the Our Father once for each Psalm – giving 150 repetitions each day which needed to be kept track of. A long, straight row of knots on a cord came in handy, which became known as a Paternoster – Latin for Our Father. Others used a loop of leather with bone rings fastened to it, overlapping like fish scales – as each prayer was said, a ring was flipped over. Eventually Paternosters were being made of gemstones and precious metals, and tradesmen specializing in making them gathered into Guilds, in many countries.
Artisans who made rosaries were known as Paternosterers, and would usually work near the main church or cathedral in the town or city. North of St Paul’s in London were Paternoster Row and Ave Maria Lane. In France, the paternosterers were grouped as specialists who made beads of bone and horn, coral and Mother of Pearl, amber and jet.
The cheapest rosaries would consist of plain wood, bone, and horn, the most expensive would be of semiprecious stone beads, silver and gold, often intricately carved or engraved. Although the rosaries were supposed to be religious pieces, increasing extravagance lead to conflict. In the late 13th Century, Dominican and Augustinian monks were forbidden to wear rosaries with beads of coral, amber or semiprecious stones. In the latter part of the 15th century, reforming churchmen preached against rosaries, as well as mistresses, as things to be renounced by the pious.
The rosary would be worn by both men and women. Men would generally hang them from their belts, sometimes directly attached, more often in a small “Relic Pouch” to protect them. Women would often wear them as bracelets or as a necklace, where they would be more visible. To be seen without a rosary wound around your upper arm or wrist meant you were a pagan – these rosaries were straight strings of beads, not the looped ones we are familiar with today.
Because of the expense of buying a complete string of 150 handmade beads, a “tenner” of Aves was the common way to make a rosary, with an ornate Pater bead at one end, a fancy Glory Be bead at the other end, and a cross of beads, with a medal, or a reliquary below that, and maybe even a tassel to wipe your tears on. The medal or reliquary was known as the Gaude (a word meaning JOY) and became the root of the modern word “gaudy” – which comes from the extra fancy and ornate creations being used in Paternosters.
The looped rosary we use today came into being in the mid 1850’s, when the chain format began to be used instead of strung beads, and the centre medal was introduced – before that, the pendant with 3 small Ave beads was strung from one of the Pater beads. Those 3 Ave beads come from the Brigidine rosary which used 60 + 3 Aves for the supposed 63 years of Our Lady’s earthly life.
So, how did the Paternoster become the rosary? For many hundreds of years we’ve been told that it was St Dominic who was given the rosary by Mary herself, and this view was supported by many of the Popes, but in the 1830’s some serious research showed that for about 250 years after the life and death of St Dominic, there was no mention connecting Dominic and Mary’s Psalter – no mention in Dominican biographies, in their historical documents, nor in the artwork of the time. Then suddenly, centuries after he lived, St Dominic is back credited with starting the rosary – what is certain is that the Dominicans have been the major promoters of the rosary – they sent out thousand of hand-written (of course) copies of prayers, all round Europe. In fact, until 1978 Dominicans had a monopoly on blessing rosaries.
HAIL MARY
It appears that the Ave Maria started in a small way in the 7th century, as a salutation to Mary – using the Angel’s Salutation from Luke’s Gospel. “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee.” That is all that was said, to be repeated a hundred or more times – usually using the Paternoster beads to count them. This was often accompanied by holy callisthenics – some monks did press ups on their fingers and toes as they recited their Aves, or genuflections reminiscent of the current Islamic prostrations of kneeling with the forehead on the floor. The really devout developed calloused knees and raised bumps on their foreheads.
After a while, the blessing of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was added - “Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb”. No mention of the names of Mary and Jesus at this point.
The addition of the name of Jesus is officially added during the 14th century.
The next part of our Hail Mary dates from a Christian riot in 431 in Ephesus, when one faction was refusing to acknowledge that Jesus was divine. Supporters of the divinity of Jesus roared through the streets shouting “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.” It was another 1,200 year, however, before this prayer was added to the increasingly lengthening Hail Mary prayer in the 17th century.
“Now and at the hour of our death, Amen”, was added later still.
Now let’s look at some of the other prayers used in the recitation of the rosary.
The OUR FATHER, which gave the name to the original Paternoster beads, is scriptural, of course, given to use by Our Lord himself.
APOSTLES CREED
Tradition tells us it is the teaching of the Apostles themselves, and is an overview of the Christian faith. It is believed to be part of a baptismal prayer or rite of new Christians since the beginning. The earliest written form known is Tertullian in 200AD (the present form dates from 700AD). The Apostles creed is added to the Rosary prayers in the 17th century.
HAIL HOLY QUEEN has a fascinating history – 1014AD – Germany – Blessed Herman is born a cripple – deformed from birth (1014 – 1054). The monks at Richneau Abbey take care of him from birth and he will become a Benedictine monk in 1034 at the age of 20. He will make musical instruments and when he becomes blind, he will write hymns. The Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) will be his best known. He knows well the suffering – as he writes “… to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.” It will be recited as a standard prayer at the conclusion of the rosary centuries later.
THE GLORY BE became part of the rosary in the 15th century. It has been the common formula for Christians and has not changed.
The granting of indulgences caused the rosary’s form to remain unchanged for more than four hundred years. All indulgenced prayers were to be recited according to the prescribed form – without any deviation.
O MY JESUS – the Fatima prayer, dates from 1917.
And then the Rosary seems to have stayed unchanged until 2003, the Year of the Rosary, when Pope John Paul II added the Mysteries of Light, which provided no problems with our hand rosary design, we just went round one more time, but for those who still wear a habit rosary, there was a problem. A 20 decade rosary I made for a solitary Franciscan in Armidale, NSW, measured 18 feet round the circle – a massive rosary indeed, and very bulky to wear.
And finally, let’s look at the Rosary in battle.
~ 1208 ~ FRANCE - According to tradition, The Blessed Lady appears to St Dominic Guzman (1170 – 1221) with a Rosary in her hand, in response to his prayers to her for help during the Albigensian heresy, which was destroying Christendom in the 12th and 13th centuries. She taught him how to pray the Rosary. It is known that Mary’s Psalter predated St Dominic, but according to Dr Ennio Staid, a Dominican theologian, St Dominic the founder of the Dominican Order became its principal promoter along with his brothers.
~ 1213 ~ FRANCE ~ the crucial battle of Muret is victorious for the Christian army because of recitation of the Rosary by the soldiers under the instruction of St Dominic.
~ 1475 ~ GERMANY ~ Cologne is miraculously saved from an attack by the Burgundian Troops. The credit for the miracle was given to the Dominican Prior of the city, Jacob Springer, who encouraged the prayers of the Psalter of our Lady. Thus the Confraternity of the Rosary was set into place with the celebration of a Pontifical Mass held at the Dominican Church of St Andreas in Cologne.
~ 1571 ~ ITALY – Admiral Doria carries a copy of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe aboard ship into the sea battle of Lepanto and Pius V, a Dominican, also devoted to Our Lady, calls for a public recitation of the Rosary throughout Europe against the unbeatable Turks. The Christian ships (from Venice, Genoa, and Spain) are surrounded by the Turks (Saracens), but the European fleet over runs them, driving them back. Christian Europe is saved.
~ 1627 ~ FRANCE ~ King Louis the XIII orders public recitations of the Rosary against the rebellious Huguenots. Fifteen thousand rosaries are distributed to the troops with set hours of prayer. The battle is won and France is saved.
~ 1683 ~ AUSTRIA ~ Again the Saracens tried to invade. Their navy is broken but their army is strong. They try to take over the Balkan area by going into Vienna. King Leopold turns to Our Lady of the Rosary and the city is miraculously saved.
~ 1871 ~ FRANCE ~ The apparition of Mary in Pontmain is in fullness when pastor Abbe Guerin begins to recite the Rosary. “The stars on her navy blue gown grew larger and larger until she appears clothed in gold.” The result of her apparition is that the invading army of Prussia withdraws. Some Prussian soldiers on the outskirts of the city see the Virgin too.” “…guarding the country and forbidding us to advance.”
~ 1964 ~ BRAZIL ~ early in the year the country of Brazil was within days of falling to Communism. The courageous Archbishop of Rio de Janieiro broadcast radio appeals for prayer and penance in keeping with Our Lady of Fatima’s requests. The response of Brazilians rose and rose until it culminated in a vast march of 600,000 rosary praying women in Sao Paulo on March 19, 1964. More such marches were scheduled, but on April 1, the Communists fled the country and freedom was preserved.
