Rationale Divinorum Officiorum by Guillaume Durandus. Volume Six: Books Seven and Eight

Book excerpt: Volume Six of this translation of the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum contains Books Seven and Eight, which are the final two of this work. Book Seven presents a number of holy days and solemn feast days and while some of these are seldom marked in the Church today others are annually observed. In this book Durandus presents an extensive chapter on the Office for the Dead and here the reader will discover an early understanding of many practices which are still found today. Book Eight provides instruction on the nature of the calendar which was undoubtedly of considerable use in its time. Today the methods used are obsolete, nevertheless one can gain an understanding of how the civil and Church calendars were formed. It is also perhaps surprising that the methods of computation used in and before the thirteenth century, and which seem primitive to us today, were nevertheless accurate. The translator of this work, Janet Gentles, has spent over forty years exploring the spiritual foundations of both Christianity and Judaism as both assist in gaining an understanding of the profound teachings of the Bible. The Rationale Divinorum Officiorum provides a substantial contribution to such understanding.