The woodcuts here reproduced belong to a rare Flemish or Dutch devotional book of the early sixteenth century written by a certain Gherit vander Goude. The only complete edition of the work is that printed at Antwerp in 1507 and called "Dat Boexken van der Missen" or "The Booklet of the Mass".
The English text below is taken from a version, complete, but without illustrations, printed by Robert Wyer in the parish of S. Martin-in-the-Fields on 1532, the very year of the "Submission of the Clergy" and the abolition of papal annates.
The booklet provides extremely interesting insights into the celebration of the Mass in Northern Europe immediately prior to the Reformation. Notice the pre-Reformation use of the word "table" for "altar" as in the Prayer-book. Note also the description of the position of the priest at the beginning of Mass, "How the preest after that with great reuerence doth begynne the masse / betwene deacon and subdeacon at the one syde of the aulter" ("op die een side vanden outaer"): this "side" is the south part of the east side. As Dearmer notes, there was no anomaly in the revisers of the Prayer-book (1662) retaining the word "side" when the Holy Table had been replaced in its old altar-wise position ("And the priest standing at the north side of the Table shall say the Lord's Prayer").
I have produced this version from Alcuin Club Collections. V.–Dat Boexken van der Missen. 'The Booklet of the Mass,' by Brother Gherit vander Goude, 1507.
TITLE PAGE.
The interpretacyon / and syngyfycacyon of the Masse.
¶ Here begynneth a good deuoute Boke to the honoure of god / of our lady his mother / & of all sayntes / and ryght profytable to all good Catholyke persones / to knowe howe they shall deuoutly here Masse. And how salutaryly they shall Confess them. And how reuerently and honourably they shall go to the holy Sacrament or table of our sauyour Jhesu chryste / With dyverse other profytable documents and oraysons or prayers here conteyned / Composed and ordeyned by frere Gararde / frere mynoure / of the ordre of the Obseruauntes.
COLOPHON.
¶ Here endeth the ryghte deuote Boke / of the sygnyfycacyon of the Masse / to the honour of god: of our lady his mother & of all sayntes.
¶ Imprynted by me Robert Wyer / dwellynge at the synge of saynt John Evãgelyste / in saynte Martyns parysshe in the felde / in the Bysshop of Norwytche rentes / besyde Charynge crosse.
¶ In the yere of our Lorde God a. M.CCCCC.XXXII. The viiii. daye of the moneth of Octobre.
¶ Cum priuilegio Regali: pro spatio septum annorum.
¶ The fyrste Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest doth make hym redy in the vestry to saye masse / and the deacon and subdeacon do helpe hym / but the preest alone doth take & caste upon hym the chesuble.
¶ The seconde artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest doth go out of the vestry towardes the aulter with the deacon and subdeacon: where he doth tary a lytel space between thẽ with scylence.
¶ The thyrde artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest beynge betwene them sayth with great deuocyon Confiteor / and doth confesse hym selfe as a syñer / albeit that he hath confessed hym selfe afore of all his deedly syñes.
¶ The fourth artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest after Cõfiteor gothe to the aulter with great reuerence / & lowly inclynyng hym selfe doth worshyppe god almyghty.
¶ The fyfth artycle of the masse.
How the preest after that with great reuerence doth begynne the masse / betwene deacon and subdeacon at the one syde of the aulter.
¶ The .vi. Article of the masse.
Howe the preest / the deacon and subdeacon do go down from the aulter / & the priest and the deacon do sytte them down / and the subdeacon doth synge the epystell.
¶ The .vii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the priest dothe come agayne to the aulter / where dylygently he doth rede the gospell.
¶ The .viii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest after that he hath red and herde the gospel: he goth to the myddes of the aulter and doth synge with a hygh voyce Credo in unum deum.
¶ The .ix. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest with scylẽce doth make redy / prepare and offre the sacryfyce: and afterwarde goth to the ende of the aulter & doth wasshe his hãdes.
¶ The .x. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest doth go to the myddes of the aulter prayeng al those that be ĩ heuen to pray for hym: and than he doth tourne hym towardes the people desyryng them also to praye for hym.
¶ The .xi. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest beynge in the myddes of the aulter: begynneth to synge with a hygh voyce the preface / Per omnia secula seculorum.
¶ The .xii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe after that the preest hath songe the preface they do synge Sãctus Sanctus Sanctus / benedictus qui venit in noĩe domini.
The Mass of S. Gregory.
¶ The secõde parte of the masse: in the whiche is declared the passyion of oure lorde Jhũ christe: & ye shall rede these prayers & shall haue .[m]xlvi. yeres of pardon.
¶ The .xiii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe after the Sanctus / the preest begynneth wt scylence secretly the Canon hauynge the curteynes drawen: to the entêt that he be not troubled / and doth inclyne hym selfe very lowe.
¶ The .xiiii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest after the fyrste Memento / maketh thre crosses upon the chalyce / sayenge secret wordes.
¶ The .xv. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest is in his fyrste Memento / and thã he prayeth for all his frendes lyuynge / yt god may gyue them grace and mayntayne them ĩ all goodness.
¶ The .xvi. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest doth make fyue crosses upon the hoste afore that he do consecrate it in sacrament.
¶ The .xvii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest maketh clene his hãdes upon the aulter as puryfyenge them.
¶ The .xviii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest taketh the hoste in his handes and doth mynyster it: lyftynge the chesuble upon his sholdres / & doth make hym redy to consecrate and offre the holy sacrament and body of oure lorde.
¶ The .xix. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest whan he hath consecrate the holy sacrament / he dothe lyfte the body of our lorde on hygh / afore all the people betwene his two handes / as a medyatoure betwene god the father & man.
¶ The .xx. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest after that he hathe lyfte the blyssed body of oure lorde / he doth lyfte the chalyce with the precyous blode of god.
¶ The .xxi. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest after the eleuacion doth stande upryght wt his armes spred abrode / prayenge for the people.
¶ The .xxii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest after this dothe make .vii. crosses upon the Sacrament.
¶ The .xxiii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest beynge in his seconde Memento / prayeth for the soules that be departed beynge in purgatorye.
¶ The .xxiiii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the Preest after the Memẽto with a hygh voyce dothe synge to the father celestyall: Pater noster qui es ĩ celis.
¶ The .xxv. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest doth breke the holy sacramẽt in thre partyes and sayth thre tymes: Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mũdi miserere nobis.
¶ The .xxvi. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest brekynge the sacrament doth let one peace fall in to the chalyce.
¶ The .xxvii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest dothe take the paxe holynge the sacramẽt a lytell space in his hands / and after doth lay it downe upõ the aulter.
¶ The .xxviii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest dothe take the blyssed sacrament with both his handes / reuerently receyuynge it.
Here begynneth the thyrde parte of the masse / of the gloryous resurreccyon of our lorde Jhesu Christe.
¶ The .xxix. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest dothe take all that is within the chalyce and dothe emptye it & leue it open.
¶ The .xxx. Artycle of the masse.
How the preest cõmeth with the chalyce towardes the ende of the aulter takynge wyne for the percepcyon.
¶ The .xxxi. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest in the myddes of the aulter doth tourne hym ĩ dysioynynge and takynge his handes asondre sayth / Dominus vobiscum.
¶ The .xxxii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest doth tourne hym sayeng / Ite missa est / that is to saye in a maner / go ye the mysterye of the masse is done.
¶ The .xxiii. Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest / whan he hath sayd and red all: he gyueth the benedyccion upon all those that be there presẽt & than he dothe tourne hym from the people retournynge thyther from whens he came.
* * *
The entire first article from the English version of 1532:
¶ The fyrste Artycle of the masse.
Howe the preest doth make hym redy in the vestry to saye masse / and the deacon and subdeacon do helpe hym / but the preest alone doth take & caste upon hym the chesuble: which doth sygnyfie how chryste hath taken upon hym the nature of man / and was cõceyved in the vestry of the blyssed body of our lady / wherin the father and the holy ghost haue gyuen ayde & helpe. The mynystrer or he the dothe helpe to serue at the masse / doth sygnyfye the aungell Gabryell.
¶ Orayson, Paternȓ, Aue maria.
Blyssed lorde Jesu chryste / I do thanke the that by the wyl of thy father celestyall / thou hast ben conceyued by the operacyon of the holy ghoost / in the blyssed body of the vyrgyne mary in al clennes and without any spotte of synne / I beseche the good lord by the meryte of thy dere mother that I whiche haue ben conceyued in malyce and synne / may be puryfyed of all my synnes. Amen.
What a splendid testimony of late medieval liturgy in its Renaissance sobriety and beauty! A close study will teach us a considerable amount about northern European medieval rites like Sarum, Paris, Rouen and many others including the Dominican Rite.
I will print these images and keep them for reference.
I think this post broke my Google Reader.