Chapter 5 is the last of three chapters to consider the material production of Dominican liturgical books. This chapter situates the context of the production of the three liturgical exemplars: Rome, Santa Sabina, XIV L 1; London, British Library, Add. 23935; and Salamanca, San Esteban, SAL.–CL.01. It examines the intersection between the Dominicans and the blossoming Parisian book trade, the pecia system of book production, and the relationship between the Dominicans at the Parisian convent of St-Jacques and their neighbouring book-maker, Guillaume de Sens. Close palaeographical and codicological study of the exemplars reveals certain guiding principles that governed the production, within which individual copyists and artists had the freedom to execute and manipulate the contents. Drawing together the three chapters of Part II, this chapter considers the interaction of the various book trades in the making of the exemplars, shedding light not only on the book-making practices of the Dominicans, but also the Parisian book trade more generally.

Chapter 8 is the third of four chapters to consider one element of the Dominican liturgy, focussing here on the sources and unique characteristics of the Dominican divine office. Drawing on data from previous studies of the office, and in particular of office responsory chants, this chapter positions the Dominican office within a wider network of liturgical traditions. The Dominican office was clearly adopted by the Teutonic Knights, the Crosiers, and in certain Scandinavian dioceses. The source for the Dominican office is less [clear-cut]. Some traits of the Dominican office can also be observed in the advent responsories of the Cistercians and of British cathedrals, and in the responsory verses in office books from Provence; these may either have been sources for the Dominican office, or they may have shared a common source. The chapter concludes by noting distinctive features of the Dominican office and its books, for the purposes of facilitating identification of other Dominican office books.

This chapter sets the scene for the book. It introduces the Dominican order, the context of its foundation in the thirteenth century, and its relationship to other liturgical traditions. Like many other new religious orders, the Dominican order underwent a period of liturgical revision in the decades following its foundation. Three ‘exemplar’ manuscripts survive that record the final authoritative version of the Dominican liturgy; this book uses the exemplars as a lens through which the Dominican liturgy can be examined. The chapter sets out the two key themes that shape the remainder of the book, namely the making of the Dominican liturgy in terms of the material production of Dominican liturgical books, and in terms of the creation of the Dominican liturgy and chant recorded in the exemplars. The chapter closes with an outline of the book’s chapters and appendices.

Chapter 6 is the first of four chapters to consider one element of the Dominican liturgy, focussing here on the thirteenth-century development of the calendar of saints’ feasts. This chapter draws on the sanctoral cycles from books for the mass and office that survive from the earliest years of the Dominican order and from the initial revision of the Dominican liturgy by a commission of four friars. It compares these with the sanctoral cycle of Humbert of Romans’ final revision of the liturgy, as recorded in three exemplars: Rome, Santa Sabina, XIV L 1; London, British Library, Add. 23935; and Salamanca, San Esteban, SAL.–CL.01. Five distinct stages are identified, including a previously unknown period of unofficial revision prior to the commission of the four friars. Various trends are identified regarding the types of feasts that were added to, removed from, promoted and/or relegated in the Dominican calendar over the course of the revision. The final portion of the chapter examines how certain tell-tale corrections to Santa Sabina XIV L 1 coincide with points at which changes were made to the saints celebrated by the Dominicans.