This is a serious, scholarly analysis of liturgy combining historical, philosophical and musicological aspects.

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How has the Liturgy of the Roman rite developed and changed in history before and after the Council of Trent? What principles have determined the boundaries of legitimate liturgical reform over the centuries? What was the Liturgical Movement? Did Guéranger, Beauduin, Guardini, Parsch, Casel, Bugnini, Jungmann, Bouyer and the Movement's other leaders know and respect these principles? And what is to be said of the not insignificant liturgical reforms carried out by Saint Pius X, Popes Pius IX and Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII in the course of the twentieth century? In The Organic Development of the Liturgy, Dom Alcuin Reid examines these questions systematically, incisively and in depth, identifying both the content and context of the principle of "organic development"-a fundamental principle of liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium-making a significant contribution to the understanding of the nature of the Liturgical Movement and to the ongoing re-assessment of the reforms enacted following the Council.

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This study examines how the present liturgical texts are like and unlike those used by earlier generations, and therefore how the present generation of Roman Catholics may be different on their account.The precise form that the textual examination takes in each of the proper seasons, etc., depends upon the mix of retained, replaced, and edited collects. In every case, the author works with the Latin originals and the accompanying translations are her own.The entire project has three main steps: to examine each liturgical season to see how the spiritual and theological emphases of its collects have changed; to determine what these changes mean for the year as a whole; to evaluate the effect of the changes on the way that contemporary Catholics experience and live Christian faith. The work is important not simply for a better understanding today's and tomorrow's Catholics, but also for a correct understanding of our present Liturgy and its place in the western liturgical tradition.

In the mid-seventeenth century, clergyman John Gregory made a surprise discovery in Salisbury Cathedral that began to reveal the truth of the Boy Bishops. The Boy Bishops of the Middle Ages, following widespread and popular custom, supplanted the true bishops in their cathedrals for a period of time during the Christmas season.This strange and largely forgotten tradition, stretching from the early Middle Ages to the present day, gives a fascinating insight into the medieval world and its legacy. Elected by their fellows, these Boy Bishops exercised their power in cathedrals, churches and beyond, right across Europe. They controlled services, directed the clergy, enjoyed lavish entertainment, went on visitations to great noble and religious houses and received huge sums of money. However, the topsy-turvy reign of a Boy Bishop was often accompanied by bitter eclesiastical arguments, violence, civil unrest and even murder. It is a little-known fact that the Boy Bishop tradition is still alive today.The Medieval Boy Bishops will appeal to those interested in religious history, the peculiarities of the medieval world and the place of children in society. Author Neil was inspired to write the book by his passion for English literature and history. “I was fascinated by the idea of Boy Bishops,” says Neil. “I’m trying to bring back to life a largely forgotten corner of medieval history.” This book will revive interest in a fascinating but neglected area of medieval history in the same way as books such as A Very English Deceit, Longitude and The Mechanical Turk have done for more recent history.

In the wake of recent papal legislation, the various liturgies of the Roman Rite may today be celebrated in either their post-Tridentine or post-Vatican II forms. Whilst much discussion of this new situation focuses on purely liturgical issues, this book breaks new ground by arguing that the coexistence of the two forms raises questions of a profoundly ecclesiological character. Peter McGrail explores the relationship between ritual form, ecclesial self- understanding and constructs of the world that are at play as adults become members of the Church. Analysing the rites by which adults were taken into the Church for three and a half centuries, this book goes on to explore attempts to find a new ritual expression for the journey to Christian Initiation, set against the divergent and even conflicting ecclesiologies which were at play before and during the Council.