Spaces of Seclusion and Liturgy

Abstract

In 1211, the Monastery of Lorvão became home to the first Cistercian nunnery to be established in Portugal. Surviving from this community are some three dozen (mostly) liturgical codices, produced 1211-c.1700, providing important evidence of ritual practices in this female house which is especially valuable when viewed against the broader panorama of Cistercian experience both in Portugal and beyond. This paper subjects two liturgical codices of Lorvão, one a Processional and one a Ceremonial, to a contextualised analysis in order to probe the potential of these works for shedding light on matters relating to how liturgy was performed during, for example, processions and other rituals inherent to the monastic life. Additional consideration is given to the extent to which the stipulations of the regulatory framework promulgated by the Cistercian General Chapter were, or were not, fulfilled, as well as highlighting the existence of modifications made to those regulations, adapting various rituals to better fit the specific spaces available in the monastic precinct of this celebrated Cistercian convent.