"Psalmorum spiritalia sacramenta". Note sul lessico liturgico-rituale nella Regula monachorum di Isidoro di Siviglia

The Regula monachorum (c. 615-619) of Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636) is certainly the most relevant among his monastic writings, but these constitute only a small part of his literary production. Written sermone plebeio uel rustico (cf. Prol.), and intended for a coenobium Honorianense of which nothing further is known, it was circulated widely especially in the Iberian Peninsula. As with other works of the same genre, Isidore’s Regula denotes an eclectic attitude in its choice and use of sources, not without traits of originality. The almost three-century-old technical terminology of western monasticism is not only mastered thoroughly, but also significantly enriched by Isidore. Within this context, the present contribution focuses on the analysis of terms used in reference to prayer and liturgical celebrations, and more generally to the rites and rituals of the community to which the text was originally addressed. The terms examined – ‘officium’, ‘hora’, ‘canonicus’, ‘oratio’, ‘celebritas’, ‘sacrificium’, ‘sacramentum’, ‘psallo’, ‘psalmus’, ‘missa’, ‘lectio’, ‘laus’, ‘lucernarium’, ‘responsorium (-us), ‘benedictio’, ‘signum’, ‘matutinus (-um)’, ‘tertia’, ‘sexta’, ‘nona’, ‘uesper (-era)’, ‘uespertinus’, ‘conpleta’, ‘conpletorium’, ‘uigiliae’ – sometimes appear to be neologisms with respect to classical Latin, but more often as graphic variants or semantic innovations of particular interest. The analysis of the terms related to disciplinary, moral and spiritual aspects of the Isidorian Regula is left to a subsequent contribution.