The last few months have been hectic, demanding, occasionally rewarding, often dispiriting but generally productive. At the end of August, (to twist the Preface of the Dead) my life was ended not changed when I was appointed bursar of the monastery. My day had […]
Category: Douai Abbey
More that was not lost
It’s been a busy day so just one piece today in the series on Douai Abbey’s Ward vestments. Today it is the cope. The cope was another significant piece of the set that was ready in 1896, though in that year the morse for […]
Not all was lost
In the 1890s our priory (Douai became an abbey only in 1900, along with the other ancient EBC houses) in Douai, Flanders, was blessed with a series of generous benefactions from Edmund Granville Ward (1853-1915), of the Isle of Wight, son of the Tractarian […]
Benedictine Bling
For most Benedictines today is the greater of the two feast days of our founder, St Benedict. Today honours his passing to eternal life; 11 July commemorates the translation of his relics to Monte Cassino (or was it Fleury? Depends who you ask!). That […]
A Patron Saint
Before there was St George, there was St Edmund, King, Virgin and Martyr, whose feast falls today. St George was a soldier saint from the region we now call Syria (what little of it remains intact notwithstanding). He was a decent chap and a […]
Missals in the Monastery Cupboard—2
Sorry – another mega missal post, but the last, so—courage. [As usual, if you click the photos they will open in full size.] First from the cloister haul is this example of a missal I had not come across before: a Missal-Vesperal. Many of […]
Missals in the Monastery Cupboard—1
This will verge on a megapost. There was quite the variety of missals in the cupboard. As a great lover of the old hand missals I found these of special interest. If the old missals do nothing for your adrenalin levels then this post […]
O happy fault!
London has been hit by terrorists again, with all the hallmarks of those inspired by the Islamic jihadists of Daesh. The details are gradually becoming clearer now but it seems prudent to withhold comment until we know quite certainly the full nature of the attacks. […]
Even More in a Monastery Cupboard
Some people actually seem interested in this, so herewith the penultimate post about the cloister hoard. **NB In this series, any picture is able to be clicked to reveal the full-sized version.** Today, office books. First is this diurnal, ie the day hours off […]
More in a Monastery Cupboard
Since it is a Friday, it seems fitting to supply some opportunity for penance. Thus, here follows some more discoveries from a cupboard in the monastery’s long cloister. Last time we left off with a taster of a book that you will not have […]
In a monastery cupboard
If you do not like books, you are bound to be bored here. If you are indifferent to liturgical books, you are likely to yawn a little. If books and liturgical history fascinate you, even if presented in a fairly superficial and fleeting way—then read […]
