ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the scope and complexity of practical investigation of the experience of late medieval worship, and the need to employ a range of research methods, in order to work towards enactment of the ritual in any medieval cathedral or church. Choosing Salisbury Cathedral and its liturgical use as the basis for the investigation was not without constraints. From at least the early fifteenth century, ownership and revision of the use of Salisbury had moved away from the cathedral. Four categories of medieval ritual merited exploration: the Mass, the office, the devotional antiphon and the procession. Mass and office constituted the medieval daily round of all cathedral and parish clergy, and of monks, nuns and other members of religious communities. In many institutions, the devotional antiphon was also sung daily in the late middle Ages, and processions took place at least weekly.
