york00orns

294 YORK.
the stately accents of the old Roman tongue ceased
to echo within the walls of the lofty minster and the
lowlier fabrics of the parochial churches.
Before proceeding to enter upon any account of
this great change, a few words may fitly be recorded
here respecting what is known as " The Use of
York."
In England, as in France and other countries of
Europe, there were diversities of ritual prevailing in
different dioceses, both as regarded the missals, the
breviaries, the
manuals used by the parish priests in
the celebration of the occasional offices of the Church,
the pontificals, or books containing exclusively episcopal
offices, and the processionals. To these may
be added antiphoners, psalters, and hymnals. In
England the Use of Sarum prevailed generally in the
southern province. In addition to this there were
Uses peculiar to the dioceses of York, Lincoln, Hereford,
Bangor, and others. There can be no doubt
that in early times the bishop of a diocese exercised
his own discretion with regard to the arrangement of
the services used in the churches within its limits,
the festivals of saints admitted into their calendars,
the musical notation of their hymns, the colours of
the vestments of their priests and those of the hangings
of the altars at which they served.
In all these
matters there were considerable variations at different
periods, even in the same diocese. The rubrics, indeed,
scarcely appear to have become fixed until
printed editions took the place of manuscript copies.
But notwithstanding all these variations there was a
real and substantial agreement. With regard to the