Introduction

What is a breviary?

The breviary is a type of liturgical book, used by Christians for performing the daily prayers of Office.

The name of the breviary is derived from the Latin 'brevis', meaning 'brief'. This is because the Breviary book form is highly compacted, taking its contents from many different earlier books and abbreviating many parts to make the breviary which contained all the key texts needed for Office.

The first book to be called a breviary was made by Franciscans in the early 13th century, whose particular focus on travel and preaching made such a book necessary. The form grew rapidly and many medieval breviaries survive today.

To see how a breviary was used, we will look first at the Thomas Fisher Library's Breviarium Romanum...