Prayers of the Middle Ages: Light from a Thousand Years

This is a companion volume to the Prayers of the Early Church. That little volume has been started on its way and the editor has been encouraged to do this one on the Prayers of the Middle Ages. The period covered by these prayers is that of a thousand years from A.D. 500 to A.D. 1500. Generally speaking, the period is from the fall of Rome to the Reformation. This period was formerly called the Dark Ages. Evidence of the lack of light has been found in the lack of material in some of the centuries. It has been hard to find any prayers in a few. However, taken collectively, it is seen that there was much light that came out of these ages. The Church was kept alive by those who kept the light burning. The latter half of this period is now called the Golden Age of Mysticism. The arrangement of the prayers is century by century. There are some questions about dates of these as well as authorship. The authorities do not always agree.