Cameron Shippee

This project will utilise extant books and fragments from the period to present the first analysis of Catholic liturgical customs and their development in Scotland from 1192 to 1570. As the Catholic Church continues to be polarised by debates about the sacred rites in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, the thesis will explore how an awareness of localised liturgical trends from the twelfth through sixteenth centuries can lead to a more nuanced understanding of Church rituals and the reasons for their evolution over time. To that end, the historical findings of this study will be compared to the criteria for ‘organic’ liturgical development cited by modern scholars. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to contribute a vital historical perspective to the present-day debates about Catholic liturgy.