Elevation of the Host
Description
The Elevation of the Host is a liturgical practice emphasizing the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, during which the consecrated bread and wine are raised above the altar in order that the the people may adore it. This practice is commonly performed throughout Eastern and Western Christian liturgies, and is done immediately after consecration in the Roman Rite of Mass, with music and the singing of motets such as O sacrum convivium added alongside the ritual. In Franciscan practices, the Elevation of the Host was promoted in the thirteenth century, following the twelfth century promotion of the ritual by the Cistertians.
Artistic depictions of the Elevation of the Host have become a feature of illuminated manuscripts and books of hours, illustrating the ritualistic elements of its performance. Portrayed primarily from the side in earlier medieval depictions, the host is elevated in full view of the adoring crowd by a priest, whose robes are often held by an acolyte or altar server, as the chasubles worn by priests were unsuited for lifting the consecrated bread and wine very high even after they had been cut properly. The altar from which the host is lifted contains the consecrated wine alongside the host, as well as an open missal. Additionally, a lit elevation candle accompanies the scene, as does, occasionally, the ringing of a warning bell, alerting those outside of the immediate church space that the consecration had gone underway. The elevation candle, which had been fading out of use until its official abandonment by Pope John XXIII in 1960, was raised to the height of the host for the purpose of allowing the people of the dimly-lit churches to fully view and adore the now-consecrated host.
The Elevation of the Host within Barnard 1 displays the Elevation of the Host from the back, which would become more prominent in later medieval and Renaissance artistic renditions, and blocking any view of the altar, which would have contained the sacramental wine and open missal. This depiction features the holding of the priestly chasubles and several elevation candles, which can be seen to either side of the elevated host. The illumination does show signs of deterioration alongside the right side of the priest's vestments, though, seeing as how the damage appears chipped, rather than rubbed, and concentrated to a particular pigment, unlike the other illuminations of the manuscript, it is unlikely that the Elevation of the Host illumination would have been subject to significant devotional rubbing.
Liturgy
This page featuring the Elevation of the Host appears during the the Feast of Corpus Christi. The feast, officially the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist, as well as Christ's washing of the disciples' feet and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Feast of Corpus Christi was first instituted by Pope Urban IV in 1264 by the papal bull Transiturus de hoc mundo, following decades of campaigning by Saint Juliana of Liège, and whose office is composed by Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Transcription:
IMMOlabit hedum multitudo filiorum Israel ad vesperam pasche | Et edent carnes et açimos panes. v Pasca nostrum immolatus est xpistus itaque epulemur...
Translation:
The multitude of the sons of Israel shall sacrifice a kid on the eve of Passover | And they shall eat the flesh and unleavened bread. v Christ, our offering has been sacrificed, and therefore let us feast...
Comparison
