This account of the structure and music of the Catholic liturgy aims only to provide enough information to explain the references in the body of the main text and in the plays. There were many local variations in the rite and in this Appendix, the Latin texts are drawn from the first printed edition of the Missale romanum of 1474; most of the English translations of the Latin texts are from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) which is virtually identical with the earliest official English version of the liturgy in the Prayer Books of Edward VI (1539 and 1542).

THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR AND THE CHURCH YEAR

The Church year contains two parallel series of feasts. The Temporale (based on the life of Christ) begins with Advent and runs through from Christmas to Pentecost. The date of Easter, the principal festival of the Church, is not fixed, so many feast days can occur on a range of dates. The limits for the major feasts are included in the calendar below. The Sanctorale lists feasts of Our Lady and the saints throughout the year.

The week begins on Dominica (Sunday, or feria i, though the latter term is rarely used) followed by feria ii–vi and Sabbato (Saturday; feria vii is also rare).