Using the databases

Please note the following commands and the explanations which follow.

A series of alleluias usually contains about 23 items, one for each Sunday of the post-Pentecost (or post-Trinity) period. Each series of alleluias is here identified by its source. If this is given in upper-case letters, the name indicates the provenance of the series, for example, "AACHEN", "BRAGA". Lower-case letters give a library and shelfmark in abbreviated form; in such cases the provenance of the series is not always clear; the library and shelfmark are neutral in respect of provenance.
The list of SOURCES shows where the alleluia series was found. It gives the date of the printed missals consulted, and the full form of the references to libraries and shelfmarks. It also contains a key to where the present compiler found the information in question. Thus "MH" means that the alleluia list is in the papers of Michel Huglo, "VL" in those of Victor Leroquais, etc. Complete references are to be found in the BIBLIOGRAPHY.

There are two search possibilities of the alleluia verses which the medieval liturgists arranged into their series. Click on SEARCH ALPHA[BETICAL]: this table lists the verses alphabetically. Click on SEARCH NUM[ERICAL]: this table lists the verses in numerical order by psalm-verse. Most post-Pentecost alleluia series follow the numerical order of the psalms.

The alleluias are represented in their numerous different series not by a text incipit but by the number of the psalm-verse.

Click on SERIES ALPHA[BETICAL]. The table which appears gives all the alleluia series in alphabetic order by source.

Click on SERIES NUM[ERICAL]. The table which appears gives all the alleluia series in numerical order, from the lowest psalm-verse number to the highest. Thus a series which begins "005 007a 017 020" precedes one which begins "007b 017 020 046".

Comparing a new series

Experience dictates that when noting the alleluia series in a medieval gradual, a printed missal, or whatever, it is best to copy the text incipit, and to convert it into a numerical series only as a second step. The computer can in any case make this conversion automatically.

Clicking on the button SEARCH ("num" or "alpha") brings up empty boxes in which the psalm-verse number should be entered. This can be done by clicking on the list of alleluias. The number of the alleluia you have clicked jumps automatically into the next empty box. You can do this either from the alphabetical or the numerical list of psalm-verses. Since the alleluias usually appear in numerical order, it is convenient to use the numerical list.

After entering the series (or part of it), click on the next SEARCH button. Those series which most resemble the one you have just entered are then displayed. The number of concordances is given both as an absolute number and as a percentage calculated from the shorter of the two series compared. For example:

Series A has 24 alleluias; series B has 22 alleluias; there are 17 concordances. The percentage agreement is given as 77% (1700/22), not 71% (1700/24). In addition, each concordant alleluia is highlighted visually.

Non-numerical series

A number of sources, including some very old ones, present the alleluias in a non-numerical series. It is possible to obtain percentage figures of agreement with the numerically ordered series from the concordance tables, but simpler to consult separate lists: see SERIES NON NUM[ERICAL].