The office of the cantor in early Western monastic rules and customaries: a preliminary investigation

The Rule of St Benedict (c. 520) mentions a cantor only once. The celebrated twelfth-century Liber ordinis, a book of monastic regulations compiled at the Abbey of St Victor in Paris, requires several folios to outline all the duties of the cantor's office. During the six centuries separating these two sources, the monastic cantor had become one of the most important persons in the religious community: he supervised all aspects of music-making, he was in charge of the library and the scriptorium, and he oversaw and directed the celebration of the liturgy. Yet even though the cantor had a crucial role in the performance and transmission of medieval liturgical music, very little scholarly attention has been given to his office. This study offers some theories concerning the evolution of the cantor's office, and a description of that office during the late eleventh century, the period in which it reached its zenith. Many issues will be raised that, it is hoped, will suggest directions for further research.