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  • Patterns and Persons: A Historiography of Liturgical Studies in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century
  • Michael Witczak
Patterns and Persons: A Historiography of Liturgical Studies in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century. Edited by Louis van Tongeren, Marcel Barnard, Paul Post, and Gerard Rouwhorst. [Liturgia Condenda,25.] (Leuven: Peeters. 2010. Pp. viii, 500. €59.00 paperback. ISBN 978-9-042-92301-0.)

Liturgia Condenda is a series of monographs published under the auspices of the Institute for Liturgical and Ritual Studies at the University of Tillburg in the Netherlands. The institute promotes studies by scholars of many countries and languages as they explore liturgy from a multidisciplinary point of view.

This volume, however, is by Dutch authors and focused on the historiography of the liturgy in the Netherlands during the twentieth century. Its larger intent is to invite readers to consider how liturgical studies have evolved. The editors are from the faculties of Tillburg and Utrecht, and are both Protestant and Catholic, and the book has a balanced ecumenical perspective based on the country’s religious heritage. The book has four unequal parts. Part 1 is an introductory chapter (by Gerard Rouwhorst and Louis van Tongeren) introducing the reader to an overview of the religious history of the Netherlands in the twentieth century; much of what comes later can be understood only from the vantage point of the original separation and “silo” mentality of the Netherlands that changed palpably in the latter part of the century.

Part 2, “Patterns,” has six chapters. Two are overviews of the Dutch liturgical movement in the Catholic Church (Louis van Tongeren) and the Protestant church (Klaas-Willem de Jong). Two chapters focus on art: music in the Catholic world (Anton Vernooij) and the plastic arts as fostered by the Van der Leeuw Foundation in the Dutch Reformed world (Marcel Barnard). The last two chapters in this section explore the architecture of Catholic churches (Paul Post) and Protestant churches (Justin Kroesen).

Part 3, “Persons,” provides biographical sketches of nine key figures of the liturgical movement in the Netherlands, presented in chronological order based on their year of birth. Seven are Catholic, and two are Protestant. The figures profiled include liturgical theologians and historians (Gerardus van der Leeuw, Jan Prein, Frits van der Meer, Cees Bouman, Gerrit Lammens, and Herman Wegman), two musicians (Eligius Bruning and Hendrik Andriessen), and the scholar of liturgical Latin, Christine Mohrman. None of the subjects is still alive, which was a criterion for inclusion.

Part 4, “Balance and Perspective,” provides an epilogue by Barnard and Post. The chapter concludes the work with some critical observations about liturgical studies and its prospects, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere. A postscript to the chapter indicates that the whole team of authors was asked to comment on the final chapter and made lively and sometimes contradictory [End Page 144] observations, which the authors attempt to convey fairly and comprehensively.

The key to the interpretation of the work as a whole is the prism of the liturgical movement. Despite criticism from their collaborators, the authors of the final chapter posit the thesis that the liturgical movement no longer provides an adequate perspective to understand liturgical studies. They understand the liturgical movement to be primarily historical and textual. Under the impetus of the broader scope of the curriculum at Tillburg, they expand liturgical studies to include ritual studies and a more comprehensive social science perspective. They raise the question of liturgy as something done from within (a concern of a particular church group and in the realm of “theology”) and something that needs to include that which is outside the group (the concern of “religious studies”). This final chapter provides a provocative conclusion to a well-conceived and written book, which will be of interest to historians, liturgical and sacramental theologians, and those interested in the life of the churches. One blemish on this fine work is the translation of some of the articles. Some ill-chosen words and faulty grammar cause the occasional stumble in what is in general a smooth English-language presentation.

Michael Witczak
The Catholic University of America
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