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Heortology oreortology is ascience that deals with the origin and development ofreligious festivals,[1] and more specifically the study of the history and criticism ofliturgical calendars andmartyrologies.[2]
The nouneortology comes from theancient Greek compound of the term ἑορτή "feast" and the suffix -logia which means "study". Thus, eortology is the study of festivals, especially their history and meaning in thechurch year.[3]
Christian heortology dates back at least to Johann Adam Trummerer'sEortologia Anagrammaike published in 1607.[4]
GermanLutheran theologianMichael Lilienthal published a German-language heortology in 1724 to show the origin of Christian celebrations.[5] Wilhelm Dibelius published the second eortological study of the Christian rite in German in 1841.[6] In parallel with modernarchaeology, studies also examined the question of the rites of Greek and Roman antiquity, following the work ofAugust Mommsen, published inLeipzig in 1864 under the title ofHeortologie: Antiquarische Untersuchungen über die städtischen Feste der Athener.[7]
Christian heortology particularly developed at the instigation of theJesuitNikolaus Nilles and the liturgical movement from the end of the 19th century. Prominent heortologists were theSulpicianPierre Batiffol who publishedHistory of the Roman Breviary in 1893, Hartmann Grisar who publishedAnalecta Romana in 1899, and thecanonLouis Duchesne who published studies on theOrigins of Christian worship. German scholar Karl Adam Heinrich Kellner publishedHeortologie, oder, das Kirchenjahr und die Heiligenfeste in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung inFreiburg im Breisgau in 1901.[8]
As theSecond Ecumenical Vatican Council approached, many heortologists published major works, such asMissarum Sollemnia: Genetic Explanation of the Roman Mass by the JesuitJosef Andreas Jungmann, published first in German in 1948. At the same time,Mircea Eliade focused on the importance of religious thought on contemporary society through his heortological studies of primitive religions.
Heortology is related to many other disciplines such as social anthropology, astronomy, history and liturgy.
Heortology has considerable importance inanthropology, as it associates time cycles with civilizations and civilizational patterns. Sociology, withÉmile Durkheim as its precursor, raises the question of the importance of religion and, in particular, of religious celebrations, in society.
Anthropological philosophy questions the link that exists between collective celebrations and individual questions and fears. To what extent is the general perception of truths reflected in cults, rites and customs? A precursor of this problematic wasJohan Huizinga with his bookHomo Ludens. The study of the feasts that narrate the life of a saint or other character is of paramount importance, both from a philosophical and sociological point of view.
Since agriculture was an important determinant of the sustainability of most ancient civilizations and is heavily influenced by annual cycles, it is normally heortology relies on the sciences of agriculture to explain the recurrence of the festivities.
Heortology is also based on notions ofastronomy. Certain festivities move over the years, either because they are linked to the cycles of the lunar evolution, or because they take into account the year of 360 days, i.e. 365 days, without counting the hours of difference between the complete return of the Earth around the Sun and revolutions around it.
Other cyclic temporal recurrence patterns have been found, such as the changing phases of Venus relative to Earth, influencing the timing of certain festivities.
Heortology also relies on the science of history to understand the origin and evolution of rituals. A festival is generally a re-enactment of a solemn, legendary or real act. Thus, ancient civilizations commemorate as the victory of a hero over a serpent-god, or the betrothal of the Earth to the Sun while for Christians,Easter is the solemn celebration of theresurrection of Jesus Christ.
Heortology, which is closely related to theliturgy itself, contributes to the importance of the latter in dogmatic and disciplinary dissertations.
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