The Henry Bradshaw Society was established in 1890 in commemoration of
Henry Bradshaw, University Librarian in Cambridge and a distinguished
authority on early medieval manuscripts and liturgies, who died in 1886.
The Society was founded `for the editing of rare liturgical texts'; its
principal focus is on the Western (Latin) Church and its rites, and on
the medieval period in particular, from the sixth century to the
sixteenth (in effect, from the earliest surviving Christian books until
the Reformation). Liturgy was at the heart of Christian worship, and
during the medieval period the Christian Church was at the heart of
Western society. Study of medieval Christianity in its manifold
aspects - historical, ecclesiastical, spiritual, sociological -
inevitably involves study of its rites, and for that reason Henry
Bradshaw Society publications have become standard source-books for an
understanding of all aspects of the middle ages. Moreover, many of the
Society's publications have been facsimile editions, and these
facsimiles have become cornerstones of the science of palaeography. The
society was founded for the editing of rare liturgical texts; its
principal focus is on the Western (Latin) Church and its rites, and on
the medieval period in particular, from the sixth century to the
Reformation. Study of medieval Christianity - at the heart of Western
society - inevitably involves study of its rites, and the society's
publications are essential to an understanding of all aspects
(historical, ecclesiastical, spiritual, sociological) of the middle
ages.
