St. Benedict of Nursia (jan 1, 480 – jan 1, 547)

Description:

Founded the monastery at Monte Cassino in 529. Wrote "Regula Monochorum", which was an influential set of rules that governed daily life in his monastery and became widely adopted elsewhere as the "Rule of Saint Benedict."

Emphasized worship at canonical hours (Divine Office), of which there were 8 per day. Psalms were sung then.

The practices of chanting Psalms that gradually developed into Gregorian chant arose in the communal context of monastic life...Musical metaphors of community and discipline were symbolized by unaccompanied singing in unison. This remained the Gregorian ideal, although the community o0f worshipers was replaced in the more publkic services by specialy trained choirs. Monophony was thus a choice, not a necessity. While it may seem to reflect the primitive origins of chant, early Christian monophony in fact represents the purposeful rejection of earlier, more elaborate practices, both Judaic and pagan.

Added to timeline:

Date: