Blessing & Exorcism in Print & Manuscript: Priest’s ‘Ritual’ from Morella.
[Manuscript & Print] / [Benediction & Exorcism]. Ritual para las Rogativas, Exorcismos, Benediciones y demas que se observa en la Villa y Termino de Morella. Por Manuel Gran. [See below for full contents]. 8vo [13.4 x 9.9 cm], [2] ff. [2] ff. manuscript title & table of contents, [1] f. title and [1] f. title, 138 pp. of Antonio Gascon’s Fascisculus Exorcismorum; [1] f. printed Commemorationes; [1] f. manuscript Solispasa; 141-176 pp. manuscript; [4] ff. manuscript; [15] ff. blanks; [6] ff. manuscript. Bound in contemporary mottled calf, gold-stamped lettering piece laid to spine, gold tooled spine, red edges; with a leather pouch, remnants of ribbon tie. Binding well preserved, pouch rubbed. Internally well preserved, with the Gascon text a bit toned and with narrow margins touching a few page numbers, manuscript neatly written throughout.
Extraordinary composite volume put together by a certain Manuel Gran, a priest in the town of Morella, Spain, in the middle of the 19th century (c. 1840). Titled in manuscript in Spanish as “Ritual for Rogations, Exorcisms, Benedictions, and other [rites] observed in the Town and District of Morella,” the book is built around Gran’s copy of Antonio Gascon’s Fascisculus Exorcismorum, Conjurationum, Orationum, ac Benedictionum contra Procellas, Ventos, Locustas, aliosque Vermes, & Animalia fructuum corrosiva (Pamplona: Apud Haeredes de Martinez, 1750). Gascon’s book of “exorcisms, conjurations, prayers, and blessings against storms, winds, locusts, and other worms and fruit-destroying animals” is rare (No U.S. copies, and rare in any edition).
Manuel Gran added texts in manuscript to serve other local needs. These include the ritual of the Solispasa (or Salpassa, the local Valencian custom of blessing houses with a sprinkling of holy water and salt at Eastertime); the Rogation for the Hermitage of St. Pedro de Llivis in Morella and related local sites; the Rogation for the pilgrimage walk from Morella to the Marian shrine at Vallivana; rites for bringing women back into church after childbirth; blessing crosses, images, rosaries, candles, bread, food; indulgences to dying members of the Holy Rosary Confraternity; blessing of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; a Rogation for St. Mark for pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Sargar in town of Herbers; and an anecdote where Manuel Gran describes examining relics.
OCLC and KVK locate no U.S. copies of Gascon’s 1750 Fascisculus Exorcismorum. The only U.S. copies of any edition are at Wisconsin (1727) and Cal St. Sutro (1764).
*Palau 100432 (Gascon).
Full contents:
[2] ff. manuscript title (Ritual para las Rogativas, Exorcismos, Benediciones y demas que se observa en la Villa y Termino de Morella. Por Manuel Gran) and table of contents.
Antonio Gascon, Fascisculus Exorcismorum, Conjurationum, Orationum, ac Benedictionum contra Procellas, Ventos, Locustas, aliosque Vermes, & Animalia fructuum corrosiva. Pompelone (Pamplona): Apud Haeredes de Martinez, 1750. 8vo. [1] f. title, 138 pp., with woodcut title device, full-page frontispiece, and factotum initial, highlighted in red, a few manuscript annotations.
Print: Commemorationes Communes. Seu Suffr. Ss. in fine Vesp. Et Laud. Dicendae. De Cruce. Tempore Paschal. [1] f. [On the Holy Cross at Eastertime].
Manuscript: Solispasa. Despues de Pascua sale el Vicario a la Solispasa…, [1] f. [Ritual of the Solispasa (Salpassa), the local Valencian custom of blessing houses with a sprinkling of holy water and salt at Eastertime].
MS: Rogativa de S. Pedro Martyr, pp. 141-46 [Rogation for the Hermitage of St. Pedro de Llivis in Morella and related sites].
MS: Litania B.M.V., pp. 147-50 [Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary].
MS: Rogativa de Vallivana, pp. 151-53 [For the pilgrimage walk from Morella to the Marian shrine at Vallivana].
MS: Rogativa de S. Antonio en la partida o Dena de la Vespa; Rogativa de St.o Tomas del Rio; St. Isidro Labrador, etc., pp. 154-8 [On local saints and shrines].
MS: Evangelios para los Enfermos, pp. 158-60 [Gospels passages in which Jesus shows compassion, comforts and heals the sick].
MS: Rogativa para cualquier necesidad, p. 163-7 [Rogation in times of need].
MS: Ordo ad intrducendam [sic] mulierem in Eclesiam post partum, p. 168-9 [Bringing women back into church after childbirth].
MS: De benedictione Crucis, pp. 169-71 [Blessing a cross].
MS: Benedictio Imaginis, pp. 171-2 [Blessing an image].
MS: Bendcion de Rosarios, pp. 172-4 [Blessing rosaries].
MS: Aplicacion de la indulgencia plenaria a los Cofrades del S. Rosario moribundos, pp. 174-5 [Application of plenary indulgence to dying members of the Holy Rosary Confraternity].
MS: Benedictio habitus B.M.V. de monte Carmelo, pp. 175-6 [Blessing of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel].
MS: Benedictio panis, p. 176 [Blessing of bread].
MS: Benedictio ad qodcumque [sic] comestible, p. [1] [Blessing food].
MS: Benedictio de candelas del Rosario, pp. [1-2] [Blessing candles].
MS: En el año 1841 dia 19 de Abril… pp. [2-3] [Here Manuel Gran provides an anecdote about being shown a relic in 1841 that had been authenticated in 1700 and 1701 by priests in Morella; he provides some of the Latin text included with the relics, which indicates that the relics were used to protect against storms and lightning].
MS: Rogativas de Herbes, pp. [4-7] [Rogation for St. Mark for pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Sargar in town of Herbers; with local litany].
[15 ff. blanks].
MS: Pasio D[omi]ni n[os]tri J. C. secundum Joanem, final [6] ff. [Gospel according to St. John, through John 19:37].