30 June – 11 July 2025, weekdays

IL: L719
KULeuven: B-KUL-A07E1A 4 study points

Taught by: Duco Vollebregt

During the candle-lit Easter vigil, the Easter proclamation is sung by the deacon. This hymn to Christ the light burning in the night-time darkness is known by its first word in Latin, the Exultet. Proclaiming this hymn was more fully developed in the tenth century when it was sung by the deacon from a scroll which cascaded down the front of the monument where he stood thereby revealilng a series of images depicting the mysteries of salvation sung in Latin by the deacon. Standing near the monument was a monumental candleholder for the Easter candle shining in the darkness of this most holy Easter night. The instructor, Duco Vollebregt is a doctoral researcher fast becoming the world expert on the Exultet hymn and its traditional proclamation.

This course will be conducted on several tracks.

♦ Enrol with KU Leuven and earn academic credit at the master’s level, which includes writing a 15-20 page research paper on the Exultet and its proclamation during the Easter vigil.

♦ Enrol not-for-credit with the Liturgy Institute London and attend the lectures without obligation.

♦ You may also begin to make your own Exultet scroll on your own or with moderation by enroling in a practicum provided by the Christian Arts Studio also at Ealing Abbey (description here).

 

At the end of the course each student will be prepared:

♦ To describe and interpret the textual imagery in the Exultet.

♦ To describe and interpret the ritual of proclaiming the Exultet.

♦ To come to a greater appreciation of the integration of all elements of the rite.

♦ Academics will be guided in writing a paper by an expert in the field.

♦ Artists apply their understanding by beginning to make their own scroll in a separate practicum.

♦ Historians will appreciate the process by which such a rich liturgical rite developed.

♦ Liturgists will study sources and ways of interpreting this liturgical rite.

 

Hours: 9.45 – 12.45 (including a break)

The course anticipates the student will spend 60 hours in personal reading and study.

Cost: £295

Location: Liturgy Institute (at Ealing Abbey)
74 Castlebar Road Ealing London, W5 2DD, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8194 2320
For further details or to register contact the Institute:
E-mail Clare Cogswell, the Registrar, at this linked E-mail address.
Location on Google Maps is found here.

KU Leuven awards 4 study points upon the successful completion of this graduate course.
Those not registered for credit at KU Leuven may take this course to fulfill one of the requirements for the Institutum Liturgicum certificate.
Others may attend for interest without other obligations.

 

Previous knowledge

It is recommended that participants have a general familiarity with the Bible and the history of western civilization in the Christian period in order to understand the general context of the documents examined. A basic ability to compose a written work is necessary before developing the specifics of academic writing. Transcription of a Latin text suggests some awareness of the Latin text of the Exultet.

 

Content

This course is intended for students of liturgy and for students of iconography. Classroom instruction will address the history and composition of the rite as a whole and of the Exultet in particular. We shall explore the imagery presented in the text and its reflection in the art of a scroll. We shall interpret the ritual proclamation of the Exultet. Studio time will allow a practical exploration in creating an Exultet scroll and the opportunity to begin to creating one’s own scroll.

 

Course Material

♦ Vollebregt, D., Hac nocte in aeternum diem renascentes populi procreantur: Christian initiation and the Easter vigil in the Missale Gothicum (Spicilegium sacrum Lovaniense. Études et documents 58. Studia breviora 3), Peeters, Leuven 2021.

♦ Vollebregt, D., “Night or Dawn? Easter night in the light of cosmos and creation”, in Full of Your Glory: Liturgy, cosmos, creation, ed. T. Berger, Liturgical Press, Colegeville (Minnesota) 2019, 117-136.

♦ The Illuminated Easter Proclamation, illustrated by C. Rohrbacher, Liturgical Press, Collegeville (Minnesota) 2012.

♦ Kelly, T.F., The Exultet in Southern Italy, Oxford UP, New York – Oxford 1996.

♦ Students are greatly helped by their own electronic or online access to databases of primary texts such as: BibleWorks.

♦ Students enrolled at KU Leuven will have access to the Library of Latin Texts, Brepols.

 

Description of learning activities

♦ develop a reasoned understanding of textual images in this prayer

♦ identify the different elements of a rite: ritual, text, symbols, art, architecture

♦ interpret the contribution of each element of the rite according to its own mode of expression

♦ use library resources and source texts in original languages to study liturgical texts

♦ use online resources for the scientific study of liturgy

♦ participate in class lectures and discussions.

 

Evaluation description

Examination type: written: 50% either an academic paper or a scroll with written description and discussion in person: 50%

When: evaluation outside normal examination period.

Explanation: The student and instructor agree on a pathway of study.

Auditors may work on their own scroll, but they do not take an exam and receive no credit.

IL Award Students complete the examination and receive a mark not for credit.

Credit seeking students complete an academic research paper 15 to 20 pages in length and submitted to the registrar by 11 August 2025. They illustrate their ability to incorporate primary sources (heuristics) and methods to interpret the Exultet and its proclamation (hermeneutics). As a seminar students participate regulairly and give updates on their own research and findings. The instructor may ask the student to explain the method used in discovering sources, interpreting the prayer and writing a reasoned argument. The instructor asks questions that help the student come to a more satisfactory explanation of the prayer.

Criteria for evaluation: The student demonstrates a facility with the methods presented in class 1) to discover the context and sources underlying the prayer and 2) to interpret the prayer and either 3) to present a coherent argument about the prayer or its proclamation based on their research. The essay is not intended to be a comprehensive study of the prayer, but a demonstration of finding sources (heuristics), interpreting the rite (hermeneutics) and developing an argument (synthetics). The discussion questions are both theoretical, concerning the student’s understanding of the methods presented in class, and applied, concerning the student’s ability to apply these methods to the interpretation of the prayer text and scroll.

Second opportunity to sit the exam: Because this is an intensive summer course, the opportunity for a second exam is by appointment and depends upon the availability of the instructor.

 

Note: Students must be over 18 years of age.

This is a research seminar. Because of the demands of original research during an intensive summer programme, participants may prepare for the intensive schedule by reading suggested texts before the course begins and are recommended to allow considerable time in their schedule for research and/or studio time during the two weeks of the seminar and in the weeks following.

Students and the public are invited to attend the annual St Bede Lecture, to be held at Ealing Abbey on Sunday afternoon 7 July at 3:00 PM in the Ealing Abbey Parish Hall.