Tenebrae

[CatholicCrusader]

[quote]Somewhere in the midst of all this the people rap their pews with their books repeatedly---the 'strepitus', which recalls the earthquake at the death of Jesus.[/quote]

Well, first of all, this was abrogated in the 1962 Missal (if it came back in the 1969 or subsequent missals, I am not aware). Secondly, I believe that this is done not for any symbolic reason of Our Lord's Death, but it is done because when the Monks closed their books back in the Middle Ages, after having sung Tenebrae, this made a lot of noise from each closing his very heavy book. Although I have never heard anything about this earthquake, you may be correct. I am just wondering where you got that information. God bless.

[Adeodatus]

I'm fairly certain the strepitus remains abrogated, but like many liturgical customs, it's popularity is probably why it lingers in some places.

I don't think it's origins are medieval, because it does not exist in the Dominican rite. And I doubt medieval monks could afford to have their own individual psalters. The cantors would have a huge antiphonarium on the lectern, but that's not so easy to slam.

The strepitus most likely originated in the 'knock' given by the presider at the end of Tenebrae, signalling that all may depart in silence. And this developed into the custom of general knocking by everyone, explained as a symbol of the earthquake and noise at Christ's death---which are dramatically symbolised at the end of the troped Kyrie just at that point of Tenebrae.