te. Thus he may be
counted as a reformer, but not as an innovater nor an abridger. But his
reform fell on evil days. The great struggle between Church and State
about lay investitures had a baneful influence on liturgy, even in Rome
itself. The times seemed to call for a modernised (i.e., a shortened)
office. The "modernisers" respected the psalter, the curtailment was in
the Lectionary. The modernising spirit showed itself in the arrangement
and bulk of the office books. The Psalter, Antiphonary, Responsorial,
Bible and Book of Homilies were gradually codified. Even then, a very
large volume was the result. After a time the chant, which absorbed much
space, was removed from the volume, but the resulting volume, noticeably
smaller, was not yet small enough. In time, only the opening words of
the antiphons, responsories and versicles were printed, and to the
volume thus turned out was given the name _Breviary_. The Curial
Breviary was drawn up in this way to make it suitable for persons
engaged in outdoor pursuits and journeys. It gradually displaced the
choir office in Rome, and Rome's example was universally followed.

This Curial Breviary was adopted by the Franciscans in their active
lives. They changed the text of the Psalter only, _Psalterium
Romanum_, to the more approved text, the _Psalterium Gallicanum_.
The improved Curial Breviary was imposed on the churches of Rome by the
Franciscan Pope, Nicholas III. (1277-1280), and henceforth it is called
the Roman Breviary. Thus we see that the book used daily by priests got
its name in the thirteenth century, although the divine office is almost
from Apostolic times.

But liturgy is a progressive study, a progressive practice capable and
worthy of perfecting. And the friars strove for the greater perfection
and beauty of the new Breviary. They added variety to the unity already
achieved and yet did not reach liturgical perfection nor liturgical
beauty. They loaded the Breviary by introducing saints' days with nine
lessons, thus avoiding offices of three lessons. And by keeping octave
days and days within the octave as feasts of nine lessons, they almost
entirely destroyed the weekly recitation of the psalter; and a large
portion of the Breviary ceased to be used at all. The Franciscan book
became very popular owing to its handy form. Indeed its use was almost
universal in the Western Church. But the multiplication of saints'
offices, universal and local, no fixed stand