Bertharius's 9th-century treatise on fasting from Monte Cassino systematically outlines monastic fasting practices throughout the liturgical year, including Ember Days and feast vigils. This significant document reveals the theological understanding of fasting as penitential labor with quantifiable spiritual benefits, preserves early medieval liturgical customs, and demonstrates the integration of ascetic practice within the rhythm of the Church calendar.

Authorship and Historical Context

The treatise Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit (“How one should fast throughout the year”) is traditionally attributed to Saint Bertharius of Monte Cassino. Bertharius (c. 810–883) was a Benedictine monk and abbot of Monte Cassino from 856 until his martyrdom in 883 (Full text of “Die kirchlichen quatember”). A member of the Lombard nobility turned monk, he was a learned figure of the Carolingian era known for his writings. In addition to this fasting treatise, he composed a poem on St. Benedict and a Life of St. Scholastica, indicating his role in preserving and elaborating the Benedictine spirit (Patrologia Latina/126) at Monte Cassino.

The fasting treatise is believed to have been written during his abbacy (mid-9th century) as part of his efforts to guide the monastic community’s observances. Early catalogs and modern scholars consistently credit Bertharius as the author, and there is no significant debate on its attribution. The text was included as an appendix to Bertharius’s works in Patrologia Latina vol. 126 (Bertarius Cassinensis Abbas) (Migne Patrologiae), reflecting the longstanding attribution.

The historical context of its composition is the Carolingian monastic reform era, when Benedictine monasteries were refining their rules and liturgical practices. Monte Cassino, as the motherhouse of the Beneventan region, was reasserting Benedict’s Rule and local customs after a period of disruption, and Bertharius’s leadership came just before the abbey’s 883 destruction by Saracens (The Trials of Pope Formosus). The treatise’s detailed instructions on fasting throughout the liturgical year likely served to standardize observances at Monte Cassino and possibly influenced other monasteries. Bertharius’s authorship situates the work in a time of Carolingian-era liturgical unity efforts and illustrates how a 9th-century abbot combined fidelity to tradition with local monastic custom.

Textual Origin and Manuscript Tradition

Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit originated at Monte Cassino Abbey in southern Italy in the 9th century, most likely between 856 and 883 while Bertharius was abbot. Its primary purpose was to record Monte Cassino’s fasting customs throughout the year for the monks. The original text was likely written in the Beneventan Latin script used at Monte Cassino and copied in the abbey’s scriptorium.

A medieval Monte Cassino manuscript (identified in a modern catalog as Codex Casinensis 175) contains this treatise. This codex indicates the text was preserved in the abbey’s library and survived the community’s displacement after 883. In the High Middle Ages, the treatise also circulated beyond Monte Cassino. Notably, a 9th-century manuscript from Salzburg (now Munich, Clm 14766) includes a version of the treatise, showing that Monte Cassino’s customs spread to Germanic monasteries (Die kirchlichen quatember).

The presence of the text in a Salzburg manuscript suggests that during the Carolingian period, communications between Italian and Franco-German monastic centers led to an exchange of liturgical practices. By the 19th century, the fasting treatise was rediscovered in Monte Cassino’s archives and published by the Benedictine historian Luigi Tosti and subsequently by J.-P. Migne in Patrologia Latina.

The Patrologia Latina edition (vol. 126, cols. 987–990) became the standard reference and titled it De jejuniis per annum. Modern scholarship (e.g., the Monumenta Germaniae Historica and studies of monastic customs) also acknowledges the text, sometimes referencing it in the context of early medieval consuetudinaries. In summary, the treatise originated as a Monte Cassino monastic document and was transmitted in the Benedictine manuscript tradition, with surviving witnesses in the Monte Cassino library and at least one early copy in the German-speaking world (Die kirchlichen quatember). This transmission underlines Monte Cassino’s influence on medieval monastic practice and the continuity of its liturgical customs even after the abbey’s temporary 9th-century exile.

Theological and Doctrinal Content

The theological outlook of Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit is practical and rooted in early medieval Christian penitential theology. The treatise emphasizes fasting as an act of penance and spiritual merit. It delineates specific times and ways to fast (Mirabile) throughout the year, implying that regular fasting is a vital discipline to obtain God’s mercy.

One key teaching is the idea that observing prescribed fasts carries an almost quantifiable spiritual reward: “Ista duodecim legitima jejunia per annum excusant pro peccatis centum solidos in auro cocto” – “These twelve legitimate fasts throughout the year compensate for sins [as much as] one hundred solidi of refined gold” (De jejuniis per annum). In other words, the communal fasts of the Ember days are as valuable as a hefty sum of gold paid in penance, underlining the treatise’s view that fasting can remit the debt of sin.

The text even promises that whoever diligently keeps these fasts for twelve years “will drive away – indeed free – his soul from hell” (Die kirchlichen quatember). Such a statement reflects an early medieval belief in the efficacy of repeated ascetic practices for salvation, bordering on what a modern observer might call a folk-pious or “superstitious” tone. This doctrine is not a formal dogma but illustrates the era’s mindset that fasting, as a work of satisfaction, can obtain divine grace and avert punishment.

Beyond the penitential aspect, the treatise’s content is deeply tied to the liturgical theology of the Church year. It upholds the ancient principle that Sundays and great feasts are days of joy on which fasting is inappropriate (Die kirchlichen quatember). For example, it explicitly forbids fasting if a prescribed vigil falls on a Sunday. This aligns with the doctrine that the Lord’s Day and celebrations of Christ’s mysteries override penitential practices.

Conversely, the treatise sacralizes fast days by linking them to biblical and church tradition (e.g., fasting in preparation for major feasts, recalling the fasting of prophets or apostles). Although the text does not expound Scripture at length, its prescriptions echo biblical patterns of fasting for repentance and preparation (such as Moses, Elijah, or Jesus fasting for forty days). Implicitly, the imitation of Christ’s fasting (especially during Lent) undergirds its directives.

The author’s brief references to monastic prayer (like the use or omission of Psalm 50 Miserere mei, Deus at certain times) show a theological sensitivity to festive versus penitential seasons (De jejuniis per annum). During Christmas and Easter seasons, the monks omit penitential psalms and do not kneel, signifying the theological joy of the Incarnation and Resurrection, whereas in ordinary or penitential times, kneeling and penitential prayers resume.

In sum, the treatise teaches that fasting is a powerful means of obtaining forgiveness and spiritual benefit. It situates fasting firmly within the cycle of salvation history as relived annually in the liturgy. The underlying perspective is that external ascetic works (fasting, kneeling, etc.), when done in obedience to Church tradition, contribute to the soul’s purification and reflect the rhythm of Christ’s own saving acts. This practical theology of fasting reinforced medieval monastic ideals of discipline: salvation is worked out through penitential labor, and the calendar itself, ordained by the Church, instructs the faithful when and how to offer these sacrifices.

Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Significance

Liturgically, Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit is a valuable witness to early medieval church fasting practices, especially as observed in a monastic setting (De jejuniis per annum). It systematically enumerates the fasts attached to the liturgical calendar, thereby illuminating how the medieval Church integrated fasting into its yearly cycle of feasts and seasons.

The treatise gives pride of place to the Quatuor Tempora, or Ember Days, calling them “four legitimate fasts in the year”. These were seasonal three-day fasts (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) approximately in March, June, September, and December. The text specifies in detail the timing of each Ember fast:

1. In “the first month, first week” (interpreted by context as early March), monks must fast on Wed/Fri/Sat “until evening” (i.e., after Vespers) during an observance with twelve Scripture readings.
2. In June (the fourth month), the Ember week fast is in the second week and the fast is observed “until the ninth hour” (mid-afternoon) on those days.
3. Similarly, in September (seventh month) third week, fasting until the ninth hour.
4. And in December (tenth month) fourth week, fasting until evening.

These specifics align with the general Roman practice of Ember Weeks, albeit with slight local variations (Monte Cassino’s custom had two Ember seasons fast until sunset and two only until mid-afternoon, perhaps due to differences in seasonal daylight).

Additionally, the text gives instructions for feast days during Lent. On certain high feasts which might occur in Lent – notably the feasts of St. Gregory (Mar. 12), St. Benedict (Mar. 21), and the Annunciation (Mar. 25) – the monastery should hold a more elaborate vigil with twelve readings at Matins, and the monks do not bend their knees in prayer on those days, yet the fast until evening is still observed (Die kirchlichen quatember).

The treatise also lays out fasting on the vigils of major feasts, thereby illustrating medieval observances of feast-eve penance. It lists specific saint’s days and feasts whose vigils require fasting. For example, the Vigil of Christmas (Nativity of the Lord), Vigil of Epiphany, and Vigil of St. Matthew are to be fasted “usque ad vesperum” (until evening). Other important vigils – those of the Ascension, Pentecost, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter, St. Lawrence, and St. Mary – are to be fasted until the ninth hour (mid-afternoon).

Crucially, the text adds that if any of these vigils falls on a Sunday, fasting is not permitted. This caveat reflects a universal ecclesiastical law: no Sunday is to be a day of fasting or sorrow. By explicitly stating this, the treatise shows obedience to the Church’s liturgical law even as it promotes rigorous fasting otherwise.

In essence, the treatise captures the flexibility and priorities of the liturgical fast: feast-day vigils were penitential, but never to the extent of violating a Sunday or the paramount feasts themselves. The text reveals a monastery thoroughly integrated into the Church’s liturgical life: observing the Ember days instituted by the universal Church, fasting on the vigils of both universal and local feasts, and carefully respecting exceptions for Sundays and major festal seasons.

Literary Structure and Rhetorical Style

Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit is structured as a short, matter-of-fact directive, resembling a chapter from a monastic rule or a canonical ordinance. It does not have an elaborate prose form or narrative; instead, it reads like a list of regulations arranged by the calendar.

The treatise opens by enumerating the four Ember fast periods, then transitions to the section titled “De reliquis jejuniis” (“On the remaining fasts”), which covers other fasting days such as vigils and special cases. This essentially divides the text into two parts: (1) Seasonal Fasts (Ember weeks) and (2) Other Fasts (feast vigils and exceptions).

Within these parts, the content is organized chronologically (following the year’s cycle) and hierarchically (Ember weeks first, then major feast vigils in calendar order, etc.). Each item is presented in a similar formula: naming the time or occasion and stating the fasting requirement.

The rhetorical style of the treatise is didactic, authoritative, and terse. As a monastic superior, Bertharius writes in an imperative tone. Phrases like “jejunandum est” (“[it] must be fasted”) and “non licet” (“it is not allowed”) are used without hesitation. The text generally does not explain why – it simply prescribes, assuming that the reader (the monk or prior) accepts the authority of tradition and the abbot.

In this sense, the rhetoric is that of a rule-giver rather than a preacher. There are no anecdotes or explicit scriptural quotations in the text, which further underscores its instructional nature rather than homiletic. The language is relatively plain, reflecting late Latin usage in a monastic context (for instance, using ecclesiastical terms like “lectio” for readings, or referencing liturgical hours like nona and vespera).

Stylistically, aside from the one notable flourish that promises spiritual benefits for fasting, the text is minimalist. The Latin used is clear and unadorned; it is functional language meant to be understood by all the monks, including those less educated. In terms of literary form, it might be seen as a capitulary (chapter) or a monastic statute. Its brevity and clarity were likely intentional, to ensure the regulations could be easily remembered or posted on a notice-board.

Historical Influence and Legacy

While a brief and specialized text, Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit had a discernible influence on medieval monastic practice and reflects a continuity of tradition that extends well beyond its pages. In the immediate sense, the treatise solidified the practice of the Monte Cassino community and any other communities that adopted it.

Monte Cassino’s later customaries (detailed monastic rule commentaries in the 11th and 12th centuries) likely incorporated Bertharius’s prescriptions. The fact that the text (or similar texts) surfaced in manuscripts far from Monte Cassino (e.g., in Salzburg) implies that it contributed to shaping the observances in other monastic congregations.

It is quite plausible that Benedictine monks of other regions, when seeking to standardize fasting practices, looked to renowned houses like Monte Cassino for guidance. Thus, Bertharius’s little chapter might have quietly influenced the Carolingian uniformity of liturgical observance. Its content aligns closely with the decrees of councils and capitularies of that era (for example, the Council of Aachen 817 also dealt with monastic observances and would have approved of such clear directives).

In the broader historical context, the treatise is an important witness to practices that became universal in the Western Church. The Ember days and vigil fasts detailed in the text were not unique to Monte Cassino – they were part of the common heritage of Latin Christianity. By documenting them, Bertharius’s work helps historians confirm how these practices were kept.

Interestingly, the treatise’s emphatic praise of the Ember fasts may have echoed into medieval popular devotion. By the high Middle Ages, the Ember days were sometimes called the “golden fasts.” A 13th-century preacher, Berthold of Regensburg, for example, told his audience that these fasts were “worth gold” and more precious than any treasure. This imagery strongly resembles Bertharius’s statement about centum solidos aureos.

On the liturgical front, many of the norms in Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit were eventually codified in church law and remained in force for centuries. The obligation to fast on the vigils of Christmas, Pentecost, etc., and on the Ember Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, became part of the official discipline of the Latin Church (and in fact survived until the mid-20th century).

In conclusion, Quomodo per annum jejunandum sit may not have been a widely copied standalone treatise, but its content had lasting influence as part of the great continuum of Christian fasting practice. It strengthened the observance of Ember days and vigils in its own community and reflected a practice that spread throughout Western Christendom. By articulating the fasting regimen in a clear form, it helped ensure those observances were handed down intact.

Noteworthy Excerpts from the Text (Translated)

• Seasonal Ember Fasts: “Quatuor tempora, quatuor sunt legitima jejunia in anno…” – “The four seasons are four proper fasts in the year: namely, in the first week of the first month, and likewise in the designated weeks of the fourth, seventh, and tenth months, on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday one must fast (with twelve readings at the vigil). On some of these days the fast is kept until the ninth hour (mid-afternoon), on others until evening (after Vespers).”

• Vigil Fasts and Sunday Exception: “In vigilia sancti Matthaei et Natalis Domini et Epiphaniae jejunandum usque ad vesperum. In vigilia Ascensionis, Pentecostes, et sancti Joannis Baptistae… jejunandum usque ad nonam… Si […] vigiliae die Dominico occurrerint, non licet jejunare.” – On the vigils of St. Matthew, Christmas, and Epiphany, fast until evening; on the vigils of Ascension, Pentecost, St. John Baptist, St. Peter, St. Lawrence, and St. Mary, fast until the ninth hour. If any of these named vigils falls on a Sunday, it is not permitted to fast.

• Merit of Fasting: “Ista duodecim legitima jejunia per annum excusant pro peccatis centum solidos in auro cocto. Et qui studiose hoc duodecim agit annos… liberabit suam de inferno animam.” – “These twelve prescribed fasts throughout the year make amends for sins [equivalent to] one hundred solidi of pure gold. And whoever diligently practices this for twelve years will drive out – indeed free – his soul from hell.”