Rubrics

As liturgical instructions

Instructions for a priest explaining what he must do during a liturgy were traditionally rubricated in missals and the other liturgical books, whereas the texts to be spoken aloud were in black. From this, "rubric" has a secondary denotation of an instruction in a text, regardless of how it is actually inscribed. This is the oldest recorded definition in English, found in 1375. Less formally, "rubrics" may refer to any liturgical action customarily performed, whether or not pursuant to a written instruction. The history, status, and authority of the content of rubrics are significant, and sometimes controversial, among liturgical scholars. In the past, some theologians distinguished between rubrics which they considered of Divine origin and those merely of human origin. Rubrics were probably originally verbal, and then written in separate volumes. The earliest extant liturgical books do not contain them, but from references in texts of the first millennium it appears that written versions existed. Full rubrics regarding matters such as vesture, appearance of the altar, timing of specific liturgies, and similar matters still may be published separately.