c. 390–391
Latin
On the Mysteries
De Mysteriis
Ambrose of Milan · c. 339–397
Instruction given to the newly baptised in Easter week on what happened to them at the font and the altar, explained only after the fact.
Western · Catechesis
301–400
The Fourth Century
1 work
401–500
The Fifth Century
1 work
c. 425–429
Greek
Commentary on John
Cyril of Alexandria · c. 376–444
A vast doctrinal commentary reading the fourth gospel as a sustained demonstration of the Word made flesh, with heavy emphasis on the eucharist as the flesh that gives life.
Alexandrian · CommentaryJohn
601–700
The Seventh Century
1 work
c. 628–630
Greek
The Mystagogy
Maximus the Confessor · c. 580–662
A reading of the eucharistic liturgy in which the church building, the entrances, and the readings each figure the movement of the whole cosmos toward God.
Byzantine · Liturgy
701–800
The Eighth Century
1 work
c. 715–730
Greek
On the Divine Liturgy
Germanus of Constantinople · c. 634–c. 740
A commentary reading each part of the eucharistic service as a moment in the life of Christ, with the church building itself as heaven on earth.
Byzantine · Liturgy
801–900
The Ninth Century
2 works
c. 831, revised 844
Latin
On the Body and Blood of the Lord
Paschasius Radbertus · c. 785–c. 865
An argument that the bread and wine become the very flesh born of Mary and hung on the cross, no less real for being invisible to the senses.
Western · Sacramental theology
c. 843–850
Latin
On the Body and Blood of the Lord
Ratramnus of Corbie · d. c. 868
Written at the emperor's request against his own abbot's position, arguing that the eucharist is Christ's body in figure and mystery rather than in the manner of ordinary flesh.
Western · Sacramental theology
1001–1100
The Eleventh Century
3 works
1053
Greek
Letter Against the Latin Usages
Leo of Ohrid · 11th century
A protest against Western practices — unleavened bread at the eucharist, fasting on Saturdays, no alleluia in Lent — sent to a bishop in southern Italy.
Byzantine · Letter
c. 1065–1070
Latin
On the Holy Supper
De Sacra Coena
Berengar of Tours · c. 1010–1088
A defence, using grammatical and logical analysis, of the claim that the bread remains bread while becoming a sign that truly conveys Christ's body.
Western · Sacramental theology
c. 1063–1070
Latin
On the Body and Blood of the Lord
Lanfranc of Bec · c. 1005–1089
The reply to Berengar, arguing that the substance of the bread is converted while its appearances remain, and using the very dialectic Berengar had deployed.
Western · Sacramental theology
1101–1200
The Twelfth Century
2 works
c. 1175–1180
Latin
On the Sacrament of the Altar
Baldwin of Forde · c. 1125–1190
A meditative rather than argumentative treatment of the eucharist, reading it through the Old Testament sacrifices and the church's unity in one bread.
Cistercian · Sacramental theology1 CorinthiansHebrews
c. 1195–1197
Latin
On the Sacred Mystery of the Altar
De Sacro Altaris Mysterio
Innocent III · 1160/61–1216
A detailed commentary on the mass, its vestments and gestures, written before its author's election and used as an authority long after.
Western · Liturgy
1201–1300
The Thirteenth Century
3 works
c. 1213–1215
Latin
The Life of Marie d'Oignies
James of Vitry · c. 1160/70–1240
A married woman who persuaded her husband to live in continence, gave away their goods, and lived a life of extreme penance and eucharistic devotion outside any religious order.
Western · Biography
c. 1219–1226
Latin
The Letters
Francis of Assisi · 1181/82–1226
Letters to the whole order, to rulers, and to clergy, mostly concerned with reverence for the eucharist and with gathering up written words of God from the ground.
Franciscan · Letters
1264
Latin
The Eucharistic Hymns
Thomas Aquinas · 1225–1274
Hymns written for the new feast of Corpus Christi — Pange Lingua, Adoro Te Devote, Lauda Sion — compressing the theology of the eucharist into singable verse.
Scholastic · Hymns
1301–1400
The Fourteenth Century
3 works
c. 1350
Greek
Commentary on the Divine Liturgy
Nicholas Cabasilas · c. 1322–c. 1392
An explanation of the eucharistic liturgy prayer by prayer, arguing against the excesses of allegory and keeping close to what the rite actually says.
Byzantine · Liturgy
c. 1379–1381
Latin
On the Eucharist
John Wycliffe · c. 1328–1384
A denial of transubstantiation on philosophical grounds: an accident cannot exist without a subject, so the bread must remain bread while being also Christ's body sacramentally.
Western · Sacramental theology
c. 1388–1393
Latin
On the Threefold Bond of Love
Matthias of Janov · c. 1350–1393
A vast work on the church, arguing for frequent lay communion, contrasting the apostolic church with the present one, and identifying antichrist with corruption inside it.
Western · Theology
1401–1500
The Fifteenth Century
4 works
1414
Latin
On Frequent Communion
Jacob of Mies · c. 1372–1429
An argument from scripture and the fathers that laypeople should receive the cup as well as the bread, and receive often rather than once a year.
Hussite · TreatiseJohn1 Corinthians
1420
Latin
The Four Articles of Prague
The Hussites of Prague
Four demands: free preaching of the word, communion in both kinds for the laity, clergy stripped of worldly property, and public sins punished regardless of rank.
Hussite · Manifesto
c. 1425–1441
Latin
On the Sacrament of the Altar
Thomas à Kempis · c. 1380–1471
The fourth book of the Imitation, circulating separately for much of its history: a dialogue between Christ and the communicant on approaching the sacrament.
Devotio Moderna · Devotional
c. 1488
Latin
Exposition of the Canon of the Mass
Gabriel Biel · c. 1420–1495
A detailed commentary on the eucharistic prayer combining nominalist theology with the devotional temper of the Common Life.
Scholastic · Liturgy
1501–1600
The Sixteenth Century
2 works
October 1520
Latin
The Babylonian Captivity of the Church
Martin Luther · 1483–1546
A reduction of the seven sacraments to two or three, and an argument that the mass is a promise to be received rather than a sacrifice to be offered.
Lutheran · Treatise
1525
Latin
Commentary on True and False Religion
Huldrych Zwingli · 1484–1531
The first Reformed systematic theology, with a symbolic reading of the Lord's Supper and a strong emphasis on providence and the sovereignty of God.
Reformed · Systematic theology
1601–1700
The Seventeenth Century
1 work
1643
French
On Frequent Communion
Antoine Arnauld · 1612–1694
An argument that communion should be approached only after real penitence, against confessors who admitted penitents again the same week.
Catholic (Jansenist) · Theology