Sarum Rite

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The Sarum Rite, more properly called the Sarum Use, was a variant of the Roman Catholic liturgy practiced in Great Britain from the late 11th Century until the Protestant Reformation.

In 1078, King William the Conqueror, or William I of England, appointed St. Osmund, a Norman nobleman, bishop of Sarum, or Salisbury. As bishop, Osmund initiated some revisions to the Roman Rite, drawing on both Norman and Anglo-Saxon traditions. This resulted in the composition of a new Missal, Breviary, and other liturgical manuals, to be used throughout England, Scotland, and Wales.

Today, however, the Sarum Rite is noted chiefly for its distinctive scheme of liturgical colours, which differs somewhat from that used in the Roman Catholic and most Protestant churches, surviving only on an optional basis in the Anglican churches, such as the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

In the Sarum Rite, blue rather than purple is authorized during Advent, and throughout most of Lent a Lenten array consisting of unbleached muslin cloth, with either black or crimson accents, is utilized instead of purple, the use of which was limited to the period between Septuagesima and Ash Wednesday (and even this has since been abolished). During Holy Week (and formerly the last two weeks before Easter), the liturgical colour becomes crimson. The shade of blue used during Advent resembles royal blue, and is sometimes referred to as "Sarum blue". Finally there seems to be evidence that the use of yellow vestments was sanctioned for the feasts of Confessors.