Rubric

This article is about rubrics in text and as instructions. For other uses, seeRubric (disambiguation).

DominicanMissal,c. 1240, with rubrics in red (Historical Museum ofLausanne)

Rubrics in an illuminatedgradualof c. 1500

Arubricis a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed inredink for emphasis. The word derives from theLatinrubrica,meaningred ochreor redchalk,and originates inmedievalilluminated manuscriptsfrom the 13th century or earlier. In these, red letters were used to highlight initial capitals (particularly ofpsalms), section headings and names of religious significance, a practice known asrubrication,which was a separate stage in the production of amanuscript.

Rubric can also mean the red ink or paint used to make rubrics, or thepigmentused to make it.Although red was most often used, other colours came into use from the lateMiddle Agesonwards, and the word rubric was used for these also. Medievalists can use patterns of rubrication to help identify textual traditions.

Various figurative senses of the word have been extended from its original meaning. Usually these senses are used within the set phrase "under [whatever] rubric", for example, "under this rubric, [X is true]", or "[X was done] under the rubric of Y". Such senses include: "an authoritative rule";"the title of a statute";"something under which a thing is classed";"an explanatory or introductory commentary";"an established rule, tradition, or custom";or"a guide listing specific criteria for grading or scoring academic assignments".

As liturgical instructions

Instructions for a priest explaining what he must do during aliturgywere also rubricated inmissalsand the other liturgical books, and 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 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 asvesture,appearance of thealtar,timing of specific liturgies, and similar matters still may be published separately. In modern liturgical books, e.g. theCatholicRoman Missal,lengthy general rubrics, probably printed in black, pertain to such matters and preface the actual order of liturgies, which contain shorter, specific rubrics that still are usually rubricated. Red is also often used to distinguish words spoken by the celebrant and those by the congregation, or by other specific persons involved in the liturgy, e.g. those marrying.

After the development of printing

Page from the 1896 Kelmscott Press edition of the 13th centuryLaudes Beatae Mariae Virginis,with numbers and first lines of thePsalmsrubricated in between prayers in black.

With the arrival ofprinting,other typographic effects such asitalic type,bolded type, or different sizes of type were used to emphasize a section of text, and as printing in two colours is more expensive and time consuming,rubricationhas tended to be reserved for sacred and liturgical books or luxury editions of other works.

William Morris's medievally inspired typography for theKelmscott Pressat the end of the 19th century included chapter titles and other accents in red, or rarely blue, ink, and was influential onsmall pressart typography associated with theArts and Crafts movementin bothEnglandand theUnited States,particularly the work of theAshendene,Doves,andRoycroftPresses.

Around 1900,rubricationwas incorporated into aRed letter editionof the King James Version of theBibleto distinguish the Dominical words, i.e., those spoken byJesus Christduring His corporeal life on Earth, because that translation lacked quotation marks. Other versions of theBiblehave since adopted the popular practice.

Rubrics in education

Main article:Rubric (academic)

A rubric is an explicit set of criteria used for assessing a particular type of work or performance and provides more details than a single grade or mark. Rubrics, therefore, help teachers grade more objectively and "they improve students' ability to include required elements of an assignment".

See also

• Code of Rubrics
• Rubrication
• Scriptorium

References

• Glossary of Manuscript TermsArchived2008-01-15 at theWayback MachineBritish Library

External links

• "Rubric".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 810.
• Rubrics of the Anglican Low Mass (from 1931)Archived2008-05-23 at theWayback MachineVery full set of rubrics (more than a normal service book would include); perversely, the words to be spoken are here shown in red, and the rubrics in black.
• Catholic Order of MassArchived2011-07-02 at theWayback MachineRubrics showing who speaks are in red; others in small italics.
• Kelmscott PressExamples of Kelmscott Press pages showing use of red accents.
• So this then is the preachment entitled Chicago tongueArchived2008-11-21 at theWayback MachineA "flip book" presentation of the Roycroft Press editionc. 1913,illustrating use of rubrics in the Arts and Crafts tradition.
• Good RecipesArchived2008-11-22 at theWayback MachineThiscookbookpublished by the Woman's Society of the Winnetka Congregational Church in 1906 shows the influence of Arts and Crafts rubrics on everyday typography in the early 20th century.