Missal

Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a priest to celebrate Mass publicly and others for private and lay use.

At the behest of the Second Vatican Council,[3] Pope Paul VI greatly increased the amount of Sacred Scripture read at Mass and, to a lesser extent, the prayer formulas.

Prior to the Reformation, liturgical practice had featured usage of local cathedral missal variations.

Thomas Cranmer is traditionally credited with leading the production of new liturgical texts, including the 1549 Book of Common Prayer.

Iconographic analysis of the missals of the Diocese of Paris from the 13th-14th centuries shows the use of certain traditional images as well as some changing motifs.

Among the former group, some types of initials, including the introit to the First Sunday of Advent; to the preface of the Mass for Holy Week; to the Masses for saints, containing their images, but also the rich illumination of two pages of the missal in full size: the Crucifixion of Jesus and Christ in Majesty.

The second group with changing scenes include some images of the clergy that are not depicted in all missals, but can be a repeating motif pertaining to only one manuscript.

Since 2005, many editions of the Editio typica tertia of the Roman Missal have been illustrated in colour, especially in the English-speaking world.

Usually they omit or severely abbreviate the rubrical portions and Mass texts for other than the regular yearly celebrations, but include the Scripture readings.