1700-1800 - Altar cards (Tabellae Secretarum)

The Origins and Use of Tabellae Secretarum (Altar Cards) in the Tridentine Mass

A Liturgical and Material History

In the Tridentine liturgy, altar cards — known in Latin as tabellae secretarum — played a key role in assisting the priest in the celebration of the Mass. These cards, placed directly on the altar, displayed the most essential prayers of the Mass, particularly those recited silently during the Canon. Though ubiquitous by the 18th and 19th centuries, their development and regulation evolved gradually.

From Practical Aid to Liturgical Norm

The earliest editions of the Missale Romanum, such as those printed by the Officina Plantiniana in 1574 and 1605, do not mention altar cards in their rubrics. Nevertheless, these cards likely began to appear in churches around that time as a practical tool: a way for the celebrant to easily read the silent prayers without turning pages in a large altar missal. By 1619, altar cards are explicitly mentioned in the rubrics of missals such as those printed by Bellerus. In Rubrica XX — De praeparatione Altaris — the text instructs that a tabella secretarum is to be placed at the foot of the cross on the altar. This refers specifically to the central card, containing the text of the Canon Missae, including the consecration formulas. The term is used in the singular, since only the central card was formally prescribed. However, by the mid-17th century, commentaries such as the Thesaurus Sacrorum Rituum (Plantin, 1646) describe the increasingly common custom of placing additional cards: one on the Epistle side (with the Lavabo and offertory prayers), and another on the Gospel side (with the prologue of St. John’s Gospel, In principio erat Verbum). These additional cards were never officially mandated, but their use became widespread, especially in smaller churches. From this point onward, some sources begin to refer to "tabellae secretarum" in the plural, reflecting the now-standard set of three altar cards.

The Canon of the Mass and the Cards

The Canon Missae is also the name of a chapter within the missal, which contains the full eucharistic prayer — from Te igitur to Per quem haec omnia. This section never mentions the altar cards, because they were not a part of the liturgical text itself, but rather a visual aid derived from it. Nevertheless, the layout of many altar cards closely mirrors the typography and imagery of the printed Canon pages — sometimes even replicating the ornamental borders or crucifixion scenes.

A Continuity in Antwerp Printing

From the early 17th to the 19th century, Antwerp-based printers such as Bellerus and the Officina Plantiniana continued to produce both missals and altar cards. Several altar cards in my collection, framed and preserved, were printed ex Architypographia Plantiniana and are typographically and iconographically aligned with contemporary Plantin missals. The same prayers, the same fonts, and often the same crucifixion iconography appear both in the altar cards and in the printed Canon Missae.

Year Mention of altar cards in rubrics? Notes

1574 (Plantin) ❌ No Early post-Tridentine missal; rubrics omit the cards

1605 (Plantin) ❌ No Still following the 1570 missal model

1619 (Bellerus) ✅ Yes First clear mention in Rubrica XX

1646 (Plantin) ✅ Yes Detailed commentary in Thesaurus Sanctorum Rituum

1837 (Plantin) ✅ Yes Full normalization of three-card set

The tabellae secretarum provide a fascinating window into the lived experience of Tridentine liturgy — where official prescriptions and local customs met. Though originally a simple convenience, the altar cards evolved into an integral part of the visual and devotional environment of the Mass. In both text and print, their history reflects the broader story of liturgical continuity and change.

On the Preparation of the Altar and Its Ornaments

Chapter XX

The altar on which the most holy sacrifice of the Mass is to be celebrated must be made of stone, and consecrated by a bishop; or at least, it must have a stone altar slab (ara lapidea), likewise consecrated by a bishop, large enough to hold both the host and the greater part of the chalice. This altar is to be covered with three cloths or clean altar linens, blessed by a bishop or another with the proper authority. The topmost cloth should be long and extend down to the ground; the other two may be shorter, or a single one folded to double thickness.

The altar should also be adorned with a frontal (pallium), in a color appropriate to the feast or liturgical office of the day.On the altar, a crucifix is to be placed in the center, and at least two candlesticks with lit candles, one on either side. At the foot of the cross, a card is to be placed, known as the tabella secretarum. At the Epistle side of the altar, a cushion is placed to support the missal; and on that same side, a wax candle should be prepared, to be lit during the elevation of the Blessed Sacrament.

Also prepared on that side are:

• a small bell,

• glass cruets for wine and water,

• a small spoon,

• and a clean hand towel.

These are to be placed in a niche or on a small table specifically arranged for this purpose. Nothing else whatsoever is to be placed on the altar, unless it pertains directly to the Sacrifice of the Mass or to the proper ornamentation of the altar itself.

z Tabella Secretarum.

For greater convenience, the following is prescribed:

It is also considered convenient to have prepared, at the Gospel side of the altar, a card on which the Gospel of Saint John (In principio) can be read — the same text that is commonly written or printed on the Tabella Secretarum. Others, seeking even greater convenience, prepare before Mass, at the Epistle side of the altar, another card, on which is written the psalm Lavabo inter innocentes, etc.

Links

Altar Cards (Wikipedia)

Alter Cards (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Examples on erfgoedplus.be

Museum Plantin Moretus

Ornamenta Sacra (Dutch)