Meaning & Analysis
A Latin phrase meaning 'according to the use of Sarum' (Salisbury). It literally refers to performing a task, specifically a church service, following the precise and authoritative liturgical rites and practices established by the Diocese of Salisbury in the 11th century, which became the standard across much of England.
Insights
Adherence to a Standard
The phrase is used metaphorically to mean doing something strictly 'by the book' or according to the established, correct, and authoritative procedure. It signifies adherence to a recognized and respected standard of practice.
Formal Propriety and Order
It implies that an action is performed with great care, order, and precision, following a formal and methodical process. It suggests a rejection of improvisation in favor of a proven, structured approach.
Unquestionable Authority
As noted in historical quotations, the proverb evolved to describe any pattern or model of 'unquestionable authority'. It suggests that the method being used is the definitive and correct one, backed by precedent and tradition.
Historical and Ecclesiastical Roots
This proverb is a direct artifact of English ecclesiastical history, referencing the Sarum Rite, the dominant liturgical practice in England from the 11th century until the Reformation. Its survival as a proverb after the rite's abolishment demonstrates how deeply this standard of religious practice was embedded in the cultural consciousness.
Linguistic Authority
The use of Latin lends the expression an air of formality, tradition, and intellectual weight. It elevates a mundane action to something performed with historical precedent and scholarly correctness, implying a process that is both ancient and unassailably proper.
Psychology of Order
The proverb speaks to a psychological need for order, certainty, and adherence to established norms. To do something 'secundum usum Sarum' is to remove ambiguity and rely on a trusted, authoritative system, ensuring the outcome is correct and beyond reproach.
Rhetorical Devices
Foreign Phrase (Latinism)
The use of a Latin phrase in an English context immediately confers a sense of formality, historical depth, and learned authority upon the statement.
Historical Allusion
The entire expression is a historical allusion to the Sarum Rite. Its meaning is entirely dependent on a shared cultural or historical knowledge of this specific ecclesiastical standard.
Transcription
Quotations
Sed non secundum Sarum.
For the winter nights the tales shall be told secundum vsum Sarum.
Henceforward the most ignorant parish-priest . . understood the meaning of secundum usum Sarum, that all service must be ordered according to the course and custom of Salisbury church.
The consistorie of this Church (Salisbury) was as eminent for learning as any in England, and the choire had the best method: hence came the saying secundum vsum Sarum.
*Many Offices or Forms of Service were used . . in England . . until Osmond Bishop of Sarum, about the year . . 1090, made that . . Office, which was generally received all over England . . It is now applied to . . Patterns of unquestionable Authority.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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