Paternoster: Medieval Prayer Beads

 

Prayer beads are not found in the Bible, nor are they required for faith, but for centuries, Christians have found them to be a helpful tool during prayer. Many Protestant denominations do not use prayer beads, as they associate them with the prayer repetitions warned against in Matthew 6:7. However, the original intention of medieval prayer beads was simply to help monks keep track of their place while reciting through the Book of Psalms (or the Psalter). Of course, not everyone could read or memorize all 150 Psalms, so an alternative was created: the Paternoster (Latin for “Lord’s Prayer”) and other short prayers could be recited instead. This practice helped medieval Christians meditate on and reflect on the word of God, as encouraged in the Bible. And - just in case you were wondering - the Paternoster was the foundation for the Catholic rosary as we know it today.

I decided to make my own Paternoster, one that could be used while reading through the Book of Psalms. I also wanted it to match the velvet-embroidered cover I had made for my Bible, so I chose to use aquamarine beads and gold accents. There are no strict rules for a Paternoster—the materials, size, and number of beads can vary greatly. After all, early Christian hermits simply used pebbles carried in a pouch or knots tied on a string to count the Psalms. However, in a typical Paternoster, like the one I am making, the ends would not be conjoined, and it would usually have a tassel and a cross attached at the ends. It was common to use 150, 50, or 10 beads since there are 150 Psalms, but you could have as many beads as you wanted. I went with 50 beads to keep it short and decided to combine various gold bead caps to create the floral elements and a metal tassel at the end.

Overall, I’m happy with how my Paternoster turned out—I think it looks beautiful and makes me think of the monks of old reciting Psalms in their monasteries.