Oblata (Lat. for offered), the name of the host before consecration. The oblatoe, not consecrated, though blessed on the altar, were given by the priest, before food in the refectory, to those monks who had not received the sacrament. Oblatae were made in a kind of mold of a small pattern. Females, called sanctimoniales, had assigned to them the office of making these oblatoe, but always without leaven. They were occasionally placed on the bosoms of the dead. The host, before consecration, was cut in the form of a cross by a knife specially set apart for that purpose, and the vessels in which it was preserved were made in the form of small towers. According to the Mozarabic Liturgy, it was to be mystically divided into nine parts, called 'Gloria, etc. Information on these particulars may be obtained from Du Cange, s. v, Gloria, Lancea, Oblata, Panis, Turris.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More