Hail Mary Latin in the 6th century, Herbert Thurston, writing in the "Catholic Encyclopedia" concludes that "there is little or no trace of the Hail Mary as an accepted devotional formula before about 1050", (though a later pious tale attributed to Ildephonsus of Toledo (fl. 7th century) the use of the first part, namely the angel's greeting to Mary, without that of Elizabeth, as a prayer). All the evidence suggests that it took its rise from certain versicles and responsories occurring in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which just at that time was coming into favour among the monastic
Prayer beads were presumably used to count repetitions of the Lord's Prayer. Later, Roman Catholics and eventually Anglicans prayed the rosary with strings of 59 beads. The term "rosary" comes from the Latin "rosarium" "rose garden" and is an important and traditional devotion of the Catholic Church, combining prayer and meditation in sequences (called "decades") of the Lord's Prayer, 10 Hail Marys, and a Gloria Patri as well as a number of other prayers (such as the Apostles' Creed and the Salve Regina) at the beginning and end. The prayers are accompanied by meditation on the Mysteries, events in the life and