The rosary as we know it today was given in 1208 in a vision of Our Blessed Mother to St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order. Before the vision, Dominic's goal was to teach the people about Jesus, but as in the ageless human condition, the people wanted to fit Jesus into their own way of thinking, not fit their lives into the thinking of Jesus. Dominic wasn't very successful and prayed to Mary to help him. Mary appeared to him. St. Dominic's mission became to preach the rosary to the people and thereby teach the people about Jesus. Mary wanted Dominic to teach the people to meditate on the life of Jesus as they pray, to elevate their minds with her as she experienced the events in the life of Jesus. She wanted Dominic to teach the people to experience her joy with her as she was greeted by the angel Gabriel, visited her cousin Elizabeth, gave birth to Our Lord in Bethlehem, took the infant Jesus to the temple with St. Joseph, feared and rejoiced at finding the youth Jesus in the temple with the Elders. Dominic taught the people and the response was amazing. Although I can find little information about it, the 15 promises were also given by Our Lady to St. Dominic. I have read that the Vatican has put forth that the promises are worthy of belief.

Devotion to the rosary declined within a hundred years and in 1460, Dominican preacher Blessed Alan de la Roche was chosen to revitalize its practice. Jesus, Mary, and St. Dominic all appeared to Blessed Alan and basically chastised him for not teaching the rosary. He was set afire with zeal to teach the rosary and bring back the people to this prayer. In 1521 another Dominican preacher named Alberto da Castello wrote a book about the rosary titled, "The Rosary of the Glorious Virgin Mary." This is the first appearance of today's form of the rosary. Pope Pius V, another Dominican preacher, later added to the history of the rosary by setting out a standard form in the mid-1500's.

The rosary as St. Dominic taught it is much the same as we say it today. It included the Sign of the Cross, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Apostles Creed, and the Glory Be. The Hail Holy Queen was added a few centuries later, as well as Our Lady's request at Fatima, and Pope John Paul II's Luminous Mysteries.