Creator of the starry height

Creator of the starry height. Latin, 9th century, translated by John Mason Neale* (1818-1866). This is a translation of the Latin ‘Conditor alme siderum’*, a hymn which exists in many forms in different breviaries (see JJ, p. 257) for the season of Advent. Neale translated six of the seven stanzas for The Hymnal Noted Part I (1851). They began ‘Creator of the stars of night’*. The ‘...starry height’ was the emendation of the compilers of the First Edition of A&M, and with one further slight amendment (stanza 2 line 3, from ‘Didst save our lost and guilty race’ — ‘sick and helpless race’ in 1904 — to ‘Didst come to save our fallen race’ in A&MR) this has remained the A&M text. It...