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A solis ortus cardine. Sedulius* (5th century, fl. 425-450).
This is the opening of an abecedary* poem by Sedulius, Paean Alphabeticus de Christo, in which each verse begins with a successive letter of the alphabet. The poem, in A.S. Walpole's words 'Gives a brief description of the wonders of Christ's earthly life in order to shew that He was both man and God' (Early Christian Hymns, p. 150). Walpole prints the whole text (pp. 151-6), part of which forms 'Hostis Herodes impie'*. Mentioned by...
Ad cenam Agni providi. Late 8th century, author unknown.
This hymn entered liturgical use as an Easter hymn in the Frankish hymnal. In the New Hymnal 'Ad cenam Agni providi' was the first of the Easter hymns, associated with Easter Vespers (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals'*). In the Durham Hymnal, an 11th century manuscript of the New Hymnal type, it was headed 'Incipiunt Ymni de Resurrectione Domini' ('The hymns on the Resurrection of our Lord begin [here]'; see Milfull, Hymns of the...
Ades Pater supreme. Prudentius* (ca. 348- ca. 413).
According to Frost (1962, p. 200) this comes from poem 6 of Prudentius's Cathereminon, the poem written for the hours of the day. This is the 'Hymnus ante somnum'. It consists of lines 1-12, 125-8, 141-52, and a doxology:
Gloria aeterno Patri, Et Christo, vero Regi, Paraclitoque sancto, et nunc et in perpetuum.
The selection of lines was found as a hymn in a 10th-century hymnal from Laon, in northern France, now at Bern (S.B. 455). It is a...
Aeterna Christi munera. Perhaps by Ambrose of Milan* (339/40-397).
This hymn exists in two principal forms, but with many variants:
1. 'Aeterna Christi munera/ Et martyrum victorias'. This hymn was attributed to Ambrose by Bede* in his De arte metrica, and this attribution was accepted by 19th- and early 20th-century editors: Analecta Hymnologica attributes it to Ambrose (50.19), and so does A.S. Walpole (1922, p. 104). The attribution had already been called into question (see JJ, p. 24),...
Aeterne rerum conditor. Ambrose of Milan* (339/340-397). This hymn is accepted as the work of St Ambrose. It is mentioned as one of Ambrose's hymns by Augustine of Hippo* and Bede* (see JJ, p. 26). Its use was widespread. It is found as the matins/nocturns hymn in the Old Hymnal and Frankish Hymnal (rarely), and as the hymn for Sunday Lauds in winter in the New Hymnal (see Medieval hymns and hymnals*). It continued in use throughout the Middle Ages in the various regional practices of the Roman...
Aeterne Rex altissime. Latin, 9th century or earlier.
This anonymous hymn was cited by Gottschalk of Orbais* in the 9th century, and entered the liturgical tradition as an Ascension hymn in the 9th-century New Hymnal (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals*). It continued in use throughout the middle ages, in (for example) the Dominican* and Cistercian* hymnals as well as in Benedictine liturgical practices. It was included in the 1632 printed Roman Breviary; this text was edited in the 19th century,...
Alcuin of York. b. 730-740; d. 804. Alcuin entered the religious community associated with York Minster as a small boy and remained there, first as a pupil and then as a teacher and librarian, until 781. In 781, returning from Rome where he had been collecting the pallium for the new Archbishop of York, Alcuin met Charlemagne at Parma, and was invited to join the royal court as a teacher. From then on, he spent most of his time in Francia, his visits to Northumbria ceasing after the Viking sack...
Altus prosator. This is the first line of an abecedary Hiberno-Latin hymn found in 9th-century manuscripts on the continent, and in two 11th-century copies of the Irish Liber Hymnorum, where it is attributed to St Columba*. The 'prosator' is the first sower, a metaphor for the creator, so that the first line means 'High creator' ('prosator' is an unusual Latin word, typical of Irish Latin literature). The hymn proceeds through 23 stanzas, from the Creation to the Apocalypse; it has been...
AMBROSE of Milan. b. Trier, 339 (or 340); d. Milan, 4 Apr 397. Born into a Roman Christian family, Ambrose pursued the cursus honorum (the ladder of advancement within the Roman public hierarchy) and became governor of the province of Emilia-Liguria in 370, moving to Milan. On the death of the Arian bishop, Auxence, Ambrose was chosen by the people as their bishop, was baptised and, one week later, was consecrated (1 Dec 373 or 7 Dec 374). During the 23 years of his episcopate, he represented...
An ancient Christian hymn with Musical Notation (P.Oxy.1786)
P.Oxy.1786, as it is known to scholars, is the only example of pre-Gregorian Christian music whose notation has survived (see Cosgrove, 2011). The original Christian hymn, unearthed from a rubbish dump in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt and published in 1922, originates in the late third century. The remains of the hymn score were found on the back of an account of grain deliveries. It is likely the musician who composed (or at least owned) the...
ANDREW of Crete, St. b. ca. 660; d. ca. 732. Andrew was the oldest representative of kanon* writers who distinguished himself as both poet and orator. A native of Damascus, St Andrew became archbishop of Gortyna in Crete, ca.712, where it is believed he wrote his most famous hymn, the Great Kanon. This vast cycle, sung in sections on the first four days of Lent and in its entirety on the fifth Thursday of Lent, is characterised by the fusion of praise of the Divinity with passages of confession...
Liturgical use in early Anglo-Saxon England
No complete hymnal survives from Anglo-Saxon England before the late 10th century. A list given by Thomas of Elmham (early 15th cent.) of the contents of a hymnal purportedly sent to St Augustine of Canterbury by Gregory the Great* seems to suggest a document of considerable antiquity (i.e. possibly authentically Gregorian or at least pre-900 AD) but we cannot be sure of its provenance. We are on firmer ground, however, with two 8th-century...
Angularis fundamentum. Latin, 6th or 7th century.
This is part II of 'Urbs beata Ierusalem'*, beginning 'Angularis fundamentum lapis Christus missus est', thought to date from the 6th or 7th centuries. It is found in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 239. In the Moissac Breviary (Analecta Hymnica 2. 73-4) it was probably divided into two parts, with this as the second. It was translated by John Mason Neale* as Christ is made the sure Foundation'*, and by John Chandler* as Christ is our...
Annue Christi saeculorum Domine. Latin, before 11th century.
This hymn, 'Grant us, O Christ, lord of the ages', was used at Vespers on the Feasts of individual Apostles, and was included in the late-tenth century Anglo-Saxon hymnals associated with the Benedictine reforms at Canterbury* and Winchester*. It was quite widely used in the middle ages, including by the Carmelites* in their distinctive feast in honour of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The hymn has four stanzas succeeded...
Audi, benigne conditor. Latin, 9th century.
This anonymous text (Daniel's attribution to Gregory the Great* in Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 178 is entirely unfounded) entered the liturgical tradition in the 9th-century New Hymnal (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals'*), where it is commonly found as the ferial Vespers hymn during Lent. Milfull's translation of verse 1 makes its explicitly Lenten character clear: 'Benign creator, hear our prayers accompanied by weeping, poured out during this holy...
Augustine of Hippo (St) [Aurelius Augustinus]. b. Thagaste, 13 November 354; d. Hippo, 28 August 430. One of the most influential figures in the history of Christian thought, Augustine was born in Thagaste in North Africa. His father was a pagan, but his mother, St Monica, encouraged him towards Christianity even after he had lost his initial Christian faith. In 373, inspired by Cicero's Hortensius, he decided to pursue the life of a philosopher, becoming a Manichean and teaching the liberal...
Aurora lucis rutilat.
This hymn is in Ambrosian verse, that is, each verse has a syllable count 8+8+8+8. According to A.S. Walpole, it 'bears every mark of great antiquity' (Early Latin Hymns, 1922, p. 356), although it is anonymous and its origins are uncertain. 'Aurora lucis rutilat' is found as an Easter hymn in the 9th-century Frankish Hymnal. The Easter association continued into the New Hymnal later in the same century, where it was often associated with Easter Lauds. Through the middle...
Ave maris stella. Latin, 9th century or earlier, author uncertain.
This hymn has been tentatively attributed by Lausberg (1976) to Ambrosius Autpertus, monk and subsequently abbot of S Vincentius near Benevento (d. 30 Jan 784), since it has thematic and textual features in common with Ambrosius' other writings. It has also been attributed to Paul the Deacon* and to Venantius Fortunatus*. The latter attribution is highly unlikely, given the total absence of any other Marian reference in...
Ave regina caelorum. Latin, 12th century or slightly earlier.
This is one of the four antiphons to the Blessed Virgin Mary whose use was mandated for the four parts of the year by Pope Clement VI (1350); the others are 'Salve, regina'*, 'Alma Redemptoris Mater'* and 'Regina coeli'*. 'Ave regina caelorum' was assigned to the period from the Purification (2 February) to Holy Week. In the 12th century, the liturgical assignments of the chant were much more diverse, as the following illustrative...
The monastery at Bangor, in present-day Northern Ireland, was founded by St Comhghall in 555. A codex of 36 leaves was written there between the years 680 and 691, containing three sections: canticles and hymns; collects; and hymns for various liturgical occasions. This manuscript has been known as the Bangor Antiphonary since the 17th century; properly speaking, this is a misnomer, since the manuscript contains no antiphons and was not entitled 'antiphonary' by its scribes. It is a remarkable...
Beata nobis gaudia. Latin, author unknown.
This was a Pentecost hymn in the ninth century New Hymnal (see Medieval hymns and hymnals*), and the assignment to Pentecost continued to be common throughout the middle ages. It variously appears for Lauds, Matins, Vespers (first and/or second), and/or Compline. Additionally, and more rarely, it can be assigned to one or more ferias after Pentecost (for example: Monday and Wednesday after Pentecost in Worcester Cathedral, MS F160, from Worcester...
BEDE [the Venerable]. b. 673/4; d. 26 May 735. Bede was born in Northumberland and, at the age of seven, was given by his family to Benedict Biscop, abbot of St Peter at Wearmouth, for his education. In 682, when Biscop founded the brother monastery of St Paul at Jarrow, Bede was sent to join the new community under its abbot Ceolfrith; he remained there for the rest of his life.
Bede dedicated himself to teaching and writing, never travelling beyond Northumbria. The monasteries of Wearmouth...
BOETHIUS, Anicius Manlius Severinus. b. ca. 475-77; d. ca. 524. Born into an aristocratic family, the Anicii, Boethius was adopted into an even more illustrious family, the Symmachi, following his father's death. In his twenties he married his adopted father's daughter, Rusticiana, and began a project to write books on the four mathematical sciences or quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy – his writings on only the former two survive). His rapid political rise, marked by...
The hymnody composed within the Byzantine rite is essentially a continuation of Hagiopolite hymnody (Rite of Jerusalem*), but the liturgical framework is no longer the Palestinian rite but the new rite resulting from the fusion of the Palestinian and the Constantinopolitan rites. This fusion, whose result is usually called the 'Byzantine rite', took place from the 7th century onwards in the patriarchate of Constantinople, thereafter spreading to other regions, for instance Southern Italy...
CAEDMON. b. 7th century; d. ca. 670-680. What little is known of Caedmon's life is found in Bede*'s Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (finished 731), where he describes Caedmon as a lay brother and herdsman at Whitby Abbey during the time of St Hilda as abbess (657-680). According to Bede's story, the monks were singing one evening, and Caedmon left the gathering and went to the stable because he knew no songs (the Anglo-Saxon gloss to Bede's Historia adds that Caedmon left 'for shame')....
The Canterbury Hymnal is a type of New Hymnal (see Medieval hymns and hymnals*) that was apparently introduced at Canterbury during the late 10th-century Anglo-Saxon monastic reform movement called the Benedictine Reform (see 'Rule of Benedict'*). It is one of two types of monastic hymnal known to have been in use in England after the Benedictine Reform, the other being the Winchester Hymnal*. All information about the Canterbury Hymnal must be deduced from the hymnals themselves, since other...
Throughout the centuries the cherubikon ('Οἱ τὰ χερουβίμ'; 'Hoi ta cherubim'), also called the 'mystical hymn', has been set to music by a great number of composers, because its text as well as its theme is particularly well suited for choral music. The cherubikon was first mentioned by the historian Georgios Kedrenos (11th-12th century), who states that it was sung during mass from 573/74 onwards. Kedrenos goes on to tell that it was emperor Iustinos II (565-578) who decreed that the...
Christe qui lux es et dies. Latin, before 9th century, author unknown.
This hymn is in the Ambrosian metre, but is thought not to be by him.'Christe qui lux es et dies' was quoted by Hincmar of Rheims in his controversy with Gottschalk of Orbais*, in Hincmar's Collectio de una et non trina deitate (857). See JJ, p. 227. It was included in the Old Hymnal. The hymn is mentioned in Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 28118, an early 9th century manuscript containing Caesarius of Arles Rule...
Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens). b. Athens, ca. 150; d. Caesarea, Cappadocia, ca. 215/220. What little is known of Clement's life is found in the writings of Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260/265- ca. 339/340). Clement was born at Athens and educated there, becoming familiar with Greek literature and culture. He acquired a remarkable knowledge of Plato and of other philosophers such as Philo of Alexandria. After some travelling he settled in Alexandria, where he became a renowned...
COLUMBA, St. ('Colm Cille'). b. County Donegal, Ireland, 521; d. Iona, Scotland, 597. Born in the north-west of Ireland, he was trained and educated in Ireland, emigrating to Iona in 563 where he founded a monastery and remained for the rest of his life. The name 'Colm Cille' means 'Dove of the Church', which is latinised as 'Columba'.
St Adomnán (d. 704), ninth abbot of Iona and Columba's biographer, stated that Columba had written a book of hymns for the week (Hymnorum liber septimaniorum)...
COLUMBANUS, St. b. Ireland, 543; d. Bobbio, Italy, 615. Born in the western part of the province of Leinster, St Columbanus became a monk at the Abbey of Bangor, Co. Down (now in Northern Ireland), during the abbacy of its founder, St Comgall (ca. 516-601). He went into exile, ca. 590, together with twelve companions. They called themselves Peregrini pro Christo and were responsible for the foundation of numerous monasteries in France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy during the 7th and 8th...
Conditor alme siderum. Latin, author unknown.
This hymn, of unknown authorship but in Ambrosian form, exists in many different versions (see JJ, p. 257). It came into the liturgy as an Advent Vespers hymn in the 9th-century New Hymnal (see Medieval hymns and hymnals*). Its precise assignment varied, and sometimes a hymn will be signalled early in a liturgical season, with the implicit expectation that it will be used throughout the season. A non-exhaustive survey (see Cantus database*) shows...
Corde natus ex Parentis. Aurelius Clemens Prudentius* (ca. 348-ca. 413).
This hymn is part of the Cathemerinon of Prudentius, Hymn IX, 'Hymnus Omnis Horae', beginning 'Da puer plectrum' (under which heading it is found in JJ, p. 276) (lines 10-12, 19-27, 109-11).
It was in use by the 11th century, being found in the Leofric Collectar, dating from the third quarter of the 11th century, and originating in Exeter. In this manuscript (London, British Library, Harleian 2961), the hymn is...
Deus Creator omnium. Ambrose of Milan* (339/340- 397). This hymn is accepted as certainly by Ambrose. It is the hymn quoted by Augustine of Hippo* in his Confessions, book 9, chapter 12, as comforting him after the death of his mother, and is quoted several other times in the same work (4:10, 10:34 and 11:27). He also writes of singing it in De musica.
It was used for daily Vespers in the Old Hymnal, and (rarely) in the Frankish Hymnal. Through the middle ages, it was almost always a Vespers...
Deus tuorum militum. Latin, probably 6th century.
This hymn was included in the Canterbury Hymnal* and the Winchester Hymnal*. In Milfull (The Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, Cambridge, 1996, pp. 397-9) it was the second of two hymns commemorating an individual martyr. Following 'Ymnus de Uno Martyre', beginning 'Martyr Dei, qui unicum', was this 'Item Hymnus', beginning:
Deus, tuorum militumSors & corona, premium,Laudes canentes martyrisAbsolve nexu criminis.
('God, the portion and...
This is a short Greek text, Didache kyriou dia ton dodeka apostolon ethesin ('The teaching of the Lord through the twelve apostles'),of uncertain date, but thought to be one of the earliest instructive manuals of the Christian church, perhaps originating from Syria. It has sixteen sections, beginning with 'the two ways and the first commandment', and ending with 'Watchfulness; the coming of the Lord'. It is a brief introduction to the Christian life, beginning with the two ways, 'one of life...
EPHREM the Syrian (Syriac: AFREM). b. Nisibis, ca. 306; d. Edessa, 9 June 373. Ephrem was born at Nisibis (today Nusaybin). He received his religious instruction in Nisibis, where he was also appointed to work as a teacher (malfanā) and he was possibly ordained as a deacon as well. In 363, when Roman-ruled Nisibis was handed over to the Persians, he fled together with a part of the Christian community to Amid (today Diyarbakır) and later to Edessa (today Sanlıurfa). Ephrem spent the rest of his...
GERMANOS of Constantinople (the Confessor), St (or Germanus). b. Constantinople, ca. 655; d. Platonium, before 754. He was the son of a patrikios. In 669, after his father's execution by the Byzantine emperor, Germanos was made a eunuch and enrolled in the clergy of Hagia Sophia. He quickly established a reputation as an expert in theology. He became bishop of Cyzicus (ca. 706) and patriarch of Constantinople in 715.
Germanos opposed various heresies; in 730, under pressure from Emperor Leo...
Gloria, gloria
This chant, a version of the doxology ( see Doxology*), is very ancient, but with the progress of ecumenism it has recently become very popular in hymnals. The normal text begins with the first part of Luke 2: 14:
Gloria, gloria,in excelsis Deo,
Gloria, gloria,alleluia, alleluia.
This is sometimes repeated. It is found in many books, sometimes with a translation, 'Glory to God, Glory to God in the highest'. It has been found useful for worship by many denominations,...
Gloria, laus et honor. Theodulf of Orleans* (d. 821). Theodulf (or Theodulph) of Orleans was a prominent figure in the literary revival at the time of Charlemagne, but was imprisoned by the Emperor's successor, Louis (ca. 818) on suspicion of involvement in a rebellion (ca. 817). According to a charming legend in Clichtoveus' Elucidatorium Ecclesiasticum Paris (1516), he secured his freedom by writing 'Gloria, laus et honor': the King, passing by in the Palm Sunday procession, heard Theodulf...
See 'Gottschalk of Orbais'*
GOTTSCHALK of Orbais (Gottschalk der Sachse). b. ca. 803, d. 867 or 869. Born to a Saxon count named Berno, Gottschalk was given to the abbey of Fulda as a child oblate. He later challenged the validity of his oblation and petitioned to be released from his monastic vow. Gottschalk was allowed to leave Fulda by decree of a council at Mainz in 829, but Louis the Pious declared the decision void at the request of Hrabanus Maurus*, abbot of Fulda. Gottschalk was then transferred to the abbey of...
The term 'Greek hymnody' within Christianity has both a contemporary and an historical sense. First, it signifies the hymnody of the present Byzantine liturgical rite, contained in the official liturgical hymnbooks. The Byzantine or Eastern Roman empire ended in 1453, but the Byzantine rite contined to be practised in post-Byzantine times, both by Orthodox and eventually by Catholic Uniate churches, as it still is. Second, Greek hymnody incorporates all hymnody used in any of several historical...
This article includes the tradition of Egypt/Alexandria. See also 'Greek hymnody'*.
Introduction
Christian papyrology enables us to study many of the non-biblical liturgical songs of the early Greek Church, which were previously known only through translations, particularly in the Georgian, Armenian or Coptic traditions (which are difficult to date), through fragments in late Greek compilations, or through literary works of dubious authorship or uncertain liturgical use. These papyrological...
As far as we can judge from the few remaining pieces of evidence (such as the famous 'Phos hilaron'*) and from some late testimonies (Saint Augustine*, Egeria's pilgrimage, comments by abbot Pembo, the Life of Auxentios), the earliest forms of Christian hymnody in Greek were written in rhythmic prose, were based on patterns of parallelism and antithesis (like the biblical psalms and canticles) and were sung responsorially. It is generally assumed that the earliest hymns, such as troparia and...
GREGORY of Nazianzen. b. Nazianzen, ca. 329; d. Nazianzen, 25 January 389. His father was bishop of Nazianzen, and Gregory was born on the family estate. He studied at Caesarea, Alexandria, and Athens, where he studied rhetoric in the 350s. He became a monk, but returned home, where he was ordained by his father in 362. For the next decade, he assisted his father. In 372 a new administrative division of Cappadocia led to the establishment of a new see at Sasima. Against his will, Gregory's...
GREGORY the Great. b. probably in Rome, ca. 540; d. Rome, 12 March 604. Born into a noble Roman family, Gregory was well educated. He became a monk in Rome, having founded a monastery there as well as six in Sicily. Gregory was sent to Constantinople with a diplomatic mission where he remained as 'apocrisiarius' ('ambassador'), and became very popular, from 579 to 585. He was recalled to Rome, and was elected Pope Gregory I in 590. Gregory is said to have seen Anglo-Saxon children in the slave...
NAREKATSI, Grigor (St Gregory of Narek), b. ca. 951; d. 1003. Grigor Narekatsi is the author of Matean voghbergut'ean ('Book of Lamentations'), the most recognised work in Armenian literature. This is a book of devotion and spiritual consolation second only to the Bible. Mischa Kudian, in his foreword to his English translation of the first 25 elegies from Matean voghbergut'ean calls Narekatsi 'the most outstanding figure in the whole of Armenian literature', and he deserves to be known as one...
HILARY of Poitiers. b. Poitiers, early 4th century; d. Poitiers, 13 January 367/8. Born into a wealthy pagan family, he converted to Christianity ca. 350. In 353 he was elected to the bishopric of Poitiers, despite his married status. He was a strong defender of orthodox Christianity against Arianism. This led to his exile after the Council of Béziers in 356 where he refused to condemn Athanasius; he was released from exile in 361 and died in 368. St Hilary is chiefly remembered for his...
HILDUIN. b. ca. 785; d. 22 November 855-61. A cousin of the Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious (ruled 814-840), Hilduin was abbot of Saint Denis, near Paris, from 814 until 840, and also abbot of Saint Médard of Soissons, Saint Germain des Prés in Paris, and Saint Ouen in Rouen during this time. As Archicapellanus of Louis the Pious' chapel from 819 to 840, he was a member of the royal household, responsible for ecclesiastical legislation, and close to the centre of Carolingian politics. Hilduin...
See 'Gottschalk of Orbais'*
Hostis Herodes impie. Sedulius* (fl. 425-450).
This Epiphany hymn consists of verses (8, 9, 11, 13 and a doxology) from Sedulius's abecedary poem Paean Alphabeticus de Christo, which begins with 'A solis ortus cardine'*, and describes the chief wonders of Christ's earthly life. This portion of the poem has verses beginning H ('Hostis'), I ('Ibant'), K ('Katerua matrum personat') L ('Lauacra') and M ('Miraculis'). Because of the subject matter of the 'Ibant magi' verse - the visit of the magi...
HRABANUS MAURUS (Rabanus/Rhabanus). b. Mainz, ca. 780; d. Winkel, 4 Feb 856. Educated at Fulda, and subsequently at St Martin's, Tours (under Alcuin of York*), Hrabanus became a prominent Frankish churchman. He was ordained deacon in 801 and priest in 814. He became abbot at Fulda (822-42) and archbishop of Mainz (847-56); died at Winkel on the Rhine. Hrabanus wrote several biblical commentaries as well as homilies and treatises on a wide range of subjects. He was involved in the controversy...
See 'Hymnum canamus gloriae'*
Hymnum canamus gloriae. Bede* (673/4-735).
This hymn for Vespers at Ascension-tide is attributed to the Venerable Bede. It exists in two forms: as 'Hymnum canamus Domino'*, and with the first line as above. In Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 206-7, it is given as 'Hymnum canamus gloriae'. In Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, pp. 371-3, and in Milfull, Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, pp. 294-5, it is 'Hymnum canamus Domino'. The title in Milfull is 'Ymnus in Ascensione Domini ad Vesperam'. See...
Iam lucis orto sidere. Latin, date unknown.
This hymn may be as old as the 5th century. It is found in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, I. 56, among the Ambrosian hymns but with no known author, and in Analecta Hymnica 51: 40-1. It was the daily hymn for Prime throughout the year in some Old Hymnal manuscripts and it was retained in that context in the New Hymnal tradition (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals*). See also A.S. Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, p. 293, and Milfull, Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon...
Intende, qui Regis Israel. Ambrose of Milan* (339/340-397).
This is the first stanza of the Christmas hymn usually known by its second verse, 'Veni, redemptor gentium/omnium'. It was found with this first verse in the Old Hymnal (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals*), but the New Hymnal began the hymn with verse 2. See Milfull, Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, Cambridge, 1996, p. 202. Analecta Hymnica 50. 13-14 prints the full text, with the first verse as follows:
Intende, qui Regis...
DAMASCENE, John, St (John Chrysorrhoas, John of Damascus). b. ca. 655; d. ca. 745. John received a good literary and philosophical education in his native Damascus, and became renowned in Constantinople as the author of liturgical hymns. Eventually he became a monk, probably at Jerusalem Cathedral rather than at the monastery of St Sabas, as has traditionally been believed (see Conticello, 2000, Louth, 2002). He became the theological advisor of Patriarch John V of Jerusalem, who ordained him...
JOSEPH the Hymnographer, St. b. Sicily, between 812 and 818; d. ca. 886. He was taken as a child to Peloponnesos, but fled to Thessalonike, where he became a monk. Later he went to Constantinople, living for several years in the Church of Antipas. He founded his own monastery, ca. 850. After capture by the Arabs, and exile during the iconoclastic controversy (cf. Theodore of Studios*), he returned to Constantinople no later than 866-7, where he was later appointed staurophylax (guardian of the...
JUSTINIAN I, Emperor. b. ca. 482; d. 565. The troparion (see Byzantine hymnody*), 'ό Μονογενής' ('The Only-begotten'), is attributed to the Emperor Justinian by the Chalcedonians, and to Severus, patriarch of Antioch, by the monophysites. The Chalcedonians held the belief, agreed at the 451 Council of Chalcedon, that Christ was one person in two natures (human and divine), while the monophysites believed that Christ possessed only one nature.
The hymn takes the form of a prayer, ending with a...
KASSIA the Nun. ca. 800-805; d. by 867. Well educated in Byzantine imperial court circles, Kassia became an hegoumena (abbess). More than twenty securely attributed works survive, principally stichera. Kassia is one of four known female Byzantine hymnodists. She appears to have written both texts and music herself, thus being the only known Byzantine female melode (composer of both text and music). Her most famous composition in her lifetime was the sticheron 'Augoustou monarchēsantos'...
KOMITAS. Komitas I Aghtsetsi, Catholicos of All Armenians. b. ca. 560; d. 628. A well-known churchman, poet, and musician. When he was Catholicos (primate) of the Armenian church (615-628) the relics of a group of nuns, headed by Gayanē and including Hrip'simē, who was of famed beauty, were discovered in Edjmiadsin. Komitas constructed the Church of St. Hrip'simē in 618, where the remains were interned, and composed the hymn 'Andzink' nvirealk'' ('Devoted souls') to celebrate the occasion. He...
KOSMAS of Maiouma, St (The Hagiopolite, the Jerusalemite, the Melode, the Monk, the Poet). b. ca. 675; d. 752/754. He was born in the patriarchate of Jerusalem, probably in Jerusalem itself. According to later hagiography Kosmas lived as a monk at Saint Sabas, but according to recent research it is more likely that he served at the Resurrection Cathedral at Jerusalem. He was elected bishop of Maiouma in Phoenicia, ca. 743, at the age of nearly 70.
Together with St John Damascene*, Kosmas was...
Kyrie eleison. 'Kyrie eleison' has been a supplication since pre-Christian times, particularly in the imperial cultus, in which the emperor was referred to as kyrios. This Greek text, which translates as 'Lord have mercy' is used, in Greek, in many churches beyond the Greek-speaking world, including the Coptic*, Ethiopian*, West Syrian* and Roman Catholic churches. It is translated into the vernacular in the Armenian*, Romanian* and Nestorian Syrian churches, as well as in many protestant...
Lucis Creator optime. Latin, author unknown, 8th Century or earlier.
According to JJ, p. 700, this hymn was found in many early books and manuscripts. It was at one time attributed to Gregory the Great*, but this is now believed to be unlikely. In monastic Uses it was the first hymn, and thus the Sunday hymn, for Vespers in the 'New Hymnal' (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals'*):
Lucis Creator optimeLucem dierum proferens,Primordiis lucis novaeMundi parans originem:
Qui mane iunctum...
Media vita in morte sumus.
Latin antiphon, perhaps 8th century. This antiphon was credited to Notker Balbulus* by the St Gall historian J. Metzler in 1613, with a story about workmen building a bridge and placing themselves in danger; but this attribution is insecure. It was found in Germany in the Middle Ages as 'En mitten in des lebens zeyt' and as 'Mytten wir ym leben synd/ mit den todt umbfangen' (Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied II. 749-50). Martin Luther* altered and expanded this...
Medieval Hymns and Hymnals.
This entry is by various authors. See below.
Hymns have been a part of Christian worship since the earliest times, but the use of Latin in worship appears to postdate the acceptance by Emperor Constantine of Christianity as the official Roman faith in 313. On the patristic Latin hymn repertory, see Latin hymns*.
Medieval hymns vary in their poetic structure, some being metrical, some accentual, and others are organized according to syllable count together with...
To the Greeks, 'metre' was a pattern to which the words could naturally be adapted, for there was a fairly clear distinction between long and short syllables in the language. So the Homeric epic could easily be couched in a series of long-short-short patterns (with occasional variations such as long-long), to make a hexameter. The Romans greatly admired Greek poetry, so Classical Latin writers aped this metrical system, despite Latin being less naturally dragooned into such a format....
Milanese hymns. The hymns of Ambrose of Milan* were sung in the Milanese Church from the end of the 4th century onwards, and were quickly diffused in the West (cf. AVG. conf. 9,7,15 ; PAVL. MED. vita Ambr. 13), but nothing leads one to suppose that a Liber hymnorum was compiled during Ambrose's lifetime. The oldest preserved witnesses of the Milanese, or 'Ambrosian', hymnal are no older than the last third of the 9th century. These are the psalter-hymnals Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibl., Clm....
Because it is natural for human beings to use poetry at times of great emotion, it is not surprising that there are places in the New Testament (as in the Old Testament) in which people break forth into song. Probably the most famous examples occur in the first and second chapters of the Gospel of Luke. Following the Annunciation, Mary sings the Magnificat* (Luke 1: 46-55), with its message of God's recognition of those that are humble and meek; Zacharias is filled with the Holy Spirit at the...
Nox et tenebrae et nubila. Aurelius Clemens Prudentius* (ca. 348-ca. 413).
This is a hymn constructed from lines in Prudentius' Cathereminon II. It was sung at Lauds on Wednesdays (Milfull, Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, 1996, p. 156). The four-stanza text, followed by the doxology, 'Deo patri sit gloria' is in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 120-1, and in Analecta Hymnica 50. 23-4, with the doxology 'Praesta, pater piissime'. AH identifies the lines as Cathereminon II. 1-8; 48, 49, 52,...
O sola magnarum urbium. Aurelius Clemens Prudentius* (ca. 348- ca. 413). This hymn consists of stanzas from the twelfth poem in Prudentius' Liber Cathemerinon, the 'Book of the Christian Day' with poems for the hours of the day. This poem, the 'Hymnus Epiphaniae', beginning 'Quicumque Christum quaeritis', is also the source of 'Salvete, flores martyrum'* ('Sweet flow'rets of the martyr band'* in the Second Edition of A&M, 1875).
As the Latin title signifies ('O incomparable of great...
Phos hilaron.
'Phos hilaron' ('joyful light') is an ancient hymn originating in the early church and sung daily at Vespers (hesperinos) in the Byzantine liturgy of the hours. It is still sung today. St. Basil the Great (d. 379) described it as ancient, in fact so old that he did not know who wrote it, and he equated it with thanksgiving for the light. The origin of the hymn, as well as the name of the hymnographer, is unknown, though there is a reference to a martyr Athenogenes in the modern...
Plainchant, also known as plainsong. The term is taken from the Latin cantus planus, and is usually associated with the Latin chant of the Western Church. It has a wide stylistic remit, from simple psalm recitation sung by the whole monastic community to virtuosic solo and choral chants such as offertories. All plainchant is monophonic — that is, it consists of an unharmonized line of melody. 'Plainchant' also encompasses a wide chronological range, from the core repertory of Office and Mass...
PRUDENTIUS, Aurelius Clemens. b. ca. 348; d. ca. 413. Born in Spain, perhaps at Zaragoza, of a good family, he became a lawyer. According to his verse autobiography, prefixed to his poems, he was a judge in two cities. He visited Rome, where he may have been awarded a court office in the service of the Emperor Theodosius. He retired in his 57th year, unsatisfied by the worldliness of his existence. He spent the remainder of his life in the practice of religion, and devoted himself to the...
In Classical Greek theory, 'rhythm' was an entity different, and almost opposed, to what was then called 'metre'. The latter was dependent on what was understood to be the inherent rhythm of the words, but rhythmos proper was an external pattern, such as might be taken over from an instrumental tune. Apparently quoting from some source ultimately dependent on Aristoxenus, Bede* (De arte metrica, XXIV) says that although rhythm is similar to metre, the verbal proportions of a rhythmic...
See 'Greek hymns, archaeology'*
The liturgical tradition of the patriarchate of Constantinople was centred in the cathedral of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia), also called 'The Great Church'. The hymnody of this rite is quite restricted, especially compared to that of Jerusalem*. It consists of two types of hymns: psalmodic hymnody (Psalm refrains, troparia) and independent hymnody (kontakia).
Psalmodic hymnody
Ordinary refrains (the Psalter and the Odes)
The Psalter of the Constantinopolitan rite, including a series of 14...
The liturgical rite of Jerusalem, as the name indicates, developed and was practised primarily in the Holy City itself. The physical and organising centre of this rite was the Cathedral of Jerusalem, a complex of churches built around the cross and the tomb of Christ. Festal offices were celebrated in the Martyrium basilica (or other churches of the city) and daily offices in the Anastasis rotonda (the Church of the Resurrection, also called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). In addition,...
ROMANOS the Melodist. fl. 6th century. Little is known about his life, and even the century in which he lived has long been hotly disputed. It is likely that he was born in Syria, in the city of Emesa, and that he was of Jewish origin. As a young man he served as deacon at the Church of the Resurrection in Beirut, before coming to Constantinople during the reign of Anastasius I (491-518), where he was attached to the Church of the Virgin in the Kyros quarter of the city.
After his death he was...
[This entry is in two parts. The first, by Joseph Dyer, discusses Roman hymnody from its beginnings to the 15th century. The second, by Daniel Zager, details 16th-century developments.]
Early and Medieval hymnody
Rome proved very reluctant to introduce the singing of hymns in the Divine Office. They were accepted by the papal court and the major basilicas only towards the end of the 12th century. In this they probably differed from the urban monasteries that followed the Rule of Benedict*,...
Salvete, flores martyrum. Aurelius Clemens Prudentius* (ca. 348-ca. 413).
This hymn is from the Liber Cathereminon of Prudentius. It is part of the twelfth poem, the 'Hymnus Epiphaniae', beginning 'Quicumque Christum quaeritis' (from this poem comes also 'O sola magnarum urbium'*). This selection, beginning at stanza 32 of Prudentius's poem, is preceded by a graphic and terrible description of the massacre of the innocents. The selection is gentler and more reflective. It is a touching and...
SECHNALL, Saint. b. ca. 372/3; d. ca. 447. His Latin name was Secundinus. Little is known of his life; such information that we have, from early Irish manuscript sources, is conflicting. Sechnall may have been born in Lombardic Gaul or Italy, and was probably educated in Gaul. 'Secundinus'/ 'Secundus' was a common late-Roman name in both Gaul and northern Italy. He seems to have been a bishop, included in the mission to Leinster led by Palladius. He was appointed bishop of Dunshaughlin (Irish...
SOPHRONIOS of Jerusalem. b. Damascus, ca. 560; d. 11 March 638. Born in Damascus, he became a monk at the cenobitic monastery of St. Theodosios in the Judean desert. From 578 onwards he undertook several travels in the Mediterranean region. He was patriarch of Jerusalem from 634 till his death, a year after the Arabic occupation of Jerusalem. St. Sophronios grew up within the Antiochian liturgical rite, but became familiar with that of Palestine at St Theodosios; at this time, these rites may...
Splendor paternae gloriae. Ambrose of Milan* (339/340-397). This hymn on the splendour of the Father's glory is accepted as the work of Ambrose of Milan. It is a morning hymn, 'Ymnus ad Matutinam' (Milfull, Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, p. 142), a companion or sequel to 'Aeterne rerum conditor'*. See also Analecta Hymnica 50. 11-12 and AH 2. 29-31. It was ascribed to St Ambrose by early writers such as Fulgentius, Bede* and Hincmar. In the Old Hymnal it was sung daily at Lauds, and in the...
Gallus, an Irishman, companion of St Columbanus*, remained in Zürich because of illness when his master continued on his travels to Italy. His hermitage, established ca. 613, attracted disciples, and eventually in 720 St Othmar (ca. 689-759) founded a monastery. The Emperor Louis the Pious made it an independent royal abbey in 813. The period of its greatest cultural and intellectual achievement was the later 9th through to the first half of the 11th century. After a long period of mediocrity,...
SYNESIUS of Cyrene. b. Cyrene, ca. 370; d. Ptolemais, ca. 414. Born at Cyrene, of a distinguished family (Gibbon, in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ed. J.B. Bury, II. 324, has some amusement at their claim to have been descended from Hercules). He was educated at Alexandria as a pupil of the famous neo-Platonist Hypatia, whom he described as 'a mother, a sister, and a teacher'. After a period as a soldier, and studying at home, he was sent on a mission to plead for remission of taxes...
THEODORE of Studios, St (or 'St Theodore of the Studium'). b. 759; d. 11 November 826. Born on the family estate on the Sea of Marmora, Theodore entered the monastery of Sakkoudion in Bithynia in 781, became a priest in 784 or 787, and abbot of Sakkoudion in 794. After an Arab raid in 799, he and his monks fled to Constantinople, and he became abbot of Studios. His pro-icon stance led to his being exiled on several occasions, and he died in exile on the island of Chalcis. He wrote many letters,...
THEODULF of Orleans. b. Spain, ca. 760; d. Angers, France, 18 December 821. Theodulf was born and educated in Visigothic Spain. His flight to Francia was probably as a result of Moorish incursions; he was at the court of Charlemagne by the early 790s. An intimate of the court, Theodulf was made bishop of Orleans by Charlemagne c. 798 as well as being granted the abbacies of Fleury, Micy and Saint-Aignan, all in the neighbourhood of Orleans. Theodulf was involved in Frankish politics at the...
The Greek word 'Trisagion' means 'Thrice holy'. It is used to indicate three attributes of the deity: 'God holy, God mighty, God immortal' (Latin 'Sanctus Deus, Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Immortalis'). It is said to have originated during an earthquake in Constantinople when a child was carried up into the air. The people cried 'Kyrie eleison'; the child came down to earth and exhorted them to pray in the words of the Trisagion prayer: 'God Holy, God Mighty, God Immortal, have mercy upon us'. It...
FORTUNATUS, Venantius Honorius Clementianus. b. ca. 540; d. early 7th century. Born near Aquinum, Fortunatus was well educated in Ravenna in the pagan classics as well as in Christian writings. Probably drawing on contacts from his early years in Aquinum, he traveled north via a network of bishops, arriving in 567 at the Merovingian court in Metz for the high profile wedding of Sigibert, one of four royal brothers, with Brunhild, a Spanish Visigothic princess. From the flying start of an...
Veni creator spiritus. Latin, possibly by Hrabanus Maurus* (ca. 780-856).
This hymn is a rich tapestry of allusion to other hymn texts, liturgical prose texts, biblical texts, and texts relating to the 'filioque' controversy (see below). Modern attributions to Charlemagne, St Ambrose* and Gregory the Great* seem to have little foundation.
'Veni creator spiritus' may have been composed for the 809 Aachen synod, at which the Carolingians concluded that the belief that the Holy Spirit proceeds...
Veni Redemptor gentium. Ambrose of Milan* (339/340-397). This Christmas hymn is sometimes prefixed by 'Intende, qui regis Israel'*. First mentioned in Augustine*'s Sermon 372, it is universally accepted as the work of Ambrose (Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus IV. 4-6 (1845) also mentions other sources confirming the authorship).
'Intende qui regis Israel' is found in the Old Hymnal and the Frankish Hymnal (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals'*) as a Christmas hymn. In the New Hymnal it generally...
See 'Veni Redemptor gentium'*
Verbum supernum prodiens,/ a Patre olim exiens. Latin, probably 10th century.
This is found in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 77, entitled 'De Adventu Domini', in two texts, one from a Rheinau Codex (TH IV. 144), the other from the Roman Breviary (1632), with line 2 as 'e patris aeterno sinu', and other variations from the original text. In Analecta Hymnica 2. 35, it is printed from a 10th-century hymnal of the Abbey of Moissac ('Das Hymnar der Abtei Moissac'). It is found in many medieval...
Winchester Hymnal (late 10th century). The Winchester Hymnal is a type of New Hymnal (see Medieval hymns and hymnals*) that was introduced during the late 10th-century Anglo-Saxon monastic reform movement called the Benedictine Reform (see 'Rule of Benedict'*). It is one of two types of monastic hymnal known to have been in use in England after the Benedictine Reform, the other being the Canterbury Hymnal*.
The Winchester Hymnal is clearly linked to the Benedictine Reform movement because it...