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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' (1922, p. 150). Walpole prints the whole text (pp. 151-6), part of which forms 'Hostis Herodes impie'*. Mentioned by Bede* (see also...
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, 1996, pp. 284-5)....
Ad regias Agni dapes. Latin, Roman Breviary, 1632.
This is the 1632 Roman Breviary version of an anonymous Ambrosian hymn, 'Ad cenam Agni providi'*. For the two texts, see Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 88.
A&M, from the First Edition onwards, included a translation of 'Ad regias Agni dapes' by Robert Campbell*, from his Hymns and Anthems for Use in the Holy Services of the Church within the United Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld, and Dunblane (Edinburgh, 1850), beginning 'At the Lamb's...
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...
Adeste, fideles. Latin, 18th-century, attributed to John Francis Wade* (1711/12-1786).
The origin of this Latin Christmas hymn, translated as 'O come, all ye faithful'*, is obscure, but it is linked to the name of John Francis Wade, who worked as a plainchant copyist and teacher of plainchant at the English College, Douai. Wade was well known in English Catholic circles, and connected with leading Catholic musicians at the embassy chapels in London. Few details of his life are known;...
Adoro te devote, latens Deitas. Thomas Aquinas* (ca. 1224/5-1274).
This hymn is of uncertain date, but St Thomas Aquinas is known to have been writing on the Eucharist during his second stay in Paris, and it may therefore have been written ca. 1260. It is ascribed to Thomas Aquinas in the majority of manuscript witnesses, many of which are associated with Naples and/or Dominicans. The hymn did not enter liturgical use during the middle ages, although its focus is the Eucharist. Instead, it had...
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...
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,...
Alleluya, dulce carmen. Latin, perhaps 11th century.
This hymn was dated by Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus IV. 261-2, as 11th century. Daniel assigned it to the Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday. Milfull (Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, Cambridge, 1996, p. 226) says that it was for Vespers, but in one version for Compline. It appears in Analecta Hymnica 51. 52-3 (no 53). AH 2. 41 prints a version from the Moissac Breviary. Verse 2 line 3, 'Exules nos flere cogunt Babylonis flumina', is...
Alma Redemptoris Mater. Latin, composed by the late 11th century.
Although it is frequently asserted that the earliest manuscripts containing 'Alma Redemptoris mater' are 12th century, the earliest manuscript containing the chant is the St Gall* manuscript known as the Hartker antiphonary, (an image may be seen here; this portion of the manuscript is usually dated to the late 11th century). Here it is assigned as an antiphon for the feast of the Assumption. It was adopted in various...
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...
Amor patris et filii. Latin, perhaps 12th century. This hymn is found in a number of manuscripts, including one from Liège, used by John Mason Neale* (Sequentiae ex Missalibus, 1852); one from the Benedictine foundation at St Lambrecht, Austria (Universitätsbibliothek Graz, MS. 409; see Anderson, 1972); and one in the British Library (MS. Burney 357). A facsimile of MS Burney 357 is printed in Volume I of Early English Harmony (Plainsong and Medieval Music Society, 1897), edited by Harry Ellis...
Angelus ad virginem. Latin, probably 13th Century, author unknown, possibly Philip the Chancellor* (d. 1236; see under Goliards*).
This carol is best discussed in two sections: the medieval and the modern.
The Medieval Carol
This was sung by Nicholas, the student in Chaucer's 'The Miller's Tale' (Nicholas is a very unpleasant character, whose seduction of his landlord's wife is a grotesque parody of the angel's visit to the Virgin Mary). The carol is first recorded in a fourteenth-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...
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' (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 (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals'*) later in the same century, where it was often associated with Easter Lauds....
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...
Ave verum corpus natum
Latin, 13th century. This medieval Latin hymn (Analecta Hymnica 54. 257) was used at the elevation of the Host at Mass, a liturgical practice that was introduced in the 12th century. The authorship is uncertain. It is not common in medieval manuscripts, but does appear in a Reichenau manuscript (14th century), a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, dated ca. 1340 (see Frost, 1962, p. 354), and in a 13th-century central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago,...
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...
'Benedicite omnia Opera' are the opening words in the Vulgate of part of 'The Song of the Three Holy Children', found in the Apocrypha, using verses 35 to 66. The rubric in the text says that the song 'followeth in the third chapter of DANIEL, after this place', quoting verse 23, and indicating that the song comes between verses 23 and 24. It is an exercise in the Sublime, in which the works of the Lord, in heaven and on earth, are called upon to bless the Creator, including the sun, the moon...
This is the first word of the phrase 'Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini', used in the Mass in the Sanctus* (from Mark 11:9 and Luke 13: 35). It is also the opening of the song of Zachariah (or Zacharias), Luke 1: 68-79: 'Benedictus Deus Israhel quia visitavit et fecit redemptionem plebi suae'. Zachariah has been struck dumb by the encounter with the angel Gabriel, who tells him that his elderly wife Elisabeth will conceive and bear a son, John the Baptist. Zachariah is punished for being...
Caelestis formam gloriae. Latin, 15th Century, author unknown.
According to Frere (1909, p. 353) this hymn was 'one of those anciently sung at Salisbury and elsewhere for the Transfiguration.' He then goes on to say that 'when that festival was brought into common use at the end of the XVth century many new hymns were written for it, and this among the number.' JJ gives its provenance as being found in a Sarum Breviary (Venice, 1495). It is of unknown authorship. It began:
Caelestis formam...
Cantico di frate sole. St Francis (ca. 1181/2-1226).
This hymn, 'Canticle of brother son, praise of all creation', ('laude della creatur') is believed to be the earliest Italian Laude spirituale. It may have been written over a period of time, and finished (with the reference to death) in 1225, at a time when St Francis was suffering greatly in mind and body. It has affinities with Psalm 148, but adds its own uniquely affectionate wording, praising the elements of the creation in terms of...
Chorus novae Ierusalem. Perhaps by Fulbert of Chartres* (d. 1028). It is ascribed to St Fulbert, although, as Milfull points out, if it was by him it must have become popular very quickly (Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, p. 452), since it is found in two 11th century MSS (British Library, Vesp. D. xii, f. 72b and St Gall 387). It is written in the Ambrosian iambic dimeter (8+8+8+8 syllables in each verse).
It is an Eastertide hymn, with the first verse inviting 'colens cum sobriis paschale...
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...
Christe, qui sedes Olympo. Jean-Baptiste de Santeuil* (1630-1697).
First published in the Cluniac Breviary of 1686, and then in Santeuil's Hymni Sacri et Novi (1689), for the Feast of St Michael and all angels, 'XXIX Septembris'. In 1689 the first lines were:
Christe, summi Rex Olympi,Par Deo Patri DeusQuem tremiscunt intuendoSanctiores Spiritus:
It had seven stanzas. It was translated by William Palmer* in his Short Poems and Hymns (1845) as 'Christ, in highest heaven enthronèd'*, a first...
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...
See 'Paulinus of Aquileia'*
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 prescribed...
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 (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 crown, the prize of your soldiers, absolve [those...
Dies irae, dies illa. Latin sequence*, author uncertain, possibly Franciscan.
This chant (Liber usualis, 1810–13) is one of only four Sequences to have been preserved in the Roman rite after the Council of Trent (1543-63). Dreves identifies the lyric text as a pia meditatio — a rhymed verse or a reading-song (Leselied) — that served as a sequence once it became part of the Roman liturgy (Dreves, 1892, p. 523). The Roman Missal prescribes its performance for the Mass of All Souls' Day [In...
Exultet caelum laudibus. Latin, 11th century (or possibly earlier). The earliest manuscripts containing this hymn include:
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 12601 (Cluniac breviary used in the monastery of St. Taurin l'Echelle, dated 1064-1095);
Roma, Biblioteca Vallicelliana, C.5 (late eleventh or early twelfth century, written in Rome, taken to Sant'Eutizio di Norcia in 1219);
Toledo, Catedral, Archivo y Biblioteca Capítulares, MS 44.2 (Toledo cathedral, ca 1095);
the...
Fortem virili pectore. Silvio Antoniano* (1540-1603), translated by various hands.
This was from the revision of the Roman Breviary, commissioned by Pope Clement VIII, and published in Venice in 1603, the year of Antoniano's death. It was included by John Henry Newman* in Hymni Ecclesiae (1838), for the many virtuous women, who were neither virgins nor martyrs ('Commune Sanctae Martyris Tantum, et nec Virginis nec Martyris') as a hymn for Vespers. It was translated by Edward Caswall* and...
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...
Haec nox, carissimi, nox illa flebilis. Peter Abelard* (1079-1142).
From Hymnarius Paraclitensis, the hymnal that Abelard wrote for the religious house of The Paraclete, where Heloise was prioress (see Paraclete Hymnal*). It was written 'In Paraceve Domini. In 1 Nocturno' (for the first nocturnal office on the night of the preparation for the events of Good Friday and Easter Day). It had four stanzas:
Haec nox, carissimi, nox illa flebilis, Qua comprehenditur dies a tenebris, Piis...
Hora novissima, tempora pessima sunt, vigilemus. Bernard of Cluny* (12th century: see also 'Cluny'*).
This is the opening line of a poem of 2966 lines, entitled 'Bernhardus Cluniacensis de contemptu mundi. Ad Petrum Abbatem suum' ('Bernard of Cluny on the contempt of the world. To Peter his abbot [of Cluny]'). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, IV. 292. It was printed in an edition of poems entitled Varia doctorum piorumque virorum de corrupto Ecclesiae statu Poemata ('Several poems of learned...
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...
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 also...
Iam desinant suspiria. Charles Coffin* (1676-1749).
This hymn appeared in the Paris Breviary (1736) and in Hymni Sacri Auctore Carolo Coffin (1736). It was written for Matins on Christmas Day. It is a very attractive Christmas hymn, which has attracted much attention from translators (see JJ, pp. 576-7).
The Latin text was printed in John Chandler*'s Hymns of the Primitive Church (1837), in the 'Hymni Ecclesiae' (i.e. Latin) section. It had eight stanzas, beginning:
Jam desinant suspiria;...
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...
Iesu dulcedo cordium. Latin, probably 12th century.
This is part of the Latin poem in 48 stanzas beginning 'Iesu dulcis memoria'* attributed at one time to Bernard of Clairvaux*, and known as the Iubilus rhythmicus de nomine Iesu ('The joyful poem on the Name of Jesus'). The text is formed from stanzas 4, 3, 16, 24 and 10 of the Bodleian Library copy of the poem. The translation was by Ray Palmer*, beginning 'Jesu, thou joy of loving hearts'*, published in The Sabbath Hymn Book: for the...
Iesu dulcis memoria. Latin, 12th century, author unknown.
This hymn is given in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 227-9, as the work of St Bernard of Clairvaux*, but more recent research has noted that the earliest manuscripts containing it are of English origin, and it has been tentatively ascribed to an English monk of the 12th century (see F. J. E. Raby, 'The Poem “Dulcis Iesu Memoria”', Bulletin of the Hymn Society, 33 (October 1945), pp. 1-6, and Maurice Frost, Historical Companion to...
Intende, qui Regis Israel. Ambrose of Milan* (339/340-397).
This is the first stanza of the Christmas hymn usually known by its second stanza, 'Veni, redemptor gentium/omnium'. It was found with this first stanza in the Old Hymnal (see 'Medieval hymns and hymnals*), but the New Hymnal began the hymn with stanza 2. See Milfull, 1996, p. 202. Analecta Hymnica 50. 13-14 prints the full text, with the first stanza as follows:
Intende, qui Regis Israel,
Super Cherubim qui sedes,
Appare Ephrem coram,...
Jerusalem luminosa. Latin, before 15th century. This hymn is from a 15th-century manuscript at Karlsruhe, printed by Franz Joseph Mone (the archivist at Karlsruhe) in his Lateinische Hymnen des Mittelalters (Freiburg, 1853). There has been speculation that the author was Thomas à Kempis* (it is 'ascribed' to him in A&MCP) but there is no firm evidence for this. It had 17 stanzas. Seven of them were translated by John Mason Neale* in the Hymnal Noted Part II (1854), beginning 'Light's abode,...
Latin hymns
The entry on 'Latin Hymnody' in JJ notes at the outset that 'a complete history of Latin Hymnody has never been written. It would occupy a considerable volume' (p. 640). Since that time much work has been done on the subject, beginning with James Mearns*'s Early Latin Hymnaries (Cambridge, 1913). Mearns deserves more than a passing note, for he was John Julian's ever-reliable and extremely learned assistant, responsible for many of the Latin entries in the Dictionary of Hymnology,...
Lauda Sion Salvatorem. Thomas Aquinas* (ca. 1224/5-1274). This is one of the sequences* by Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi. It was in three parts. Part I had ten 6-line stanzas, rhyming aabccb, followed by Part II beginning 'Ecce, Panis angelorum', and Part III beginning 'Bone Pastor, Panis vere'. Parts II and II have different stanza forms. A translation beginning 'Laud, O Sion, thy salvation' (from Orby Shipley*'s Divine Liturgy, 1863) is in EH, with Part II beginning 'Lo! the Angels'...
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 vesperiDiem...
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...
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, 57,...
O esca viatorum. Latin, 17th century or earlier.
In Gotteslob this hymn is described as having been translated at Würzburg in 1649 ('O wunderbare Speise/ auf dieser Pilgerreise'). It was printed in a Maintzisch Gesangbuch (1661), where it is given in Latin and German. The German text is headed 'Gesang von dem waren Himmelbrodt' ('hymn on the true heavenly bread'). The Latin text is earlier (see Maurice Frost, Historical Companion to A&M, 1962, p. 346). It had three stanzas:
O esca...
O Filii et Filiae. Jean Tisserand* (d. 1494).
This hymn on the events of Easter, with an emphasis on the episode of St Thomas, is found in an untitled booklet printed between 1518 and 1536, probably at Paris. It was a 'Salut', a greeting to the Blessed Sacrament on Easter Day. It was entitled 'L'aleluya du jour de Pasques', and in translation it is prefaced by the three-fold 'Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!' There is some suggestion that the triple 'Alleluia' may have been sung between each...
O quanta qualia sunt illa sabbata. Peter Abelard* (1079–1142).
This is the only hymn by Abelard to survive in common usage. It is usually known in the translation by John Mason Neale,* 'O what their joy and their glory must be'*, and there are two other translations in 20th-century books. Unfortunately, none of them (even Helen Waddell*'s which comes the nearest) give much idea of the grandeur of the original text; nor do they reproduce Abelard's rhythm (and therefore do not fit Abelard's tune...
O salutaris Hostia. Thomas Aquinas* ( ca. 1224/5-1274); English translation by Edward Caswall* (1814 -1878).
The Latin text of this hymn is from Aquinas's 'Verbum supernum prodiens, nec Patris linquens dexteram'*. It forms the last two stanzas of that hymn. These stanzas are widely known as a devotional text in both Latin and English.
O salutaris Hostia, quae caeli pandis ostium, bella premunt hostilia, da robur, fer auxilium.
Uni trinoque Domino sit sempiterna gloria, qui vitam sine...
O Sanctissima
This is a hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, of uncertain date and origin. It is believed to have been sung by Sicilian fishermen at the end of each day. The first known printing seems to have been in a London periodical, The European Magazine (1792) as part of a series whimsically called 'Drossiana' contributed by the anecdotist William Seward (1747-1799), a benevolent but odd member of the literary circle around Dr Samuel Johnson, whose epitaph he helped to compose. The original...
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...
Omni die, dic Mariae. Latin, probably by Bernard of Cluny* (12th century).
This is a selection of lines from 'Ut jucundus cervus undas, aestuans desiderat' (from Psalm 42: 1), the opening of a cycle of poems known as the Mariale. The authorship of the cycle is uncertain, but James Mearns*, after assessing all the evidence, attributed it to Bernard of Cluny (JJ, pp. 1200-1202). Section 7 of the Mariale began 'Omni die, dic Mariae, mea, laudes, anima'.
For Catholics it is notable as the Latin...
Pange lingua gloriosi Corporis mysterium. Thomas Aquinas* (ca. 1224/5- 1274).
This hymn was described in JJ as 'one of the finest of the mediaeval Latin hymns; a wonderful union of sweetness of melody with clear-cut dogmatic teaching' (p. 878). It is found in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 251-2, and in Analecta Hymnica 50. 586, where the many references to Codexes indicate its rapid spread during the 13th and 14th centuries. The text was:
Pange lingua gloriosi Corporis mysterium, ...
Personent hodie. Latin, from Piae Cantiones. This is No 5 in the first section of Piae Cantiones (Greifswald, 1582), 'Cantiones de Nativitate Domini & Saluatoris nostri Iesu Christi'. It had four verses:
Personent hodie voces puerulaelaudantes iucundè qui nobis est natus,summo Deo datus,& de virgineo ventre procreatus.
In mundo nascitur, pannis involvitur,Praesepi ponitur stabulo brutorum,Rector supernorum, perdidit spolia princeps infernorum.
Magi tres venerunt, parvulum...
Puer nobis nascitur. Latin, 14th century.
This is described in NOBC (1992) as 'one of the most charming of all medieval cantiones' (p. 67). It is found in a Gradual from the Augustinian College at Moosburg, Germany, dated 1355-60; a German text, 'Uns ist geborn ein Kindelein', also exists. In Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied I. 204-6, where it is dated '14th century' there are five versions of the text.
The Latin text is no 11 in Piae Cantiones (Greifswald, 1582), in the section 'Cantiones...
Quem pastores laudavere. Latin, 15th century. This carol is found in a German MS from Hohenfurth Abbey dated 1410. The tune has become better known than the words, although the Latin text was in the Oxford Book of Carols (1928) and is retained in NOBC. According to NOBC it was originally in three verses, beginning 'Quem pastores laudavere', 'Ad quem magi ambulabant' and 'Christo Regi, Deo nato': this refers to the shepherds ('pastores') in verse 1 and the Wise Men ('magi ambulabant', verse 2),...
Resonet in laudibus. Latin, probably 14th century.
This pre-Reformation text is one of the traditional medieval Christmas songs in the German-speaking tradition (cf. 'In dulci iubilo'*). It may have originated in Bohemia, or in southern Germany/Austria (see 'Austrian hymnody'*). It exists in a manuscript of the 14th century, the Moosburg (or Mosburg) Gradual (University Library, Munich), and (as 'Resonemus laudibus') in a manuscript from Aosta, northern Italy. In its German text (see below) it...
Salvator mundi Domine. Latin, date and author unknown.
According to James Mearns* in JJ (p. 988), this hymn is found in manuscripts of the 12th and 13th centuries. It is found in the Sarum, York, Hereford and Aberdeen Breviaries, appointed as a hymn for Compline at times that varied from monastery to monastery.
Different versions of this popular hymn are found in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus IV, p. 209, and in Analecta Hymnica, 23. 39. It was well known in England in Tudor times, because it...
Salve caput cruentatum. Latin, probably by Arnulf von Löwen* (ca. 1200- ca. 1251). This is the final hymn in a series of seven Passion-tide hymns, 'Ad singula membra Christi patientis rhythmus', addressed to the body of Christ hanging on the Cross, as follows:
Salve mundi salutare (to the feet)
Salve Jesu, Rex sanctorum (to the knees)
Salve Jesu, pastor bone (to the hands)
Salve Jesus, summe bonus (to the side)
Salve salus mea, Deus (to the breast)
Summi Regis cor aveto (to the heart)
Salve...
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...
Solis ad victimam procedis, Domine. Peter Abelard* (1079-1142).
From Hymnarius Paraclitensis, the book of hymns that Abelard wrote for the religious house of The Paraclete, where Heloise was Prioress (see Paraclete Hymnal*). It was written for the third nocturnal office on Good Friday. It beautifully combines the lament for the solitary figure of Christ 'going forth' to His sufferings and death with the promise that if we share His sufferings ('Tu tibi compati sic fac nos, Domine') we 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...
Sponsa Christi quae per orbem. Jean-Baptiste de Contes (1601-1679). From the Paris Missal of 1665. A later edition of 1739 identified de Contes (Dean of Paris from 1647 until his death, 4 July 1679) as the author. It was described in JJ as 'one of the finest of the more recent French Sequences' (p. 1080). The most notable translation into English is that of John Ellerton*, beginning 'Bride of Christ, whose glorious warfare'. It appeared in Church Hymns (1871) with the first line as 'Church of...
See 'Disposer supreme, and Judge of the earth'*
Surrexit Christus hodie. Latin, 14th century.
This is found in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 341 in the section 'Carmina Sacra, quae in Breviarum Ordinarium non redacta, private consilio ad sacra obeunda adhibita sunt'.
Daniel's text, entitled 'De Resurrectione Domine', was as follows:
Surrexit Christus hodie Humano pro solamine. Alleluia
Mortem qui passus pridie Miserrimo pro homine. All.
Mulieres ad tumulum Dona ferunt aromatum. All.
Quaerentes Iesum dominum Qui est salvator hominum....
Tantum ergo sacramentum. Thomas Aquinas* ca. 1224/5-1274).
This two-stanza hymn consists of stanzas 5 and 6 of the great hymn by Aquinas, 'Pange lingua gloriosi Corporis mysterium'* (cf. The similar use of 'O salutaris Hostia'* taken from 'Verbum supernum prodiens, nec Patris linquens dexteram'*). It is sung in the office of the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, or during Mass at the Elevation of the Host (JJ, p. 878):
Tantum ergo sacramentum veneremur cernui:et antiquum documentum novo...
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, nec Patris linquens dexteram. Thomas Aquinas* (ca. 1224/5-1274).
As with 'Pange lingua gloriosi Corporis mysterium'*, St Thomas was here taking an earlier text, 'Verbum supernum prodiens,/ a Patre olim exiens'*, and making it his own. It was written ca. 1263 for use on the Feast of Corpus Christi. It is printed in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus I. 254, entitled 'De eadem festivitate ad Laudes' ('On the same festival at Lauds') thus linking it with St Thomas's other...
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...
Victimae Paschali.
This Easter sequence* is usually attributed to Wipo of Burgundy* (ca.995 - after 1048), based on a marginal note in the 12th-century Einsiedeln manuscript, Einsiedeln 366, p. 17, although this may reflect the common medieval practice of attribution to eminent persons rather than being historically accurate. The sequence appears in Paris, BN lat. 10510, an 11th century manuscript from Echternach, possibly copied too early for Wipo to have been the author (Crocker, 2001).
In...