Salve, regina

Salve, regina (mater) misericordiae. Latin, composed by the late-11th century, authorship uncertain. The earliest extant version of this antiphon is in the Hartker antiphonary, Saint Gall 390 (see St Gall*) , for the feast of the Annunciation (this portion of the manuscript is usually dated to the late-11th century). It then appears in 12th century manuscripts, for the Assumption (for example, Klosterneuberg MS 1012  [Kosterneuberg] and Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, 114 [Saint Amand]. Its varying, but Marian, usage is illustrated by its use for the Purification, Annunciation, Assumption (and the Sunday following) and Nativity of the BVM in the Cistercian antiphoner (ca. 1175) from...