Salve caput cruentatum
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 caput cruentatum (to the face)
In some early printings these hymns were sometimes attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux*: an early German translation is headed ‘The Lamentation of St Bernard’ (for this...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "Salve caput cruentatum."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 24 Jan. 2026.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/s/salve-caput-cruentatum>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "Salve caput cruentatum."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed January 24, 2026,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/s/salve-caput-cruentatum.