Slovak hymnody

The Period of Great Moravia The beginnings of hymn use in the territory of present-day Slovakia should be sought in old Slavonic liturgical singing, which was established by the Thessalonian brothers Saints Constantine (who took the name Cyril as a monk) and Methodius in the 9th century. While in this period evidence post-dates events, the Life of Cyril makes it clear that Pope Hadrian approved the old Slavonic liturgy in 868, after which the Mass and the Divine Office were performed in old Slavonic. This liturgy was based on the liturgy of St Peter and also contained Roman elements; there is further evidence about this liturgical practice in the Papal Bull Industriae tuae (880). This...