Te Deum

Before the Reformation The ‘Te Deum’, or ‘Te deum laudamus te dominum confitemur’ is one of the most famous of Christian hymns, in use from the 6th century onwards. It was normally sung at matins on Sundays as the hymn before the gospel (‘omni Sabbato ad matutinos’). There is a Greek version of the first ten verses (transliterated at JJ, p. 1120). There are several versions. JJ prints three in Latin, in addition to the Greek texts (pp. 1120-1): From the Bangor Antiphonary*, ‘Ymnum in die domenica’; The ‘Milan version’, from the Milan Cathedral Breviary, ‘Ante Psalterium sine titulo’; ‘Ordinary version’, from the Bamberg library, and many other MSS, ‘Ymnus matutinalis’. The authorship is...