The head that once was crowned with thorns
The head that once was crowned with thorns. Thomas Kelly* (1769-1855).
First published in the Fifth Edition of Kelly’s Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (Dublin, 1820). It is based on Hebrews 2:10. It is particularly associated with Ascension-tide.
It is probable that Kelly took his first line, and the inspiration for his theme, from a poem by John Bunyan*, ‘One Thing is Needful, or Serious Meditations upon the Four Last Things, Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell’. This poem began:
The head that once was crowned with thorns
Shall now with glory shine;
That heart that broken was with scorns
Shall flow with life divine.
The hymn was included in the Appendix (1868) to the First...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "The head that once was crowned with thorns."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 15 Feb. 2026.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/the-head-that-once-was-crowned-with-thorns>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "The head that once was crowned with thorns."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed February 15, 2026,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/the-head-that-once-was-crowned-with-thorns.