(

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "In the midst of life we are in death") is a

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...

, known by its incipit, written in the form of a response, and known as "Antiphona pro Peccatis" or "de Morte". The most accepted source is a New Year's Eve religious service in the 1300s. Reference has been made to a source originating in a battle song of the year 912 by Notker the Stammerer, a monk of the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had er ...

: however, the Diocesan Synod of Cologne declared in 1316 no one should sing this without prior permission of the residing bishop.

Text

Media vita in morte sumus quem quaerimus adjutorem nisi te, Domine, qui pro peccatis nostris juste irasceris? Sancte Deus, sancte fortis, sancte et misericors Salvator: amarae morti ne tradas nos. In the midst of life we are in death of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? Holy God, Holy mighty, Holy and merciful Saviour, deliver us not unto bitter death. The English translation is a poetic adaption from the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

''.

Latin liturgical use

In the York Breviary "Media vita" was sung as an antiphon at Compline on the Fourth Sunday of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

, '' Laetare''. In the Sarum Breviary it was the antiphon from the Third (''Oculi'') to the Fifth (''Judica'') Sundays of Lent, a position it also occupies (in reduced format) in the Dominican Rite. In addition to its uses in the liturgy, "Media vita" was sung as a hymn to ask God for aid in times of public need, and sometimes even as a sort of curse. In 1455 a group of nuns in Wennigsen, resisting the attempt of the Augustinian canon Johannes Busch and Duke William of Brunswick to reform their house, "lay down on their bellies in the choir with the arms and legs stretched out in the form of a cross, and bawled all through, at the top of their voices, the anthem "In the midst of life we are in death" ... Wherefore the Duke was afraid, and feared lest his whole land should go to ruin." Busch assured the Duke that no harm could come from the chant, so he responded to the nuns: "How were ye not afraid to sing the anthem "Media vita" over me? I stretch my fingers to God's holy gospels, and swear that ye must reform yourselves, or I will not suffer you in my land." In the

Ambrosian Rite The Ambrosian Rite () is a Latin liturgical rites, Latin liturgical rite of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church (specifically The Divine Liturgy of Saint Ambrose). The ritual family, rite is named after Ambrose, Saint Ambrose, a b ...

, "Media vita" was said with the

Litany of the Saints The Litany of the Saints (Latin: ''Litaniae Sanctorum'') is a formal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Old Catholic Church, Lutheran congregations of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship, Anglican congregations of Anglo-Catholic c ...

on the Tuesday before Christmas, the Wednesday before Palm Sunday, and the Greater Rogation on 25 April.

Adaptations

Popular in the Baroque period, the Latin phrase was translated into the vernacular early and has continued to circulate especially widely in German and English, in literature and in song.

German

"Media vita" appears in Hartmann von Aue's

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

narrative poem '' Der arme Heinrich'' (V. 93f.). In 1524,

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

translated it as "

Mitten wir im Leben sind "" ("In the Midst of Life we are in Death") is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Latin antiphon "Media vita in morte sumus". The hymn in three stanzas was first published in 1524. The hymn inspired composers from ...

" and consequently it is now in the ''

Evangelisches Gesangbuch ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...

'' hymnbook as number 518, or 654 in the ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speak ...

'' hymnbook. It is echoed in

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

's poem "Schlußstück": "Der Tod ist groß ..Wenn wir uns mitten im Leben meinen/ wagt er zu weinen/ mitten in uns." as well as in the title of

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

's poem, "Media in vita".

English

The Latin phrase was translated by Archbishop of Canterbury

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

, whose English-language version became part of the burial service in the ''

''. Cranmer's contemporary and fellow Anglican bishop

Miles Coverdale Myles Coverdale, first name also spelt Miles ( – 20 January 1569), was an English ecclesiastical reformer chiefly known as a Bible translator, preacher, hymnist and, briefly, Bishop of Exeter (1551–1553). In 1535, Coverdale produced the fi ...

wrote a poetic rendering of Luther's "Mytten wir ym leben synd", beginning "In the myddest of our lyvynge."

Catherine Winkworth Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Luth ...

made another English version of "Mytten wir ym leben synd" in her ''Lyra Germanica: Hymns for the Sundays and Chief Festivals of the Christian Year'', beginning "In the midst of life, behold."

Music

The ''Book of Common Prayer'' text of "In the midst of life we are in death" has been set to music in the ''Booke of Common praier noted'' (1550) by

John Merbecke John Marbeck, Merbeck or Merbecke () was an English choral composer and theological writer whose musical setting of the early Anglican liturgy standardised the sung Anglican service until the late 20th century. He is also known today for his s ...

and in ''

Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary The English composer Henry Purcell wrote funeral music that includes his ''Funeral Sentences'' and the later ''Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary'', Franklin B. Zimmerman, Z. 860. Two of the funeral sentences, "Man that is born of a woman" ...

'' by

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

. A well-known adaptation is the 1550s choral work ''Media vita in morte sumus'' by John Sheppard. The text also comprises the first half of a 1573

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

Orlande de Lassus Orlando di Lasso ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with William Byrd, Giovanni Pierlui ...

. The passage is also included in the verse of the “Agnus Dei” movement of John Rutter’s Requiem. In popular music, the phrase "In the midst of life we are in 'debt' et cetera" is repeated in

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

' 1986 single "

Sweet and Tender Hooligan "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. Recorded in 1986, it was released as a single in May 1995 by Sire Records to promote the compilation album ''Singl ...

Videogames

The main menu music from the game

Manor Lords Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

is titled after the chant and uses its first three lines. The videogame Postal features the chant in its final level, the Elementary School, a
its theme
It omits the last line, ''amarae morti ne tradas nos.''

References

External links

* *{{Wikisourcelang-inline, de, Mytten wir ym leben synd
"Media vita in morte sumus"
''Liederkunde zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch'',

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

Christian hymns in Latin Medieval music