Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English

hymnwriter A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

and educator. She translated the German

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She also worked for wider educational opportunities for girls, and translated biographies of two founders of religious sisterhoods. When 16, Winkworth appears to have coined a once well-known political pun, ''peccavi'', "I have Sindh", relating to the British occupation of Sindh in colonial India.

Early life

Catherine Winkworth was born on 13 September 1827 at 20 Ely Place,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

on the edge of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. She was the fourth daughter of Henry Winkworth, a silk merchant. In 1829, her family moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where her father had a silk mill and which city figured in the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. Winkworth studied under the Rev.

William Gaskell William Gaskell (24 July 1805 – 12 June 1884) was an English Unitarian minister, charity worker and pioneer in the education of the working class. The husband of novelist and biographer Elizabeth Gaskell, he was himself a writer and poet, and ...

, minister of

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street Chapel is a Unitarian church in central Manchester, England. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. Its present minister is Cody Coyne. His ...

, and with Dr.

James Martineau James Martineau (; 21 April 1805 – 11 January 1900) was a British religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism. For 45 years he was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College ( ...

, both of them eminent

British Unitarians The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC or colloquially British Unitarians) is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christians, and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom and Irelan ...

. Urban historian Harold L. Platt notes that in the Victorian period "The importance of membership in this Unitarian congregation cannot be overstated: as the fountainhead of Manchester Liberalism it exerted tremendous influence on the city and the nation for a generation." She subsequently moved with the family to Clifton, near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Her sister Susanna Winkworth (1820–1884) was also a translator, mainly of German devotional works.

Chorale tradition

Catherine Winkworth spent a year in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, during which time she took an interest in German

hymnody Robert Gerhard's Hymnody is a contemporary classical work from 1963, which was an assignment from BBC. This piece was written during February and March of that year. Composer notes A note from the composer: First citation comes from Psalm ...

. Around 1854, she published her book ''Lyra Germanica'', a collection of German hymns which she had chosen and translated into English. A further collection followed in 1858. During 1863, she published ''The Chorale Book for England'', which was coedited by the composers

William Sterndale Bennett Sir William Sterndale Bennett (13 April 18161 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where he remained for ten years. B ...

and

Otto Goldschmidt Otto Moritz David Goldschmidt (21 August 1829 – 24 February 1907) was a German composer, conductor and pianist, known for his piano concertos and other piano pieces. He married the "Swedish Nightingale", soprano Jenny Lind. Life Goldschmidt w ...

. In 1869 she followed this with ''Christian Singers of Germany''. According to ''The Harvard University Hymn Book'', Winkworth "did more than any other single individual to make the rich heritage of German hymnody available to the English-speaking world." Four examples of translations by her hand are published in ''The Church Hymn Book 1872'' (Nos 344, 431, 664 and 807). Among the best-known chorales translated by Winkworth are "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come" (''"

Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her "" ("From Heaven Above to Earth I Come") is a hymn text relating to the Nativity of Jesus, written by Martin Luther in 1534. The hymn is most often sung to the melody, Zahn No. 346, which first appeared in a 1539 songbook and was probably al ...

"'',

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

, 1534); "Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying" (''"

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme "" (literally: Awake, the voice is calling us) is a Lutheran hymn written in German by Philipp Nicolai, first published in 1599 together with "". It appears in German hymnals and in several English hymnals in translations such as "Wake, Awake, f ...

"'',

Philipp Nicolai Philipp Nicolai (10 August 1556 – 26 October 1608) was a German Lutheran pastor, poet, and composer. He is most widely recognized as a hymnodist. Biography Philipp Nicolai was born at Mengeringhausen in Waldeck, Hesse, Germany where his ...

, 1599); "How Brightly Beams the Morning Star!" (''"

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern "" (; How lovely shines the morning star) is a Lutheran hymn by Philipp Nicolai written in 1597 and first published in 1599. It inspired musical settings through centuries, notably Bach's chorale cantata , but also vocal and instrumental works by ...

"'', Nicolai, 1597); and the Christmas hymn "A Spotless Rose" (''"

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen "" (literally "A rose has sprung up") is a Christmas carol and Marian hymn of German origin. It is most commonly translated into English as "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming" and is also called "A Spotless Rose" and "Behold a Rose of Judah". The rose ...

"'', anon, 1599). She translated Gerhardt's "

Die güldne Sonne voll Freud und Wonne "Die güldne Sonne voll Freud und Wonne" (The golden sun full of joy and delight) is a Lutheran hymn by Paul Gerhardt. It is a morning hymn which was first published in 1666, with a four-part setting by Johann Georg Ebeling. Gerhardt created an ...

" into "The golden sunbeams with their joyous gleams".

Women's education

Winkworth was also involved deeply in promoting women's education, as the secretary of the Clifton Association for Higher Education for Women, and a supporter of the Clifton High School for Girls, where a school house is named after her, and a member of

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to p ...

. She was likewise governor of the Red Maids' School in

Westbury-on-Trym Westbury on Trym is a suburb and council ward in the north of the City of Bristol, near the suburbs of Stoke Bishop, Westbury Park, Henleaze, Southmead and Henbury, in the southwest of England. With a village atmosphere, the place is partly ...

in the city of Bristol. Winkworth translated biographies of two founders of sisterhoods for the poor and the sick: ''Life of Pastor Fliedner'', 1861, and ''Life of Amelia Sieveking'', 1863. Winkworth has been described as "an early feminist".

Peccavi

According to the ''Encyclopedia of Britain'' by

Bamber Gascoigne Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster on ''University Challenge'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987. Early life and education Gasco ...

(1993), it was Catherine Winkworth who, learning of General Charles James Napier's ruthless and unauthorised, but successful campaign to conquer the Indian province of Sindh, "remarked to her teacher that Napier's despatch to the governor-general of India, after capturing Sindh, should have been ''Peccavi''" (Latin for "I have sinned": a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on "I have Sindh"). She sent her joke to the new humorous magazine ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', which printed it on 18 May 1844. She was then sixteen years old. The ''

Oxford Dictionary of Quotations ''The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations'', first published by the Oxford University Press in 1941, is an 1,100-page book listing short quotations that are common in English language and culture. The 8th edition was published for print and online ...

'' attributes this to Winkworth, noting that it was assigned to her in ''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inne ...

'' in May 1954. The pun has usually been credited to Napier himself. The rumour's persistence over the decades led to investigations in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

archives, as well as comments by William Lee-Warner in 1917 and

Lord Zetland Marquess of Zetland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 August 1892 for the former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland. Zetland is an archaic form of Shetland. The Dundas family ...

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...

, in 1936.PECCAVI': A Good Story Killed", ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 14 February 1936.

Death

Catherine Winkworth died suddenly of heart disease near

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

on 1 July 1878 and was buried in Monnetier, in Upper Savoy. A monument to her memory was erected in

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...

. She is commemorated on the

Calendar of Saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on 1 July.

Hymn books

''Lyra Germanica, Hymns for the Sundays and chief festivals of the Christian Year, Translated from the German''
1855 edition compiled by Catherine Winkworth
''The Chorale Book for England: A Complete Hymn-book for Public and Private Worship''
Catherine Winkworth,

and

(1863)
''Lyra Germanica: the Christian life''
Catherine Winkworth (1868)
''Christian Singers of Germany''
Catherine Winkworth (1869)
''Songs for the household: Sacred poetry''
Catherine Winkworth (1882)

References

External links

(The Cyber Hymnal)
''Biographies and published works''
(

Christian Classics Ethereal Library The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts. Description CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a pro ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Winkworth, Catherine 1827 births 1878 deaths 19th-century Anglicans 19th-century British women writers 19th-century British writers 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century British translators 19th-century British women musicians Anglican saints Anglican writers Burials in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Christian female saints of the Late Modern era Church of England hymnwriters English Anglicans English translators First-wave feminism German–English translators People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar People from Holborn Women and education British women hymnwriters Writers from London