"" (English: "Maria walks amid the thorns", or "Mary walked through a wood of thorn") is a German
Advent song Advent songs (german: Adventslieder, link=no) are songs and hymns intended for Advent, the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Topics of the time of expectation are the hope for a Messiah, prophecies, and the symbolism of light, among others. S ...
. By origin it was a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
song that initially was spread orally in the 19th century, starting in the Catholic
Eichsfeld.
Versions
The earliest known printed version with seven stanzas was found in 1850 in the collection of hymns from
August von Haxthausen
August Franz Ludwig Maria, Baron von Haxthausen-Abbenburg (February 3, 1792, in Bökendorf, Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn – December 31, 1866, in Hanover) was a German agricultural scientist, economist, lawyer, writer, and collector of folk so ...
and Dietrich Bocholtz-Asseburg. The actual origin of the song is unclear. Occasionally this song is dated in the 16th century, which at least may not be proved. However, in the ''Andernach Hymnal'' of 1608 a song "Jesus and his mother tender" was printed with the note "to the tune of Maria went through this forest", in which sometimes a nucleus of this Advent song is suspected.
Songbooks of the
German Youth Movement
The German Youth Movement (german: Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement ...
at the beginning of the 20th century increased the song's popularity, but they also contributed to its transformation from the pilgrimage origin to an Advent hymn. In 1910, the song appeared in the today well-known three-stanza version initially published in the ''Jugenheimer Liederblatt''. In 1912, the song was absorbed by the collection ' and, in 1914, issued in the songbook ' created by , co-founder of the
Catholic youth movement Quickborn. 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-speaki ...
'', the current common prayer- and hymnbook of Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, and South Tyrol, the song is published as no. 224.
There is a choral setting of the carol in English, "Mary walked through a wood of thorn", by the composer
Philip Radcliffe.
Text
The first three stanzas describe the
visit of Mary to Elizabeth with Jesus "under her heart" as recorded in the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
, . The dead thorn wood, a symbol of infertility and death, begins to bloom when Mary walks through it with the divine child. The other stanzas deal in question and answer format with the
catechetical
Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the re ...
mystery of the
incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
of Jesus.
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging,
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ).
In the Bible
The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...
.
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging,
der hat in sieben Jahrn kein Laub getragen.
Jesus und Maria.
Was trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen?
Kyrie eleison.
Ein kleines Kindlein ohne Schmerzen,
das trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen.
Jesus und Maria.
Da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen,
Kyrie eleison.
Als das Kindlein durch den Wald getragen,
da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen.
Jesus und Maria.
Maria walks amid the thorns,
Kyrie eleison,
Maria walks amid the thorns,
Which seven years no leaf has born.
Jesus and Maria.
What 'neath her heart doth Mary bear?
Kyrie eleison,
The little Child doth Mary bear,
Beneath her heart He nestles there.
Jesus and Maria.
Lo! roses on the thorns appear!
Kyrie eleison,
As the two are passing near,
Lo! roses on the thorns appear!
Jesus and Maria.
Mary walked through a wood of thorn
Kyrie eleison.
Mary walked through a wood of thorn,
Which seven long years no leaf had borne;
Jesus and Mary.
What bore Mary beneath her heart?
Kyrie eleison.
A little child without any smart
Mary bore beneath her heart,
Jesus and Mary.
Then roses sprang from out the thorn;
Kyrie eleison.
As the Christ child through the wood was born,
Roses sprang from out the thorn;
Jesus and Mary.
Melody
\header
\layout
global =
voiceA = \relative c'
VoiceB = \relative c'
bass = \relative c
verse = \lyricmode
\score
\score
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
19th century in music
German-language Christmas carols
Advent songs
Marian hymns
19th-century hymns in German