"Pange lingua gloriosi proelium certaminis" (
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 'Sing, tongue, the battle of glorious combat') is a 6th-century AD
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 ...
hymn generally credited to the
Christian poet St. Venantius Fortunatus
Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; ), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerated since the Middle Ages. ...
,
Bishop of Poitiers, celebrating the
Passion of
Christ
Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
. In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, the first five
stanza
In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...
s are used at
Matins
Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn).
The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...
during
Passiontide in the
Divine Office, with the remaining stanzas (beginning with ''Lustra sex'') sung at
Lauds
Lauds is a canonical hour of the Divine office. In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours it is one of the major hours, usually held after Matins, in the early morning hours (between 3:00:00 and 5:59:59).
Name
The name is derived from the three la ...
. Both parts are chanted during the Adoration of the Cross on
Good Friday
Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
.
This hymn later inspired
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
to write the hymn "
Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium" for the
Feast of Corpus Christi
The Feast of Corpus Christi (), also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a liturgical solemnity celebrating the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; the feast is observed by the Latin Church, in addition to ...
. The hymn is later incorporated into
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
's ''
The Hymn of Jesus''.
Latin text
Pange, lingua, gloriosi proelium certaminis
et super crucis trophaeo dic triumphum nobilem,
qualiter redemptor orbis immolatus vicerit.
De parentis protoplasti fraude factor condolens,
quando pomi noxialis morte morsu corruit,
ipse lignum tunc notavit, damna ligni ut solveret.
Hoc opus nostrae salutis ordo depoposcerat,
multiformis perditoris arte ut artem falleret
et medelam ferret inde, hostis unde laeserat.
Quando venit ergo sacri plenitudo temporis,
missus est ab arce patris natus orbis conditor
atque ventre virginali carne factus prodiit.
Vagit infans inter arta conditus praesaepia,
membra pannis involuta virgo mater adligat,
et pedes manusque crura stricta pingit fascia.
Lustra sex qui iam peracta tempus implens corporis,
se volente, natus ad hoc, passioni deditus,
agnus in crucis levatur immolandus stipite.
Hic acetum, fel, arundo, sputa, clavi, lancea;
mite corpus perforatur; sanguis, unda profluit,
terra pontus astra mundus quo lavantur flumine.
Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis,
nulla talem silva profert flore, fronde, germine,
dulce lignum dulce clavo dulce pondus sustinens.
Flecte ramos, arbor alta, tensa laxa viscera,
et rigor lentescat ille quem dedit nativitas,
ut superni membra regis mite tendas stipite.
Sola digna tu fuisti ferre pretium saeculi
atque portum praeparare nauta mundo naufrago,
quem sacer cruor perunxit fusus agni corpore.
English translation
English translation of five verses by
John Mason Neale
John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar, and hymnwriter. He worked on and wrote a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his mo ...
:
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle;
Sing the ending of the fray.
Now above the cross, the trophy,
Sound the loud triumphant lay:
Tell how Christ, the world's redeemer,
As a victim won the day.
Tell how, when at length the fullness
Of the appointed time was come,
He, the Word, was born of woman,
Left for us His Father's home,
Blazed the path of true obedience,
Shone as light amidst the gloom.
Thus, with thirty years accomplished,
He went forth from Nazareth,
Destined, dedicated, willing,
Did His work, and met His death;
Like a lamb He humbly yielded
On the cross His dying breath.
Faithful cross, true sign of triumph,
Be for all the noblest tree;
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thine equal be;
Symbol of the world's redemption,
For the weight that hung on thee!
Unto God be praise and glory:
To the Father and the Son,
To the eternal Spirit honor
Now and evermore be done;
Praise and glory in the highest,
While the timeless ages run.
The hymn is often sung in English with either the original Mode III tune or the tune FORTUNATUS NEW.
The hymn was also loosely adapted into English as '''
Praise the Savior''' by the nineteenth-century Swedish minister
Johan Wallin and set to the tune ''UPP, MIN TUNGA''.
See also
*
Trochaic septenarius
In ancient Greek and Latin literature, the trochaic septenarius (also known as the trochaic tetrameter catalectic) is a form of ancient poetic metre first used in 7th century BC Greek literature. It was one of the two most common metres of Roman ...
References
External links
Gregorian chant of the ''Crux fidelis / Pange lingua'' on YouTube*
Rhymed translation: ''Sing, my Tongue, the Glorious Battle'' including a doxology (''Glory be'') strophe
{{Authority control
Christian hymns in Latin
Poems based on the Crucifixion of Jesus