''Te lucis ante terminum'' ('To Thee before the close of day') is an old Latin

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

in long metre. It is the hymn at

Compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wor ...

in the ''

Roman Breviary The Roman Breviary (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Breviarium Romanum'') is a breviary of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. A liturgical book, it contains public or canonical Catholic prayer, prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notat ...

''.

Origin

S.-G. Pimont argued for the authorship of

Ambrose of Milan Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

. The

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

editors and

Luigi Biraghi Luigi Biraghi (2 November 1801 – 11 August 1879) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who served in his home of Milan. Biraghi later went on to establish his own religious congregation known as the Sisters of Saint Marcellina. Biraghi served a ...

disagreed. The hymn is found in a hymnary in Irish script (described by Clemens Blume in his ''Cursus'', etc.) of the eighth or early ninth century; but the classical prosody of its two stanzas (''solita'' in the third line of the original text is the only exception) suggests a much earlier origin. In this hymnary it is assigned, together with the hymn '' Christe qui splendor et dies'' (also known as ''Christe qui lux es et dies''), to

. An earlier arrangement (as shown by the Rule of

Caesarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles (; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Christianity in Merovingian Gaul, Mer ...

, c. 502) coupled with the ''Christe qui lux'' the hymn '' Christe precamur adnue'', and assigned both to the "twelfth hour" of the day for alternate recitation throughout the year. The later introduction of the ''Te lucis'' suggests a later origin. The two hymns ''Te lucis'' and ''Christe qui lux'' did not maintain everywhere the same relative position; the latter was used in winter, the former in summer and on festivals; while many cathedrals and monasteries replaced the ''Te lucis'' by the ''Christe qui lux'' from the first 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 ...

Passion Sunday Passion Sunday is the fifth Sunday in Lent in several Christian traditions, marking the beginning of Passiontide. In 1969, Passiontide was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Western Catholic Church for the Mass of Paul VI, but it is st ...

Holy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...

, a custom followed by the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

. The old

Breviary A breviary () is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as Aberdeen Breviar ...

of the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

s used the ''Christe qui lux'' throughout the year. The Roman Breviary assigns the ''Te lucis'' daily throughout the year, except from Holy Thursday to the Friday after Easter, inclusively. Merati, in his notes on Galvanus' ''Thesaurus'', says that it has always held without variation this place in the Roman Church. As it is sung daily, the Vatican

Antiphonary An antiphonary or antiphonal is one of the liturgical books intended for use (i.e. in the liturgical choir), and originally characterized, as its name implies, by the assignment to it principally of the antiphons used in various parts of the ...

gives it many

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

settings for the varieties of season and rite.

Text

Alternative

The 1632

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

version makes classicizing revisions. The 1974 revision replaces the second strophe with the following two strophes from the hymn ''Christe precamur adnue''.

Origin

Text

Alternative

Notes

References

Sources

External links