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Our topic this week
is lyric and hymnody. Review the hymns of Ambrose of Milan, and
browse the Psalms.
Consider the precise sequence in which the meaning of a hymn unfolds in time. Note juxtaposition and variation, as well as sequences and catalogues.
How do Prudentius and his contemporaries understand the invisible
world's interaction with human physicality? How can a hymn effectively
expound faith and understanding? What is the role of imagery in exposition and contemplation? Why must these hymns—indeed any poem—employ images of physical things? |
Resource: Latin Words program: on internet and for download.
Karma Lochrie, Margery Kempe and translations
of the flesh. Univ. Penn, 1991. esp. chapter 1.
Here is Dag Norberg on versification. |
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READ
1) Raby, chapter 2,
pp. 44-71.
2) In Walsh, 100 Latin Hymns, read Ambrose, 1. "Aeterne
rerum conditor" [SUNG]; 2. "Splendor
paternae" [SUNG]; 3. "Deus, creator omnium" [SUNG]; 5. "Intende, qui regis Israel" [SUNG]; 7. "Illuminans altissimus"; 8. "Agnes beatae virginis"; and 14. "Aeterna Christi munera." Here is something on the Ambrosian manuscript
tradition
3) Compare the Magnificat (canticle of Mary).
4) Sedulius in Walsh: 19, "A solis ortus ordine" [SUNG]
5) In Walsh, Prudentius 18, "Deus, ignee fons animarum"; and in the Loeb, Prudentius, "Hymnus
ante somnum," pp. 48-56; and "Hymnus omnis horae," pp. 76-84.
If you like, more Prudentius in Latin is here.
6) Venantius Fortunatus in Walsh: 20, "Pange, linua" (compare Philip the Chancellor, Hymn 92); 21, "Vexilla regis prodeunt"; 22, "Crux benedicta nitet."
7) In Walsh, hymns 63, "Ave, maris stella" [Grieg's version]; and Columba's "Altus Prosator" (no. 64).
NB) Critical
edition of Confessions. Medieval Torah at BN. |