Adam of Saint Victor (; died 1146) was a prolific poet and composer of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
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'' ...
s and
sequences
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...
. He has been called "...the most illustrious exponent of the revival of liturgical poetry which the twelfth century affords."
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Life
Adam of Saint Victor was born in the early part of the twelfth century, probably at Paris, where he was educated. The first reference to him dates from 1098, in the archives of Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
, where he held office first as a subdeacon
Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence.
Subdeacons in ...
and later as a precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...
. He left the cathedral for the Abbey of Saint Victor around 1133, probably because of his attempts at imposing the Rule of St Augustine
The Rule of Saint Augustine, written about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church.
The rule, developed b ...
at the cathedral.
Adam likely had contact with a number of important theologians, poets, and musicians of his day, including Peter Abelard
Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
and Hugh of St Victor
Hugh of Saint Victor ( 1096 – 11 February 1141), was a Saxon canon regular and a leading theologian and writer on mystical theology.
Life
As with many medieval figures, little is known about Hugh's early life. He was probably born in the 1090s. ...
, and he may have taught Albertus Parisiensis.
He lived in the abbey, which was somewhat of a theological center, then in the suburbs of Paris but included in it subsequently through the city's growth.[A'Becket, John Joseph. "Adam of St. Victor." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 15 January 2020 He died there some time between 1172 and 1192.
Appreciation
According to John Julian, "His principal merits may be described as comprising terseness and felicity of expression; deep and accurate knowledge of Scripture, especially its typology; smoothness of versification; richness of rhyme, accumulating gradually as he nears the conclusion of a Sequence; and a spirit of devotion breathing throughout his work, that assures the reader that his work is "a labour of love."[Julian, John. "Adam of St. Victor", ''Dictionary of Hymnology'', 1907]
/ref>
Anglican Archbishop Richard Chenevix Trench
Richard Chenevix Trench (Richard Trench until 1873; 9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet.
Life
He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin write ...
characterized Adam of Saint Victor as "the foremost among the sacred Latin poets of the Middle Ages".[
In '']Mont Saint Michel and Chartres
''Mont Saint Michel and Chartres'' is a book written by the American historian and scholar Henry Adams (1838–1918). Adams wrote it well after his historical masterpiece, '' The History of the United States of America (1801–1817)''. Whereas the ...
'', Henry Adams
Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. Presidents.
As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Fra ...
wrote that Adam "aimed at obtaining his effect from the skillful use of the Latin sonorities for purposes of the chant."
The translator of medieval hymns, John Mason Neale
John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...
, described Adam of St Victor as "to my mind the greatest Latin poet, not only of mediaeval, but of all ages".
Works
Adam of St Victor's surviving works are sequences
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...
for liturgical use, not theological treatises.
Jodocus Clichtovaeus, a Catholic theologian of the 16th century, published thirty-seven of his hymns in the ''Elucidatorium Ecclesiasticum'' (1516). The remaining seventy hymns were preserved in the Abbey of Saint Victor until its dissolution during the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. They were then transferred to the Bibliothèque Nationale
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
, where they were discovered by Léon Gautier
Émile Théodore Léon Gautier (8 August 183225 August 1897) was a French literary historian.
He was born at Le Havre, France. He was educated at the École des Chartes, and became successively head of the archives of the ''département'' of H ...
, who edited the first complete edition of them (Paris, 1858).[
Around 47 sequences by Adam survive. In a practice that developed from the ninth century onwards, these are poems composed to be sung during the ]mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
, between the Alleluia and the gospel reading. The sequence therefore bridges the Old Testament or epistle readings and the gospel, both literarily and musically.[
Boyd Taylor Coolman and Dale M Coulter, eds, ''Trinity and creation: a selection of works of Hugh, Richard and Adam of St Victor'', (Turnhout: Brepols, 2010), p182.
]
References
Further reading
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The modern critical edition of the Latin text is:
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English translations of Adam's work are in:
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* ncludes translations of two of Adam of St. Victor's sequences in praise of the Trinity* ncludes translation of Adam of St Victor, ''Sequences''
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
Vol. 3
Studies:
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adam of Saint Victor
Hymnographers
11th-century births
1146 deaths
Medieval Latin poets
Year of birth unknown
French classical composers
French male classical composers
12th-century French composers
Medieval male composers
12th-century Latin writers
12th-century French writers
12th-century French poets
Latin-language writers from France