''A Dictionary of Hymnology'' (or, more completely, ''A Dictionary of Hymnology: Origin and History of Christian Hymns and Hymnwriters of All Ages and Nations, Together with Biographical and Critical Notices of Their Authors and Translators'') by

John D. Julian John Julian (27 January 1839 – 23 January 1913) (no middle name on birth certificate) was a Church of England clergyman, known as the editor of ''A Dictionary of Hymnology''. Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first this was th ...

, first published in 1892, was for over 100 years a standard historical reference for early

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

hymns 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'' ...

, with more than 40,000 entries. The work contains biographical and historical notes about the history of hymns and hymn writers. It is not a collection of hymn texts or

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s, though brief quotations and references are included. Originally published in 1892 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by John Murray and in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

, it was reprinted in 1907-1908 by John Murray, in 1957 by

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

(in two volumes) and in 1985 by

Kregel Publications Kregel Publications is an Evangelical Christian book publisher based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It has three subdivisions: ''Kregel Publications'', ''Editorial Portavoz'' and ''Kregel Parable Bookstore''. History The company was founded in 1909, ...

. It was not revised after 1902, but remains an important source for early Christian hymns, such as

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 ...

ones. Its successor, the ''Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology'', edited by J.R. Watson and Emma Hornby, was published on-line by Canterbury Press in October 2013.

References

External links

''A Dictionary of Hymnology''
on Google Books
''A Dictionary of Hymnology''
on Internet Archive
''Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dictionary of Hymnology 1892 non-fiction books 19th-century Christian texts Hymnwriters 1892 in Christianity John Murray (publishing house) books Charles Scribner's Sons books