The ("Contemplation on the Three Children's Hymn"), or shortly , is the only extant work of Bishop Gerard of Csanád (d. 1046). It is an important source of the history of the Christianization of Hungary in the early 11th century.

Manuscript

The entire work has been preserved in a late-11th-century manuscript written in Carolingian minuscule. A note at the top of one of its leaves indicates that it was held at the library of the Catholic Diocese of Freising in the 12th century.

Bishop Gerard

The work's author,

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

, was the first bishop of Csanád in Hungary (now Cenad in Romania) from 1030 to 1046.

Subject

The work is a treatise on the story of Prophet Daniel's

three friends ''Three Friends'' (1972) is the third album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant. It was the band's first release to chart in America, peaking at #197 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It is the only album by Gentle Giant to feature drummer Ma ...

whom King

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...

sentenced to death for refusing to worship a golden statue. They were thrown into a fiery furnace, but they survived unharmed. In his work, Gerard contrasts "inane philosophy" with "heavenly wisdom".

References

Sources

* * * Medieval documents of Hungary Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego History of Banat {{Serbia-hist-stub