The Frankish Hymnal (german: Fränkisches Hymnar, also called " Gallican Hymnal") is a collection of early medieval

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 ...

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'' ...

, most likely composed during the 6th to 8th centuries in

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

, recorded in a set of manuscripts of the mid-8th to early 9th century.

Manuscripts

According to

Helmut Gneuss Helmut Gneuss (born 29 October 1927) is a German scholar of Anglo-Saxon and Latin manuscripts and literature. Academic career Gneuss is emeritus professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he occupied the chair for English lang ...

(2000), the extant texts of the Frankish Hymnal are found in the following six manuscripts, all originating in northeastern France or southwestern Germany: *

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

Reg. Lat. 11, foll. 230v–236v, mid-8th century; *Paris B.N. Lat. 14088, 8th or 9th century; *Paris, B.N. Lat. 13159, c. 795–800; *Paris, B.N. Lat. 528, early 9th century; *Zürich, ZB MS

Rheinau Rheinau may refer to: *Rheinau, Switzerland, a town in the canton of Zürich *Rheinau Abbey, in Rheinau, Switzerland *Rheinau (Baden), a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany *a part of Mannheim, Germany {{geodis ...

34, early 9th century; *Oxford,

Bodleian The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

MS Junius 25 (the Murbach hymnal), early 9th century. A critical edition of the text was published by Bulst (1956). The Frankish Hymnal is one of the regional traditions of "

Ambrosian hymns The Ambrosian hymns are a collection of early hymns of the Latin liturgical rites, whose core of four hymns were by Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century. The hymns of this core were enriched with another eleven to form the Old Hymnal, which spre ...

", developed on the basis of the "

Old Hymnal Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

", a collection of about 15 hymns of the

Latin rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

which surround the core of original hymns composed by saint

Ambrose of Milan Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...

in the 4th century. Other regional traditions recognized in Fontaine (1992) are the "Milano Hymnal", the "Spanish Hymnal", and the "New Hymnal" as it developed for the use in

Benedictine monasteries , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

in the 9th to 11th centuries. Within the Frankish hymnal, the Oxford manuscript (the Murbach hymnal) is of particular interest, as it includes a full set of

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

glosses, likely still dating to the first quarter of the 9th century.

List of hymns

Seventeen hymns are innovations to the Frankish Hymnal (underlined below), of which six survive into the New Hymnal.Inge B. Milfull, ''The Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church: A Study and Edition of the 'Durham Hymnal' '' (1996)
473f.
/ref>

References

{{reflist *Walther Bulst, ''Hymni latini antiquissimi LXXV Psalmi III'', Heidelberg (1956). *Jacques Fontaine (ed.), ''Ambroise de Milan: Hymnes'' (1992). *Helmut Gneuss, "Zur Geschichte des Hymnars", ''Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch'' 35.2 (2000) 227–247 (p. 228). *Marie-Hélène Jullien, "Les sources de la tradition ancienne des quatorze 'Hymnes' attribuées à saint Ambroise de Milan", ''Revue d’histoire des textes'' (1989), 57–189 (86–91). *Lothar Voetz, "Murbacher Hymnen (Interlinearversion)" in: R. Bergmann (ed.), ''Althochdeutsche und altsächsische Literatur'' (2013)
272–288
Hymnals Hymnology Latin-language Christian hymnals Latin liturgical rites Order of Saint Benedict Christianity in Francia 8th-century poems 8th-century Latin books

Manuscripts

List of hymns

See also

References