Hospodine pomiluj ny (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Lord, Have Mercy on Us'') is the oldest known

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

song. 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 ''hy ...

is a paraphrase of the

Kyrie Eleison Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...

with deep choral melody. Its text preserves traces of Church Slavonic origin.

History

Author of the song, dating from the turn of 10/11th century, is unknown, but authorship is usually attributed to the

saint, missionary and martyr Svatý Vojtěch ( St. Adalbert of Prague). The text has simple form with 8 verses, without rhyme or stanzas. Its definitive version comes from time when Old Church Slavonic competed with

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 ...

and absorbed Czech components. First mention of the choral comes from 1055 when it was sung during election of duke Spytihněv II of Bohemia. The oldest recording appears in chronicle of Jan from Holešov from 1397. It was also sung during celebrations and as a war song. Charles IV used it during his

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...

during

sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

given in

Bethlehem Chapel The Bethlehem Chapel ('' cs, Betlémská kaple, link=no'') is a medieval religious building in the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic, notable for its connection with the origins of the Bohemian Reformation, especially with the Czech reformer ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. Together with Saint Wenceslas Chorale it is one of the first Czech national anthems. The song, almost unmodified, is still used during liturgy.

Text

In modern Czech

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and ...

: explanatory notes
/sup> Hospodine pomiluj ny Hospodine, pomiluj ny, Jezu Kriste, pomiluj ny, ty Spase všeho míra, spasiž ny, i uslyšiž, Hospodine, hlasy nášě; daj nám všém, Hospodine, žizň a mír v zemi; žizň a mír v zemi. Krleš, Krleš, Krleš!

translation: source
/sup> O Domine, miserere O Domine, miserere, Iesu Christe, miserere, Salus es totius mundi, salva nos et percipe, o Domine, voces nostras; da cunctis, o Domine, panem, pacem terrae; panem, pacem terrae. Kyrie eleison! (translated by M. B. Boleluczky)

translation: source
/sup> Lord! have mercy upon us. Lord! have mercy upon us. Jesus Christ! have mercy upon us. Thou, Saviour of the whole world, Save us, and listen, Lord! to our voices. Give us all, O Lord, Plenteousness and peace on earth. Kyrie Eleison! (translated by

John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...

)

Notes

* ''God, Have Mercy on Us'' is sometimes seen as English translation of the name. * Several Czech classical music authors used the song as a model for their works, for example Miloslav Kabeláč in his "Metamorphoses I and II of Old Czech song Lord , have mercy of us". Metamorphoses I is the composition for symphonic orchestra and piano, Matamorphoses II are the "a capella" variations. Also

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

used this theme in one of his works - Hospodine, pomiluj ny (Lord Have Mercy Upon Us) for Solo Quartet and Mixed Double Choir with accompaniment of Organ, Harp, 3 Trumpet, 4 Trombons and Tuba.

References

* František Václav Mareš: "Cyrilometodějská tradice a slavistika", Prague, Torst, 2000, {{ISBN, 80-7215-111-8. Pages 403—476 contain in-depth study of the song.
/sup>

External links

"Hospodine pomiluj ny" in various versions
Czech and Latin text

(scroll down)

(text in Japanese) Czech anthems Czech Christian hymns Czech songs Czech early music Czech music Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown