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 ''hymn'' ...

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 fro ...

with deep choral melody. Its text preserves traces of

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...

origin.

History

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

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

, missionary and martyr Svatý Vojtěch ( St. Adalbert of Prague). The text has simple form with 8 verses, without rhyme or

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have eithe ...

s. Its definitive version comes from time when

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...

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 inspir ...

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. El ...

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 largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a tempera ...

. Together with Saint Wenceslas Chorale it is one of the first Czech national

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

s. The song, almost unmodified, is still used during

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

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 mos ...

: 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 ...

)

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 Miloslav Kabeláč (1 August 1908 – 17 September 1979) was a prominent Czech people, Czech composer and Conducting, conductor. Miloslav Kabeláč belongs to the foremost Czech symphonists, whose work is sometimes compared with Antonín Dvořák ...

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 fo ...

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