"Jerusalem the Golden" is a nineteenth-century Christian

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'' ...

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...

. The text is from Neale's translation of a section of

Bernard of Cluny Bernard of Cluny (or, of Morlaix or Morlay) was a twelfth-century French Benedictine monk, best known as the author of ''De contemptu mundi'' (''On Contempt for the World''), a long verse satire in Latin. Life Bernard's family of origin and place ...

's Latin verse satire ''

De Contemptu Mundi ''De Contemptu Mundi'' (''On Contempt for the World'') is the most well-known work of Bernard of Cluny. It is a 3,000 verse poem of stinging satire directed against the secular and religious failings he observed in the world around him. He spares ...

''.

Origin

Richard Chenevix Trench Richard Chenevix Trench (Richard Trench until 1873; 9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet. Life He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin write ...

included 95 lines from the beginning of Bernard's 3000-line poem in his ''Sacred Latin Poetry'', published in 1849. They describe "the peace and glory of heaven", while the remainder of ''De Contemptu Mundi'' exposes earthly suffering and corruption. Based on Trench's Latin edition, Neale's translation "Hora Novissima" appeared in his 1851 collection ''Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences''. Sections of his text were used for several hymns, including "The World is Very Evil", "Brief Life is Here our Portion", "For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country", as well as "Jerusalem the Golden". In his introduction to the third edition of ''Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences'' in 1867 Neale noted that "Jerusalem the Golden" had already been published in twenty hymnals. As well as being adopted for

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

services, it had become popular with

English Dissenters English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who disagrees in opinion, belief and ...

and was being used in

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

churches. He remarked that "for the last two years it has hardly been possible to read any newspaper which gives prominence to ecclesiastical news, without seeing its employment chronicled at some dedication or other festival".

Text (opening lines)

Trench's Latin version

:Urbs Syon aurea, patria lactea, cive decora :Omne cor obruis, omnibus obstruis et cor et ora :Nescio, nescio, quae jubilatio, lux tibi quali :Quam sociala gaudia, gloria quam specialis :Laude studens ea tollere, mens mea victa fatiscit :O bona gloria, vincor; in omnia laus tua vicit.

Neale's English translation

:Jerusalem the golden, With milk and honey blest, :Beneath thy contemplation Sink heart and voice oppressed. :I know not, O I know not, what joys await us there, :What radiancy of glory, What light beyond compare. :They Stand, those halls of Zion, all jubilant with song, :And bright with many an angel, and all the martyr throng; :when I fain would sing them my spirit fails and faints, :And vainly would it image the assembly of the Saints.

Tune

The tune most often used for this text is known as "Ewing". Alexander Ewing composed the tune for the Aberdeen Harmonic Choir for use with "For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country", another hymn derived from Neale's translation of ''De Contemptu Mundi''. The score first appeared in 1853 as a leaflet. In 1857 it was included in ''A Manual of Psalm and Hymn Tunes'' and it was published in 1861 in ''

Hymns Ancient and Modern ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' is a hymnal in common use within the Church of England, a result of the efforts of the Oxford Movement. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitable ...

''. For this publication the editor,

William Henry Monk William Henry Monk (16 March 1823 – 1 March 1889) was an English organist, church musician and music editor who composed popular hymn tunes, including "Eventide", used for the hymn "Abide with Me", and " All Things Bright and Beautiful". H ...

, changed the

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

from

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

to duple and used it for the tune of "Jerusalem the Golden". In his notes to the third edition of ''Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences'' in 1867 Neale remarked that Ewing's tune was "the earliest written, the best known, and with children the most popular" for use with "Jerusalem the Golden".

References

External links

"Jerusalem the Golden" at Hymnary.org

Solo piano version of "Jerusalem the Golden" (Ewing)
{{Authority control English Christian hymns 19th-century hymns