John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and

hymnwriter A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most famous hymns is the 1853 ''

Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During th ...

'', set on Boxing Day. An

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

, Neale's works have found positive reception in high-church Anglicanism and

Western Rite Orthodoxy Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the Eastern Orthodox tradition which perform their liturgy in Western forms. Besides altered versions of the Tridentine Mass, congrega ...

Life

Neale was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 24 January 1818, his parents being the clergyman Cornelius Neale and Susanna Neale, daughter of

John Mason Good John Mason Good (25 May 1764 – 2 January 1827), English writer on medical, religious and classical subjects, was born at Epping, Essex. John Good's parents were the Nonconformist minister Revd Peter Good and Sarah Good, the daughter of anothe ...

. A younger sister Elizabeth Neale (1822–1901) founded the

Community of the Holy Cross The Community of the Holy Cross (CHC) is an Anglican religious order founded in 1857 by Elizabeth Neale (sister of John Mason Neale), at the invitation of Father Charles Fuge Lowder, to work with the poor around St Peter's London Docks in Wappi ...

. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors ...

, Dorset, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where (despite being said to be the best classical scholar in his year) his lack of ability in mathematics prevented him taking an honours degree. Neale was named after the

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

cleric and hymn writer John Mason (1645–94), of whom his mother Susanna was a descendant. At the age of 22 Neale was the chaplain of Downing College, Cambridge. At Cambridge he was affected by the Oxford Movement and, particularly interested in church architecture, helped to found the

Cambridge Camden Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,Histor ...

(afterwards known as the Ecclesiological Society). The society advocated for more ritual and religious decoration in churches, and was closely associated with the Gothic Revival. Neale was ordained in 1842. He was briefly

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

of Crawley in Sussex, but was forced to resign due to a chronic lung disease. The following winter he lived in the Madeira Islands, where he was able to do research for his ''History of the Eastern Church''. In 1846 he became warden of

Sackville College Sackville College is a Jacobean almshouse in town of East Grinstead, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1609 with money left by Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset. Throughout its history it has provided sheltered accommodation for the ...

, an almshouse at East Grinstead, an appointment which he held until his death. In 1854 Neale co-founded the

Society of Saint Margaret The Society of Saint Margaret (SSM) is an order of women in the Anglican Church. The Order is active in England, Haiti, Sri Lanka, and the United States and formerly Scotland. History The Sisters of St Margaret were founded in 1855 by Dr John ...

, an order of women in the

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 ...

dedicated to nursing the sick. Many Protestants of the time were suspicious of the

restoration of Anglican religious orders Anglican religious orders are communities of men or women (or in some cases mixed communities of both men and women) in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows which often include ...

. In 1857, Neale was attacked and mauled at a funeral of one of the Sisters. Crowds threatened to stone him or to burn his house. He received no honour or preferment in England, and his doctorate was bestowed by

Trinity College (Connecticut) Trinity College is a private liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coeducational since 1969, the college enrolls 2,235 students. Tr ...

. He was also the principal founder of the

Anglican and Eastern Churches Association The Anglican and Eastern Churches Association is a religious organisation founded as the Eastern Church Association in 1864 by John Mason Neale and others and of which Athelstan Riley was a leading member. The purpose for which it was founded is t ...

, a religious organization founded as the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches Union in 1864. A result of this organisation was the ''Hymns of the Eastern Church'', edited by John Mason Neale and published in 1865. Neale was strongly

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

in his sympathies, and had to endure a good deal of opposition, including a fourteen years' inhibition by his bishop. Neale translated the Eastern liturgies into English, and wrote a mystical and devotional commentary on the Psalms. However, he is best known as a

and, especially, translator, having enriched English hymnody with many ancient and mediaeval hymns translated from Latin and Greek. For example, the melody of

originates from a medieval Latin springtime poem, Tempus adest floridum. More than anyone else, he made English-speaking congregations aware of the centuries-old tradition of Latin, Greek, Russian, and Syrian hymns. The 1875 edition of the ''

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 charitabl ...

'' contains 58 of his translated hymns; ''

The English Hymnal ''The English Hymnal'' is a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the Church of England by Oxford University Press. It was edited by the clergyman and writer Percy Dearmer and the composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams, and wa ...

'' (1906) contains 63 of his translated hymns and six original hymns by Neale. His translations include: * " All Glory, Laud and Honour" * " A Great and Mighty Wonder" * " O Blest Creator of the Light" * " O come, O come, Emmanuel" * "

Of the Father's Heart Begotten "Of the Father's heart begotten" alternatively known as "Of the Father's love begotten" is a doctrinal hymn based on the Latin poem "Corde natus" by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius, from his ''Liber Cathemerinon'' (hymn no. IX) beginning "Da ...

" * " Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle" * " To Thee Before the Close of Day" * " Ye Sons and Daughters of the King"

Death and legacy

Since Neale died on 6 August 1866, the

Feast of the Transfiguration The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated by various Christian communities in honor of the transfiguration of Jesus. The origins of the feast are less than certain and may have derived from the dedication of three basilicas on Mount Tabor.' ...

, he is commemorated by the Anglican churches on the following day, 7 August. Neale is honored in the

and in the Episcopal Church that day. Neale and

Catherine Winkworth Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Luth ...

are commemorated together in the

Calendar of Saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on 1 July, the anniversary of Winkworth's death. Neale was buried in St Swithun's churchyard, East Grinstead.

Works

Sermons *
Sermons for the Black Letter Days
' (1868) *
Sermons for Children
' (1869) *''Sermons Preached in a Religious House'' (1869)
volume one
*
Sermons on the Blessed Sacrament
' (1870) *
Sermons on the Passages of the Psalms
' (1871) *
Three Groups of Sermons
' (1871) *
Occasional Sermons
' (1873) *''Sermons for the Church Year'' (1876
volume one
*''Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel'' (1895) **Vol. IV
Minor Festivals of the Church of England
*''Sermons on Passages from the Prophets'' (1895)
volume one
Hymns and carols Neale's most enduring and widely known legacy is probably his contribution to the Christmas repertoire, most notably: * ''

Good Christian Men, Rejoice "In dulci jubilo" (Latin for "In sweet rejoicing") is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J. M. N ...

'', Christmas carol * ''

'', his original legendary Boxing Day carol
''O come, O come, Emmanuel''
Advent hymn translated from the "

O Antiphons The O Antiphons (also known as the Great Advent Antiphons or Great Os) are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers on the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when Boethius refers to th ...

" for the week preceding Christmas John Mason Neale also wrote the hymn: * ''A Great and Mighty Wonder'', translated from the Greek of St Germanus, although Neale incorrectly attributed it to St Anatolius. Hymn-books
''Hymni ecclesiae e breviariis: quibusdam et missalibus gallicanis, germanis, hispanis, lusitanis''
(1851)
''Hymnal Noted''
(Novello, Ewer and Company, 1851)
''Accompanying Harmonies to The Hymnal Noted''
by John Mason Neale and

Thomas Helmore Thomas Helmore (7 May 1811, in Kidderminster – 6 July 1890, in Westminster) was a choirmaster, writer about singing and author and editor of hymns and carols. Helmore's father was a congregationalist minister (also called Thomas). During th ...

, published under the sanction of the Ecclesiological society by Novello, Ewer (1852)
''Sequentiae ex missalibus : Germanicis, Anglicis, Gallicis, Aliisque medii aevi, collectae''
(1852)
''Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences''
1862 edition compiled by John Mason Neale
''Seatonian poems''
(1864)
''Hymns of the Eastern Church, translated with Notes and an Introduction''
1870 edition compiled by John Mason Neale Theological and historical books
''A History of the Holy Eastern Church''
(1847) * ''An Introduction to the History of the Holy Eastern Church'' (1850, 2 vols)
''A short commentary on the Hymnal noted; from ancient sources''
(1852)
''The Bible, and the Bible only, the religion of protestants, a lecture''
(1852)
''The ancient liturgies of the Gallican Church: now first collected, with an introductory dissertation, notes, and various readings, together with parallel passages from the Roman, Ambrosian, and Mozarabic rites''
(1855)
''Mediæval preachers and mediæval preaching''
(1856)
''A history of the so-called Jansenist church of Holland; with a sketch of its earlier annals, and some account of the Brothers of the common life''
(1858)
''Voices from the East, documents on the present state and working of the Oriental Church''
(1859)
''Essays on Liturgiology and Church History''
(1863)
''A commentary on the Psalms''
by John Mason Neale and

Richard Frederick Littledale Richard Frederick Littledale (1833–1890) was an Anglo-Irish clergyman and writer. Life The fourth son of John Littledale, an auctioneer, he was born in Dublin on 14 September 1833. On 15 October 1850 he entered Trinity College Dublin, was elec ...

(1868)
''A History of the Holy Eastern Church''
(1873)
''A Commentary on the Psalms: From Primitive and Mediaeval Writers''
by John Mason Neale and

References

Sources

* ''John Mason Neale, DD: A Memoir'' (1907), Eleanor Towle * ''Memoir'' by his friend,

* ''Letters of John Mason Neale'' (1910), selected and edited by Eleanor Towle * Has a complete list of Neale's works *

External links

* * *
Works of John Mason Neale

John Mason Neale
directory on Project Canterbury {{DEFAULTSORT:Neale, John Mason 1818 births 1866 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Anglican saints Anglo-Catholic clergy Anglo-Catholic writers Christian hymnwriters English Anglo-Catholics People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar People educated at Sherborne School Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni 19th-century Anglican theologians