__NOTOC__ The Leise or Leis (plural ''Leisen''; from the Greek ''

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 ...

'') is a genre of

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

church song. They appear to have originated in the German-speaking regions, but are also found in Scandinavia, and are a precursor of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

church music. Leisen arose in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

as brief responses in the vernacular to sung elements of the Latin Mass, especially

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...

s sung on feast days of the ecclesiastical year, and were also sung during processionals and on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

s. They often consist of a single

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

, ending in some form of ''Kyrie eleison'', which is supposedly the origin of the name. The oldest known Leise, the Petruslied, is found on the last page (folio 158v) of a manuscript of ''In Genesin'' by

Hrabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...

, dated ''circa'' 860, formerly in the cathedral library of

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Is ...

, now in the

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the bigg ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. It is a song to

St. Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

, with the title ''Unsar trothîn hât farsalt'', and was added to the manuscript in the ninth or in the early tenth century. Another early example is the ''Adalbertuslied'' (for

Adalbert of Prague Adalbert of Prague ( la, Sanctus Adalbertus, cs, svatý Vojtěch, sk, svätý Vojtech, pl, święty Wojciech, hu, Szent Adalbert (Béla); 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch ( la, Vo ...

), which was popular in Bohemia and was sung at the saint's grave during droughts; they were also sometimes sung before battles.Josef Sittard, ''Compendium der Geschichte der Kirchenmusik mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des kirchlichen Gesanges: von Ambrosius zur Neuzeit'', Stuttgart: Levy & Müller, 1881,
p. 174
. They are an early expression of popular piety.

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

expanded several leisen into

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the t ...

s, and they are therefore forerunners of German Protestant

hymnology Hymnology (from Greek ὕμνος ''hymnos'', "song of praise" and -λογία ''-logia'', "study of") is the scholarly study of religious song, or the hymn, in its many aspects, with particular focus on choral and congregational song. It may be m ...

Leisen in current use

German

The '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (EG, the German-language Protestant hymnal used in Germany, Austria, Alsace, Lorraine, and Luxembourg) and the Catholic hymnal ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

'' (GL, used in Germany, Austria, and South Tyrol) include the following leisen: * " Sei uns willkommen, Herre Christ" (EG 22), revised from the original * "

Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ "" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ") is a Lutheran hymn, written by Martin Luther in 1524. It was first published in 1524 in the . For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied) for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, ...

" (EG 23, GL 252), first stanza 1380, expanded by Luther to the Christmas sequence Grates nunc omnes * "Du Kind, zu dieser heilgen Zeit" (EG 50, GL 254), a modern Christmas leise by

Jochen Klepper Jochen Klepper (22 March 1903 – 11 December 1942) was a German writer, poet and journalist. Life Klepper was born in Beuthen, Silesia (now in Poland). Suffering from severe asthma, he was schooled at home by his father, a Lutheran minister, unt ...

(1937) * "Ehre sei dir, Christe" (EG 75) * "Holz auf Jesu Schulter" (EG 97, GL 291), a modern Easter leise (Dutch 1963, German 1975) * "

Christ ist erstanden "Christ ist erstanden" (Christ is risen) is a German Easter hymn, and is possibly the oldest Christian liturgical German song. It has inspired music by composers such as Ludwig Senfl and Heinrich Schütz (from the sixteenth and seventeenth centur ...

" (EG 99, GL 318), expanded by Luther to the Easter sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes * " Jesus Christus, unser Heiland" (EG 102) * "

Christ fuhr gen Himmel "" (Christ rose to Heaven) is a German Ascension hymn. The church song is based the medieval melody of the Easter hymn "". It was an ecumenical song from the beginning, with the first stanza published in 1480, then included in a Lutheran hymnal ...

" (EG 120, GL 319), expanded by Luther * "

Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

" (EG 124, GL 348), adapted by Luther (the GL version has stanzas by

Maria Luise Thurmair Maria Luise Thurmair née Mumelter (27 September 1912 – 24 October 2005) was a German Catholic theologian, hymnodist and writer. She contributed the lyrics of many hymns when the Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob'' was first published in 1975. Care ...

and

Michael Vehe Michael Vehe (c. 1480–1539) was a German monk and theologian. Life Vehe was born in Biberach (now part of Heilbronn, near Bad Wimpfen). He joined the Dominicans in Wimpfen and was sent to Heidelberg in 1506, where he taught in 1512 and recei ...

) * "

Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet "Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet" (God be praised and blessed) is a Lutheran hymn of 1524 with words written by Martin Luther who used an older first stanza and melody. It is a song of thanks after communion. Luther's version in three stanzas was ...

" (EG 214, GL 215), accompanying the Corpus Christi sequence

Lauda Sion "Lauda Sion" is a sequence prescribed for the Roman Catholic Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi. It was written by St. Thomas Aquinas around 1264, at the request of Pope Urban IV for the new Mass of this feast, along with Pange lingua, Sacris ...

* "Herr Jesu Christe, mein getreuer Hirte" (EG 217), by

Johann Heermann Johann Heermann (11 October 158517 February 1647) was a German poet and hymnodist. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt. Life Heermann was born in Raudten (m ...

(1630) * "" (EG 231), by Luther * "In Gottes Namen fahren wir" (EG 498), pilgrim song * "

Mitten wir im Leben sind "" ("In the Midst of Life we are in Death") is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Latin antiphon "Media vita in morte sumus". The hymn in three stanzas was first published in 1524. The hymn inspired composers from t ...

" (EG 518, GL 503), by Luther * " Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" (GL 224) * "Meine engen Grenzen" (GL 437; EG-West/Reformed Church 600; EG-Hesse 584; EG-Württemberg 589; EG-Austria 574) * "

Sonne der Gerechtigkeit "" (Sun of Justice) is a German Christian hymn with a complex history. The image of a sun of justice or righteousness was created by the prophet Malachi. The text was compiled around 1930 by Otto Riethmüller from older stanzas by different hymnw ...

" (GL 481; EG 262/263)

Swedish

* "" (1695 Swedish hymnal, 336; 1996 Lutheran hymnal, 968), translation of ''In Gottes Namen fahren wir''; in 1736 Lars Högmarck attributed the original to

Nikolaus Herman Nikolaus Herman (first name also ''Nicolaus'' or ''Niklas''; 1500 – 3 May 1561) was a German Lutheran cantor and teacher, creating numerous Protestant hymns. Some of them are contained in hymnals in several languages. Career Herman was born ...

and the translation to .

References

{{Western medieval lyric forms Christian hymns Western medieval lyric forms