''Pange lingua'' may refer to either of two Mediaeval Latin hymns of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

: one by

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

and one by

Venantius Fortunatus Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; french: Venance Fortunat), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerate ...

(530-609), which extols the triumph of the Cross. He wrote it for a procession that brought a part of the true Cross to Queen

Radegunda Radegund ( la, Radegundis; also spelled ''Rhadegund, Radegonde, or Radigund''; 520 – 13 August 587) was a Thuringii, Thuringian princess and Franks, Frankish queen, who founded the Holy Cross Abbey (Poitiers), Abbey of the Holy Cross at Poitie ...

in 570. This hymn is used on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

during the Adoration of the Cross and in the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

during Holy Week and on feasts of the Cross. The concluding stanza was not written by Fortunatus, but was added later. When used in the Liturgy the hymn is often broken into smaller hymns such as: ''Lustra sex qui iam peregit'', ''En acetum, fel, arundo'', and ''Crux fidelis inter omnes''. There is a charming ancient legend that is hinted at in the second verse of this hymn. According to this legend, the wood of the Cross upon which Christ was crucified was taken from that tree which was the source of the fruit of the fall in the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...

. When Adam died, the legend states, Seth obtained from the

Cherubim A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

guarding the Garden a branch of the tree from which Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Seth planted this branch at

Golgotha Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

(the place of the skull), which is so named because Adam was buried there. As time went on, the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...

, the pole upon which the bronze serpent was lifted, and other items were made from this tree. * ''

Pange lingua gloriosi proelium certaminis "Pange lingua gloriosi proelium certaminis" (Latin for 'Sing, tongue, the battle of glorious combat') is a 6th-century AD Latin hymn generally credited to the Christian poet St. Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, celebrating the Passion ...

'' by Venantius Fortunatus, 6th Century, celebrating the Passion of Jesus Christ. (Also sometimes found as ''Pange lingua gloriosi lauream certaminis'') * ''

Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium "Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium" () is a Medieval Latin hymn attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) for the Feast of Corpus Christi. It is also sung on Maundy Thursday during the procession from the church to the place where t ...

'' by Thomas Aquinas, 13th Century, celebrating the Institution of the Eucharist.

Musical settings

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

, 5 settings : ** ''Pange lingua,'' motet for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and bc H.58 (? mid-1670s) ** ''Pange lingua,'' motet for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and bc H.61 (1680 - 81) ** ''Pange lingua,'' motet for soloists, chorus, flutes, strings and bc H.64 (? late 1680s) ** ''Pange lingua,'' motet for 4 voices and bc H.68 (? late 1680s) ** ''Pange lingua, motet pour des religieuses / Pour le Port-Royal,'' for soloists, union chorus and bc H.62 (1681)

References

{{Thomas Aquinas Christian hymns

Musical settings

See also

References