Hospodine pomiluj ny Traktat Jana z Holesova

Hospodine pomiluj ny ( English: ''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 *Czech (surnam ...

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'' d ...

is a paraphrase of the Kyrie Eleison with deep choral melody. Its text preserves traces of

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

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 Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

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

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) 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 either. ...

s. Its definitive version comes from time when

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

competed with

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

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 ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 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 Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

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. E ...

given in Bethlehem Chapel in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. 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 sho ...

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

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

Text

In modern Czech

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: 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) English 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 Phrayā Siam Mānukūlakicca Siammitra Mahāyaśa (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 distinguished Czech composer and conductor. Kabeláč belongs to the foremost Czech symphonists, whose work is sometimes compared with Antonín Dvořák's and Bohuslav Martinů's. ...

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 (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

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 Music of the Czech Republic Year of song unknown Songs with unknown songwriters