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

kyrie eleison ', a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of ('' Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, , "Lord, have mercy" derives from a Biblical phrase. Greek , ...

'') is a genre of

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

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

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 branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church music. Leisen arose in the

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

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 cal ...

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

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

s. They often consist of a single

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. ...

, 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 th ...

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

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

, now in the

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

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. It is a song to St. Peter, 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 (, , , , ; 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch (), was a Czech missionary and Christian saint. He was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians, Poles, ...

), 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, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

expanded several leisen into

chorale A 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 o ...

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 ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...

'' (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-speak ...

'' (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 an der Oder, (now Bytom Odrzański in Poland). Suffering from severe asthma, he was schooled at home by his father, a ...

(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 the music of numerous composers, such as Ludwig Senfl and Heinrich Schütz (from the sixteenth and se ...

" (EG 99, GL 318), expanded by Luther to the Easter sequence

Victimae Paschali Laudes "Victimae paschali laudes" is a sequence prescribed for the Catholic Mass, Anglican and Lutheran Eucharistic services on Easter Sunday. It is usually attributed to the 11th-century Wipo of Burgundy, chaplain to Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, but h ...

* " Jesus Christus, unser Heiland" (EG 102) * " Christ fuhr gen Himmel" (EG 120, GL 319), expanded by Luther * " Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" (EG 124, GL 348), adapted by Luther (the GL version has stanzas by Maria Luise Thurmair 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 receiv ...

) * " Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet" (EG 214, GL 215), accompanying the Corpus Christi sequence Lauda Sion * "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 ( ...

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