St. Germanus, 634-734
Tr. John M. Neale, 1818-66
This is one of a half dozen or more hymns in our book that have come down from the ancient Eastern or Greek Church. (Other hymns from this period are Nos. [34], [113], [115], [143], and [398].)
St. Germanus was born and died in Constantinople. He lived to be a hundred years old. He became an influential leader in the church, and served, for a time, as Patriarch, or Bishop of Constantinople.
For this translation, we are indebted to John M. Neale, English hymnologist and classical scholar. Neale possessed extraordinary linguistic skill and did more than anyone else to make available to English speaking people some of the rich treasure of Greek and Latin hymnody.
MUSIC. ES IST EIN’ ROS’ ENTSPRUNGEN, also known as “Rosa Mystica,” is a traditional German melody, originally set to a well-known carol beginning with the stanza:
Es ist ein Reis entsprungen
Aus einer Wurzel zart,
Als uns die Alten sungen,
Von Jesse kam die Art,