Venantius Fortunatus, the troubadour, holds a very important place in early Latin hymnody. He wrote one of the greatest hymns of the Western Church, namely, Vexilla Regis—The royal banners forward go, the Cross shines forth in mystic glow. We quote the first stanza of another great hymn by Fortunatus, a grand Easter hymn.
Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say;
Hell today is vanquished; heaven is won today.
Lo! the Dead is living, God for evermore!
Him their true Creator, all His works adore.
Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say.
Simplicity, depth, fervor, divine sentiment, full-hearted confession, are some of the outstanding characteristics of the early Latin hymns. They are, on the whole, Scriptural, pure, and devotional. The key-note in these venerable old hymns consists of the main points of Christianity, the protection and care of the Father, the redemption of Christ, the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, strains of thanksgiving and praise, invocation of God’s support against the devil, the flesh and the world.
SECTION IV
MEDIAEVAL CHRISTIAN HYMNODY
A. D. 600-1520
When the Western Church passed into the mediaeval era of its history, about 600 A. D., we find church song in a new and different situation. During the ancient era of the Christian Church, it may be said that church song was, for the most part, a song of the people of God, a congregational song. Attempts had been made before this time, it is true, to suppress congregational song, but they had proven more or less unsuccessful. During the Middle Ages, however, the Church was successful in definitely transferring church song from the people to the clergy and a well trained clerical choir. Latin was the liturgical language of the entire Western Church, wherefore the mediaeval church hymns were written in that language. The Carolingian age, productive in so many respects, also produced a number of very beautiful hymns, resembling the best productions of the Ambrosian era of hymnody. Charlemagne was not only a zealous promoter but also a practiser of sacred poesy. In the ninth century Notker Balbulus of St. Gall monastery produced hymns called Sequences, which differed in their metrical structure from the older hymns. These Sequences had three or six lines in each verse, while the verses of the older hymns had four lines each. In a subsequent chapter we shall speak more fully of the Sequences and their remarkable birthplace.
Passing over into the mediaeval Church, we find that our church hymnody had three different sources in the time before the Reformation. One source was the Latin church hymnody. The second source consisted of the German songs, called Leisen. The third source was the religious folk-song of the common people.