Such in brief is the background of that revival of hymnody which appears in the Carolingian period. It remains to trace, in detail, the evolution of the monastic hymnal known as the Later or Ninth Century Hymnal.
II. The Later Hymnal
The enlargement and diversification of the Hymnal to which Canon Douglas referred in the words quoted at the close of Chapter Two, occurred within the general historical limits of the Carolingian era and with the exception of Spain and the British Isles, within the general geographical limits of Carolingian political influence. The hymn cycles of the period, recorded in manuscripts which reflect the numerical increase in hymns as well as their diffusion upon the continent, are associated with religious centers, for example, St. Martial, Laon, Douai, Moissac, St. Germain-des-Prés, Corbie, Jumièges, Reichenau, Treves, Schäftlarn near Munich, Murbach, Rheinau, St. Gall, Einsiedeln, Bobbio, Monte Cassino, Benevento, Padua, Toledo, Canterbury, Naples and many other places. The nucleus of the Later Hymnal has been identified with the hymn cycle found partly in a hymnarium of the ninth century from St. Paul’s in Lavantthal, Carinthia, and partly in a similar manuscript from Karlsruh, both manuscripts being associated with Reichenau.[20] The basic hymns from this group of sources current in the Carolingian period are listed in the [appendix] to this chapter. A complete list of the manuscript sources (prior to 1100), including the above and others, with an index of the hymns which they contain, approximately 800 in number, was provided by James Mearns, the English hymnologist, in his Early Latin Hymnaries.[21]
So much for the evidence as to the actual hymns in use from sources available at the period when the Later Hymnal flourished. The origin of the Later Hymnal, however, is far from clear. It has been defined as a collection arising about the seventh century which superseded the Old Hymnal and has since prevailed.[22] This opinion advanced by Blume and affirmed by Walpole, depends upon the theory that the later cycle had been in use in the British Isles since the period of Gregory the Great. An Anglo-Irish cycle therefore, was posited which took possession of the continent, usurping the original Benedictine hymnal. As early as 1911, Blume’s theory was questioned by Wilmart, the Benedictine scholar, who asserted that the early cycle constituted a Gallican hymnal only,—a possibility mentioned above. He thought that the Later Hymnal was a new version of the Benedictine cycle representing a normal growth through the centuries. Other critics of note have adopted one or the other viewpoint, Frere following that of Blume; and Raby, that of Wilmart.[23] A final solution is obviously impossible for lack of manuscript evidence.
At the accession of Charlemagne, 768, the future of liturgical hymnody was uncertain as the forces of Roman usage and Benedictine practice were in conflict and the possibility of transferring the Benedictine heritage to the church extremely doubtful, as the preceding survey has already made clear. Secondary forces, however, were at work to achieve this very end. First, the early gains made in compiling the Gallican Hymnal and extending it to the secular clergy were never entirely lost. A precedent had been set. Second, the Benedictine cycle was enjoined wherever the Rule was effective and its use was further stimulated by royal capitularies upon the subject of music and singing. Third, the establishment of monastic centers of music in the leading Benedictine abbeys was productive of literary as well as musical effort, attested by the very manuscripts of hymn collections gathered there. The manuscripts of St. Gall, for example, cover every department of contemporary medieval hymnology.
Charlemagne was particularly interested in St. Gall but was also concerned with the monastic centers at Mainz, Fulda, Treves, Cologne, Bamberg, Hersfeld, Lorsch, Würzburg and Reichenau.[24] He founded Neustadt and endowed twelve monasteries in Germany. Meanwhile missionary zeal had guided Benedictine pioneers beyond the old boundaries, and Bavaria and Frisia had already been opened to missions and incidentally to the full round of Benedictine activities. Louis the Pious was active in monastic reform through his association with Benedict of Aniane; he was a special patron of St. Gall and he stimulated the efforts of leaders from Corbie to found New Corbie. Charles the Bald was a benefactor of Marchiennes, Compiègne, Prum and St. Denis.[25] Prior to this period, the numerous and influential foundations established on the continent by Irish monks had adopted the Benedictine Rule, swelling the total number of centers devoted to religious and educational activities.
The numerical increase in the Benedictine abbeys offers in itself presumptive evidence of a greater use of hymns. What is known of the monastic centers and their store of hymnaries offers direct proof. A closer bond between the Order and the cultural activities of the age is found in the great personalities drawn from Benedictine ranks to serve the imperial designs. Of particular interest here are the statements regarding hymns and hymn singing which appear in contemporary writings.
Alcuin was chiefly interested in the Roman liturgy as such but he wrote De psalmorum usu, Officia per ferias and the Epistolae, the last of which shows a special interest in music. Rabanus Maurus testifies to the general use of hymns by secular as well as regular clergy. Amalarius of Metz mentions the use of hymns outside the monasteries. Walafrid Strabo traces the use of hymns from the time of Ambrose and repeats the Canon of Toledo recommending hymns. He says that churches which do not use hymns are exceptional.[26] The testimony is scattered but it points to the adoption of the hymnal by the secular clergy. It should also be recalled that the Ambrosian tradition of musical independence was constantly maintained at Milan.
As the Latin language became more and more an exclusive clerical possession, the old safeguards provided by monastic walls were no longer necessary. The whole body of clergy whether regular or secular became the custodians of the hymnaries used in monastic and diocesan centers of music and scholarship.[27] The Christian laity of Europe at this period may have been largely ignorant of their hymnic heritage because the Carolingian extension of hymn writing and hymn singing occurred within clerical ranks. There was at this time scant indication of the future course of Latin hymnology which would ultimately restore to the layman his original possession handed down from the Early Christian Church.
The poetical writings of the era included a substantial body of religious verse from which hymns are attributed to the following authors: Paulus Diaconus, 1; Paulinus of Aquileia, 7; Alcuin, 3; Theodulphus, 1; Rabanus Maurus, 2; Walafrid Strabo, 5; Florus of Lyons, 2; Wandelbert of Prum, 1; Paulus Albarus of Cordova, 1; Cyprian and Samson, 2; Sedulius Scottus, 2; Milo, 2; Ratbod, 2; Hucbald, 1; Hartmann, 4; Ratpert, 4; Eugenius Vulgarius, 1; these with 73 of doubtful authorship make a total contribution of 114 hymns.