Tag Archives: Vespers

Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part D: “…of the holy found rest through him.”

31 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part D: “…of the holy found rest through him.”

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


(san)ctoru(m) requieverunt per
eu(m). Ps. D(omi)ne… V. Dispersit, dedit pauperibus
R. lustitia…
Dispersit, dedit pau-
peribus
iustitia ma-
net in seculu(m) seculi.

of the holy found rest through
him. PS O Lord V. He distributed, he gave to the poor…
R. His justice…
He distributed, he gave to the
poor; his justice
remains forever.


Cum invocarum… Petrus
ordinis nostri pater ex
operibus iustificatus est
offernes seipsum in rede(me)p-
tione(m) captivoru(m). Ps.

When I was calling upon… Peter,
the father of our order, was justified by his works,
offering himself for the ransoming of captives. Psalm.


Verb… m… A(men) Pergebat
ad o(m)nes qui in captivi-
tate erant et monita sa-
lutis dabat eis. Ps. D(omi)ne (in vertute tua…)
V. Salvavit eos de (manu odientium)
R. Et redemit eos (de manu inimici)

In tertio Noc(urno) A(men) Captivorum

He proceeded
to all who were in captivity
and gave to them counsels
about salvation. Psalm O Lord, in your power…
Verse. He saved them from the hand of those hating them…
Response. And he redeemed them from the hand of the enemy
Sung at the third Nocturn Captives


miserat(us) aerumnas pro e-
oru(m) miseratione Domi-
num lugiter exorabat.
Ps. D(omi)ne… Visita-
vit vinctos in mendici(tate
et ferro et vincula eorum disrupit.)

Having taken pity on the
hardships of the captives,
with compassion for them
he continually prayed to the Lord.
Psalm. O Lord… He visited
those bound in beggary
(and by the sword and he shattered their bonds.)

These hymns celebrate the life of St. Peter of Nolasco and are usually sung — with local variation — on January 28 or 31. St. Peter Nolasco, with St. Raymond of Penafort, was the founder of the Order of Mercedarians, the religious community which sent members as ransom for Christian prisoners in the hands of the Saracens. Details of his life are uncertain, but he was probably a native of Languedoc. After taking part in the crusade against the heretic Albigensians of Southern France, he became a tutor of King James I of Aragon and then settled at Barcelona. There he became friends with St. Raymond of Penafort, and in 1218, with the support of James I, they laid the foundation for the Mercedarians. Twice Peter went to Africa to serve as a captive, and it was reported that during one journey to Granada and Valencia he won the release from Moorish jails of some four hundred captive Christians. He was canonized by Pope Urban VIII in 1628. For the most part these texts are derived from the Mercedarian Breviary and were the antiphons and hymns sung at lauds in the morning and at vespers in the evening on the Feast of Saint Peter Nolasco.

~Transcription, translation, and commentary by James T. Svendsen, associate professor emeritus, World Languages and Cultures, The University of Utah

Parchment leaves from an Antiphonal, 16th c Italy/Florence/Sienna. Eleven parchment leaves from the Proper of Saints, Feast of the Blessed Peter of Sienna (16 Mar), Vespers/Matins.
“Text and music on thick, stiff parchment is continuous throughout the fragment. The feasts as written here celebrate the virtuous deeds of one Peter who showed a profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was honored for giving alms to the poor and was commanded by the Virgin to free captives. Thus, the feast may be linked to the Franciscan Piettro Pettinari (d. 1289), who attained the rank of Blessed (Beatus) in the Christian church and was renowned for these very activities. A local vigorous cult resulted in religious songs composed to him in the vernacular, and he even rated a mention in Dante’s Purgatorio.

~Description by Elizabeth Peterson, associate professor, Dept. of Art & Art History, The University of Utah, from Paging Through Medieval Lives, a catalog for an exhibition held November 2, 1997 through January 4, 1998 at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Editor’s note: The commentary by Dr. Svendsen and the description by Dr. Peterson differ, each identifying “Peter” as different people, Peter Nolasco and Piettro (Peter) Pettinari (of Sienna). Dr. Svendsen, shown Dr. Peterson’s assessment, was politely firm about his identification. This is a perfect, lovely example of the different ways two scholars in two fields can approach an object, coming up with different results. In the case here, an esteemed Classicist and an esteemed art historian disagree, although the suspected dates of their protagonists have only about fifty years between them; one from Southern France, the other from Northern Italy — not so far apart.

Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part C: “…at his right hand bees miraculously erected a honeycomb of honey.”

30 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part C: “…at his right hand bees miraculously erected a honeycomb of honey.”

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


dextera eius apes favu(m)
mellis mirabiliter ex-
truxerunt. Ps(almus) Beat(us) vir qui non abiit…
Dirupisiti Domine
vincula eoru(m) et proie-

at his right hand bees
miraculously erected a honeycomb
of honey. Psalm. Blessed (is the man who has not departed)…
O Lord, you have shattered
their bonds and you have cast


cisti ab eis iugu(m) ipso(rum)
Gaudium magnu(m) ha-
beamus et consolatione(m)
in charitate beati patris
nostri quia viscera san-ctoru(m)

off their yoke from them.
Let us have great joy
and consolation
in the charity of our blessed father
because the remains of the holy

~Transcription and translation by James T. Svendsen, associate professor emeritus, World Languages and Cultures, The University of Utah

MS chant frag. 5 — Parchment leaves from the Proper of Saints, Feast of the Blessed Peter of Siena (16 March), Vespers/Matins.

~Description by Elizabeth Peterson, associate professor, Dept. of Art & Art History, The University of Utah, from Paging Through Medieval Lives, a catalog for an exhibition held November 2, 1997 through January 4, 1998 at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part B: “Let us praise the glorious man…”

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part B: “Let us praise the glorious man…”

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Laudemus
virum gloiosu(m)
et parentem nostrum
ardentissimam eius
charitatem imitar-ri

Let us praise the
glorious man
and our parent/founder; let us try
to imitate his most ardent
charity,


conemus qui exaudi-
vit paupieres vinctos
in mendicitate et fe-
rro. Salvavit eos
de manu odientium et

who heard the
poor bound
in poverty and by the sword;
he saved them
from the hand of those hating them and…


redemit eos de mani-
bus inimicorum. Te(m)p(ore) Pashali
Cant(icum) Mag(nificat) Alleluia
Ad Matutinim invitat(io)

he redeemed them from the hands of their enemies.
Song “Magnificat” Alleluia
Invitation/Summons to Matins


Redem-
ptore(m) dominum
Venite adore-
mus. Ps. Venit(e) Hy(mnu)s
Voce concordi so-boles

Come, let us adore
the Lord Redeemer.
Psalm. Come…Hymn
With harmonious heart


(so)boles beati gloriam
patris resonare perge. I-
pse quas laudes ca-
nimus benigno corde
sequatur quem deo
pronum gregis

proceed that your offspring may
resound the glory of the blessed father.
Let he himself continue
the praises that we sing
with a benign heart whom
offering the first of the flock to God


offerente(me) vota capti-
vi lacrymis fluente(me). Vir-
go dignatur recreare
moestu(m)
ore sereno. Indicat c(a)e-
lo cui lapsa virgo Re(m)
sibi grat(m) fore filioque
virginis matris sacer

offering vows for the captive,
flowing with tears for the captive.
The virgin deigns
to revive the sad
with a serene face. The virgin,
fallen from heaven, indicates
that the affair would be pleasing to her
and to the Son of the virgin mother let
the sacred


ordo si quis nomine
surgat. Impiger
paret Domi-
n(a)e mone(n)ti
Se suam quarti sobole(m)-
que voti, charitas nu(m)qua(m)
pio q(uo) tepescat nexibus urget.
Gloria patri genit(ae)-
que proli rite dicamus

order arise in her name. Let the diligent
get ready for the Lord advising him
and his offspring of the fourth vow;
devoted charity by which he becomes
warm with love never presses connection.
May we say rightly glory
to the Father and to the Begotten Son


parile(m)que sumat Spi-
rit(us) sanct(us) d(us) unus om-
ni dign*us) honore. Ame(n)
In primo Nocturno Antiph(on
Dum iaceret
Petrus in cunis in

and may the Holy Spirit take equal glory.
one god, worthy of every honor. Amen.
Antiphon sung at the First Nocturn.
While Peter was lying in the cradle.

~Transcription and translation by James T. Svendsen, associate professor emeritus, World Languages and Cultures, The University of Utah

MS chant frag. 5 — Parchment leaves from the Proper of Saints, Feast of the Blessed Peter of Siena (16 March), Vespers/Matins.

~Description by Elizabeth Peterson, associate professor, Dept. of Art & Art History, The University of Utah, from Paging Through Medieval Lives, a catalog for an exhibition held November 2, 1997 through January 4, 1998 at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

 

Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part A: “I shall give thanks…”

28 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part A: “I shall give thanks…”

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


(ab infantia mea crevit miseratio et ab utero)
…egressa est mecu(m).
Ps(al)lm. Confitebor…(tibi, Domine)
Pecunias suas
no(n) dedit ad usuram
sed pro captiuis

…came out with me.
Psalm. I shall give thanks (to you, O Lord)…
He did not give his money for usuary
but for captives…


ipse commutauit
Ps(alm). Beatus (vir qui timet Dominum)
Magno charitatis exe(m)plo
anima(m) sua(m) pro fidelib(us)
liberandis Domino co(n)secrauit

he himself exchanged it.
Psalm. Blessed (is the man who fears the Lord)
With his great example of charity
he consecrated his spirit to
the Lord for the freeing of the faithful


-fecerant
Liberauit pauperu(m)
a potente et inopem
cui non erat adiutor
Petre

…they had made…
He freed the poor
from the powerful and the poor man
for whom there was no helper.
O Peter,


qui iussu genetricis al-
m(a)e eripis dura domi-
tos catena liberans
plebe(m) prope seruiente(m)
moribu(us) atris. Hoc apis quo(n)-

you who by the order of the kind mother,
freeing from the harsh bond (of slavery), you
rescue people almost enslaved by dark/black customs


dam docuit futurum
insidens quando ma-
nib(us) tenellis, melle fe-
fucu(n)dat pueru(m)-
que sacro nec-
tare complet.
Te pa-
tre(m) nati veneremur om-
es supplices et te pre-
cib(us) vocam(us) ut tuus

A bee settling once taught that
this would be when tender hands
it fructifies/fertilizes and fills
the boy with honey and holy nectar.
We all beseech you as suppliants, Father of the Son,
and we call upon you with prayers so that your…


nostris gemin(us) novetur
cordibus ardor. Vinci vesan(ae)
Sygis et latentes demones
technas animis repelle
ne tuos caeco maculis
subactos carcere claudant.
Qui dedit
vires iter inchoandi, Ad…

Two fold love may revive/alter
our souls. Repel the bonds of the mad/wild
Styx and the hidden tricks of the devil
lest they enclose your servants subject to faults/sins
with the blind prison (of hell).


(Ad)sit ingressis Pater at-
que Patre adsit e-
ternum Geniitus nec
absit Spiritus almus.
Amen. V. Ora pro nobis
Pater Noster Sancte Petre
Mag(nificat) (Hos)an(n)a

Let the Father be present to those entering
and with the Father let the Begotten Son be present eternally
nor let the nourishing Holy Spirit be absent. Amen.
V. Our Father Holy Peter Magnificat Hosanna


Maiorem chari-
tatem nemo habe
ut animam suam po-nat quis pro ami-
cis suis. Ca(n)t. Mag(nifica)t

No one has greater charity/love
than the some one lay down
his life for his friends. Song. Magnificat

~Transcription and translation by James T. Svendsen, associate professor emeritus, World Languages and Cultures, The University of Utah

MS chant frag. 5 — Parchment leaves from the Proper of Saints, Feast of the Blessed Peter of Siena (16 March), Vespers/Matins.

~Description by Elizabeth Peterson, associate professor, Dept. of Art & Art History, The University of Utah, from Paging Through Medieval Lives, a catalog for an exhibition held November 2, 1997 through January 4, 1998 at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

 

 

 

Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment: “…of the Apostle and, embalming it with spices,…”

30 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment: “…of the Apostle and, embalming it with spices,…”

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


(Maximilla Christo amabilis
corpus) Apolstoli optimo
loco cum aro-
matibus sepelivit
Ps(alm) Laudate pue(ri) A(ntiphon)

(Maximilla, a woman dear to Christ,
too the body) of the Apostle
and, embalming it with spices,
buried it in the most honored place.
Psalm. Praise the Lord, O you servants…


Qui perse-
quebantur iustu(m)
demersisti eos Do-
mine in inferno
et in ligno crusis
dux iusti fuisti Ps(alm)

You, O Lord, plunged
into hell those who persecuted
the just man, and You were his guide
on the wood of the cross. Psalm


Laudate omnes gent(es laudate Dominum)
Hy(m)n(us) Exultet caelu(m, laudibus)
V(ersus) In omnem (terram exivit sonus eorum)
Unus
ex duobus qui
secuti sung Domi-
num erat A(n)

Sing praises, all you peoples, praise the Lord…
Hymn. Let heaven exult with praises…
Verse. Their sound went out unto all the earth…
One of the two who
followed the Lord was An-


dreas frater Si-
monis Petri. Alleluia.
Ca(nent) Magnifi(cat)

Andrew the brother
of Simon Peter. Alleluia.
Let them now sing the Magnificat

The hymns of the previous texts are sung on the Feast of St. Andrew, one of the apostles and the brother of Simon Peter. They are sung at Vespers on his feast celebrated variously but usually on November 30th. The Office of St. Andrew is not a historia presenting events in a logical and chronological order. It focuses mainly on two themes, as indicated in the passages quoted here: 1) his vocation or calling as one of the apostles; and 2) his martyrdom by crucifixion, an event related in the apocryphal Acta.

~Transcription, translation, and commentary by James T. Svendsen, associate professor emeritus, World Languages and Cultures, The University of Utah

MS chant frag. 8 — Parchment leaves from an Antiphonal, 16th c Italy/S. France. from the Proper of Saints, Feast of St. Andrew, First/Second vespers.

~Description by Elizabeth Peterson, associate professor, Dept. of Art & Art History, The University of Utah, from Paging Through Medieval Lives, a catalog for an exhibition held November 2, 1997 through January 4, 1998 at the Utah Museum of Art.

Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment: “Her mother ordered the dancing girl…”

29 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Puell(a)e saltanti im-
peravit mater nihil
allud petas nisl caput
loa(n)nes PS. Beatus vir (qui timet Dominum)
Arguebat ero-
dem Ioannes prop-

Her mother ordered the dancing girl
that you (she) seek nothing other than
the head of John Psalm. Blessed is the man (who fears the Lord)
John kept censuring Herod


(prop)ter Herodia(m) de qua(m)
tulerat fratri suo
Philippo uxorem Ps.
L(auda)te pu(eri Dominum)…Da mihi in
disco caput Ioannes
Baptist(a)e et contristas(tus est rex)…

because of Herodias the wife
of his brother Philip whom he had married.
Psalm. You servants, Praise the Lord…Give me on a dish
the head of John the Baptist; and the king was saddened…

The hymns of this fragment relate the story of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and are sung at vespers and lauds on August 29th. The story in its entirety is told in the Gospel of Saint Mark (6, 14-29). In these two passages Mark focuses on the machinations of Herodias, Herod’s wife, with her daughter Salome and king Herod’s contrition after the fact. The passage also mentions the reason why Herodias was so angry with John, the fact that John was censuring Herod for marrying his brother Phillip’s wife. Note that Herod’s infamous step-daughter Salome is not named in Mark’s narrative. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, however, does name her as Salome. He also states that the real reason that Herod killed John was “lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his head to raise a rebellion” (Antiquities of the Jews) One of John’s frequent epithets is prodromos, translated as “the forerunner,” and some see him as a forerunner of Christ put to death at the hands of Pontius Pilate. Others see in the story the conflict between earthly power (Herod), revenge (Herodias), carnality (Salome) with spirituality and asceticism (John the Baptist). On August 29, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned the dedication of a crypt in Samaria where the head of Saint John the Baptist had been commemorated for centuries. He also mentioned the transfer of the relic to the Basilica of San Silvestro in Capite in Rome.

~Transcription, translation, and commentary by James T. Svendsen, associate professor emeritus, World Languages and Cultures, The University of Utah

MS chant frag. 7 — Parchment leaf from an Antiphonal, 16th c Italy/S. France.

~Description by Elizabeth Peterson, associate professor, Dept. of Art & Art History, The University of Utah, from Paging Through Medieval Lives, a catalog for an exhibition held November 2, 1997 through January 4, 1998 at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment: “…with haste to the town of Juda”

02 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment: “…with haste to the town of Juda”

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


(Exsurgens Maria abliit in montana)
cum festinatione in civitate(m)
Iuda. Ps(almus) Dixit Domin(us)…
Intravit maria
in domum zachari
et saluta-

(Rising, Mary went away into the hills)
with haste to the town of Juda.
Psalm. The Lord said…Mary entered
the house of Zacharias and greeted…


vit elisebeth (Psalmus)
Laudate p(ueri Dominum)… Ut au-
divit salutatione(m)
marie Elisabeth
exultavit infans in
utero eius et…

Elisabeth. Psalm. O servants, praise the Lord…
When Elisabeth heard the greeting
of Mary, the child leapt in her womb and…

These hymns are sung at vespers on the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as related in the Gospel of Saint Luke. The Feast is celebrated variously but usually on May 31 or July 2. The story follows the narration of the Annunciation (Luke 1, 26-38) where the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will conceive and bear a son. The passage demonstrates the love and concern of Mary for her aged cousin who is six months pregnant and foregrounds the importance of Elisabeth who will become the mother of John the Baptist. Some scholars note the details of the annunciation and visitation in a comparison between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament, both containers of godhead.

~Transcription, translation and commentary contributed by James T. Svendsen, associate professor emeritus, Dept. of , The University of Utah

MS chant frag. 6 — Leaf from an Antiphonal, 16th c. Italy/S. France. Parchment leaf from the Prosper of Saints, Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (2 Jul), Second Vespers

~Identification contributed by Elizabeth Peterson, associate professor, Dept. of Art and Art History, The University of Utah, from Paging Through Medieval Lives, a catalog for an exhibition held November 2, 1997 through January 4, 1998 at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts

We recommend — Appendices Pulled from a Study on Light

24 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Recommended Reading

≈ Comments Off on We recommend — Appendices Pulled from a Study on Light

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


“a trace unnameable — place
holding the child
to the first frost,
the street lamp, the pasture — ”

Appendices Pulled from a Study on Light
Geoffrey Babbitt
New York City: Spuyten Duyvil, 2018
PS3602 A224 A6 2018 (General Collection, Level 2)

“This is Geoffrey Babbitt’s first book. His poems and essays have appeared in North American Review, Pleiades, Colorado Review, DIAGRAM, Notre Dame Review, TYPO, Tarpaulin Sky, The Collagist, Interim, Western Humanities Review, and elsewhere. Raised in Boise, Idaho, he studied at Connecticut College and earned his Ph.D. in creative writing at the University of Utah. Geoffrey currently coedits Seneca Review and teaches at Hobart & William Smith Colleges in the Finger Lakes region of New York, where he lives with poet Kathryn Cowles and their three daughters.”

Geoffrey acknowledges the help of many friends, colleagues and faculty from the University of Utah including Luise Poulton, Karen Brennan, Craig Dworkin, Julie Gonnering Lein, Cami Nelson, Paisley Rekdal, Jerry Root, Tom Stillinger, Shira Dentz, Elizabeth Peterson, and others.

Congratulations, Geoffrey!


MS Fragment: 4 — Date: ca. 1375 — Origin: France (possibly northeastern) — current location: Marriott Library, University of Utah, Special Collections, Rare Book Division — Materials: Ink, and burnished gold on vellum — Illustration: Detail — Size: 7 1/8 in. x 5 7/16 in. — Section: Anglo-Norman Litany of Saints — Script: littera gothica textualis formata

“vines scritched, chrysalis
onto vellum leaf–all
lost color, stolen thunder
–spiritual curl
of the vine tending
ultimately toward–tattered edge
curling from the gutters…”


MS Fragment: 8 — Date: ca. 1425-1450 — Origin: France (possibly Paris) — Current Location: Marriott Library, University of Utah, Special Collections, Rare Books Division — Materials: Ink, and burnished gold on vellum — Size: 7 1/4 in. x 5 3/16 in. — Illustration: Detail, border — section: Office of the Dead, Vespers — Script: littera gothica textualis

“lit border
buoys — acanthus
place setting
scribe sets — rinceaux
sprays, gilded ivy leaf,
bryony tendrils, gold pavé
fleur-de-lis — heliotropic
buoyancy — motor cells in
the pulvinus synthesize
bouncing light, con-
vert eye movement, displace
page’s gravitropic
polar auxin transport —
downwarding becomes lift”

April is National Poetry Month.