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Aurelius Clemens Prudentius

348 - 410 Person Name: Prudentius Author of "PATRO-ALTUL' ĈEESTU" in Himnaro (Unua Kolekto) Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, "The Christian Pindar" was born in northern Spain, a magistrate whose religious convictions came late in life. His subsequent sacred poems were literary and personal, not, like those of St. Ambrose, designed for singing. Selections from them soon entered the Mozarabic rite, however, and have since remained exquisite treasures of the Western churches. His Cathemerinon liber, Peristephanon, and Psychomachia were among the most widely read books of the Middle Ages. A concordance to his works was published by the Medieval Academy of America in 1932. There is a considerable literature on his works. --The Hymnal 1940 Companion ============= Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens , with the occasional prefix of Marcus (cf. Migne, vol. lix. p. 593, and Dressel, p. ii. n), is the name of the most prominent and most prolific author of sacred Latin poetry in its earliest days. Of the writer himself we know nothing, or next to nothing, beyond what he has himself told us in a short introduction in verse to his works. From that source we learn that he was a Spaniard, of good family evidently, and that he was born A.D. 348 somewhere in the north of Spain, either at Saragossa, Tarragona, or Calahorra, but at which is left uncertain, by his applying the same expression to all, which if applied only to one would have fixed his place of birth. After receiving a good education befitting his social status he applied himself for some years to practising as a pleader in the local courts of law, until he received promotion to a judgeship in two cities successively:— "Bis legum moderanrine Frenos nobilium reximus urbium Jus civile bonis reddidimus, terruimus reos;" and afterwards to a post of still higher authority: "Tandem militiae gradu Evectum pietas principis extulit." Archbishop Trench considers this last to have been "a high military appointment at court," and such the poet's own words would seem to describe; but it may well be doubted whether a civilian and a lawyer would be eligible for such employment; in which case we may adopt the solution of the difficulty offered in the Prolegomena to our author's works (Migne, vol. lix. p. 601):— "Evectus indeest ad superiorem rnilitia? gradum, nimirum militia? civil is, palatinae, aut praesidialis, non bellicae, castrensis, aut cohortalis; nam ii qui officiis jure consultorum praesidum, rectorum et similium funguntur, vulgo in cod. Theod. militare et ad superiores militias ascendere dicuntur." It was after this lengthened experience at a comparatively early age of positions of trust and power that Prudentius, conscience-smitten on account of the follies and worldliness that had marked his youth and earlier manhood, determined to throw up all his secular employments, and devote the remainder of his life to advancing the interests of Christ's Church by the power of his pen rather than that of his purse and personal position. Accordingly we find that he retired in his 57th year into poverty and private life, and began that remarkable succession of sacred poems upon which his fame now entirely rests. We have no reason however to regard him as another St. Augustine, rescued from the "wretchedness of most unclean living" by this flight from the temptations and engrossing cares of official life into the calm seclusion of a wholly devotional leisure. He had probably rather learnt from sad experience the emptiness and vanity for an immortal soul of the surroundings of even the high places of this world. As he himself expresses it:— "Numquid talia proderunt Carnis post obitum vel bona, vel mala, Cum jam, quicquid id est, quod fueram, mors aboleverit?" and sought, at the cost of all that the world holds dear, those good things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Beyond the fact of his retirement from the world in this way, and the fruits which it produced in the shape of his voluminous contributions to sacred poetry, we have no further information about our author. To judge from the amount he wrote, his life must have been extended many years after he began his new career, but how long his life was or where he died we are not told. Probably he died circa 413. His works are:— (1) Liber Cathemerinon. "Christian Day, as we may call it" W. S. Lilly, "Chapters in European History," vol. i. p. 208). (2) Liber Peristephanon. "Martyrs' Garlands" (id.). (3) Apotheosis. A work on the Divine Nature, or the Deification of Human Nature in Christ. (4) Hamartigenia. A treatise on the Origin of Sin, directed against the Marcionites. (5) Psychomachia or "The Spiritual Combat"-—an allegorical work. (6) Libri contra Symmachum. A controversial work against the restoration in the Senate House at Rome of the altar of Victory which Gratian had removed. Symmachus had petitioned Valentinian II. for its restoration in 384, but the influence of St. Ambrose had prevailed against him at that time. In 392 the altar was restored, but removed again by Theodosius in 394. After the death of the latter the attempt to restore it was renewed by Arcadius and Honorius, and it was at that time that Prudentius wrote his first book. The second (for there are two) was written in 405. Fague considers that the first may date in 395. (7) The Dittochseon = the double food or double Testament, is a wordy collection of 49 sets of four verses each, on Old and New Testament scenes. Of these different works the most important are the first two, and it is from them that the Liturgical hymns enumerated below have been chiefly compiled. The general character of Prudentius's writings it is not easy fairly to estimate, and to judge by the wholesale laudation he obtains from some of his critics, and the equally unsparing censure of others, his judges have so found it. In venturing upon any opinion upon such a subject, the reader must bear in mind the peculiar position in which the period at which he was writing found the poet. The poetry of classical Rome in all its exact beauty of form had long passed its meridian, and was being replaced by a style which was yet in its infancy, but which burst forth into new life and beauty in the hands of the Mediaeval hymnologists. Prudentius wrote before rhyming Latin verse was thought of, but after attention had ceased to be given to quantities. Under such circumstances it were vain to look for very finished work from him, and such certainly we do not find. But amidst a good deal of what one must confess is tasteless verbiage or clumsy rhetorical ornament-—however varied the metres he employs, numbering some 17—-there are also passages to be found, not unfrequently, of dramatic vigour and noble expression, which may well hold their own with the more musical utterances of a later date. He writes as a man intensely in earnest, and we may gather much from his writings concerning the points of conduct which were deemed the most important in Christian living at a time when a great portion of mankind were still the victims or slaves of a morality which, heathen at the best, was lowered and corrupted the more as the universality of its influence was more and more successfully challenged by the spread of the Gospel of Christ. If, there¬fore, we can scarcely go as far in our author's praise as Barth—-much given to lavish commendation—-who describes him as "Poeta eximius eruditissimus et sanctissimus scriptor; nemo divinius de rebus Christianis unquam scripsit"; or as Bentley—-not given to praise--who calls him the "Horace and Virgil of the Christians," we shall be as loath, considering under what circumstances he wrote, to carp at his style as not being formed on the best ancient models but as confessedly impure; feeling with Archbishop Trench that it is his merit that "whether consciously or unconsciously, he acted on the principle that the new life claimed new forms in which to manifest itself; that he did not shrink from helping forward that great transformation of the Latin language, which it needed to undergo, now that it should be the vehicle of truths which, were all together novel to it." (Sacred Latin Poetry, 1874, p. 121.) The reader will find so exhaustive an account of the various writings of Prudentius in the account given of him and them in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography, and Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, that it is only necessary in this work to refer very briefly to them as above. The poems have been constantly reprinted and re-edited, till the editor who produced the best edition we have of them, Albert Dressel (Leipsic, 1860), is able to say that his is the sixty-third. The use made of Prudentius's poems in the ancient Breviaries and Hymnaries was very extensive. In the form of centos stanzas and lines wore compiled and used as hymns; and it is mainly from these centos, and not from the original poems, that the translations into English were made. Daniel, i., Nos. 103-115, gives 13 genuine hymns as having been in use for "Morning," "Christmas," "Epiphany," "Lent," "Easter," "Transfiguration," "Burial," &c, in the older Breviaries. ….Many more which were used in like manner have been translated into English. When to these are added the hymns and those which have not been translated into English, we realise the position and power of Prudentius in the hymnody of the Church. [Rev. Digby S. Wrangham, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============== Prudentius, A. C, p. 915, ii. Two somewhat full versions of Prudentius are: (1) The Cathemerinon and other Poems of Aurelius Prudentius Clemens in English Verse, Lond., Rivington, 1845; and (2) Translations from Prudentius. By Francis St. John Thackeray, M.A.. F.S.A. Lond., Bell & Sons, 1890. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

St. Paulinus, of Nola

353 - 431 Person Name: Paulinus of Nola, 353-431 Author of "Another Year Completed" in The Cyber Hymnal Paulinus, Pontius Meropius. St. Paulinus of Nola, born at Bordeaux in 353, became Bishop of Nola in 409, and died circa 431. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Saint Patrick

372 - 466 Person Name: St. Patrick, 372-466 Author (attributed to) of "I Sing as I Arise Today" in The New Century Hymnal Patrick, St., the 2nd Bishop and Patron Saint of Ireland, was the son of Calpurnius, a deacon, and grandson of Potitus, a presbyter, and great grandson of Odissus, a deacon, was born most probably near Dumbarton, in North Britain, in 372. According to his epistle to Coroticus, his father was also a decurio, a member of the local town council, and a Roman by descent. Hence probably the name Patricius. St. Patrick alludes in Coroticus, § 5, to his having been originally a freeman, and of noble birth. His birthplace is termed in his Confession, § 1, Bannavem Taberniæ. Some have identified that place with Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France. His mother's name was Concessa, said to have been sister of St. Martin of Tours. According to Tirechan's Collections (circa A.D. 690), Patrick had four names—-(1) Magonus, which Tirechan explains by clarus, illustrious; (2) Sucat (Succetus), god of war, or brave in war, said to have been his baptismal name; (3) Patricius; and (4) Cothraige (Cothrighe), given because he had been a slave to four masters. At the age of 16 he was carried off with many others to Ireland, and sold as a slave. There he remained six years with Milcho, or Miliuc. He was engaged in feeding cattle (pecora), though the later writers say that he fed swine. In his captivity he became acquainted with the Irish language. His misfortunes were the means of leading him to Christ, and be devoted himself to prayer, and often frequented, for that purpose, the woods on Mount Slemish. Having escaped after six years, he spent some years with his parents, and then was stirred up, when still a youth (puer), to devote himself to the evangelisation of Ireland. According to Secundinus's Hymn (St. Sechnall), which is probably not much later than the age of St. Patrick himself, the saint received his apostleship "from God," like St. Paul. No reference is made in that hymn, or in the later so-called Hymn of St. Fiacc, to any commission received from Pope Celestine, as is asserted by later writers. St. Patrick does not in his own writings allude to the external source whence he obtained ordination, and, as he speaks of his Roman descent, it would be strange for him not to have mentioned his Roman consecration, if it had been a fact. From some “sayings" of his, preserved on a separate page of the Book of Armagh, it is probable that he travelled through Gaul and Italy, and that he was ordained in Gaul as deacon, priest, and, afterwards, as bishop. He was probably a bishop when he commenced his missionary labours in Ireland. There were, however, Christians in Ireland before that period. Palladius, the senior Patrick, who preceded our saint by a few years, was, according to the chronicle of Prosper (the secretary of Pope Celestine), "ordained and sent to the Scots (the Irish) believing in Christ, by Pope Celestine, as their first bishop." Palladius's mission was a failure, while that of the second Patrick, which was quite independent of the former, was successful in a high degree. Its success, however, has been greatly exaggerated; for St. Patrick, in the close of his Confession, or autobiography, written in old age, speaks of the high probability of his having to lay down his life as a martyr for Christ. The date of St. Patrick's mission is not certain, but the internal evidence of his writings indicate that it was most probably about A.D. 425. The day and month of his death (March 17), but not the year [466] is mentioned in the Book of Armagh. St. Patrick's claim to a record in this Dictionary is associated with the celebrated hymn or “Breastplate," a history of which we now subjoin. 1. St. Patrick's Irish Hymn is referred to in Tirechan's Collections (A.D. 690). It was directed to be sung in "all monasteries and churches through the whole of Ireland," "canticum ejus scotticum semper canere," which is a proof that it was at that time universally acknowledged to be his composition. That regulation was very naturally lost sight of when the old Celtic Church lapsed into the Roman, (a) The expressions used in the hymn correspond entirely with the circumstances under which St. Patrick visited Tara. (b) Moreover, although all the ancient biographies of St. Patrick (with the exception of his own Confession, and of Secundinus's Hymn) speak of him as a worker of miracles, and as having performed miracles at Tara, there is no trace of such a fact in St. Patrick's Hymn, (c) Further, the phrase, "creator of doom," which twice occurs in it, according to the most approved translation, curiously corresponds with another fact that, "my God's doom," or “the doom," or "judgment of my God," was, according to the ancient biographies, one of St. Patrick's favourite expressions. 2. The first notice of the existence at the present time of an ancient manuscript copy of St. Patrick's "Hymn or Breastplate," was made known by the late Dr. Petrie in his Memoir of Tara, published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, 1839, vol. xviii. Dr. Petrie gave the original in Irish characters, an interlineary Latin version and an English translation by himself, together with copious notes. Dr. Petrie found the original in the Liber Hymnorum, in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin (iv. E. 4, 2, fol. 19 b). “The tradition respecting its primary use by the saint is that he recited it on Easter Sunday, when proceeding to encounter the droidical fire-worshippers, with their pagan king, Laoghaire, and his court, at Tara, the royal residence." (Lyra Hibernica Sacra, 1878, p. 2.) 3. Dr. Todd in his work, S. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, 1864, gives a metrical rendering of the “Breastplate” which begins:— "I bind to myself today, The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity, The faith of the Trinity in Unity, The Creator of the elements." The translation, which extends to 78 lines, was mainly the work of Dr. Whitley Stokes. A more correct version by the same scholar is given in the Rolls's edition of the Tripartite Life, 1887; and that revised version, with a few modifications, accompanied with critical notes, explanatory of the alterations made on the former version, is given in the 2nd and 3rd editions of the Writings of St. Patrick, by Dr. V. H. H. Wright. Dr. Whitley Stokes, therefore, is to be regarded as the real translator from the original Irish. Dr. Petrie's translation, though highly meritorious as a first attempt, has been proved in many particulars to be erroneous. There is no mention of Tara in the hymn. An uncertainty yet exists as to the meaning of a few words. 4. In Dr. W. MacIlwaine's Lyra Hibernica Sacra, 1878, Dr. Todd's translation was repeated (with notes), together with a second translation by James Clarence Mangan, the opening lines of which are:— "At Tara to-day, in this awful hour, I call on the Holy Trinity! Glory to Him Who reigneth in power, The God of the elements, Father, and Son, And Paraclete Spirit, which Three are the One, The everlasting Divinity." 5. A popular version of the hymn for congregational use was written by Mrs. Cecil F. Alexander, for St. Patrick's Day, 1889, and sung generally throughout Ireland on that day. The opening lines are:— "I bind unto myself to-day The strong Name of the Trinity, By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three. ”I bind this day to me for ever, By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation; His baptism in Jordan river; His death on Cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spiced tomb; His riding up the heav'nly way; His coming at the day of doom; I bind unto myself to-day." Mrs. Alexander's version is given, along with that of James Clarence Mangan, in the Appendix to the Writinqs of St. Patrick, edited by Dr. C. H. H. Wright (R.T.S.), 1889. 6. Another metrical version of this hymn was given in the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette for April 5, 1889. It is by Joseph John Murphy, and the opening lines are:— "I bind as armour on my breast The Threefold Name whereon I call, Of Father, Son, and Spirit blest, The Maker and the Judge of all." 7. The translation in Stokes and Wright's edition of St. Patrick's writings was set to music as a cantata by Sir R. Stewart, and was performed for the first time in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, on St. Patrick's Day, 1888. 8. Mr. Thomas French, Assistant Librarian of Trinity College, Dublin, writes as follows respecting this hymn:— "The manuscript called the 'Liber Hymnorum' belonged to Archbishop Ussher, and forms one of the volumes of the Ussher Collection now in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. There is no interlineary Latin translation in the original. It was given by Petrie in his account of the hymn 'for the satisfaction of the learned’ [The St. Patrick authorship is tradition only, so far as I know.] Dr. Todd in his S. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, p. 426, says ‘It is undoubtedly of great antiquity, although it may now be difficult, if not impossible, to adduce proof in support of the tradition that St. Patrick was its author.'...... Petrie and Todd make the age of the manuscript 9th or 10th century, Whitley Stokes 11th or 12th." We may add that St. Patrick's Latin works were published by Sir James Ware, 1656, in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandist Fathers, 1668, by Villanueva, 1835, and by others, as B. S. Nicholson, 1868, Miss Cusack, 1871, and, above all, by Dr. Whitley Stokes, in the Rolls' Edition of the Tripartite Life, 1887. The latter three works contain also translations. Translations of the whole, or a portion of St. Patrick's writings, have been published by Rev. T. Olden, 1876; Sir S. Ferguson, LL.D. Transactions of Royal Irish Academy, 1885, and more completely in the Writings of St. Patrick, edited by Prof. G. T. Stokes and Dr. C. H. H. Wright, 1st ed. 1887, 2nd ed. 1888, 3rd ed., edited, with notes critical and historical, and an introduction by Dr. C. H. H. Wright revised and enlarged. London: Religious Tract Society, 1889. [Rev. Charles H. H. Wright, D.D., Ph.D.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Patrick, St., p. 885, ii. (l) In the Oxford University Herald of April 6, 1889, is an anonymous paraphrase in 7 stanzas of 4 lines of a portion of "St. Patrick's Hymn," beginning- "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! May Thine overshadowing might Be as armour to my soul, Be my weapon in the fight." (2) Note concerning § 3, on p. 885, i., that Dr., W. Stokes's translation appeared in its original form in the Saturday Review, Sept. 5, 1857. In his Goidilica, Calcutta, 1866, p. 66, in an altered form to that of 1857 and 1864. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Paul, the Deacon

720 - 799 Person Name: Paul the Deacon Author of "Let thine example, holy John, remind us" Paul the Deacon [Paulus Diaconus], son of Warnefrid or Winefrid, was born at Frinli, in Italy, circa 730. He studied at Pavia. For some time he was tutor to Adelperga, daughter of Desiderius, the last of the Lombard kings, and then lived at the court of her husband, Arichisius of Beneveuto. Eventually he became a monk at Monte Cassino, where he died circa 799. He was the author of several works, including Be Gest. Langobardorum. His hymn, “Ut queant laxis resonare fibris," is in three parts. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

St. Peter Damian

1007 - 1072 Person Name: Peter Damiani Author of "From thee, illustrious teacher, Paul" in St. Basil 's Hymn Book. 31st ed. Damiani, or Damian, Peter, Saint, Cardinal, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church, whom Dom Gueranger calls "The austere reformer of the 11th century," was born at Ravenna, about 988. He was the youngest of many children. His mother abandoned him as a babe, and his life was only saved by his being discovered by a faithful female servant, who took care of him until such time as his mother relented and received him back again. Both his parents dying while he was very young, he fell into the hands of a married brother, who, treating him with great harshness and regarding him rather as a slave than a near relation, sent him,”when he was grown up, into the fields to feed swine.” In spite of this treatment, he early developed a virtuous and pious disposition, and another brother, Damian (after whom he is said to have been named), who was arch-priest of Ravenna, took pity on him, and had him educated. The progress he made in learning was the admiration of his teachers, and led very soon to his being employed as a teacher. He was very strict, even as a youth, as regards his mode of life, habituating himself to frequent watching, fasting, self-mortification and prayer. Struck with the self-denial of two Benedictine monks, who happened to call where he was living, he embraced their profession, and became a "religious" (in the monastery of Avellino, in the diocese of Gubbio) of the order of the monks of the Holy Cross of Fontavellana. Of that community he, in A.D. 1041, became the Superior, and so extended its usefulness that he was looked upon as the second founder, the first having been Ludolphus, a disciple of St. Romuald. He founded no less than five monasteries under the same rule, the Priors of which remained under his jurisdiction. After twelve years of eminent service to the Church, he was induced by Pope Stephen IX. to accept, in 1057, very much against his own wish, the position of Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia. This, after much difficulty, he was allowed to resign by Pope Alexander II., in 1062, but coupled with the reserve of a power to employ him in important Church matters, as he might at any time find needful. With his bishopric he also resigned his post as Superior of his old monastery, where he once more took up his abode. During his retirement (a retirement constantly broken in upon by calls from the Pontiff to proceed in a legatine capacity to settle various questions of importance to the Church in different parts of Europe), he lived a life of extraordinary asceticism and self-mortification. It was on his return journey from Ravenna, whither he had been sent as legate to inquire into the enormities charged against Henry, Archbishop of Ravenna, and otherwise adjust the affairs of the Church there, that he was called to his rest in his eighty-fourth year. He died of fever, at Faenza, in the monastery of Our Lady, on the 22nd or 23rd of March, 1072. Damiani endeavoured by his literary labours to advance the cause of order and morality, and to add his quota, by no means an insignificant one, in worth or amount, to the church's store of Latin hymns. "He has left," as Archbishop Trench remarks, “a considerable body of Latin verse," but it is only with his hymns that we are concerned in these pages. It is not surprising to find these hymns, the work of such a devoted servant of the Church of Rome, deeply tinged with the superstitions of that Church, and thereby to Protestant minds disfigured; but, notwithstanding this drawback, there are very few amongst the compositions of Latin hymn-writers to compare with some of our author's in vivid word-painting and richness of description. Such compositions as "Ad perennis vitae fontem," and "Gravi me terrore pulsas, vitae dies ultima," have very few equals in merit in the school of poetry to which they belong, while the difference between them in thought and treatment is most marked, and exhibits to great advantage the versatility of their composer. In addition to the two hymns named (see "Ad perennis," concerning its disputed authorship), Daniel gives in vol. i. the texts of four hymns in full, and the first stanzas of ten others. The best known in addition to the two named are, "Crux, mundi benedictio;" and "Paule doctor egregie" (q.v.). [Rev. Digby S. Wrangham, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============== Damiani, Peter, p. 278, i. His hymns have been collected, with a biographical notice, in Breves , xlviii., Nos. 16-73; the "Ad perennis," p. 13, i., as No. 66; the "Crux mundi," p. 273, i., as No. 18; the "Gravi me," p. 461, ii., as No. 63; and the "Paule doctor," p. 887, i., as No. 45. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Roberto E. Pagán

b. 1045 Person Name: Roberto E. Pagán, b. 1945 Translator of "Sé exaltado" in Praise y Adoración

Peter the Venerable

1092 - 1156 Author of "Lo the gates of death are broken" Peter of St. Maurice (Petrus Mauritius), also called Peter of Cluny (Petrus Cluniensis), or Peter the Venerable (Petrus Venerabilis), Abbot, was born 1092 or 1094 (Trench, Sacred Latin Poetry, 1874, p. 101) of a noble family (the Counts of St. Maurice) in Auvergtie ("Nobili genere natus fuit noster in Arvernia": Leyser, Hist. Poem. Med. Ævi, p. 425). Beginning life as a soldier, he afterwards became a Benedictine monk, and on the death of Hugh, Prior of Marcigny, who had but three months before been elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the better known Pontius, Peter was elected Abbot of the celebrated monastery of his order at Cluny, in 1122. From this time much of his life was spent in controversy, a summary of which is an interesting piece of Ecclesiastical history. Pontius, by his arrogance, in claiming, as Abbot of Cluny, the title of "Abbot of Abbots," had raised up a cloud of opponents to his pretensions, and the matter had ended for the moment in his resignation of his office. But Peter had scarcely been three years installed as Abbot, when Pontius established himself as head of an¬other religious community at Treviso, in Italy, whence he started with a train of monks, and, taking advantage of the temporary absence of Peter, again got possession of his old position at Cluny, and drove out the friends of Peter, with the Prior St. Bernard at their head. After great excesses had been committed by the usurper and his followers, and the villages and estates of the Abbey had been given up to fire and the sword, Pope Honorius II. summoned all parties to Rome, and, having heard both sides, decided in favour of Peter, excommunicated Pontius and imprisoned him in a dungeon, where he died a few months afterwards. When this question had been settled, another dispute arose, in which the monks of Citeaux or Clairvaux accused those of Cluny of an undue relaxation of the rule of their order. Robert, a cousin of St. Bernard, had become a monk at Clairvaux, but, finding the rule there too galling, had migrated to Cluny, and, on an appeal to Rome, the Pope directed him to remain at Cluny, much to the chagrin of St. Bernard, who, as the Cistercian head of Clairvaux, vehemently attacked the milder discipline of the Benedictine Cluny. Robert, in consequence of his cousin's objections, was sent back by Peter to Clairvaux, but his monks, resenting such a tame surrender, got William, the Abbot of St. Thierry, near Rheims, to write a sharp letter of remonstrance to St. Bernard. The reply of the latter accusing the Cluniacs of all sorts of declensions from the needful strictness of monastic life, drew forth a rejoinder from Peter as characteristic of "that gentle forbearance and love of peace" of the latter, "which made him stand out conspicuous in his generation, when each man sought his own, or the things of his order, not the things of Jesus Christ " (S. Baring-Gould's Lives of the Saints, December, p. 284), as the attack on St. Bernard's part was of his fiery, yet not altogether unfriendly, vehemence of invective. In a subsequent controversy between St. Bernard and Peter the former was more successful. He opposed the wish of Hugh, son of the Duke of Burgundy, to secure the see of Langres, when vacant in 1138, for a Cluniac monk. The Archbishop of Lyons consecrated Hugh's nominee in the teeth of St. Bernard's opposition, but notwithstanding all defence of the appointment of the new bishop which Peter could make, the Pope, who was wholly under the influence of St. Bernard, pronounced the Consecration of the Cluniac monk void, and the Prior of Clairvaux, a cousin of St. Bernard's, was consecrated in his stead. Once more the gentle Peter came into collision with the fiery, domineering St. Bernard in the matter of Abelard. The latter had been condemned, if not altogether unheard, at any rate misunderstood, by the Council of Sens upon charges of heresy brought against him by St. Bernard, and the sentence upon him had been confirmed, upon appeal, by Pope Innocent II.—-a mere echo of the prosecutor. Abelard, silenced and broken down, took refuge at Cluny on his way to Rome, and remained there for some two years, during which Peter so far won upon the victorious Bernard as to bring about a reconciliation between him and Abelard, if such can be called a reconciliation, which allowed Bernard still to do his utmost to set the minds of men against his old adversary. The peaceful death of Abelard at Cluny in 1142 finally terminated this controversy. The year 1143 saw a renewal of the correspondence between St. Bernard and Peter on the subject of the two reforms, in which the latter takes credit for a warm love for the Cistercians, and reminds his correspondent of the shocks that love had withstood in the question of the payment of tithes by a Cistercian monastery in the neighbourhood of Cluny to the Cluniac monks, which had led to a keen controversy and many appeals; as well as in the contest about the Bishop of Langres. It was at this time that Peter sent to St. Bernard a copy of the translation of the Koran, which Peter had caused to be made in Spain by Robert, an Englishman, but Archdeacon of Pampeluna. Peter was in high favour with Popes Celestine II. and Lucius II., and in 1146, in common with St. Bernard, took an active part in discountenancing the slaughter of the Jews in France and Germany, which had resulted from the preaching of St. Bernard against the infidels. But though Peter appealed to Louis VII. to stay the massacre, it must be said that he made no effort to prevent the plunder of the Jews. Another matter in which Peter was interested and engaged was that of Peter of Brueys, who founded a sect holding tenets strongly tinged with Manichævism, and was burnt alive by a zealous Catholic mob early in the twelfth century. A letter strongly condemning the heretic, his followers, and his opinions is still extant. Peter went to Rome for five months in 1150, when Eugenius III., a nominee of St. Bernard, was Pope, and gave an account of Eugenius to St. Bernard by letter. The rest of Peter's life was spent at Cluny, where he died early in 1156 or 1157, leaving the impression behind him of "one of the most attractive figures which monastic and mediaeval history presents to us" (S. Baring-Gould's Lives of the Saints, Dec, p. 281). Lacking the fire and power of his great antagonist and correspondent, he succeeded by the gentleness and imperturbability of his disposition in gaining and retaining an influence in the religious world second only to that of St. Bernard. His writings were chiefly controversial, and the poetry which he wrote was great neither in quantity nor quality. Amongst his latter were (1) Some Rhythms, Proses, Verses, and Hymns contained in the Bibliotheca Cluniacensis, 1614 ; (2) A Hymn on the "Translation of St. Benedict"-—"Claris conjubila Gallia cantibus," in the Bibliotheca Floriacensis, 1605; and (3) An "Epitaph on Peter Abelard." From the first collection, Archbishop Trench gives two specimens: (a) On Christ's Nativity, "Coelum gaude, terra plaude," and (b) one on the Resurrection of our Lord, "Mortis portis fractis foitis" (Sacred Latin Poetry, 1874, p. 102), both of which have been translated. [Rev. Digby S. Wrangham, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Pierre, de Corbeil

1122 - 1222 Person Name: P. de Corbeille, d. 1221 Composer of "ORIENTIS PARTIBUS" in Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary

Petrus, Dresdensis

1365 - 1421 Person Name: Petrus Dresdensis Author of "Puer natus in Bethlehem" in Evangelisch-Lutherisches Gesang-Buch

Johann Poliander

1487 - 1541 Author of "My soul, now praise thy Maker!" Poliander, Johann was the pen-name of Johann Graumann who was b. July 5, 1487, at Neustadt in the Bavarian Palatinate. He studied at Leipzig (M.A. 1516, B.D. 1520), and was, in 1520, appointed rector of the St. Thomas School at Leipzig. He attended the Disputation in 1519 between Dr. Eck, Luther, and Oarlstadt, as the amanuensis of Eck; with the ultimate result that he espoused the cause of the Reformation and left Leipzig in 1522. In 1523 he became Evangelical preacher at Wurzburg, but left on the outbreak of the Peasants' War in 1525, and went to Nürnberg, where, about Lent, he was appointed preacher to the nunnery of St. Clara. He then, at the recommendation of Luther, received from the Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg an invitation to assist in furthering the Reformation in Prussia, and began his work as pastor of the Altstadt Church in Königsberg, in Oct., 1525. Here he laboured with much zeal and success, interesting himself specially in organising the evangelical schools of the province, and in combating the errors of the Anabaptists and the followers of Schwenckfeldt. He died at Königsberg, April 29, 1541 (Koch, i. 355-59 : ii. 475; Bode, p. 78, &c). The only hymn of importance by him which has kept its place in Germany is :— Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren. Ps. ciii. Appeared as a broadsheet at Nürnberg, c. 1540, and in J. Kugelmann's News Gesang, Augsburg, 1540. Both of these are given by Wackernagel, iii. pp. 821-23, in 4 stanzas of 12 lines. This fine rendering has been repeated in most subsequent hymn-books, and is No. 238 in the Unverfälscher Liedersegen, 1851. A 5th stanza, "Sey Lob und Preis mit Ehren," appeared in a broadsheet reprint at Nürnberg, c. 1555, and is in Burg's Gesang-Buch, Breslau, 1746, and other books, added to the original stanzas. Lauxmann, in Koch, viii. 316-320, quotes Martin Chemnitz, 15V5, as stating that it was written in 1525 at the request of the Margrave Albrecht, as a version of his favourite Psalm, and as saying that himself (i.e. Chemnitz) heard the Margrave joyfully ringing it on his death-bed. Lauxmann adds that it was used by Gustavus Adolphus on April 24, 1632, at the first restored Protestant service at Augsburg. It was also sung by the inhabitants of Osnabruck, in Westphalia, as a thanksgiving at the close of the Thirty Years' War on Oct. 25, 1648, &c. It is translated as:— My soul, now praise thy Maker! A good and full translation by Miss Winkworth, as No. 7 in her Chorale Book for England, 1863. Other trs. are:—(1) "My soul! exalt the Lord thy God," by J. C. Jacobi, 1722, p. 86 (1732, p. 145). Included in the Moravian Hymn Book of 1754 (Nos. 127 and 315) and 1789. (2) “Now to the Lord sing praises," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 192). -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology

Olavus Petri

1493 - 1552 Person Name: O. Petri Translator of "Gud har af sin barmhertighet" in Svenska Psalm-Boken af År 1819 Olof Persson, sometimes Petersson (January 6, 1493 – April 19, 1552), better known under the Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri (or less commonly, Olavus Petri), was a clergyman, writer, judge and major contributor to the Protestant Reformation in Sweden. See also in: Wikipedia

Dirk Philips

1504 - 1568 Person Name: Dirk Philips, c. 1504-1568 Author of "Rejoice, Be Glad Exceedingly" in The Christian Hymnary. Bks. 1-4

William Parsons

1515 - 1615 Person Name: W. Parsons Harmonizer of "OLD 124TH" in Rejoice in the Lord

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

1525 - 1594 Person Name: G. P. A Palestrina Composer of "PALESTRINA" in Laudes Domini Giovanni Pierluigi (da Palestrina) Italy 1525-1594. Born at Palestrina, Italy, near Rome, then part of the Papal States to Neopolitan parents. As a youth he became a chorister at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in the Rome Diocese. This allowed him to learn literature and music. In 1540 he moved to Rome, where he studied in the school ofr the Hugenot, Claude Goudimel. He also studied with Robin Mallapert and Firmin Lebel. Orlando Di Lasso was also a musical advisor to him. From 1544-1551 he was organist at the Cathedral of St Agapito, the principle church of his native city. In 1547 he married Lucrezia Gori, and they had four children: Rodolfo, Angelo, Iginio, and a daughter. In 1551 Pope Julius III (previously Bishop of Palestrina) appointed him ‘maestro di cappella’, or musical director of the Cappella Giulia (choir). Pierluigi dedicated his first published compositions to Pope Julius III (1554), known as ‘the book of Masses’. It was the first book of masses by a native composer, since most sacred works in those days were from low countries (France or Spain). In 1555 Pope Paul IV ordered that all papal choristers should be clerical. As Pierluigi married early in life and had four children, he was unable to continue in the chapel as a layman. During the next decade he held positions similar to his Julian Chapel appointment at other chapels and churches in Rome, including St John Lateran (1555-1560), and Santa Maria Maggiore (1561-1566). In 1571 he returned to the Julian Chapel and remained at St Peter’s for the rest of his life. The 1570s was a decade of difficulty for him, as he lost his brother, two sons, and his wife in three separate outbreaks of plague (1572-1575-1580). In 1578 he was given the title of ‘Master of Music’ at the Vatican Basilica. He thought of becoming a priest at this time, but instead married a wealthy widow, Virginia Formoli, in 1581, widow of a wealthy merchant, which gave him financial independence (he was not well-paid as choirmaster). He spent considerable time administering to her fortune, but also was able to compose prolifically until his death. He also helped to found an association of professional musicians called the Vertuosa Compagnia dei Musici. He died in Rome of pleurisy. He left hundreds of compositions, including 1045 masses, 68 offertories, 140 madrigals, 300+ motets, 72 hymns, 35 magnificats, 11 litanies and several sets of lamentations. There are two comprehensive editions of his works: a 33-volume edition published by Breitkopf and Hartel, in Leigzig, Germany, between 1862-1894, edited by Franz Xaver Habert, and a 34-volume edition published in the mid 20th century by Fratelli Scalera, in Rome, Italy, edited by R Casimiri and others. As a Renaissance musician and composer of sacred music he was the best known 16th century representative of the Roman School of musical composition. He had a long-lasting influence on the development of church and secular music in Europe, especially on the development of counterpoint, his work considered the culmination of Renaissance polyphony. Very famous in his day, he was considered by some the legendary ‘savior of church music’. A 2009 film was produced by German television about him, titled: ‘Palestrina – Prince of Music’. John Perry

Edmund Prys

1544 - 1623 Person Name: E. P. Author of "Rhowch fawl i'r Arglwydd, cans da yw" in Mawl a chân = praise and song Prys, Edmund, Prys or Price, a learned Welsh divine and eminent poet, was born about 1541 in the parish of Llandecwyn, Merionethshire, and educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he took his degree of M.A. He was appointed Archdeacon of Merioneth in 1576, and Canon of St. Asaph in 1602. He was one of the best Welsh poets of his time, and a great many of his compositions are preserved, mostly in manuscript. He is the author of the Welsh metrical version of the Psalms, which is still in use. He assisted Dr. Morgan, Bishop of St. Asaph, to translate the Bible into Welsh. The latest of his compositions, preserved, is a copy of elegant Latin verses in commendation of Dr. John Davies's Welsh Grammar. He was then 80 years of age. This Latin copy bears the date of 1621. He died in 1624, and was buried at Maentwrog Church. [Rev. W. Glanffrwd Thomas] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Daniel Pribiš

1545 - 1645 Author of "Jezisi milosrdny"

Johann Pappus

1549 - 1610 Person Name: Pappus Author of "My cause is God's, and I am His" in Chorale Book for England, The

J. Poppus

1549 - 1610 Author of "Gud! dig min sak hemställer jag"

Didrik Petri

1560 - 1617 Author of "Spring has now unwrapped the flowers"

Hieronymus Praetorius

1560 - 1629 Harmonizer of "ALLEIN GOTT IN HER HÖH'" in The Presbyterian Hymnal Hieronymus Praetorius (10 August 1560 – 27 January 1629) was a north German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and very early Baroque eras. He was not related to the much more famous Michael Praetorius, though the Praetorius family had many distinguished musicians throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. He was born in Hamburg, and spent most of his life there. Praetorius studied organ early with his father (Jacob Praetorius, also a composer), afterwards going to Cologne for further study. In 1580 he became organist in Erfurt, but only remained there two years, returning to Hamburg in 1582. Back in Hamburg he worked with his father as assistant organist at St. Jacobi, becoming principal organist in 1586 when his father died. His son, Jacob, was born that same year, and was also destined to become a composer. In 1596 he went to Gröningen where he met Michael Praetorius and Hans Leo Hassler; presumably he became acquainted with their music, and through them the music of the contemporary Italian Venetian School, at this time. He remained in Hamburg as organist at St. Jacobi until his death. Praetorius wrote masses, ten settings of the Magnificat, and numerous motets, mostly in Latin. Most of his music is in the Venetian polychoral style, which uses numerous voices divided into several groups. These compositions are the first to be written in north Germany in the progressive Venetian style. Choir sizes range from 8 to 20, with the voices divided into two, three or four groups, and he must have had well-trained and sophisticated musicians at his disposal, considering both the amount and the difficulty of music he wrote for these ensembles. While progressive in writing in the Venetian style, he was conservative in using Latin and avoiding the basso continuo, which was eagerly adopted by many other contemporary German composers. Most of his vocal music is a cappella. Praetorius was also the first composer to compile a collection of four-part German chorales with organ accompaniment, a sound which was to become a standard in Protestant churches for several centuries. The music in the collection was compiled from four churches in Hamburg; 21 of the 88 settings are of his own composition. Some of his organ compositions survive, including nine settings of the Magnificat, which are in a highly contrapuntal cantus firmus style. In addition to these settings, numerous anonymous pieces in north German collections of the time are now attributed with reasonable certainty to Hieronymus Praetorius. --en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Michael Praetorius

1571 - 1621 Person Name: M. Praetorius Composer of "PRAETORIUS" in The Fellowship Hymn Book Born into a staunchly Lutheran family, Michael Praetorius (b. Creuzburg, Germany, February 15, 1571; d. Wolfenbüttel, Germany, February 15, 1621) was educated at the University of Frankfort-an-der-Oder. In 1595 he began a long association with Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick, when he was appointed court organist and later music director and secretary. The duke resided in Wolfenbüttel, and Praetorius spent much of his time at the court there, eventually establishing his own residence in Wolfenbüttel as well. When the duke died, Praetorius officially retained his position, but he spent long periods of time engaged in various musical appointments in Dresden, Magdeburg, and Halle. Praetorius produced a prodigious amount of music and music theory. His church music consists of over one thousand titles, including the sixteen-volume Musae Sionae (1605-1612), which contains Lutheran hymns in settings ranging from two voices to multiple choirs. His Syntagma Musicum (1614-1619) is a veritable encyclopedia of music and includes valuable information about the musical instruments of his time. Bert Polman

Martin Peerson

1571 - 1651 Person Name: Martin Peerson, 1580-1650 Composer of "PEERSON" in The Cambridge Hymnal

Thomas Purcell

1582 - 1682 Person Name: T. Purcell Composer of "[Preserve me, O God] (Purcell)" in The Hymnary for use in Baptist churches

Thomas Pestel

1584 - 1659 Author of "Behold, the Great Creator" in Psalms and Hymns to the Living God Pestel, Thomas, one of the chaplains to King Charles I., was Rector of Packington, Leics., until he was sequestrated from it by the Westminster Assembly in 1646. His hymns appeared in his Sermons and Devotions old and new. Revived and published as an obligation of gratitude to all such of the nobility, gentry and clergy as retain the noble conscience of having ministered to the weak condition of the Author, now aged 13 .... by Thomas Pestel, the meanest among his late Majesties Chaplains in Ordinary , London, 1659 (B. M. copy is 4452. am.). He seems to have died soon after the publication of this work. The Sermons are of 1638 and other years. Of the poetical pieces two have come into use:— 1. Fairest of Morning Lights appear. [Christmas.] In 1659, as above, as "A Psalm for Christmas Day Morning." The English Hymnal, 1906, gives sts. v.-ix., beginning "Behold, the great Creator makes," as No. 20. 2. Come, ravisht Souls with high Delight. [Praise to God.] In 1659, as above, as "A Psalm for Sunday Nights." Of this stanzas ii.-iv., vi., vii., beginning "O sing the glories of our Lord," are in Horder's Hymns Supplemental, 1894, No. 1016. Two other pieces are in W. T. Brooke's edition of Giles Fletcher's Christ's Victory and Triumph , 1888, pp. 193, 195. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

Jacob Praetorius

1586 - 1651 Person Name: Jakob Praetorius, 1586-1651 Harmonizer of "WACHET AUF" in The Hymnal 1982

Martin Peirson

1590 - 1651 Person Name: Martin Peirson (c.1590-c.1651) Composer of "SOUTHWELL" in The Oxford Hymn Book

Hallgrímur Pétursson

1614 - 1674 Person Name: Hallgrim Petursson Author of "GETHSEMANE" in Passion-Hymns of Iceland, The

Adam Plintovic

1620 - 1670 Author of "Proc ten svet bojuje" Plintovic, Adam. (c.1620--c.1670). Outstanding organist in Žilina. Ten of his hymns are in the Tranoscius, five original the others translations. --Jaroslav J. Vajda, DNAH Archives

John Playford

1623 - 1687 Person Name: J. Playford Composer of "LONDON NEW" in Laudes Domini

Christoph Peter

1626 - 1669 Person Name: C. Peter Composer of "PETER" in American Lutheran Hymnal Born: 1626 - Weida, Vogtland, Thuringia, Germany Died: December 4, 1669 - Guben Christoph Peter [Petraeus] was a German composer and music editor. His first appointment was as schoolmaster and Kantor at Grossenhain, Saxony. He moved in 1655 to Guben, where he was Kantor until his death. He worked closely there with the poet and civic official Johann Franck. 40 melodies in the latter’s Geistliches Sion (1672), the first part of his Teutsche Gedichte, are by Peter, and he referred to Peter’s skills in the second part, Irdischer Helicon (1674). Peter’s Andachts-Zymbeln is an anthology of chorales by various composers which also contains preliminary instructional matter, a letter of 1524 from Martin Luther to Spalatin, and testimonials to Peter from Franck and others. It may well be significant that he inscribed it to the mayor and corporation of Guben in the year in which he arrived at Guben and that he received rights of citizenship there early the following year. Precationis thuribulum (RISM 16691) consists of masses by Saxon composers based on familiar chorales and set for various combinations of voices and instruments with continuo. The Geistliche Arien includes settings of poems by, among others, Johann Franck, Johann Rist and Paul Gerhardt, and Peter explained that they are for solo voice (with instruments) ‘so that the words can be better understood’. --Bach Cantatas Website

Christoph Praetorius

1631 - 1713 Author of "Christe, wahres Seelen-Licht"

John Patrick

1632 - 1695 Person Name: Patrick Author of "O God, we praise Thee and confess" in The New Congregational Hymn and Tune Book, for Public, Social and Private Worship John Patrick, a brother of Bishop Simon Patrick, was Prebendary of Peterborough, 1685; Precentor of Chichester, 1690; and preacher at the Charter-House, in the Chapel of which he was buried on his death, in 1695. His "Psalms of David, in Metre," were much used by Presbyterians and Independents until superseded by the compositions of Watts. ----Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.

Benjamin Praetorius

1636 - 1674 Author of "Be thou ever true to Jesus" Prätorius, Benjamin, son of Andreas Prätorius, pastor at Obergreieslau near Weissenfels in Saxony, was born at Obergreisslau, January 1, 1636. In 1637. his father was appointed pastor at Gross-Lissa near Delitzsch, in Saxony. Benjamin became a student of theology, and giaduated M.A., probably at Leipzig. In the entry of his marriage in the registers of Gross-Lista, for 1657, he is described as "regularly ordained substitute and future successor of this parish": and he is never described in the registers except as Pastor-substitute. His ninth child was born in 1671, and on Jan. 8, 1675, his son Andreas Benjamin, on acting as godfather, is described as “surviving son" of M. Benjamin Prätorius. It is probable that he died some time in 1674, but as the register of deaths of this period is lost, we are unable to fix the exact date (K. Goedeke's Grundriss, vol. iii., 1887, p. 176; manuscript from Pastor Moebius of Gross-Lissa, &c). According to Wetzel, ii., 314, he was crowned as a poet on Feb. 15, 1661. In the registers for 1663 he first designs himself "poëta Caes." and "Kais. gekrönter Poëta" (i.e. imperial crowned poet), and in 1670 as "poëta Caes. laur. coronatus." His hymns appeared in his (1) Jauchtzendes Libanon, Leipzig, 1659, and (2) Spielende Myrten-Aue, Leipzig, 1663. In the preface to the latter he signs himself as "C. P. Caes. und Diener am Wort daselbst" (minister of the Word), under date “Gross-Lissa, Dec. 24, 1663." The only hymn by him translated into English is:— Sei getreu bis an das Ende. The Reward of the Faithful. In 1659, as above, No. 64, p. 15?, in 9 stanzas of 8 lines, and founded on Rev. ii. 10. In full in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 339. It is also often found as "Sei getreu in deinem Leiden," as in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 749. This is from Luppius' sGesang-Buch, Wesel, 1692, p. 22, where it is in 7 stanzas (iv., ii., iii., v., ix., i. and a new stanza which begins, "So wohlan, so will ich leiden"), and is erroneously ascribed to J. C. Schade. The original form is tr. as:— Be thou faithful to the end, Let not. By Miss Warner, in her Hymns of the Church Militant, 1858, p. 362, repeated as No. 255, in Bishop Ryle's Collection, 1860. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Joachim Pauli

1636 - 1708 Author of "Thanks To God Who Us Hath Given"

Georg Michael Pfefferkorn

1645 - 1731 Person Name: G. M. Pferfferkorn, 1645-1732 Author of "What Is the World to Me" in Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Pfefferkorn, Georg Michael, was born March 16, 1645, at Ifta, near Creuzburg on the Werra, where his father, G. M. Pfefferkorn (a native of Creuzburg, but never pastor there), had become pastor in 1619, held the living for 58 years, but finally retired and died at Creuzburg. After studying at the Universities of Jena (M.A. 1666) and Leipzig, Pfefferkorn was for a short time private tutor at Altenburg, and then in 1668, became master of the two highest forms in the Gymnasium at Altenburg. In 1673, he was appointed by Duke Ernst the Pious, of Gotha (who died March 26, 1675), as a tutor to his three sons. In 1676 Duke Friedrich I. appointed him pastor of Friemar, near Gotha, and in 1682 made him a member of the consistory and superintendent at Gräfen-Tonna, near Gotha. He died at Gräfen-Tonna, March 3, 1732 (Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie xxv. 619; manuscript from Pastor H. Henning, Superintendent at Creuzburg, &c). Pfefferkorn's hymns appeared in the hymn-books of the period, and in his Poetisch-Philologische Fest-und Wochen-Lust darinnen allerhand Arten Deutscher Gedichte, &c, Altenburg, 1667 [Berlin Library], and the second enlarged edition, Altenburg, 1669 [Göttingen Library]. The most important hymn associated with his name is “Wer weiss wie nahe mir mein Ende". Another hymn ascribed to him is: Was frag ich nach der Welt, Und allen ihren Schätzen. Renunciation of the World. According to J. Avenarius, in his Liedercatechismus, Leipzig, 1714, p. 56, this hymn was written in 1667, and sung from broadsheets at Altenburg. It is not however in his Gedichte, as above, either in 1667 or 1669. It is included, without his name, in the Stettinisches Vollständiges Gesang-Buch, Alten-Stettin, 1671, p. 415 ; and, with his name, in the Naumburg Gesang-Buch, 1715, ed. by J. M. Schamelius. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 695. It is founded on 1 John ii. 15-17, and is in 8 st. of 8 1., 1. 8 in each st. being, "Was frag ich nach der Welt." The only translation is: “Can I this world esteem," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =============== The death record in the Gräfentonna parish book clearly shows 1731. Reference: ev. KiBu Gräfentonna +1731#4 ARCHION / Thüringen / Landeskirchenarchiv der Evangelischen Kirche Mitteldeutschland/Eisenach / Kirchenkreis Gotha / Gräfentonna / Taufen, Trauungen, Beerdigungen Teil II 1671-1757 / Folio 220, Scan 163 Pfefferkorn definitely did not write "Was frag ich nach der Welt, Und allen ihren Schätzen". (Note also the typo in your write-up: "allen", not "alien".) The text was written by Balthasar Kindermann, and published in his Das Buch der Redlichen (Cüstrin [Küstrin, Kostryzyn]: 1664), pp625-626. See the entry for "What is the world to me", LSB 730 in Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns Vol. I (St. Louis: Concordia, 2019) pp1029-1031. The 1664 publication of the poem can be found here: https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10112257?page=645 I should point out that the book is sometimes dated to 1663, as in the LSB Companion to the Hymns. Jim Eggert

Johann Wilhelm Petersen

1649 - 1727 Author of "Ach, Herr Jesu, könnt' ich Dich" Petersen, Johann Wilhelm, was born June 1, 1649, at Osnabrück; his father Georg Petersen, Kanzlei-beamter at Lubeck, having gone to reside at Osnabrück as representing Lübeck in the negotiations which ended in the Peace of Westphalia. Petersen matriculated at the University of Giessen, in 1669; "went in 1671 to Rostock, and was then for short periods at Leipzig, Wittenberg, and Jena; the degree of M.A. being conferred on him by Giessen in absentia. He returned to Giessen in 1673, and began to lecture on philosophy and rhetoric as private docent. About 1675 he visited Spener, at Frankfurt. This proved an important turning-point in his life. In 1677 he began to lecture at Rostock, as Professor of Poetry (D.D. from Rostock 1686), but in the same year accepted the pastorate of the St. Aegidien church at Hannover. He was then, in May, 1678, appointed by Duke August Friedrich of Holstein, as Court preacher at Eutin, and general superintendent of the diocese of Lübeck. In Advent, 1688, he became pastor of St. John's church and superintendent at Lüneburg. Here he made himself obnoxious to his fellow clergy by refusing to take fees for hearing confessions; received into his house Fraulein Rosamunde Juliane von Asseburg, and began publicly to teach her ideas of the Millennial Kingdom. Being accused of Chiliasm and having his opinions condemned by the theological faculty of Helmstädt, he was removed from his office in the end of January, 1692. Thereafter he resided at various places, made tours over Germany, during which he propagated his views, and expounded his peculiar doctrines by books and pamphlets. He finally bought a small estate at Thymer, near Zerbst, and died there, Jan. 31, 1727 (Koch vi. 121; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie xxv. 508, &c). Apart from his importance as a theological writer, Petersen deserves attention as the author of several hymns. A considerable number of them are in Latin, his manuscript being entitled Cithara sacra. Of these he contributed seven to Freylinghausen's Geistreiches Gesang-Buch , 1704. Two of these have passed into English, viz.: "Cerne lapsum servulum", and "Salve crux beata, salve" (q.v.). His German hymns were published as (1) Stimmen aus Zion, in two parts, Halle, 1698 and 1701 [Wernigerode Library]. These are hymns in prose and not versions of the Psalter; and 8 passed into Freylinghausen's Gesang-Buch 1704. (2) ccc. Stimmen aus Zion, N. P. 1721 [British Museum and Wernigerode]. These are obscure, mystical, and diffuse, and do not appear to have come at all into use. (3) Others of his hymns appeared in the Pietistic hymn-books of the period, 1692-1704. One of this last class is translated into English, viz:— Liebster Jesu, liebstes Leben. Spiritual Watchfulness. In A. Luppius's Andächtig Singender Christen-Mund, Wesel, 1692, p. 150, in 5 st., repeated in Freylinghausen, 1704, and the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 651. Translated as, "Jesus, Lord of life and glory" (st. v.), as No. 1188 in the Supplement of 1808 to the Moravian Hymn Book 1801 (1886, No. 980). [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

J. Prätorius

1651 - 1722 Alterer of "Kein Tröpflein Bluts war dir zu teuer"

Johann Pachelbel

1653 - 1706 Person Name: Johann Pachelbel, 1653-1706 Composer of "PACHELBEL" in Together in Song

Henry Purcell

1659 - 1695 Person Name: H. Purcell Author of "Prayer is the breath of God in man" in A Selection of Spiritual Songs Henry Purcell (b. Westminster, London, England, 1659; d. Westminster, 1695), was perhaps the greatest English composer who ever lived, though he only lived to the age of thirty-six. Purcell's first piece was published at age eight when he was also a chorister in the Chapel Royal. When his voice changed in 1673, he was appointed assistant to John Hingston, who built chamber organs and maintained the king's instruments. In 1674 Purcell began tuning the Westminster Abbey organ and was paid to copy organ music. Given the position of composer for the violins in 1677, he also became organist at Westminster Abbey in 1679 (at age twenty) and succeeded Hingston as maintainer of the king's instruments (1683). Purcell composed music for the theater (Dido and Aeneas, c. 1689) and for keyboards, provided music for royal coronations and other ceremonies, and wrote a substantial body of church music, including eighteen full anthems and fifty-six verse anthems. Bert Polman

Daniel Purcell

1660 - 1717 Person Name: D. Purcell, 1660-1717 Composer of "[Lift up your heads, O ye gates]" in The Book of Common Praise

M. l'abbé (Simon-Joseph) Pellegrin

1663 - 1745 Person Name: S. J. Pellegrin Author of "Sweet Savior haste" in Parish Worship II. New ed. Pellegrin, M. l'abbé (Simon-Joseph). (1663-1745). A French abbé and well-known librettist. His collections of French carols were published in 1708 and 1711. --J. Vincent Higginson, DNAH Archives

M. Prior

1664 - 1721 Author of "When constant faith and holy hope shall die" Prior, Matthew, the well-known English poet, contributed "Heavy on me, 0 Lord, Thy judgments lie" (Ps. lxxxviii.) to N. Tate's Miscellanea Sacra, Pt. ii., 1698. Prior was born in 1664, educated at Westminster School, and St. John's College, Cambridge. He held several important appointments under the Government, as Secretary to the Congress at the Hague, 1690; Secretary of State, 1700, and others. He died at Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, in 1721. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

John Playford

1674 - 1730 Person Name: John Playford, 1674-1730 Composer of "[Praise be to thee, O Christ]" in Pilgrim Hymnal

Thomas Parnell

1679 - 1718 Author of "Blessed Light of saints on high" in The Churchman's Treasury of Song Parnell, Thomas, M.A., was b. in Dublin in 1679, entered Trinity College in 1693 (B.A. 1697, M.A. 1700), was ordained D. 1700, P. 1703, became Archdeacon of Clogher 1706, and in 1716 Rector of Finglas, near Dublin. During a visit to England he was taken ill at Chester, where he died in Oct. 1718. His Poems, 1722, and Posthumous Works, 1758, are now remembered, if at all, by his poem “The Hermit." His hymn "Holy Jesus! God of love" (Holy Communion) appeared in 1758 as above, p. 246, and is in The English Hymnal, 1906 [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Thomas Prince

1686 - 1758 Author of "How glorious is this holy place" Prince, Thomas. An American versifier, b. in 1686, educated at Harvard College, and for some time Minister of South Church, Boston. He died in Oct., 1758. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============================ Prince, Rev. Thomas, D.D. (Sandwich, Massachusetts, May 15, 1687--October 22, 1758, Boston, Mass.). He graduated from Harvard in 1707. After voyages to Barbados and a stay of several years in England he returned to Boston and in 1717 was ordained as colleague of Rev. Joseph Sewall, minister of the Old South Church. His career was marked by frequent controversies and by his Chronological History of New England, based on his great collection of rare documents dating from the early years of the Colony. This priceless collection was unfortunately dispersed and much of it lost after his death. During his ministry the Tate and Brady version of the Psalms was gradually replacing the Bay Psalm Book in New England, but his parishioners clung to the old book. He persuaded them to let him revise it, which he did, improving or modernizing the verse and printing after the Psalms "an addition of Fifty other Hymns on the most important subjects of Christianity." It included one hymn by himself beginning "With Christ and all his shining Train Of Saints and Angels, we shall rise." His collection was published in 1758 and was first used in the Old South Meeting House on the Sunday following his death. Its use there continued there for another 30 years, but it was not adopted elsewhere, the Bay Psalm Book being by that time generally superseded by collections of Watts and Select. --Henry Wilder Foote, DNAH Archives

Alexander Pope

1688 - 1744 Person Name: Pope Author of "Rise, crowned with light, imperial Salem, rise" in The New Congregational Hymn and Tune Book, for Public, Social and Private Worship Alexander Pope was born in London, in 1688. His parents were Roman Catholics. He had a feeble constitution, was deformed in person, and attained the age of only fifty-six. He early acquired the means of independence by his literary gifts, and purchased his celebrated villa at Twickenham, whither he went to reside at the age of thirty. Of his many published works, his translation of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" of Homer has given him the greatest reputation. As an English satirist, also, he stands very high. Nearly all his works, however, are imitations. He died at Tickenham, in 1744. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872 ======== Pope, Alexander, the poet, son of a wholesale linen merchant in Lombard Street, London, was born in Plough Court, Lombard Street, May 21, 1688. His father being a Roman Catholic, he was first placed under the charge of Father Taverner, who taught him the rudiments of Greek and Latin. Later he attended a school at Winchester, and then at Hyde Park Corner. When about twelve he retired with his parents to Binfield, in Windsor Forest, and from thenceforth his education was mainly in his own hands. His subsequent success as a writer and poet is a matter of history, and has been dealt with in detail by Dr. Johnson in his Lives of the Poets, and by others. He died May 30, 1744, and was buried in a vault in Twickenham Church. For distinct public use, so far as we are aware, Pope wrote no hymns. His "Messiah"; his "Universal Prayer"; and his "Vital Spark" (q.v.), have been made use of for congregational purposes, but as a Roman Catholic he had no object in writing a hymn in a language which, at that time, his Church would refuse to use. In modern hymn-books his name is identified with the following pieces:-- 1. Father of all, in every age. Universal Prayer. The Lord's Prayer. This Prayer was published in 1738, as a conclusion to his Essay on Man, in 13 st. of 4 1. Warburton in his Advertisement of the 1748 ed. of the Essay, says:— "Concerning the Universal Prayer which concludes the Essay, it may be proper to observe that some pas¬sages in the Essay having been unjustly suspected of a tendency towards Fate and Naturalism, the author composed that Prayer as the sum of all, to show that hi a system was founded in Freewill, and terminated in Piety: that the First Cause was as well the Lord and Governor as the Creator of the Universe; and that by submission to His will (the great principle enforced throughout the Essay) was not meant the suffering ourselves to be carried along with a blind determination; but a religious acquiescence, and confidence full of hope and immortality. To give all this the greater weight and reality, the Poet chose for his model The Lord's Prayer, which of all others best deserves the title prefixed to his Paraphrase." The title here referred to is "The Universal Prayer, Deo Opt. Max." The hymn is found in common use in the following forms:— (1.) Father of all in every age. This is an abbreviated form, and has been in use, especially in Unitarian hymnbooks, from an early date. (2.) Father of all, [and] Thou God of love. This cento was given in 6 st. of 4 1. in the 1815 edition of Cotterill's Selections, No. 2; again in the 1819 ed., 141; in Stowell's Psalms & Hymns, 1831, No. 179; and again in later collections. (3.) Not to this earth's contracted span. In Collyer's Collection 1812, No. 629, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others. (4.) Teach me to feel another's woe. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 630, in 4 st. of 4 1., and others. (5.) Thou Great First Cause, least understood. Also in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 628, in 4 st. of 4 1., and later hymnals. (6.) When I am right Thy grace impart. Given in Kennedy, 1863, No. 1166. 2. Ye nymphs of Solyma! begin the song. The Messiah. In No. 378 of the Spectator for Wednesday, May 14, 1712, Addison gave this poem with the introduction :— "I will make no apology for entertaining the reader with the following poem, which is written by a great genius, a friend of mine, in the country, who is not ashamed to employ his wit in the praise of his Maker." Then follows the poem with the heading, “Messiah. A Sacred Eclogue, composed of several passages of Isaiah the Prophet. Written in imitation of Virgil's Pollio." It consists of 107 lines. When republished by Pope this heading was expanded into a paragraph as an "Advertisement." As a poem it is unknown to the hymn-book; but from it the following centos have passed into common use:-- (1.) As the Good Shepherd tends his fleecy care. This was given in Collyer's Collection, 1812, No. 626, in 6 st. of 4 1., and has been repeated in later hymnals, but usually in an abridged form. (2.) From Jesse's root, behold a branch arise No. 624 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 5 st. of 4 1.; and again in later hymnals. (3.) Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers. No. 625 in Collyer's Collection, 1812, in 4 st. of 4 1.; in Bishop Heber's posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 106; and again in later collections. (4.) Rise crowned with light, imperial Salem rise. In the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853, No. 687, in 3 st. of 8 1., and several later collections. (5.) The Saviour comes! by ancient seers foretold. In Mercer's Church Psalm & Hymn Book, 1864, and others. It may be noted that 1. 46 of The Messiah reads in the original "He wipes the tears for ever from our eyes." This was altered by Pope at the suggestion of Steele, made to Pope in a letter dated June 1, 1712, to "From every face He wipes off every tear." This latter is the poet's authorized reading, is given in his Works, and is found also in the book form reprints of the Spectator. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Christopher Pitt

1699 - 1748 Author of "Still to the mighty Lord of hosts" Pitt, Christopher, M.A., was born at Blandford, Dorsetshire, 1699, and died 1748. He translated the Æneid, and Vida's Art of Poetry. He was educated at New College, Oxford, and was Rector of Pimperne, Dorsetshire. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

C. H. von Peistel

1704 - 1782 Author of "Ich finde mehr als ein Verseh'n" Peistel, Karl Heinrich von, b. March 25, 1704, at Nedlitz near Weissenfels. d. March 24, 1782, at Herrnhut. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Henry Pitt

1705 - 1733 Person Name: H. Pitt Author of "On God supreme our hope depends" in Psalms and Hymns, for Social and Private Worship Pitt, Henry. (1705/1706--1733). A friend of John Wesley who became a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, in 1724. In a letter dated 4 April 1726 to his brother Samuel, John Wesley enclosed two poems from "a gentleman of Oxford." --George Walton Williams, DNAH Archives

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

1710 - 1736 Person Name: G. B. Pergolesi, 1710-1736 Composer of "INNOCENTS" in Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church

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