A solis ortus cardine
A solis ortus cardine ( From the gate of the sunrise ) is a Latin poem by Caelius Sedulius († around 450). It sings of the life of Jesus from his birth to the resurrection in 23 four-line stanzas, with the stanzas beginning in sequence with all the letters of the late ancient Latin alphabet ( Abecedarius ). This poem are derived from two hymns of the Catholic liturgy and two hymns of Martin Luther .
The first seven stanzas, supplemented by a doxology stanza from another origin, have been used as a hymn for Christmas since the early Middle Ages . In succinct phrases they draw the contrast between the greatness and omnipotence of the eternal word of God (the second person of the Trinity ) and the needy humanity of the child in whom this word became flesh.
Stanzas 8, 9, 11 and 13 of the poem by Sedulius were also taken over into the liturgy with the added doxology as a hymn to the feast of the apparition of Lord Hostis Herodes impie . These stanzas are about Herod and the Three Kings , but also about the baptism of the Lord and the miracle of wine in Cana .
For the Christmas hymn, Martin Luther created the rhyming transference Christ we shall praise already , which had long been one of the main evangelical songs of the Christmas season, but was not included in the main part of the 1993 Evangelical Hymn book . The text of the cantata Christum we should praise already, BWV 121 , by Johann Sebastian Bach goes back to this poem by Luther .
Luther also translated the Epiphany hymn into German: What do you fear, enemy Herod, very much . This song has long been out of use.
In the Liturgy of the Hours of the Catholic Church, the eight-verse A solis ortus and the five- verse Hostis Herod are contained in the Latin original. The German-language book of hours also offers the five-stanza transmission Vom hellen Tor der Sonnenbahn (stanzas 1, 2, 6 and 7 of Sedulius as well as the doxology).
Like the text, the traditional melody is dated to the 5th century. It begins in Doric mode , but ends in Phrygian . In Liber hymnarius (Solesmes, 1983) and in Liber usualis , however, it is the III. Attributed to tone.
The three-fold upswing to the top note sensibly depicts the high arc of the sun's path and the perspective across the globe. The numerous melisms were later simplified. An almost syllabic version is in use today in the Catholic liturgy .
Text and translations
Latin text |
Literal translation |
Luther's translation of rhymes |
A solis ortus cardine |
From the pivot of the sunrise |
Christ we should already praise, |
B eatus auctor saeculi |
The blessed creator of the world put |
The blessed Creator of all things
humbled a |
C lausae parentis viscera |
|
The divine grace from heaven |
D omus pudici pectoris |
The house of the shameful breast |
The chaste house of the heart tenderly |
E nixa est puerpera |
The woman who had recently given birth gave birth to |
The noble mother gave birth, |
F eno iacere pertulit, |
He endured lying on the hay, |
He lay big in the hay with poverty, |
G audet chorus caelestium, |
The choir of the heavenly rejoices |
The choir of heaven rejoices |
H ostis Herodes impie, |
Herod, unfaithful enemy, |
What do you fear very much, enemy Herod, |
I bant magi, qua venerant |
The wise men went as they came |
The wise men follow the star, who |
K aterva matrum personat |
The crowd of mothers |
|
L avacra puri gurgitis |
The baptismal baths of the pure spring |
The baptism in the Jordan was taken by |
M iraculis dedit fidem |
He performed miracles in attesting to |
|
N ovum genus potentiae: |
A new kind of power! |
A new miracle happened: |
O rat salutem servulo |
|
|
P etrus per undas ambulat |
Peter walks through the waves, |
|
Q uarta die iam fetidus |
On the fourth day, already stinking, |
|
R ivos cruoris torridi |
Streams of hot blood |
|
S olutus omni corpore |
Relieved of the whole burden of his body, |
|
T uncglich Iudas carnifex |
Then this villain Judas dared |
|
V erax datur fallacibus, |
The truthful is handed over to the deceivers, |
|
X eromyrram post sabbatum |
Scented ointment brought |
|
Y mnis, venite, dulcibus |
Come, let us |
|
Z elum draconis invidi |
The jealousy of the envious dragon |
Web links
- The complete poem of Sedulius
- Free transmission by Peter Gerloff (verses 1, 2, 6, 7 and doxology)
- Text of the Bach cantata 121
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. the melody version of the Erfurt Enchiridion
- ↑ Praise to Christ. The Liturgy of the Hours in the Community , Freiburg 1982, p. 313