A study of Latin hymns

By Alice King MacGilton

Book Overview

Where worship becomes literature, Latin hymns endure. Listen to the Latin sing. In A study of Latin hymns, Alice King MacGilton brings exacting attention and real affection to the voices that shaped the western european church. This liturgical studies book traces how Christian liturgical hymn texts were composed, transmitted, and sung, pairing religious music history with close latin hymnody analysis. The discussion keeps an ear for sound as well as sense: sacred latin poetry meters, rhyme, and diction are treated not as ornament, but as theology in motion. MacGilton also weighs questions of origin and usage, showing how hymns were fitted to feast days, offices, and classrooms, and how their Latin could be read on the page even when the choir fell silent. It rewards philologists, musicians, and thoughtful lay readers. From patristic christian poetry to the medieval latin hymn tradition and the worlds that carried it into gregorian chant history, MacGilton clarifies why these hymns mattered to prayer, preaching, and education. The result serves equally well as a seminary course textbook and an academic research reference, while remaining inviting for any reader curious about how a few lines of Latin could travel centuries and still feel alive. Collectors of classic religious scholarship will value its learned, lucid perspective on a living inheritance of sacred song. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9353706432
• ISBN13: 9789353706432
• Release Date: June 2019
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"