Lord, Have Mercy on Us
Encyclopedia
Lord, Have Mercy on Us is English name for the oldest recorded song from Czech lands
, the hymn Hospodine pomiluj ny. A paraphrase of the Kyrie Eleison
with deep choral melody, the song is very impressive. Its text preserves traces of Church Slavonic origin.
s. Its definitive version comes from time when Old Church Slavonic
competed with Latin
and absorbed Czech components. Saint Adalbert
is sometimes ascribed as the author; while it may possible it is not confirmed.
First mention of the choral comes from 1055 when it was sung during election of duke Spytihněv II of Bohemia
. The oldest recording appears in chronicle of Jan from Holešov from 1397. It was also sung during celebrations and as a war song. Charles IV
used it during his coronation
, Jan Hus
during sermons given in Betlém Chapel in Prague
. Together with Saint Wenceslas Chorale
it is one of the first Czech national anthem
s. The song, almost unmodified, is still used during liturgy
.
: explanatory notes
Hospodine pomiluj ny
Hospodine, pomiluj ny,
Jezu Kriste, pomiluj ny,
ty Spase všeho míra,
spasiž ny, i uslyšiž,
Hospodine, hlasy nášě ;
daj nám všém, Hospodine,
žizň a mír v zemi ;
žizň a mír v zemi.
Krleš, Krleš, Krleš !
Latin
translation: source
O Domine, miserere
O Domine, miserere,
Iesu Christe, miserere,
Salus es totius mundi,
salva nos et percipe,
o Domine, voces nostras ;
da cunctis, o Domine,
panem, pacem terrae ;
panem, pacem terrae.
Kyrie eleison !
(translated by M. B. Boleluczky)
English
translation:
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, have mercy on us,
Jesus Christ, have mercy on us,
Savior of the whole world,
have mercy on us and hear,
O Lord, our voices;
Lord, give to all of us
life and peace in our land,
life and peace in our land.
Kyrie Eleison !
Czech lands
Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...
, the hymn Hospodine pomiluj ny. A paraphrase of the Kyrie Eleison
Kyrie
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek κύριε , vocative case of κύριος , meaning "Lord", is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, which is also called the Kýrie, eléison ....
with deep choral melody, the song is very impressive. Its text preserves traces of Church Slavonic origin.
History
Author of the song, dating from the turn of 10/11th century, is unknown. The text has simple form with 8 verses, without rhyme or stanzaStanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s. Its definitive version comes from time when Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
competed with Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and absorbed Czech components. Saint Adalbert
Adalbert of Prague
This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
is sometimes ascribed as the author; while it may possible it is not confirmed.
First mention of the choral comes from 1055 when it was sung during election of duke Spytihněv II of Bohemia
Spytihnev II of Bohemia
Spytihnev II was the duke of Bohemia from March 1055 until his death in 1061. He was the eldest son of Bretislaus I. His coronation was celebrated with the first known rendition of Lord, Have Mercy on Us. After succeeding to the throne, he went at once to Regensburg to receive imperial confirmation...
. The oldest recording appears in chronicle of Jan from Holešov from 1397. It was also sung during celebrations and as a war song. Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
used it during his coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
, Jan Hus
Jan Hus
Jan Hus , often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague...
during sermons given in Betlém Chapel in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. Together with Saint Wenceslas Chorale
Saint Wenceslas Chorale
The hymn called "Svatý Václave" or "Svatováclavský chorál" is one of the oldest known Czech songs and Czech religious anthem. Its roots can be found in the 12th century and it belongs to the most popular religious songs also today...
it is one of the first Czech national anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
s. The song, almost unmodified, is still used during liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
.
The Text
In modern Czech orthographyOrthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
: explanatory notes
Hospodine pomiluj ny
Hospodine, pomiluj ny,
Jezu Kriste, pomiluj ny,
ty Spase všeho míra,
spasiž ny, i uslyšiž,
Hospodine, hlasy nášě ;
daj nám všém, Hospodine,
žizň a mír v zemi ;
žizň a mír v zemi.
Krleš, Krleš, Krleš !
Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
translation: source
O Domine, miserere
O Domine, miserere,
Iesu Christe, miserere,
Salus es totius mundi,
salva nos et percipe,
o Domine, voces nostras ;
da cunctis, o Domine,
panem, pacem terrae ;
panem, pacem terrae.
Kyrie eleison !
(translated by M. B. Boleluczky)
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation:
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, have mercy on us,
Jesus Christ, have mercy on us,
Savior of the whole world,
have mercy on us and hear,
O Lord, our voices;
Lord, give to all of us
life and peace in our land,
life and peace in our land.
Kyrie Eleison !
External links
- Czech and Latin text
- Photo of the oldest recorded musical notation (scroll down)
- Modern musical notation (text in Japanese)