Conditor alme siderum

Conditor alme siderum is a seventh-century Latin hymn used during the Christian liturgical season of Advent.[2] It was formerly ascribed to Saint Ambrose, but there is no contemporaneous evidence to support the attribution. The hymn has been mainly used in the Divine Office at Vespers.[3] An English translation by J.M. Neale is the well-known Advent hymn Creator of the Stars of Night.

The Latin “sidus” (“siderum”) means more than just a “star”, encompassing also the sun (technically also a star), the moon, and the planets, as well as all the heavenly constellations and comets and meteors.[1]

History

The hymn was rewritten by Pope Urban VIII in 1632, changing it so extensively that only the second line of the original hymn remained unchanged. The revision, which begins Creator alme siderum, is thus so extensive that it is in effect a different composition.[4] While the original text did not include a doxology, most versions do include one of some sort, usually appended as verse 6.

J.M. Neale made a translation of the hymn which appeared as "Creator of the Stars of Night" in the first edition of the Hymnal Noted in 1852.[5] The ancient text was restored by the Vatican in the most recent version of the traditional Breviary, where it is indicated for use at Vespers on the First Sunday of Advent.[6]

Text

Footnotes
  1. Waddell OSCO, Chrysogonus, "Advent Reflection"
  2. Martin, Michael. "Conditor Alme Siderum". Preces Latinae. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  3. "Godzdogz". The Dominican Friars. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  4. Martin, Michael. "Creator alme siderum". Preces Latinae. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  5. Julian, John. Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
  6. Liturgia Horarum, "Dominica I Adventus", Internetowa Liturgia Godzin
  7. Britt O.S.B., Matthew. Hymns from the Breviary and Missal (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1922), pp. 95-96
  8. Neale, J.M., "Creator of the Stars of Night"
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