A Medieval Liturgical Commentary on the O Antiphons
The first six O antiphons in the Antiphonary of Hartker, written at the monastery of St Gallen in Switzerland at the end of the 10th century. (Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 390, p. 40 – Antiphonarium officii, https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/csg/0390)
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When semidoubling antiphons was the norm in the Use of Rome, the O’s were always doubled, and the choir did not sit after they were intoned, as one usually does for the Magnificat antiphon. Various other particular customs were observed in other places. In the very ancient abbey of Fleury, for example, the intonation of each antiphon was assigned to a particular member of the monastic community: O Wisdom to the abbot, O Lord to the prior, O Root of Jesse to the gardener, O Key of David to the cellarer, (who held the key to all of the storehouses), etc. (Martene, De antiquis Ecclesiae ritibus IV.3.3)
The medieval use of Augsburg in Germany contains a particularly interesting enrichment of the liturgy on these days. Each O is accompanied by a special chapter, and a special concluding oration, both of which refer back to it; these form a kind of scriptural and euchological commentary on the much older antiphons. Like many medieval uses, that of Augsburg also added other antiphons to the series, which I will note in another post next week; here are the chapters and prayers which go with the seven oldest antiphons, those found in the Roman Breviary. At Augsburg, the Os began on December 13th, and so I have noted them here.
Capitulum
Ego Sapientia ex ore Altissi- mi prodivi, primogenita ante
omnem creaturam. Transite ad me, omnes qui concupi- scitis me, et a generatio- nibus meis implemini. |
The Chapter
I Wisdom came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn |
Aña O Sapientia, * quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attin- gens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae. |
Aña O Wisdom, * that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from end to end, mightily and sweetly ordering all things, come thou to teach us the way of prudence. |
Oratio
Festinantes, omnipotens De- |
The Prayer
Almighty God, let no earthly ac-
tions hinder them that hasten to meet Thy Son Our Lord; but let the teaching of heavenly wisdom make us his fellow heirs. Through the same… |
Capitulum
Ecce Deus noster: ecce Domi- |
The Chapter
Behold our God: behold the Lord
God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his re- ward is with him, and his work is before him. (Isaiah 40, 9-10) |
Aña O Adonai, * et Dux domus Israël, qui Moysi in igne flam- mae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Si- na legem dedisti: veni ad redi- mendum nos in brachio exten- to. |
Aña O Adonai, * and leader of the house of Israel, who didst ap- pear to Moses in the fire of the burning bush, and gavest him the Law on Sinai; come thou to redeem us with arm outstretched. |
Oratio
Deus, qui hominem de lapsu in |
The Prayer
God, who didst redeem man from
the fall unto death by the coming of Thy Only begotten Son; grant, we beseech Thee, that they who confess His glorious Incarnation may merit the fellowship of that very Redeemer; who liveth and reigneth with Thee… |
Capitulum
Ecce radix Jesse ascendet in |
The Chapter
Behold the root of Jesse shall
arise for the salvation of the peoples; him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his name shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11, 10) |
Aña O Radix Jesse, * qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes depreca- buntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare. |
Aña O root of Jesse, * that stand- est as an ensign of the peoples, at whom the kings shall shut their mouths, whom the Gentiles shall beseech: come thou to deliver us, delay thou not. |
Oratio
Festina, ne tardaveris, Domi- |
The Prayer
Hasten, delay Thou not, o Lord,
our God; and deign Thou mightily to deliver us from the wrath of the devil. Who with the Father… |
The Prophet Isaiah, by Antonio Balestra (1666-1740). “And one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed.” (Isaiah 6, 6-7 – Public domain image from Wikipedia.)
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December 16
Capitulum
Dedi te in foedus populi, in |
The Chapter
I have given thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles: that thou may open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoners out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. (Isaiah 42, 6-7) |
Aña O clavis David, * et sceptrum domus Israël; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; clau- dis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo car- ceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis. |
Aña O key of David, * and sceptre of the house of Israel; who openest, and no man shut- teth; shuttest, and no man open- eth: come thou, and lead forth the prisoner from the prison- house, and him that sitteth in darkness, and in the shadow of death. |
Oratio
Aurem tuam, quaesumus, |
The Prayer
Incline Thy ear, Lord, we be-
seech Thee, unto our prayers, and lighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of Thy visitation; Who livest. |
Capitulum
Orietur vobis timentibus no- |
The Chapter
Unto you that fear my name,
the Sun of justice shall arise, and health in his wings. (Malachi 4, 2) |
Aña O Oriens, * splendor lu- aeternae, et sol justi tiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. |
Aña O Dayspring, * splendor of the light eternal, and sun of justice; come thou, and enlighten them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death. |
Oratio
Mentes nostras, quaesumus,
Domine, gratia tuae visita- tionis illustra: ut esse te lar- giente mereamur et inter prospera humiles, et inter adversa securi. Qui cum. |
The Prayer
Enlighten our minds, we be-
seech Thee, Lord, by the grace of Thy visitation; that of Thy bounty we may merit to be humble in prosperity, and safe in adversity. Who with the Father. |
Capitulum
Ecce dies veniunt, dicit Do- |
The Chapter
Behold the days come, saith
the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth. (Jeremiah 23, 5) |
Aña O Rex gentium, * et desi- deratus earum, lapisque angu- laris, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti. |
Aña O King of the gentiles, * and the Desire thereof, and cornerstone that makest of twain one: come, to save man, whom Thou didst make from the mud of the earth. |
Oratio
Excita, quaesumus, Domine,
potentiam tuam, et veni: ut ab
imminentibus peccatorum no-
strorum periculis, te merea-
mur protegente eripi, te libe-
rante salvari: Qui vivis.
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The Prayer
Stir up Thy strength, o Lord,
we beseech Thee, and come; that we may merit to be deli- vered from the imminent dangers of our sins by Thee our protector, and saved by Thee our liberator. Who livest. |
Capitulum
Dominus enim judex noster, |
The Chapter
For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us. (Isaiah 33, 22) |
Aña O Emmanuel, * Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Do- mine, Deus noster. |
Aña O Emmanuel, * our King and Lawgiver, longing of the Gentiles, and Savior thereof: come Thou to save us, o Lord our God. |
Oratio
Omnipotens Christe, Unige-
genite Dei, propitius ad sal- vandum populum in te cre- dentem veni: ut benignitate solita ab omni dubietate et metu temporis nos jubeas liberari: Qui cum Deo Patre. |
The Prayer
Christ Almighty, Onlybegotten
Son of God, of Thy mercy come Thou to save the people that believeth in Thee; that by Thy wonted kindliness, Thou mayest command us to be freed of every doubt, and fear of our times. Who with the Father… |
The translations of the Scriptural passages are taken from the Douay-Rheims version; where the quotation is different from the actual words of Scripture (a common enough feature of medieval liturgical texts), I have placed the changed words in italics. The translations of the antiphons are based on those in the English version of the Roman Breviary by the Marquess of Bute, with many modifications; those of the prayers are my own. The Chapter which accompanies O Radix Jesse is based on Isaiah 11, 10, but is actually quoted from a responsory of the Third Sunday of Advent. Likewise, the prayer which accompanies O Clavis David is that of the Third Sunday of Advent, and that which accompanies O Rex gentium is that of the First Sunday.
A 15th century stained glass window of Augsburg Cathedral, showing the Coronation of the Virgin Mary at top, the Annunciation on the lower left, and the Birth of Christ on the lower right.
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Source: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2018/12/a-medieval-liturgical-commentary-on-o.html
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