In Latin poetry, a sequence (Latin sequentia) is a poem written in a non-classical metre, often on a sacred Christian subject. In turn, the Latin verse form takes its name from the use of chanted texts, not necessarily in verse, in Christian liturgy. Latin poetry was a major part of Latin literature during the height of the Latin language. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Classical antiquity is a broad and perhaps misleading term for a long period of European, Middle East and North African history, that begins roughly with the earliest recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire... In literature, meter or metre (sometimes known as prosody) is a term used in the scansion (analysis into metrical patterns) of poetry, usually indicated by the kind of feet and the number of them. ... Christian poetry is any poetry that contains Christian teachings, themes, or references. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... From the Greek word λειτουργια, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning the work of the people, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), a daily activity such...

The Latin sequence in literature and liturgy

The Latin sequence has its beginnings, as an artistic form, in early Christian hymns such as the Vexilla Regis of Venantius Fortunatus. Venantius modified the classical metres based on syllable quantity to an accentual metre more easily suitable to be chanted to music in Christian worship. In the ninth century, Hrabanus Maurus also moved away from classical metres to produce Christian hymns such as Veni Creator Spiritus. A hymn is a song specifically written as a song of praise, adoration or prayer, typically addressed to a god. ... The Vexilla Regis is a Latin hymn by the Christian poet Venantius Fortunatus. ... Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus (approx. ... (8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The Magyars arrive in what is now Hungary, forcing the Serbs and Bulgars south... Rabanus Maurus Magnentius (c. ...

The name sequentia, on the other hand, came to be bestowed upon these hymns as a result of the works of Notker Balbulus, who during the tenth century published a work called Sequentiae. This was a collection of hymns in rythmical prose, hence also called Proses (Prosae). The best known of Notker's sequences is the prose text Media vita in morte sumus, ("In the midst of life we are in death") which was translated by Cranmer and became a part of the burial service in the funeral rites of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. ... Thomas Cranmer (July 2, 1489 - March 21, 1556) was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of the English kings Henry VIII and Edward VI. Born in 1489 at Nottingham, Cranmer was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge and became a priest following the death of his first wife. ... The requiem, also known formally as the Mass of Requiem or Requiem Mass, is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church and its Eastern Rite. ... Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea A funeral is a ceremony marking a persons death. ... The term Anglican (from the Angles or English) describes those people and churches following the religious traditions developed by the established Church of England. ... The Book of Common Prayer[1] is the prayer book of the Church of England and also the name for similar books used in other churches in the Anglican Communion. ...

Notker Balbulus's texts were meant to be sung. In the Latin Mass of the middle ages, it became customary to prolong the last syllable in singing the Alleluia of the Gradual, between the Epistle and the Gospel, while the deacon was ascending from the altar to the ambo, to sing or chant the Gospel. This prolongation was called jubilatio, jubilus, or laudes, on account of its jubilant tone. It was also called sequentia, "sequence" because it followed the reading of the Epistle or the Alleluia. Notker set words to this music in rythmical prose for chanting as a sort of trope. The name sequence thus came to be applied to these texts; and by extension, to hymns containing rhyme and accentual metre. A collection of sequences was called the Sequentiale. Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) presiding at the 2005 Easter Vigil Mass in place of the dying Pope John Paul II. Mass is the term used of the celebration of the Eucharist in the Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְלוּיָהּ meaning [Let us] praise (הַלְלוּ) God (יָהּ) (or Praise (הַלְלוּ) [the] Lord (יָהּ)). It is found mainly in the book of Psalms. ... Gradual (Med. ... An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of persons, usually a letter and a very formal, often didactic and elegant one. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... A late 18th century pulpit in a small Roman Catholic church in Spielfeld, Styria, Austria A pulpit (from Latin pulpitum scaffold, platform, stage) is a small elevated platform where a member of the clergy stands in order to read the Gospel lesson and deliver a sermon. ... // Linguistic usage A trope is a rhetorical figure of speech that consists of a play on words, i. ... A rhyme is a repetition of identical or similar sounds in two or more different words and is most often used in poetry. ...

Another well known sequence is Thomas of Celano's Dies Irae. St Thomas Aquinas wrote a sequence Pange lingua in praise of the Eucharist. The hymn Ave maris stella ("Hail, star of the sea!") is another well known but anonymous medieval sequence; another well known Marian sequence is Jacopone da Todi's Stabat Mater. During the Middle Ages, secular or semi-secular sequences, such as Peter of Blois' Olim sudor Herculis ("The labours of Hercules") were written; the Goliards, a group of Latin poets who wrote mostly satirical verse, used the form extensively. The Carmina Burana is a collection of these sequences. Thomas of Celæno, also known as Thomas of Celano (around 1200 - around 1255), was a Franciscan monk and hymnodist whose chief claim to fame is his authorship of the Dies Iræ. Thomas was one of the first disciples of St Francis of Assisi and joined the order around 1215. ... Dies Iræ (Day of Wrath) is a famous Latin hymn written by Thomas of Celano. ... St Thomas Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – March 7, 1274) was an Italian , Catholic philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition. ... Pange Lingua is a hymn written by St. ... The Eucharist is either the celebration of the Christian sacrament commemorating Christ’s Last Supper, or the consecrated bread and wine of this sacrament. ... Ave Maris Stella (Hail Star of the Sea) is a plainsong hymn to the Virgin Mary. ... Blessed Virgin Mary A traditional Catholic picture sometimes displayed in homes. ... Mater dolorosa became an iconic type, as in this 16th-century Spanish version by Luis de Morales (ca 1510 - 1586) Stabat Mater is a Roman Catholic hymn of the 13th century, attributed to Jacopone da Todi, that meditates on the suffering of Mary, mother of Jesus during his crucifixion. ... Peter of Blois (1135 (?) - 1203 (?)) was a French poet and diplomat who wrote in Latin. ... The Goliards were a group of clergy who wrote bibulous, satirical Latin poetry in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. ... Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... The name Carmina Burana refers both to a collection of 13th-century songs and poetry, and 20th-century musical settings of texts from it. ...

The composition of sequences became less frequent when Humanist Latin replaced medieval Latin as the preferred literary style in Latin. New sequences continued to be written in Latin; one of the best known later sequences is the Christmas carol Adeste Fideles, known in English as "O Come, All Ye Faithful". Humanist Latin is a name given to the distinctive Latin style developed by the humanist movement during the European Renaissance in the fifteenth century. ... Medieval Latin refers to the Latin used in the Middle Ages, after the fall of the Roman empire but before the rise of vernacular languages in the Renaissance. ... A literary language is a register of a language that is used in writing, and which often differs in lexicon and syntax from the language used in speech. ... Singing carols: John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together A Christmas carol is a carol (song or hymn) whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, or the winter season in general. ... Adeste Fideles or O Come All Ye Faithful is a Christmas carol commonly attributed to John Francis Wade in approximately 1743. ...

Early music ensemble

Sequentia is also the name of an early music ensemble whose core personnel are Benjamin Bagby and the late Barbara Thornton. Early music is a term used to describe pre-Classical Western music, from the earliest written music to 1500 at the earliest (Judd, 1998, p. ... Benjamin Bagby is a singer, harper, and groundbreaking performer of medieval music. ...

External link

• Schaff, Philip, History of the Christian Church (1910)