Pange Lingua Gloriosi Proelium Certaminis

Not to be confused with Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium. “Pange lingua gloriosi proelium certaminis“ (Latin for ’Sing, tongue, the battle of glorious combat’) is a 6th-century AD Latin hymn generally credited to the Christian poet St. Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, celebrating the Passion of Christ. In the Catholic Church, the first five stanzas are used at Matins during Passiontide in the Divine Office, with the remaining stanzas (beginning with Lustra sex) sung at Lauds. Both parts are chanted during the Adoration of the Cross on Good Friday. This hymn later inspired Thomas Aquinas to write the hymn “Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium“ for the Feast of Corpus Christi. The hymn is later incorporated into Gustav Holst’s The Hymn of Jesus.