Chilperic, Frankish king (r. 561-584) writes a Latin hymn in honour of *Medard (bishop of Vermand, buried at Soissons, ob. c. 560, S00168), praising his holy life and extolling his many and diverse miracles. Written in northern Gaul, perhaps at Soissons, 561/584.
E08203
Literary - Poems
YMNUS IN SOLEMNITATE SANCTI MEDARDI EPISCOPI
Deus mirande, virtus alma in sanctis proceribus!
Armatus saltim currit aulis undique coetus gentium.
Crispantibus ausisti nimphis fontem ex undis turgidis:
Ab gente sensu rudentem segregasti Medardum antistem.
Profugus ad sacra petit prolis peccata linquere imaginis; 5
U(t) copreum respuit ornas gentiles, mulus, bucula(s).
Cuius caro namque fessa crebris et ieiuniis,
per cultum artus igne mundi iugis pre vigiliis.
Probatus est quasi metallum auri per incendium --
H(a)ec speties scandit argenti -- ritoque trino nitidus. 10
Iam calcatis pronis saecli inbreae perfusus frigido,
Cui praemium in illa prestit requiem post supplicium.
Hunc relinquent tristia letum, suscipiunt prospera mitem,
Mundus caret ut naufragum, caeli recondent acolam.
Felix militiae devotae sumsit hunc incola culmen: 15
Obtinuit athleta castris bradium in secula nomen.
Noctis obumbrat vultibus, serenum staurat speculum;
Et priscam sordis auribus olli clarescit exetram.
Clodis + pedatum rituque recipere redde tonantis attico,
Torpentibus nervis per artus squatit cruor egelidus. 20
Solutis mox cunctis nexibus vincla confrigit ferrea;
Quae sacris parent iussibus, laeta patent ergastula.
Ftartus mundus renovatus iam cesso tartarecola.
Immensas avere Christi laudes te patrante cogitur.
Dupplum reddidit hec talentum, adeptus arcem possedit, 25
Iugis salus est egrorum et sanis praesidium.
[Gloria (sit) deo patri
et Christo unigenito
Una cum sancto spiritu
in sempiterna secula.]
Chilbericus rex conposuit istud ymnum.
'Hymn in honour of the holy bishop Medard.
Most glorious God, a sustaining power through Your holy lieutenants! An armed crowd of peoples leaps up and rushes to your halls from all sides. From the swollen waves you have drawn off a clear spring with rippling water, You have selected Bishop Medard from a people of rude understanding. (5) Having fled to holy things he strives to make the people leave the sin of idolatry; as if they were dung, he despises the heathen ash-tree, mules and oxen. His own flesh is weakened by frequent fasting, he is shut out from the fires of the world through his worship and his constant vigils. Like gold he has been tested by fire; (10) this exceeds the gleam of silver, shining in the worship of the Trinity. Having walked over the coals of this worldly life, sprinkled with a cooling rain, to him God grants this reward: peace after suffering. Oppression leaves him cheerful, and success finds him mild. The world has lost him like a shipwrecked sailor; he now dwells in the heavens. (15) Thus this happy inhabitant of heaven has achieved the summit of his devoted service; this champion soldier has won an immortal name as his prize. If night shades faces, he restores to them a cloudless mirror; and he gives back their clear hearing to deaf ears. He heals the lame and makes them walk again; (20) cooling blood pours through limbs that had paralysed muscles. Having broken all their links, he shatters chains of iron; the prisons joyfully open, submitting to the saint's commands. The possessed man is purified and renewed, and, with the demon vanquished, is driven at your instigation to offer great praises to Christ. (25) He has returned redoubled the talent he was granted; he has taken the citadel and holds it. To the sick he is perpetual health, to the healthy a sure defence.
May glory be to God the Father and Christ His only Son, and to the Holy Spirit through all time.
Chilperic the king wrote this hymn.'
Text: Strecker 1923, 455-7
Translation: Thomas Charles-Edwards
The text is evidently highly corrupt, rendering the sense often difficult to disentangle. Passages in the translation above which are in italics are necessarily speculative.
Chant and religious singing
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle after death
Freeing prisoners, exiles, captives, slaves
Exorcism
Healing diseases and disabilities
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMonarchs and their family
Source
This hymn survives in just one manuscript, of the 10th century from the monastery of Sankt Gallen; it is now in the Bibliothèque municipale of Tours.Discussion
The attribution of this hymn to King Chilperic depends on the statement written at the end of it. There is, however, no reason to question this. Chilperic is known to have been devoted to the cult of Medard: Gregory of Tours tells us that he endowed the saint's church with rural estates (Histories 5.3; E02120), and that, with Fredegund his wife, he took one of his dying sons to Medard's shrine in the hope of a cure (Histories 5.34; E02148). Furthermore, we also know that Chilperic wrote poems and hymns, because Gregory of Tours mocked his attempts at verse, specifically mentioning two books of poetry and 'other short works, hymns and sequences for the mass' (alia opuscula vel ymnus sive missas) (Histories 6.46).The obscure passage at line 4 almost certainly refers to Medard's known Frankish ancestry, while lines 5-6 appear to refer to Frankish heathen practices, including perhaps the worship of sacred trees and the sacrifice of animals.
Bibliography
Edition:Strecker, K., Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, vol. 4, fasc. 2 and 3 (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Poetarum Latinorum medii aevi 4. 2 and 3; Berlin 1923), 455-7.
Bryan Ward-Perkins
13/8/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00168 | Medard, bishop of Vermand buried at Soissons, ob. c. 560 | Medardus | Certain |
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