Dictionary of Hymnology
Learn hymn terms, meters, forms, and the history behind Christian worship music — curated for hymn lovers, worship leaders, and students.
A glory in the word we find
History
An early nineteenth-century cento focusing on the Holy Scriptures, published in John Campbell's 1837 collecti…
A little child the Saviour came
Hymn
William Robertson’s beautiful 1861 baptismal hymn, which was historically misattributed in American hymnals t…
A little flock! So calls He thee
Hymn
Horatius Bonar's expansive 1857 poem on the Church, published in Hymns of Faith and Hope and adapted into var…
A solis ortus cardine (Translations and Structural Variants)
History
An index of the nineteenth-century English and German translations of Coelius Sedulius's hymn, detailing the …
A thousand oracles divine
Hymnology
An overview of Charles Wesley's intensely dogmatic Trinitarian hymn, tracing its publication history, denomin…
A time to watch, a time to pray
Hymnology
A historical summary of John Mason Neale's 1842 Good Friday children's hymn, detailing its structural composi…
A---y.
History
The pseudonym "A---y." used in the Gospel Magazine by Job Hupton, representing the parish of Ashby where he r…
A. K. B. G
History
The signature "A. K. B. G-." used in The Divine Hymnal (1860) to denote Augustus Kerr Bozzi Granville.
A. L. W.
History
The initials "A. L. W." used in various hymn collections to sign the deeply devotional work of Welsh poet and…
A. R. C. (Anne Ross Cousin)
History
The signature "A. R. C." as used in J. H. Wilson's The Service of Praise (1865) to denote the Scottish poet a…
A. R. W.
History
The initials "A. R. W." used in the American Baptist Praise Book (1871) to sign the contributions of the Reve…
Abba, gentle Jesus prayed
Hymnology
John Samuel Bewley Monsell's devotional hymn exploring Christ's intimate prayer to the Father, published in 1…
Accepting, Lord, Thy gracious call
Hymnology
A publication history of Christopher Newman Hall's hymn on Christian discipleship, documenting its origin as …
According to Thy gracious word
Hymnology
A publication history of James Montgomery's communion hymn, detailing its 1825 debut, various textual alterat…
Ach, wie wird das Herz so leer
Hymnology
A publication history of Carl Johann Philipp Spitta's German hymn of celestial longing, examining its foundat…
Ach! lehre mich ein Kindlein sein
Hymnology
A entry on Emma Neustetel's children's hymn of spiritual humility, outlining its compilation in Basel and its…
Ach! treuer Gott, barmherzigs Herz
Hymnology
A publication history of Paul Gerhardt's hymn of comfort, detailing its origin from Johann Arndt's devotional…
Ad celebres, Rex coelice, laudes cuncta
Hymnology
A text-critical and manuscript chronicle of a historic Notkerian sequence for the Feast of Saint Michael, doc…
Adams, Nehemiah
Hymnology
A biographical entry on Nehemiah Adams, Congregational clergyman, author, and compiler of Church Pastorals.
Adams, Sarah
History
Biographical entry for Sarah Adams (1805–1848), nee Flower, English Unitarian hymn writer best known as the a…