Verbum Dei, Deo natum

Verbum Dei, Deo natum is a sublime medieval Latin hymn appointed for the festival of St. John the Evangelist, often specifically associated with the feast of St. John at the Latin Gate. Although historically attributed to Adam of St. Victor, Archbishop Richard Chenevix Trench noted that while it is likely not by Adam, it remains altogether worthy of his authorship. The text appears in manuscripts at the St. Gall Monastery, including Tenth and Eleventh Century codices, and is preserved in Twelfth and Thirteenth Century manuscripts at the Bodleian Library and the British Museum. Printed liturgical sources include the Magdeburg Missal of 1480 alongside many subsequent German missals. The hymn is frequently divided into two parts, with the second section beginning at the ninth stanza, Volat avis sine meta, which celebrates the traditional eagle symbolism associated with St. John. Standard printed Latin texts are preserved in the collections of Mone, Daniel, Trench, and Kehrein.

English Translations and Versions

The text has been translated into English by several prominent Nineteenth Century scholars and hymnologists:

• 1862 — Herbert Kynaston: Translated Part I as "God begotten, God the Word" and Part II as "Boundless still his pinions soar," published in his Occasional Verses.

• 1868 — Edward Arthur Dayman: Rendered Part I as "Word of God, so long awaited" and Part II as "Higher soars his eagle, higher" for the Sarum Hymnal, introducing an original third stanza in Part II.

• 1871 — David Thomas Morgan: Translated Part I as "Not made, nor yet created, came" and Part II as "With boundless range our eagle flew," appearing in his Hymns and Other Poetry of the Latin Church.

• 1877 — Edward Hayes Plumptre: Rendered Part I as "The Word of God, the Eternal Son" and Part II as "As eagle winging loftiest flight," published in Bishop Ellicott's New Testament Commentary for English Readers and reprinted in Plumptre's 1884 volume Things New and Old.

• 1889 — Samuel Willoughby Duffield: Translated Part I as "He the Word of God, the fated" and Part II as "As an eagle unmolested," published in his post-humous work Latin Hymn-Writers and Their Hymns.