Grundtvig og de latinske salmer - et teologisk perspektiv

Resumé

Grundtvig and the Latin Hymns - A Theological Perspective

By Lars Thunberg

A number of scholars have devoted attention to Grundtvig’s hymns, as they are represented in his magnificent Sang-Værk. The hymns form a kind of corona of Christian poetry, intended for the congregation to use in its worship and outside the church. A number of them are congenial renderings of hymns from other traditions: the Greek, the Latin, the Anglo-Saxon, beside the Lutheran. As far as the Greek and the Latin material is concerned, Jørgen Elbek, the literary historian, has made a remarkable contribution. This article follows up Elbek’s intentions.

In his Sang-Værk Grundtvig follows the principle that his collection of hymns should reflect what is given - to Christendom as a whole, and the Danish congregation specifically - through the seven historical traditions: the Hebraic, the Greek, the Latin, the English, the German, the Nordic (= Danish) and possibly a seventh, not yet fully discovered. Theoretically Grundtvig develops this idea in his late work Christenhedens Syvstieme, where an Indian congregation is indicated as the seventh one. Elbek has shown that - against this background - Grundtvig wanted to give to the Danish Church a collection of hymns, expressing the unison hymnody of the present day Danish congregation..

Among the classical traditions, the Latin ‘congregation’ occupies a particular place. This particularity, however, is a problem to Grundtvig at the same time. Elbek has underlined that Grundtvig was aware of the fact that no Christian is basically able to speak on behalf of the universal Church. Thus, this is also true of Grundtvig himself in his translation/rendering of Greek or Latin hymns. His translation of them into present-day Danish involves a contextualisation, which means that they are at the same time felt to be close and familiar as well as distinct from their original setting. They become songs of praise, integrated into the Danish contemporary situation.

However, it is characteristic of Grundtvig that he is very faithful to his Latin originals (which he studied in different versions and very carefully), and at the same time feels free to render them according to his own understanding of what is of importance to his own Danish Church. This combination of faithfulness and freedom is a genuine expression of Grundtvig’s unique ability as a hymn writer. He uses it to express his very personal feeling of what is - as a matter of fact - universal Christian belief.

In the article these principles of Grundtvig are illustrated through a short analysis of his rendering of the following 14 Latin hymns: Conditor alme siderum, Veni redemptor gentium, Puer natus in Bethlehem, Vexilla regis prodeunt, Salve crux arbor, Stabat mater dolorosa, Salve mundi salutare, Mane prima sabbad, Mundi renovatio, Zyma vetus expurgetur, Laus tibi Christi, Beata nobis gaudia, Urbs beata Ierusalem and Pange lingua gloriosi.