Hymnological Notes

Hymnological research has reached a very crucial stage during the past fourteen or fifteen years. The steady flow of publications in this field has never really stopped since the middle of the nineteenth century, which saw several attempts to make hymnological material scattered in medieval manuscripts accessible to hymnologists and philologists alike. Nineteenth-century hymnodists had little idea of the riches and depth of medieval Latin hymnody, and the impasse caused by their ‘misconceptions’ and preconceived ideas is still reflected in the erroneous interpretation and improper handling of many Latin hymns by early editors and hymnodists. Of the early editions of medieval Latin hymns there are only two (those of Daniel and Mone)1 that still have source value; most of the others have merely historical significance or offer manuscript readings not adequately evaluated by subsequent editors.