Of Roosters and Repetitio: Ambrose’s Aeterne rerum conditor

Abstract This article examines Ambrose’s use of repetitio in his morning hymn Aeterne rerum conditor. Thanks in part to a long tradition of criticism that has focused primarily on the unadorned ‘simplicity’ of the Ambrosian hymn, relatively little attention has been paid to the poet’s artful use of rhetorical figures. Aeterne rerum conditor features a rooster whose repetitive cry is replicated in the third and fourth stanzas of the hymn in a striking figure that, upon a close reading, is found to be integrally connected with the poem’s meaning and message.