Theodulf became the Bishop of Orléans under Charlemagne. When Charlemagne died and Louis the Pious became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Theodulf was removed from the bishopric and placed under house arrest at a monastery in Angers during the power struggle following Louis' ascension, mostly due to his opposition to icons and Louis' suspicion that Theodulf supported an Italian rival to the throne.[3] During his arrest, Theodulf wrote "Gloria, laus et honor" for Palm Sunday. Although likely apocryphal, a 16th-century story asserted that Louis heard Theodulf sing "Gloria, laus et honor" one Palm Sunday, and was so inspired that he released Theodulf and ordered that the hymn be sung thereafter on every Palm Sunday.[4][5]
A translation into Middle English was effected by William Herebert: "Wele, herying and worshipe be to Christ that dere ous boughte,/ To wham gradden 'Osanna' children clene of thoughte."
In 1851, John Mason Neale translated the hymn from Latin into English to be published in his Medieval Hymns and Sequences. Neale revised his translation in 1854 and revised it further in 1861 when it was published in the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern.[2]
The hymn was originally made of thirty-nine couplets, however only the first twelve lines were sung in regular liturgical use, as seen in a ninth-century manuscript attributed to St. Gall, until Neale's translation.[2] The original Latin words are used by Roman Catholics alongside the English translation.[6]
Text
Neale's hymn appears as Number 86 in Hymns Ancient and Modern in a version with six stanzas, using the first four lines as the refrain, which is repeated between each stanza. The original Latin stanzas were more numerous, but
although they were translated by Neale, many are not sung nowadays, including one which was omitted for "evident reasons", the first two lines reading "Be Thou, O Lord, the Rider,/ And we the little ass" (Neale himself notes that the verse dropped out of use in the 17th century, and remarks "we can scarcely avoid a smile").[7] The hymn's principal theme is praising Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem,[8] as evident in the refrain, and it is usually sung for Palm Sunday.[9]
All glory, laud, and honour
To Thee, Redeemer, King!
To Whom the lips of children
Made sweet Hosannas ring,
Thou art the King of Israel
Thou David's Royal Son,
Who in the LORD'S name comest,
The King and Blessèd One.
All glory, &c.
The company of Angels
Is praising Thee on high,
And mortal men, and all things
Created make reply.
All glory, &c.
The people of the Hebrews
With palms before Thee went
Our praise and prayers and anthems
Before Thee we present.
All glory, &c.
To Thee before Thy Passion
They sang their hymns of praise;
To Thee now high exalted
Our melody we raise.
All glory, &c.
Thou didst accept their praises;
Accept the praise we bring,
Who in all good delightest,
Thou good and gracious King.
All glory, &c.[5]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
^Petersen, Randy (2014). Be Still, My Soul: The Inspiring Stories behind 175 of the Most-Loved Hymns. Tyndale House Publishers. p. 13. ISBN978-1414388427.
^For a full translation of the most commonly sung latin verses, see John Mason Neale (1867). "Gloria, laus, et honor". Mediæval Hymns and Sequences (3rd ed.). London: Joseph Masters and son. pp. 23–26.
