Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification.[1] The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος (hymnos), which means "a song of praise".[2] A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist. The singing or composition of hymns is called hymnody. Collections of hymns are known as hymnals or hymn books. Hymns may or may not include instrumental accompaniment. Polyhymnia is the Greco/Roman goddess of hymns.[3]
"Hymns" and "hymnus" redirect here. For other uses, see Hymn (disambiguation).Although most familiar to speakers of English in the context of Christianity, hymns are also a fixture of other world religions, especially on the Indian subcontinent (stotras).[4] Hymns also survive from antiquity, especially from Egyptian and Greek cultures. Some of the oldest surviving examples of notated music are hymns with Greek texts.[5]
Origins[edit]
Ancient Eastern hymns include the Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten, composed by Pharaoh Akhenaten;[6] the Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal;[7] the Rigveda, an Indian collection of Vedic hymns;[8] hymns from the Classic of Poetry (Shijing), a collection of Chinese poems from 11th to 7th centuries BC;[9] the Gathas—Avestan hymns believed to have been composed by Zoroaster;[10] and the Biblical Book of Psalms.[11]
The Western tradition of hymnody begins with the Homeric Hymns, a collection of ancient Greek hymns, the oldest of which were written in the 7th century BC, praising deities of the ancient Greek religions.[12] Surviving from the 3rd century BC is a collection of six literary hymns (Ὕμνοι) by the Alexandrian poet Callimachus.[13] The Orphic hymns are a collection of 87 short poems in Greek religion.[14]
Patristic writers began applying the term ὕμνος, or hymnus in Latin, to Christian songs of praise, and frequently used the word as a synonym for "psalm".[15]
The Rigveda is the earliest and foundational Indian collection of over a thousand liturgical hymns in Vedic Sanskrit.[81]
Between other notable Hindu hymns (stotras and others) or their collections there are:
A hymnody acquired tremendous importance during the medieval era of the bhakti movements. When the chanting (bhajan and kirtan) of the devotional songs of the poet-sants (Basava, Chandidas, Dadu Dayal, Haridas, Hith Harivansh, Kabir, Meera Bai, Namdev, Nanak, Ramprasad Sen, Ravidas, Sankardev, Surdas, Vidyapati) in local languages in a number of groups, namely Dadu panth, Kabir panth, Lingayatism, Radha-vallabha, Sikhism, completely or significantly replaced all previous Sanskrit literature. The same and with the songs of Baul movement. That is, the new hymns themselves received the status of holy scripture. An example of a hymnist, both lyricist and composer is the 15th–16th centuries Assamese reformer guru Sankardev with his borgeet-songs.[82][83]
Sikh hymnody[edit]
The Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ Punjabi pronunciation: [ɡʊɾu ɡɾəntʰ sɑhɪb]), is a collection of hymns (Shabad) or Gurbani describing the qualities of God[84] and why one should meditate on God's name. The Guru Granth Sahib is divided by their musical setting in different ragas[85] into fourteen hundred and thirty pages known as Angs (limbs) in Sikh tradition. Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the tenth guru, after adding Guru Tegh Bahadur's bani to the Adi Granth[86][87] affirmed the sacred text as his successor, elevating it to Guru Granth Sahib.[88] The text remains the holy scripture of the Sikhs, regarded as the teachings of the Ten Gurus.[89] The role of Guru Granth Sahib, as a source or guide of prayer,[90] is pivotal in Sikh worship.
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