In the Middle Ages, many uses of the Roman Rite added one or more new O antiphons to the well-known ancient series of seven. Of these additions, the first given here, O Virgo virginum, was certainly the most widespread, and in fact is still used by the Premonstratensians; many places in Germany lengthened the series to eleven or twelve. There was also one written for Vespers of St Thomas the Apostle, O Thoma Didyme, since the ferial antiphons of the 20th and 21st would normally be used only for the commemoration of Advent on his feast. As noted in an article earlier this week, the Use of Augsburg in Germany supplemented the O antiphons not only by the addition of four new ones, but also with a special chapter and prayer assigned to each day, which refer back to the antiphon itself. The O series began on December 13th; the four additional ones were then sung from December 20th to the 23rd.
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| The Annunciation, by Jan de Beer (1475-1528); first quarter of the 16th century. (Public domain image from Wikipedia.) |
December 20
| Capitulum Ecce Virgo conci- piet, et pariet filium, et voca- bitur nomen ejus Emmanuel; butyrum et mel comedet, ut sciat reprobare malum, et eligere bonum. | Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel; he shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. (Isa. 7, 14-15) |
| Aña O Virgo virginum, * quomodo fiet istud, quia nec primam visa es, nec habere sequentem? Filiae Jerusalem, quid me admiramini? Divi- num est mysterium hoc quod cernitis. | O Virgin of virgins, how shall this come to pass? For Thou seemest to have none like Thee before, nor any such to follow. Daughters of Jerusalem, why do you regard me in wonder? This which you see is a divine mystery. |
| Oratio Domine, sancte Pater, omnipotens aeterne Deus, Creator humanae substantiae, qui Verbum tuum in Virginis uterum venire voluisti: sup- plicantium tibi preces beni- gnus intende. Per eundem. | Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, creator of our hu- man nature, who didst will that Thy word come into the womb of the Virgin; listen kindly to the prayer of them that beseech Thee. Through the same... |
December 21
December 22
The chapter Vidi portam is actually the text of an antiphon written for the feast of the Annunciation, which, however, was apparently not used at Augsburg itself; it alludes to, but does not exactly quote the prophet Ezechiel’s vision of the new and eternal Temple in the final chapters of his book. The chapter of the following day begins as a quotation of Micah 5,4, but is more allusion than quote. As with many such expansions of earlier liturgical customs, these are not of a uniform literary quality. The antiphon O Gabriel is a grammatical fragment, and the prayer assigned to O Virgo virginum is rather vague. Three of the four are not addressed to the Lord, and therefore do not end as the classic seven do with an invocation to Him to finally come to us in His Nativity, as we have longed for throughout Advent.
On the night of December 23, the last of the O antiphons is sung; in the Middle Ages, many churches celebrated this final Vespers of the Advent season with great solemnity, like the First Vespers of a feast. At Augsburg and elsewhere, it had the peculiar name “Vigil of the Vigil of the Nativity”; the word “vigilia” was often used in medieval liturgical books to mean “First Vespers.” The psalms were said of the weekday, all five of them with a single proper antiphon. After the chapter, a responsory was added, according to the general medieval custom for First Vespers. The responsory in question, De occulta illa, is very ancient, and found in many medieval breviaries. The custom of the special antiphon for the psalms appears to be uniquely German, and varies from use to use. In the table below, I have noted another common one, Paratus esto, which in the reform of St Pius X was added to the Roman Breviary at Lauds of the Ember Saturday of Advent.
| Cap. Vidi portam in domo Domini clausam, et dixit ad me Angelus: Solus Dominus veniens ingreditur per eam, et semper erit clausa. | I saw a closed door in the house of the Lord, and the An- gel said to me, “Only the Lord will come and enter through it, and it will always be closed.” |
| Aña O Gabriel, * nuntius caelorum, qui januis clausis ad me intrasti, et Verbum nuntiasti: Concipies et pari- es, Emmanuel vocabitur. | O Gabriel, messenger of the heavens, who came to me through the closed doors, and announced the Word: Thou shalt conceive, and bear a Son. |
| Oratio Deus, qui de beatae Mariae Virginis utero Ver- bum tuum, Angelo nuntian- te, carnem suscipere voluisti: praesta supplicibus tuis; ut, qui vere eam Genitricem Dei credimus, ejus apud te inter- cessonibus adjuvemur. Per eundem. | O God, who willed that Thy Word should, by the message of an Angel, take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary: grant unto us, we be- seech Thee; that we who be- lieve Her to be truly the Mo- ther of God, may be helped by Her intercession. Through the same... |
December 22
| Cap. Magnificabitur Domi- nus usque ad fines terrae, et in diebus ejus pax et laetitia erit multis. |
The Lord shall be magnified
unto the ends of the earth, and in his days there shall be peace and joy unto many. |
| Aña O Rex pacifice, * ante saecula nate, per auream e- gredere portam, redemptos tuos visita, et eos illuc revo- ca, unde ruerunt per culpam. | O peaceable King, born before the ages, go out through the golden gate, visit those whom Thou hast redeemed, and call them back, whence down they fell through sin. |
| Oratio Redemptor noster, aspice, Deus, et veni ad li- berandum nos de profundo iniquitatis, et dona Eccle- siae tuae perpetuam tran- quillitatem. Qui vivis. | Look upon us, o God, our Re- deemer, and come to deliver us from the depth of iniquity; and grant perpetual peace to Thy Church. Who livest... |
The chapter Vidi portam is actually the text of an antiphon written for the feast of the Annunciation, which, however, was apparently not used at Augsburg itself; it alludes to, but does not exactly quote the prophet Ezechiel’s vision of the new and eternal Temple in the final chapters of his book. The chapter of the following day begins as a quotation of Micah 5,4, but is more allusion than quote. As with many such expansions of earlier liturgical customs, these are not of a uniform literary quality. The antiphon O Gabriel is a grammatical fragment, and the prayer assigned to O Virgo virginum is rather vague. Three of the four are not addressed to the Lord, and therefore do not end as the classic seven do with an invocation to Him to finally come to us in His Nativity, as we have longed for throughout Advent.
On the night of December 23, the last of the O antiphons is sung; in the Middle Ages, many churches celebrated this final Vespers of the Advent season with great solemnity, like the First Vespers of a feast. At Augsburg and elsewhere, it had the peculiar name “Vigil of the Vigil of the Nativity”; the word “vigilia” was often used in medieval liturgical books to mean “First Vespers.” The psalms were said of the weekday, all five of them with a single proper antiphon. After the chapter, a responsory was added, according to the general medieval custom for First Vespers. The responsory in question, De occulta illa, is very ancient, and found in many medieval breviaries. The custom of the special antiphon for the psalms appears to be uniquely German, and varies from use to use. In the table below, I have noted another common one, Paratus esto, which in the reform of St Pius X was added to the Roman Breviary at Lauds of the Ember Saturday of Advent.
December 23
| Aña super psalmos Levate * capita vestra; ecce appropin- quat redemptio vestra. (alia Paratus esto, * Israel, in occursum Domini, quoniam veniet.) | Lift up your heads, behold, your redemption approacheth. (elsewhere Be thou prepared, o Israel, to meet the Lord, for He shall come.) |
| Cap. Leva, Jerusalem, oculos et vide potentiam Regis; ecce Salvator venit solvere te a vinculo. | Lift up thy eyes, o Jerusalem, and see the might of the King; behold the Savior cometh to release Thee from thy bond. |
| R. De occulta illa habitatione sua egressus est Filius Dei: * descendit visitare et consola- ri omnes qui eum devoto corde desiderant. V. Ex Sion species decoris ejus: Deus noster manifeste veniet. Descendit. Gloria Patri. Descendit. | R. From His hidden abode the Son of God has gone forth: * He has come down to visit and console all those who long for Him with a devout heart. V. Out of Sion the loveliness of His beauty, our God shall come manifestly. He has come down. Glory be. He has come down. |
| Aña O Jerusalem, * civitas Dei summi, leva in circuitu oculos tuos, et vide Domi- num, Deum tuum, qui jam veniet te solvere a vinculis. | O Jerusalem, city of God most high, lift up thy eyes around thee, and see the Lord, thy God, who will now come to release thee from thy bond. |
| Oratio Vincula, quaesumus, Domine, humanae pravitatis abrumpe; ut ad Unigeniti tui Nativitatem libera mente curramus. Qui tecum. | Break, we beseech Thee, o Lord, the bonds of human wickedness, so that with free minds we may run forth to the birth of Thy Only-begotten Son. Who with Thee... |
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The east choir of Augsburg Cathedral. The town of Wigratzbad, the home of the Fraternity of St Peter’s European seminary, is within the diocese of Augsburg.
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