The sequence, originally a product of France, already perfected as a
poetical form by Notker and the German school of ecclesiastical hymn
writers, attained a greater influence and popularity under Adam of St.
Victor. In 1130 Adam entered the Augustinian Abbey of St. Victor on the
outskirts of Paris and there he remained until his death. Whether a
native of France or England is unknown. Like Notker, he followed in his
poetic themes the annual festivals. To him have been attributed more
than 100 sequences which appear in the manuscripts of St. Victor. They
were published first by Leon Gautier in 1858 and in the later nineteenth
century were subjected to critical analysis by Misset who regarded 45
sequences as authentic.[3] Blume, who edited the Victorine sequences in
volumes 54 and 55 of the _Analecta Hymnica_, attributed 48 to Adam’s
authorship.
Adam’s poetical concepts are centered in the mystical interpretation of
biblical narratives and of Christian theology as it was taught in the
schools of Paris. Hugh and Richard of St. Victor were his contemporaries
but Adam was poet as well as theologian. Praise was to him an essential
harmony of voice and life. His verse departed from the earlier prose
rhythms of the German poets and was cast in a metrical form already
popularized in the hymn. A group of rhymed trochaic lines of eight
syllables with a caesura after the fourth syllable at the end of a word,
closes with a seven syllable line. This scheme with its many variants
characterizes the work of Adam and his imitators in countless Latin and
later, vernacular lyrics. Adam’s sequence for the Feast of St. Stephen
has been selected as illustrative of his finest work.
(See Illustrative Hymns, XIII. _Heri mundus exultavit_, “Yesterday with
exultation.”)
To appreciate fully the function of the sequence in worship at this time
as well as its appeal to popular imagination, one should isolate a
single theme for more intimate enjoyment. For this purpose, the
sequences written for the five feasts of the Virgin are best suited.
While manifold saints were honored in the hymnology of the day, the
veneration of the Virgin reached at this time, its pinnacle of
expression. Notker had provided sequences for her Nativity, Purification
and Assumption. Adam of St. Victor, poet of the Virgin, drew upon all
the resources of medieval symbolism in his _Salve, redemptoris mater_,
“Hail, mother of the Redeemer,” a masterpiece of medieval religious
verse. Clerical poets everywhere met the challenge of his example. The
result was indicative not only of their devotion and their poetic skill
which was at times indifferent, but of the actual use of the Virgin
sequences in the numerous feasts which honored her and their familiarity
to wide congregations of clergy and laity.
During this period great sequence writers appeared, some known and
distinguished, the majority anonymous. To the latter group belongs the
author of the Easter sequence, _Victimae paschali laudes_, “Christians,
to the Paschal Victim,” which represents the transition between the
Notkerian and Victorine styles. The growing relationship between Latin
hymnology and the arts becomes obvious in this sequence which was of
importance in building the liturgical drama for Easter. The dialogue
embedded in the poem,
“Speak, Mary, declaring
What thou sawest wayfaring?”
and her reply, ending
“Yea, Christ my hope is arisen:
To Galilee he goes before you.”
contributed, with other sources, to the fully developed Easter Play.
The so-called Golden Sequence for Pentecost, _Veni sancte spiritus_,
“Come, thou Holy Spirit, come,”[4] also of undetermined authorship,
attained perhaps the greatest prestige, having now been heard in
Christian worship for more than eight hundred years.
The activities of the French school are largely responsible for the
popularity of sequences in the twelfth century and for their
multiplication in every part of western Europe. Other factors played a
part. Just as the Latin hymn can best be understood in the historical
setting of the late Roman Empire or of the early Germanic kingdoms, so
the development of the sequence must be interpreted in connection with
the social and cultural environment of the age. The universities,
notably that of Paris, were dominating intellectual life. Economic
opportunity offered by the revival and expansion of craftsmanship,
commerce, urban life and geographical knowledge resembled the
achievement of Roman days. The European centralized states had emerged
and were assuming the national features which mark them today. The
modern languages of Europe were highly developed in their literary
treasures and in everyday speech. Under reforming popes such as Innocent
III, the church was entering an era of unity and spiritual renewal. Side
by side with the reformed Benedictine Order, the Augustinian canons with
their ancient prestige, the Franciscan, Dominican and other religious
orders were taking their part in the work for the regeneration of
society and the triumph of the Faith. Pilgrimages and crusades were in
vogue for two hundred years from 1095. The hymnody of the church took on
new vitality in an era of European awakening.