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Catherine Winkworth

1827 - 1878 Translator of "O Thou of God the Father" in Evangelical Lutheran hymnal Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used in many modern hymnals. Her work was published in two series of Lyra Germanica (1855, 1858) and in The Chorale Book for England (1863), which included the appropriate German tune with each text as provided by Sterndale Bennett and Otto Goldschmidt. Winkworth also translated biographies of German Christians who promoted ministries to the poor and sick and compiled a handbook of biographies of German hymn authors, Christian Singers of Germany (1869). Bert Polman ======================== Winkworth, Catherine, daughter of Henry Winkworth, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was born in London, Sep. 13, 1829. Most of her early life was spent in the neighbourhood of Manchester. Subsequently she removed with the family to Clifton, near Bristol. She died suddenly of heart disease, at Monnetier, in Savoy, in July, 1878. Miss Winkworth published:— Translations from the German of the Life of Pastor Fliedner, the Founder of the Sisterhood of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserworth, 1861; and of the Life of Amelia Sieveking, 1863. Her sympathy with practical efforts for the benefit of women, and with a pure devotional life, as seen in these translations, received from her the most practical illustration possible in the deep and active interest which she took in educational work in connection with the Clifton Association for the Higher Education of Women, and kindred societies there and elsewhere. Our interest, however, is mainly centred in her hymnological work as embodied in her:— (1) Lyra Germanica, 1st Ser., 1855. (2) Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858. (3) The Chorale Book for England (containing translations from the German, together with music), 1863; and (4) her charming biographical work, the Christian Singers of Germany, 1869. In a sympathetic article on Miss Winkworth in the Inquirer of July 20, 1878, Dr. Martineau says:— "The translations contained in these volumes are invariably faithful, and for the most part both terse and delicate; and an admirable art is applied to the management of complex and difficult versification. They have not quite the fire of John Wesley's versions of Moravian hymns, or the wonderful fusion and reproduction of thought which may be found in Coleridge. But if less flowing they are more conscientious than either, and attain a result as poetical as severe exactitude admits, being only a little short of ‘native music'" Dr. Percival, then Principal of Clifton College, also wrote concerning her (in the Bristol Times and Mirror), in July, 1878:— "She was a person of remarkable intellectual and social gifts, and very unusual attainments; but what specially distinguished her was her combination of rare ability and great knowledge with a certain tender and sympathetic refinement which constitutes the special charm of the true womanly character." Dr. Martineau (as above) says her religious life afforded "a happy example of the piety which the Church of England discipline may implant.....The fast hold she retained of her discipleship of Christ was no example of ‘feminine simplicity,' carrying on the childish mind into maturer years, but the clear allegiance of a firm mind, familiar with the pretensions of non-Christian schools, well able to test them, and undiverted by them from her first love." Miss Winkworth, although not the earliest of modern translators from the German into English, is certainly the foremost in rank and popularity. Her translations are the most widely used of any from that language, and have had more to do with the modern revival of the English use of German hymns than the versions of any other writer. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============================ See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

N. F. S. Grundtvig

1783 - 1872 Author of "The Lord To Thee Appealeth" in Hymnal for Church and Home Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig was the son of a pastor, and was born at Udby, in Seeland, in 1783. He studied in the University of Copenhagen from 1800-1805; and, like some other eminent men, did not greatly distinguish himself; his mind was too active and his imagination too versatile to bear the restraint of the academic course. After leaving the university he took to teaching; first in Langeland, then (1808) in Copenhagen. Here he devoted his attention to poetry, literature, and Northern antiquities. In 1810 he became assistant to his father in a parish in Jutland. The sermon he preached at his ordination, on the subject "Why has the Lord's word disappeared from His house," attracted much attention, which is rarely the case with "probationers'" sermons. On his father's death, in 1813, he returned to Copenhagen, and for eight years devoted himself mainly to literature. The poetry, both secular and religious, that he produced, drew from a friend the remark that "Kingo's harp had been strung afresh." In 1821 King Frederik vi. appointed him pastor of Prasloe, a parish in Seeland, from which he was the next year removed to Copenhagen, and made chaplain of St. Saviour's church in Christianshavn. From the time of his ordination he had been deeply impressed with Evangelical church sentiments, in opposition to the fashionable Rationalism and Erastianism of the day; and adhered to the anti-rationalist teaching of Hauge, whose death at this time (1824) seemed to be a call to Grundtvig to lift up his voice. An opportunity soon presented itself; Professor Clausen brought out a book entitled Katholicismens og Protestantismens Forfatning, Ldre, og Ritus ("The condition, teaching, and ritual of Catholicism and Protestantism"). This book was replete with the Erastian Rationalism which was so especially distasteful to Grundtvig, who forthwith, in his Kirkens Gjenmsele ("The Church's Reply," 1825), strongly opposed its teaching, and laid down truer principles of Christian belief, and sounder views of the nature of the Church. This caused a sensation: Grandtvig (who had not spared his opponent) was fined 100 rixdollars, and the songs and hymns which he had written for the coming celebration of the tenth centenary of Northern Christianity were forbidden to be used. On this he resigned his post at St. Saviour's, or rather was forced to quit it by a sentence of suspension which was pronounced in 1826, and under which he was kept for 13 years. He took the opportunity of visiting England in 1829, 30, and 31, and consulting its libraries, mainly with a view to a further insight into Northern antiquities, and to help his studies in the early English tongue. His edition of Cynewulfs beautiful poem of the Phenix from the Codex Exoniensis, the Anglo-Saxon (so-called) text, with a preface in Danish, and a fri Fordanskning (free rendering in Danish), published in 1840*, is a result of this journey and enforced leisure. Tired of his long silence, his numerous friends and admirers proposed to erect a church for him, and form themselves into an independent congregation, but this was not permitted. He was allowed, however, to hold an afternoon service in the German church at Christianshavn. There ho preached for eight years, and compiled and wrote his hymn-book, Sang-Vdrk til den Danske Kirkce ("Song-work for the Danish Church"). He still worked on towards his object of raising the Christian body to which ho belonged from the condition of a mere slate establishment to the dignity of a gospel-teaching national church. In 1839 (the year of the death of King Frederik vr., and the accession of his cousin Chrisliem vni.) the suspension was removed, and he was appointed chaplain of the hospital Vartou, a position which he held till his death. In 1863 the king (Frederik vn.) conferred on him the honorary title of bishop. The good old man died suddenly, in his 89th year, on Sept. 2, 1872, having officiated the day before. As Kingo is the poet of Easter, and Brorson of Christmas, so Grundtvig is spoken of as the poet of Whitsuntide. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology,, p. 1001 (1907)

Anonymous

Person Name: Ukj. Translator of "Hjælp Gud, at jeg nu kunde" in M. B. Landstads Kirkesalmebog og "Nokre Salmar" ved Professor Dr. E. Blix, samt følgende tillæg In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.

Johan Olof Wallin

1779 - 1839 Person Name: J. O. Wallin, d. 1839 Author of "Med rördt och tröstadt hjerta" in Svenska Psalm-Boken af År 1819 Johan Olaf Wallin was born at Stora Tuna, in 1779, and early displayed his poetical powers. In 1805, and again in 1809, he gained the chief prize for poetry at Upsala. In the latter year he became pastor at Solna; here his ability as a preacher was so striking that he was transferred to Stockholm, in 1815, as "pastor primarius," a title for which we have no exact equivalent. In 1818 he was made Dean of Westeras, and set about the task of editing a revised hymn-book for the whole of Sweden. This task he completed in 1819, and published it as, Den Swenska Psalmboken, af Konungen gillad och stadfästad (The Swedish hymn-book, approved and confirmed by the King). To it he contributed some 150 hymns of his own, besides translations and recastings; and the book remains now in the form in which he brought it out. It is highly prized by the Swedes, and is in use everywhere. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, p. 1000 (1907)

Elisabeth Creutziger

1500 - 1535 Person Name: Elizabeth Creuziger Author of "O Thou of God the Father" in Evangelical Lutheran hymnal Cruciger, Elisabethe, née von Meseritz, was the daughter of a family belonging to the Polish nobility. Her parents, suffering from the persecutions of these times, had been forced to seek refuge at Wittenberg There, in May or June, 1524, she was married to Caspar Cruciger, son of a Leipzig burgess, who had enrolled himself as a student at Wittenberg in 1522. Cruciger, who was treated by Luther as his own son and accounted his most hopeful pupil, became in 1525 Rector of St. John’s School and preacher in St. Stephen's Church, Magdeburg; and in 1528 was called to become professor in the philosophical faculty at Wittenberg, but, by Luther's wish, was appointed one of the professors of Theology. Of his wife, who died at Wittenberg, May, 1535, little is known save that she was a friend of Luther's wife, a lover of music, and an affectionate wife and mother (Koch, i. 281-285; Caspar Cruciger, by Dr. Pressel, Elberfeld,1862, p. 76; Allg. Deutsche Biographie, xviii. 148, &c). The only hymn known as by her is:— Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn. Christmas, first published in Eyn Enchiridion, Erfurt, 1524. In the Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1531, it is given as "Ein geistlich liedt von Christo, Elisabet Creutzigerin," and from the Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, it seems clear that in King's Gesang-Buch, Wittenberg, 1529, it bore the same title. Wackernagel , iii. pp. 46-47, gives four forms, all in 5 stanzas of 7 lines. In the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 37. Koch, i., 282, calls it "a sublime hymn fully embracing in itself the true power of the Gospel." It has been ascribed to Andreas Knopken, but for this external evidence is entirely wanting, and in the Riga Kirchenordnung, 1537, in which his hymns appeared, this hymn is ascribed to E. Cruciger. That he as a theologian might fitly have written a hymn such as this, displaying power of theological expression (cf. st. v.) and knowledge of Latin (cf. st. i. with Prudentius's "Corde natus ex parentis") may be granted, but ladies learned in Latin and theology were not unknown in those days. Translations in common use:— 1. The only Son from heaven. A good translation of stanzas i.-iii., by A. T. Russell, as No. 41 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851, repeated, with alterations, as No. 119 in Kennedy, 1863. 2. O Thou, of God the Father. A translation of stanzas i., iii., iv., by Miss Winkworth, as No. 155 in her Chorale Book for England , 1863, and thence as No. 277 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. Translations not in common use:— (1) "Christ is the only Sonne of God," by Bp. Coverdale, 1539, (Remains, 1846, p. 553). Almost identical with (2) "Christ is the onlie Son of God," in the Gude and Godly Ballates (ed. 1567-8, folio 74), ed. 1868, p. 127. (3) "Lord Christ the eternal Father's” in the Supplement to German Psalmody, ed. 1765, p. 3. (4) "Christ, that only begotten," as No. 335 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. (5) "Thou Maker of each creature," No. 193 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789, is st. iii., iv. of the 1754, rewritten by P. H. Molther. In later editions a translation of st. vi. of "Herr Jesu, Gnadensonne" (see L. A. Gotter, No. i.) was added. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Heinrich Müller

1500 - 1600 Person Name: H. Müller Author of "Hjælp Gud, at jeg nu kunde" in M. B. Landstads Kirkesalmebog og "Nokre Salmar" ved Professor Dr. E. Blix, samt følgende tillæg Müller (Mueller), Heinrich , was a native of Nürnberg. About 1526 or 1527 he was imprisoned as a Lutheran by Duke Georg of Saxony, but was released after the Duke died on April 17, 1539. Thereafter, till about 1580, he kept a school for writing and arithmetic at Annaberg in Saxony. Bartholom äus Muller, sometime schoolmaster at Zwickau in Saxony, in a petition presented to the Elector Christian I. in 1587, and in another petition presented to the Elector Christian II. in 1601, described himself as the son of this Heinrich Müller, and declared that the hymn noted below was written by his father during his imprisonment (see Koch i. 417; Wetzel's Analecta Hymnica ii. 720, &c). The hymn in question is:— Hilf Gott, dass mir gelinge. History of the Passion. In his Bibliographie, 1855, p. 100, Wackernagel cites two broadsheets as of 15.27. In his D. Kirchenlied iii. p. 85, the earliest source from which he prints the text, is however the Bergkreyen, Nürnberg, 1536, though he says it had appeared in print in 1524 (apparently a mis¬print for 1527). He speaks of the Magdeburg Gesang-Buch, 1534, as the earliest hymnbook in which it is included, This is however an oversight, as it is found in the Rostock Gesang-Buch1531, where it is entitled “A new hymn on the Word of God and His bitter sufferings," and begins "Help God mi mach gelingen." It is in 13 st. of 7 1., the initial letters of the stanzas giving the name Heinrich Müler, and the two concluding lines being "Hat Hein rich Müller gesungen In dem Gefängniss sein." From the above note it is clear that the hymn was written by a Heinrich Müller, during an imprisonment, and was in print at least as early as 1531. The ascription to Heinrich Müller, professor at Wittenberg, is therefore impossible, seeing he was only born in 1530. The ascription to Heinrich von Zütphen [born at Zütphen in Gelderlaud, c. 1488, became an Augustinian monk, and in 1515 prior of the Augustinian monastery at Dordrecht; began to preach as a Reformer in Bremen, Nov. 9, 1522; murdered at Heide near Meldorf, in Holstein, Dec. 10, 1524] is also untenable, for neither by himself nor by his contemporaries was he ever styled Heinrich Müller, and there was during his life no period of imprisonment during which he might have written this hymn. The history of the Nürnberg Müller noted above is not indeed very clear, but his claim has at least much more appearance of truth than that of any other. The hymn was a great favourite during the Reformation period, was included by Luther in V. Babst's Gesang-Buch 1545, and passed into many later books. It is a ballad rather than a hymn properly so called, and has now fallen out of use in Germany. The only translation is: “Help, God, the formar of all thing." In the Gude and Godlie Ballates, ed. 1568, f. 22 (1868, p. 37). [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

P. C. Paulsen

1881 - 1948 Translator of "The Lord To Thee Appealeth" in American Lutheran Hymnal Paul Christian Paulsen was born on March 26, 1881, in Alstrup, Jutland, Denmark. He emigrated to America in 1904, was ordained in 1911, and served as a Lutheran pastor in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, and Alberta, Canada. He died on July 26, 1948. NN, Hymnary

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