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See how the grace of the world

Representative text cannot be shown for this hymn due to copyright.

Author: Venantius Honorious Fortunatus, c. 530-609

Venantius Honorius Clematianus Fortunatus (b. Cenada, near Treviso, Italy, c. 530; d. Poitiers, France, 609) was educated at Ravenna and Milan and was converted to the Christian faith at an early age. Legend has it that while a student at Ravenna he contracted a disease of the eye and became nearly blind. But he was miraculously healed after anointing his eyes with oil from a lamp burning before the altar of St. Martin of Tours. In gratitude Fortunatus made a pilgrimage to that saint's shrine in Tours and spent the rest of his life in Gaul (France), at first traveling and composing love songs. He developed a platonic affection for Queen Rhadegonda, joined her Abbey of St. Croix in Poitiers, and became its bishop in 599. His Hymns far all th… Go to person page >

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Text Information

First Line: See how the grace of the world
Author: Venantius Honorious Fortunatus, c. 530-609
Meter: Irregular with refrain
Source: York Processionals, 1530 (st. 3, 5, 6, and Pentecost); The New Century Hymnal, 1995 (Tr.)
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Hail, O festal day!
Copyright: Translation © 1995 The Pilgrim Press
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Tune

SALVE FESTA DIES (Vaughan Williams)

Ralph Vaughan Williams (PHH 316) composed SALVE FESTA DIES as a setting for Venantius H. Fortunatus's (PHH 400) famous text "Hail Thee, Festival Day." The tune, whose title comes from the opening words of that text, was published in The English Hymnal of 1906. Like SINE NOMINE (505), this tune is vi…

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Timeline

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Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)

The Book of Praise #244

The Book of Praise #244

The New Century Hymnal #262

The New Century Hymnal #262
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