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Document Details : Title: Accessit Latinitas Subtitle: Urban VIII and the Attempt to Classicize the Hymns of the Roman Breviary Author(s): DECKER, Sophia Journal: Humanistica Lovaniensia Volume: 73 Date: 2024 Pages: 481-504 DOI: 10.2143/HLO.73.0.3294205 Abstract : Linguistic attitudes prevalent during the Renaissance had implications for the liturgical life of the Roman Catholic Church, whose liturgies, always celebrated in Latin, included elements dating from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. In 1623, Maffeo Barberini, a classical scholar and poet, became Pope Urban VIII. Troubled that liturgical hymns did not always follow classical norms, he commissioned a group of Jesuits to rewrite the hymns of the Roman Breviary. Immediately, there was resistance. Many perceived these changes as tampering with ancient hymns that they had long held sacred. Thanks to a copy of the hymnary I have found in the British Library which contains marginal notes in the pope’s own handwriting, it is now possible to trace certain changes directly to Urban VIII. This paper examines the controversy surrounding the classicization of liturgical hymns and provides new evidence for the pope’s close personal involvement. |
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