Benedicamus Domino as an expression of joy in Christmas songs of the Devotio moderna

Abstract

Christmas, as the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, is a central and joyful feast of Christian worship. In medieval and early modern Europe, this translated into a rich musical tradition, of which Christmas songs were a significant part. Song collections from the Devotio moderna, a spiritual movement that spread in the Low Countries and Germany during the 15th and 16th centuries, are an important witness to this Christmas tradition. However, because of their wide dissemination and their simple musical style, these songs have presented an historiographical challenge: it has proved impossible to detail in full the ubiquitous circulation of the well-known songs adopted within the Devotio moderna, as well as to subject their music and texts to close analysis of the kind usually undertaken for more ‘complex’ polyphony. In this context, the Benedicamus Domino offers a new and productive perspective: not only was the Benedicamus Domino singled out for special permission to be sung in polyphony at Christmas, but many Christmas songs are in fact Benedicamus tropes. I trace the uses and functional implications of the Benedicamus Domino within a single and very widely transmitted song, Puer nobis nascitur. Based on an analysis of its polyphonic versions in Latin and of its transmissions with a mix of Latin and vernacular texts, I argue that the Benedicamus was one element deliberately used in Christmas songs to guide spiritual exercises and meditation, inspiring and expressing joy during the Christmas season.