O Come, All Ye Faithful facts for kids

"O Come, All Ye Faithful" is a very famous Christmas carol. It was first written in Latin as "Adeste Fideles". No one is completely sure who wrote it! Many people have been suggested as the author. These include John Francis Wade and John Reading. Some even think King John IV of Portugal or old Cistercian monks wrote it. The oldest printed version of the carol was in a book by John Francis Wade. A handwritten copy by Wade from 1751 is kept at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England.

The original song had four verses. Later, more verses were added, making a total of eight. These verses have been translated into many languages. The most common English version, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," was translated by an English priest named Frederick Oakeley in 1841. This version is sung all over the world where English is spoken.

Who Wrote the Words?

The words of this hymn have been linked to different people and groups over time. Some thought St. Bonaventure wrote it in the 1200s. Others believed it was John IV of Portugal in the 1600s. It was also often thought that Cistercian monks from Germany, Portugal, or Spain wrote the words.

Today, most songbooks say that John Francis Wade wrote the words. His name is on the earliest printed copies. Wade was an English Catholic who lived in France. He earned money by copying music by hand. He often signed his copies because his handwriting was so beautiful. In 1751, he published a collection of his copied music called Cantus Diversi pro Dominicis et Festis per annum. This book is the first place where Adeste Fideles was printed.

The version Wade published had four Latin verses. Later, in the 1700s, a French priest named Jean-François-Étienne Borderies [fr] added three more verses in Latin. There's also another Latin verse that isn't printed very often.

The song has been translated into English many, many times. The version we sing most often today combines parts of Frederick Oakeley's translation of the first four verses with William Thomas Brooke's translation of the added verses. This combined version first appeared in Murray's Hymnal in 1852. Oakeley first called his translation "Ye Faithful, approach ye." It was sung at his church in London before it was changed to its current name. The song was sometimes called the "Portuguese Hymn." This happened after the Duke of Leeds heard a version of it sung at the Portuguese embassy in London in 1795.

The Music of the Carol

Just like the words, the music for "O Come, All Ye Faithful" has been linked to several different musicians. Some people have suggested John Reading or his son. Others have thought of famous composers like George Frideric Handel or Christoph Willibald von Gluck. The Portuguese composer Marcos Portugal and King John IV of Portugal have also been given credit. Thomas Arne, who knew Wade, is another possible composer. There are other similar tunes from that time. It's hard to know if they copied the carol, if the carol copied them, or if they are just similar by chance.

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When Was It Published?

Adeste fideles (earliest printed version)

The hymn was first printed by John Francis Wade in his collection called Cantus Diversi in 1751. It had four Latin verses. The music was written in the old-fashioned square notation used for medieval church music. It was also published again in the 1760 edition of Evening Offices of the Church. You can also find it in Samuel Webbe's An Essay on the Church Plain Chant from 1782.

The tune also became part of the Sacred Harp tradition. It appeared as "Hither Ye Faithful, Haste with Songs of Triumph" in a collection from 1860. A German translation of the Latin words, "Herbei, o ihr Gläub'gen," was published in 1823 by Friedrich Heinrich Ranke.

Lyrics

Here are the original four Latin verses that Wade published. Next to them is their English translation by Frederick Oakeley.

These are the extra Latin verses that were written later in the 1700s. They come with English translations, but these are not by Oakeley.

Hidden Meanings?

Some people believe the words of the hymn might have had a secret meaning. Professor Bennett Zon from Durham University thinks it could have been a hidden message about Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. He was a leader of the Jacobites, who wanted to put the Stuart family back on the throne of England.

Professor Zon suggests that "Bethlehem" was a secret code word for England among the Jacobites. He also thinks Regem Angelorum (King of Angels) was a clever play on words, sounding like Anglorum (English). John Francis Wade had to leave France after the Jacobite uprising in 1745 failed. From the 1740s to the 1770s, the earliest versions of the carol often appeared in English Roman Catholic church books. These books were close to prayers for the exiled Old Pretender (another Stuart claimant). In Wade's books, the carol was often decorated with Jacobite flower symbols. Other church texts with secret Jacobite meanings also had these decorations.

How It's Performed

Sometimes, certain verses of the hymn are left out when it's sung. This might be because the whole hymn is very long. Or, it might be because some words don't fit the specific day it's being sung. For example, the eighth verse is usually only sung on Epiphany, if at all. The last verse of the original song is usually saved for Christmas Midnight Mass or other special Christmas services.

In the United Kingdom and the United States, the carol is often sung using a special arrangement by Sir David Willcocks. This arrangement was first published in 1961. It uses the basic harmonies from The English Hymnal. But it adds a high soprano part in one verse and a special harmony for the organ in another. The last verse is often sung by everyone together.

This carol is usually one of the last hymns sung at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. This famous service is held by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. "Adeste Fideles" is also traditionally the final song sung during Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

See also

In Spanish: Adeste fideles para niños