"Dies Irae" (Day of Wrath) is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano (1200 – c. 1265).[1] It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic. The poem describes the day of judgment, the last trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames.
The hymn is best known from its use as a sequence in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass. It was removed from the ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass in the liturgical reform of 1969–1970, but was retained as a hymn of the Divine Office. It can still be heard when the 1962 form of the Mass is used. An English version of it is found in various missals used in the Anglican Communion.
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Those familiar with musical settings of the Requiem Mass—such as those by Mozart or Verdi—will be aware of the important place "Dies Iræ" held in the liturgy.
It remained as the sequence for the Requiem Mass in the Roman Missal of 1962 (the last edition before the Second Vatican Council) and so is still heard in churches where the Tridentine Latin liturgy is celebrated.
The "Dies Irae" was retained only in part by the "Consilium for the Implementation of the Constitution on the Liturgy" – the Vatican body charged with drafting and implementing reforms to the Catholic liturgy ordered by the Second Vatican Council. It is given as the hymn in the Liturgy of the Hours during last week before Advent for the Office of Readings, Lauds and Vespers (divided into three parts).[2]
Nevertheless the same body felt that the funeral rite was in need of reform and eliminated the sequence as such from the Masses for the Dead. A leading figure in the post-conciliar liturgical reforms, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, explains the mind of the cardinals and bishops who were members of the consilium:
The Latin text below is taken from the Requiem Mass in the 1962 Roman Missal. The first English version below, translated by William Josiah Irons in 1849,[4] replicates the rhyme and metre of the original. The second English version is a more formal equivalence.
| 1 | Dies iræ! Dies illa Solvet sæclum in favilla: Teste David cum Sibylla! |
Day of wrath! O day of mourning! See fulfilled the prophets' warning, Heaven and earth in ashes burning! |
The day of wrath, that day Will dissolve the world in ashes As foretold by David and the sibyl! |
| 2 | Quantus tremor est futurus, Quando iudex est venturus, Cuncta stricte discussurus! |
Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth, when from heaven the Judge descendeth, on whose sentence all dependeth. |
How much tremor there will be, when the judge will come, investigating everything strictly! |
| 3 | Tuba mirum spargens sonum Per sepulchra regionum, Coget omnes ante thronum. |
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth; through earth's sepulchers it ringeth; all before the throne it bringeth. |
The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound through the sepulchres of the regions, will summon all before the throne. |
| 4 | Mors stupebit, et natura, Cum resurget creatura, Iudicanti responsura. |
Death is struck, and nature quaking, all creation is awaking, to its Judge an answer making. |
Death and nature will marvel, when the creature arises, to respond to the Judge. |
| 5 | Liber scriptus proferetur, In quo totum continetur, Unde mundus iudicetur. |
Lo! the book, exactly worded, wherein all hath been recorded: thence shall judgment be awarded. |
The written book will be brought forth, in which all is contained, from which the world shall be judged. |
| 6 | Iudex ergo cum sedebit, Quidquid latet, apparebit: Nil inultum remanebit. |
When the Judge his seat attaineth, and each hidden deed arraigneth, nothing unavenged remaineth. |
When therefore the judge will sit, whatever hides will appear: nothing will remain unpunished. |
| 7 | Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Quem patronum rogaturus, Cum vix iustus sit securus? |
What shall I, frail man, be pleading? Who for me be interceding, when the just are mercy needing? |
What am I, miserable, then to say? Which patron to ask, when [even] the just may [only] hardly be sure? |
| 8 | Rex tremendæ maiestatis, Qui salvandos salvas gratis, Salva me, fons pietatis. |
King of Majesty tremendous, who dost free salvation send us, Fount of pity, then befriend us! |
King of tremendous majesty, who freely savest those that have to be saved, save me, source of mercy. |
| 9 | Recordare, Iesu pie, Quod sum causa tuæ viæ: Ne me perdas illa die. |
Think, good Jesus, my salvation cost thy wondrous Incarnation; leave me not to reprobation! |
Remember, merciful Jesus, that I am the cause of thy way: lest thou lose me in that day. |
| 10 | Quærens me, sedisti lassus: Redemisti Crucem passus: Tantus labor non sit cassus. |
Faint and weary, thou hast sought me, on the cross of suffering bought me. shall such grace be vainly brought me? |
Seeking me, thou sat tired: thou redeemed [me] having suffered the Cross: let not so much hardship be lost. |
| 11 | Iuste iudex ultionis, Donum fac remissionis Ante diem rationis. |
Righteous Judge! for sin's pollution grant thy gift of absolution, ere the day of retribution. |
Just judge of revenge, give the gift of remission before the day of reckoning. |
| 12 | Ingemisco, tamquam reus: Culpa rubet vultus meus: Supplicanti parce, Deus. |
Guilty, now I pour my moaning, all my shame with anguish owning; spare, O God, thy suppliant groaning! |
I sigh, like the guilty one: my face reddens in guilt: Spare the supplicating one, God. |
| 13 | Qui Mariam absolvisti, Et latronem exaudisti, Mihi quoque spem dedisti. |
Thou the sinful woman savedst; thou the dying thief forgavest; and to me a hope vouchsafest. |
Thou who absolved Mary, and heardest the robber, gavest hope to me, too. |
| 14 | Preces meæ non sunt dignæ: Sed tu bonus fac benigne, Ne perenni cremer igne. |
Worthless are my prayers and sighing, yet, good Lord, in grace complying, rescue me from fires undying! |
My prayers are not worthy: however, thou, Good [Lord], do good, lest I am burned up by eternal fire. |
| 15 | Inter oves locum præsta, Et ab hædis me sequestra, Statuens in parte dextra. |
With thy favored sheep O place me; nor among the goats abase me; but to thy right hand upraise me. |
Grant me a place among the sheep, and take me out from among the goats, setting me on the right side. |
| 16 | Confutatis maledictis, Flammis acribus addictis: Voca me cum benedictis. |
While the wicked are confounded, doomed to flames of woe unbounded call me with thy saints surrounded. |
Once the cursed have been rebuked, sentenced to acrid flames: Call thou me with the blessed. |
| 17 | Oro supplex et acclinis, Cor contritum quasi cinis: Gere curam mei finis. |
Low I kneel, with heart submission, see, like ashes, my contrition; help me in my last condition. |
I meekly and humbly pray, [my] heart is as crushed as the ashes: perform the healing of mine end. |
| 18 | Lacrimosa dies illa, qua resurget ex favilla Judicandus homo reus. Huic ergo parce, Deus: |
Ah! that day of tears and mourning! From the dust of earth returning man for judgment must prepare him; Spare, O God, in mercy spare him! |
Tearful will be that day, on which from the ash arises the guilty man who is to be judged. Spare him therefore, God. |
| 19 | Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen. |
Lord, all pitying, Jesus blest, grant them thine eternal rest. Amen. |
Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest. Amen. |
Because the last two stanzas differ markedly in structure from the preceding stanzas, some scholars consider them to be an addition made in order to suit the great poem for liturgical use. The penultimate stanza Lacrimosa discards the consistent scheme of rhyming triplets in favor of a pair of rhyming couplets. The last stanza Pie Jesu abandons rhyme for assonance, and, moreover, its lines are catalectic.
In 1970, the "Dies Iræ" was removed from the Missal and since 1971 has been proposed ad libitum as a hymn for the Liturgy of the Hours at the Office of Readings, Lauds and Vespers. For this purpose stanza 19 was deleted and the poem divided into three sections: 1–6 (for the Office of Readings), 7–12 (for Lauds) and 13–18 (for Vespers). In addition "Qui Mariam absolvisti" in stanza 13 was replaced by "Peccatricem qui solvisti" so that that line would now mean, "You who freed/absolved the sinful woman". In addition, a doxology is given after stanzas 6, 12 and 18:[2]
| O tu, Deus majestatis, alme candor Trinitatis nos coniunge cum beatis. Amen. |
O God of majesty nourishing light of the Trinity join us with the blessed. Amen. |
O thou, God of majesty, gracious splendour of the Trinity conjoin us with the blessed. Amen. |
A major inspiration of the hymn seems to have come from the Vulgate translation of Zephaniah 1:15–16:
Other images come from Revelation 20:11–15 (the book from which the world will be judged), Matthew 25:31–46 (sheep and goats, right hand, contrast between the blessed and the accursed doomed to flames), 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (trumpet), 2 Peter 3:7 (heaven and earth burnt by fire), Luke 21:26–27 ("men fainting with fear ... they will see the Son of Man coming"), etc.
From the Jewish liturgy, the prayer Unetanneh Tokef also appears to have been a source: "We shall ascribe holiness to this day, For it is awesome and terrible"; "the great trumpet is sounded", etc.
A number of English translations of the poem have been written and proposed for liturgical use. A very loose Protestant version was made by John Newton; it opens:
Jan Kasprowicz, a Polish poet, wrote a hymn entitled "Dies irae" which describes the Judgment day. The first six lines (two stanzas) follow the original hymn's metre and rhyme structure, and the first stanza translates to "The trumpet will cast a wondrous sound".
The American writer Ambrose Bierce published a satiric version of the poem in his 1903 book Shapes of Clay, preserving the original metre but using humorous and sardonic language; for example, the second verse is rendered:
Rev. Bernard Callan (1750–1804), an Irish priest and poet, translated it into Gaelic around 1800. His version is included in the Gaelic prayer book, The Spiritual Rose.[5]
The oldest text of the sequence is found, with slight verbal variations, in a 13th century manuscript in the Biblioteca Nazionale at Naples. It is a Franciscan calendar missal that must date between 1253–1255 for it does not contain the name of Clare of Assisi, who was canonized in 1255, and whose name would have been inserted if the manuscript were of later date.
In four-line neumatic notation, the Gregorian chant of the sequence begins:
In 5-line staff notation, the same appears:
The words have often been set to music as part of the Requiem service, originally as a sombre plainchant. It also formed part of the traditional Catholic liturgy of All Souls' Day. Music for the Requiem Mass has been composed by many composers, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as Hector Berlioz, Giuseppe Verdi, and Igor Stravinsky.
The traditional Gregorian melody has also been used as a musical quotation in a number of other classical compositions, notable among them: