Ave Maris Stella

AVE MARIS STELLA. — Hymn to the Virgin, which is recited at Vespers on almost all of her feasts. Its structure, left intact in the reform of the hymns under Urban VIII, is characteristic (medieval accentual meter). It is in fact composed of senarius verses that disregard syllable length, governed by the only accent, which falls on the odd syllables (first, third, fifth). It was attributed to St. Bernard, and even more to Venantius Fortunatus (Miscell., VIII, 5: PL 88, 265 ff.), but without foundation (MGH, Auct. Ant., IV, 1, p. 385). It is certainly earlier than the year 1000, because it is already found in ms. 95 of St. Gall from the 9th century. It was very popular in the Middle Ages, especially through the frequent use of the Little Office of the Madonna. The author of the Alma Redemptoris Mater (v.) took up its concepts and expressions, while others based on it not a few hymns, which share the same opening verse (cf. U. Chevalier, Repert. Hymnol., and the collection of Dreves), or else chose its individual verses as the beginning of as many stanzas of a new poem (cf. Oratio super «A. m. s.», in F. J. Mone, Latein. Hymn., II, pp. 220-24; G. M. Dreves-S. C. Blume, Anal. Hymn., II, Leipzig 1888, pp. 40-43).

As for the thought, the affections and the style, it is a nobly human hymn, breathing a celestial sweetness. The rhythm of the Gregorian melody was the subject of a study by D. Pothier, in Rev. du Chant Grég., 1895, p. 83 ff., later taken up by G. Bas in the pamphlet Rythme Grég. (Rome 1906, pp. 15-19). As a Marian hymn, on the other hand, it was strangely criticized by the Jansenists, who even went so far as to replace some of its verses (cf. P. Guéranger, Inst. Lit., II, Paris 1880, pp. 283-86; G. M. Roschini, Mariol., I, Milan 1941, p. 510 f.).