« AVE REGINA CAELORUM ». - It is the second of the four great Marian Antiphons, and is recited, after the Office, from 3 February until Holy Thursday. Its author is unknown, but it cannot be later than the twelfth century, since it is already found in manuscripts of that period. Characteristic of this period, in fact, is its metrical structure (medieval arrhythmic rhythm): the octosyllables, free from the rules of quantity and also, the first and seventh, from the rules of accent, form two stanzas with paired rhyme (a, a; b, b). The two quatrains, lively and festive, celebrate the heavenly queenship of Maria and her incomparable inner beauty, while recalling the part that the Virgin had in human Redemption.
Having entered the liturgy as early as the thirteenth century, its first verse provided the opening for other medieval hymns (cf. U. Chevalier, Repert. Hymnol., Parigi 1893; the collections of Mone and Dreves). Clemente VI, who in 1350 introduced the four Marian Antiphons into the Office in use by the Roman clergy, assigned it to the time after Pentecost (from Trinity to Advent); for the period from the Purification to Easter, Salve Regina was reserved. Their place, however, was changed in 1568 by the reform of Pio V, which is still in force.