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Dies Irae
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Dies Irae


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- the text and code below is from The Pseudopedia
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- MemlingJudgmentCentre.jpg -
The Day of Judgement from the centre panel of the Memling Triptych in Gdańsk.
Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) is a famous thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano.(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 Catholic Eucharistic liturgy in the liturgical reform of 1969-1970, but was retained as a hymn of the {{dn|Divine Office}}. It can also still be heard when the extraordinary form of the Mass is used. An English version of it is found in various missals used in the Anglican Communion.

Use in the Catholic liturgy

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. Nevertheless 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 - felt the funeral rite was in need of reform and eliminated the sequence from the ordinary rite. The architect of these reforms, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, explains the mind of the members of the Consilium:
They got rid of texts that smacked of a negative spirituality inherited from the Middle Ages. Thus they removed such familiar and even beloved texts as the Libera me, Domine, the Dies Iræ, and others that overemphasized judgment, fear, and despair. These they replaced with texts urging Christian hope and arguably giving more effective expression to faith in the resurrection.(2)
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" is still suggested in the Liturgy of the Hours during last week before Advent as the opening hymn for the Office of Readings, Lauds and Vespers (divided into three parts).(3)

The poem

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.{{MultiCol}}1Dies iræ! dies illaSolvet sæclum in favilla:Teste David cum Sibylla!2Quantus tremor est futurus,Quando iudex est venturus,Cuncta stricte discussurus!3Tuba, mirum spargens sonumPer sepulchra regionum,Coget omnes ante thronum.4Mors stupebit, et natura,Cum resurget creatura,Iudicanti responsura.5Liber scriptus proferetur,In quo totum continetur,Unde mundus iudicetur.6Iudex ergo cum sedebit,Quidquid latet, apparebit:Nil inultum remanebit.7Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?Quem patronum rogaturus,Cum vix iustus sit securus?8Rex tremendæ maiestatis,Qui salvandos salvas gratis,Salva me, fons pietatis.9Recordare, Iesu pie,Quod sum causa tuæ viæ:Ne me perdas illa die.10Quærens me, sedisti lassus:Redemisti Crucem passus:Tantus labor non sit cassus.11Iuste iudex ultionis,Donum fac remissionisAnte diem rationis.12Ingemisco, tamquam reus:Culpa rubet vultus meus:Supplicanti parce, Deus.13Qui Mariam absolvisti,Et latronem exaudisti,Mihi quoque spem dedisti.14Preces meæ non sunt dignæ:Sed tu bonus fac benigne,Ne perenni cremer igne.15Inter oves locum præsta,Et ab hædis me sequestra,Statuens in parte dextra.16Confutatis maledictis,Flammis acribus addictis:Voca me cum benedictis.17Oro supplex et acclinis,Cor contritum quasi cinis:Gere curam mei finis.18Lacrimosa dies illa,qua resurget ex favillaiudicandus homo reus.Huic ergo parce, Deus:19Pie Jesu Domine,dona eis requiem. Amen.{{ColBreak}}1Day of wrath! O day of mourning! See fulfilled the prophets' warning, Heaven and earth in ashes burning!2Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth, when from heaven the Judge descendeth, on whose sentence all dependeth.3Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth; through earth's sepulchers it ringeth; all before the throne it bringeth.4Death is struck, and nature quaking, all creation is awaking, to its Judge an answer making.5Lo! the book, exactly worded, wherein all hath been recorded: thence shall judgment be awarded.6When the Judge his seat attaineth, and each hidden deed arraigneth, nothing unavenged remaineth.7What shall I, frail man, be pleading? Who for me be interceding, when the just are mercy needing?8King of Majesty tremendous, who dost free salvation send us, Fount of pity, then befriend us!9Think, good Jesus, my salvation cost thy wondrous Incarnation; leave me not to reprobation!10Faint and weary, thou hast sought me, on the cross of suffering bought me. shall such grace be vainly brought me?11Righteous Judge! for sin's pollution grant thy gift of absolution, ere the day of retribution.12Guilty, now I pour my moaning, all my shame with anguish owning; spare, O God, thy suppliant groaning!13Thou the sinful woman savedst; thou the dying thief forgavest; and to me a hope vouchsafest.14Worthless are my prayers and sighing, yet, good Lord, in grace complying, rescue me from fires undying!15With thy favored sheep O place me; nor among the goats abase me; but to thy right hand upraise me.16While the wicked are confounded, doomed to flames of woe unbounded call me with thy saints surrounded.17Low I kneel, with heart submission, see, like ashes, my contrition; help me in my last condition.18Ah! 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!19Lord, all pitying, Jesus blest, grant them thine eternal rest. Amen.{{ColBreak}}1The day of wrath, that dayWill dissolve the world in ashesAs foretold by David and the sibyl!2How much tremor there will be,when the judge will come,investigating everything strictly!3The trumpet, scattering a wondrous soundthrough the sepulchres of the regions,will summon all before the throne.4Death and nature will marvel,when the creature arises,to respond to the Judge.5The written book will be brought forth,in which all is contained,from which the world shall be judged.6When therefore the judge will sit,whatever hides will appear:nothing will remain unpunished.7What am I, miserable, then to say?Which patron to ask,when [even] the just may [only] hardly be sure?8King of tremendous majesty,who freely savest those that have to be saved,save me, source of mercy.9Remember, merciful Jesus,that I am the cause of thy way:lest thou lose me in that day.10Seeking me, thou sat tired:thou redeemed [me] having suffered the Cross:let not so much hardship be lost.11Just judge of revenge,give the gift of remissionbefore the day of reckoning.12I sigh, like the guilty one:my face reddens in guilt:Spare the supplicating one, God.13Thou who absolved Mary,and heardest the robber,gavest hope to me, too.14My prayers are not worthy:however, thou, Good [Lord], do good,lest I am burned up by eternal fire.15Grant me a place among the sheep,and take me out from among the goats,setting me on the right side.16Once the cursed have been rebuked,sentenced to rancorous flames:Call thou me with the blessed.17I meekly and humbly pray,[my] heart is as crushed as the ashes:perform the healing of mine end.18Tearful will be that day,on which from the ashes arisesthe guilty man who is to be judged.Spare him therefore, God.19Merciful 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:{{MultiCol}}O tu, Deus majestatis,alme candor Trinitatisnos coniunge cum beatis. Amen.{{ColBreak}}O God of majestynourishing light of the Trinityjoin us with the blessed. Amen.{{ColBreak}}O thou, God of majesty,gracious splendour of the Trinityconjoin us with the blessed. Amen.

Inspiration and other translations

A major inspiration of the hymn seems to have come from the Vulgate translation of Zephaniah 1:15–16:
Dies iræ, dies illa, dies tribulationis et angustiæ, dies calamitatis et miseriæ, dies tenebrarum et caliginis, dies nebulæ et turbinis, dies tubæ et clangoris super civitates munitas et super angulos excelsos.
That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and whirlwinds, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high bulwarks. (Douai Bible)
Other images come from Revelation 20:11–15 (the book from which the world will be judged), {{bibleref|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 Franciscan version can be read here. A very loose Protestant version was made by John Newton; it opens:
Day of judgment! Day of wonders! Hark! the trumpet's awful sound, Louder than a thousand thunders, Shakes the vast creation round! How the summons wilt the sinner's heart confound!
Jan Kasprowicz, a Polish poet, wrote a hymn entitled Dies irae which describes the Judgement 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:
Ah! what terror shall be shaping When the Judge the truth's undraping - Cats from every bag escaping!

Manuscript sources

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.

Musical settings

The hymn music, with the words of the first stanza, is provided here:
missing image!
- Dies Irae Treble.JPG -
center|The Dies Irae melody in treble clef rather than alto.
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, among them:

Literary references

  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe used the first, the sixth and the seventh stanza of the hymn in the scene "Cathedral" in the first part of his drama Faust (1808).
  • Italian poet Giuseppe Giusti composed in 1835 the satirical poem Il "Dies iræ" on the occasion of the death of Francis II, Emperor of Austria.
  • Oscar Wilde composed a Sonnet on Hearing the Dies Irae Sung in the Sistine Chapel, contrasting the "terrors of red flame and thundering" depicted in the hymn with images of "life and love".
  • In Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, Erik (the Phantom) has the chant displayed on the wall of his funereal bedroom.
  • Kurt Vonnegut wrote Stones, Time, & Elements - A Humanist Requiem in opposition to the classical Requiem and in particular to the "Dies Irae", which he found "vengeful and sadistic" (and mistakenly reputed a "piece of poetry by committee from the Council of Trent"). His Requiem was set to music by Edgar David Grana.
  • Dies Irae was a title D. H. Lawrence considered for the novel that became Women in Love.
  • In Anne Rice's The Vampire Armand , when Amadeo, Marius de Romanus, and other apprentices were captured by the Santino's satanic coven of vampires, they would mock Armand by singing this hymn.
  • “Dies irae, dies illa when the absent shall be present and the present absent...in albums, in desk drawers, this picture and thousands like it have subtly matured, metamorphosed.” The Age of Iron by J.M. Coetzee
  • In Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Adso has a dream or vision based on the Coena Cypriani while the monks around him chant the "Dies Irae."
  • In José Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere", the last two lines of the sixth stanza of the hymn (Quidquid Latet, Adparebit, Nilinultum Remanebit) are used as the title the 54th chapter of his novel, depicting how Elias discovers who the descendant of the man who ruined their family is.

References in popular culture

{{Refimprove|section|date=October 2009}}The melody has also been referenced in popular culture, often being used in soundtracks to horror films.
  • Mozart's Requiem, especially the first two stanzas (Requiem, 2nd movement), is often heard in the scores of movies and the musical "beds" of commercials (e.g. (X2 (film)|X2: X-Men United)).
  • In the 2007 film Transformers, this theme was used for the Decepticons, their music being the first line, Dies irae, Dies illae, Solvet saeclum in favilla.
  • A version of "Dies Irae" was used in WWE/WWF's WrestleMania XIV during the video package to promote the buildup to The Undertaker and Kane's historic first match against one another.
  • In Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal the traditional Gregorian "Dies Irae" is used throughout the film.
  • The musical (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (musical)| Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) by Stephen Sondheim contains several variations of the Dies Irae throughout its score, most notably in the recurrent "Ballad of Sweeney Todd",(6) and as part of the underscoring in the climactic "Epiphany".
  • Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken use parts of "Dies Irae" in their Soundtrack to Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
  • Hans Zimmer quotes "Dies Irae" in his soundtracks to Disney's The Lion King and Beyond Rangoon.
  • "Lacrimosa" by singer/songwriter Regina Spektor centers around the eighteenth stanza of the poem. The song is written from the point of view of Icarus, the son of Daedalus from Greek mythology, as he is falling to the earth.
  • A version of Dies Irae named Requiem Nitachou K.626 is used for Wolfgang Krauser in the Fatal Fury series by SNK,now SNK Playmore.
  • In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the last stanza (Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem) is chanted by monks hitting themselves with boards.
  • Death Note features Dies Irae's first two stanzas as the lyrics of the theme of the Death Note with orchestral music in the background.
  • Two songs in The Nightmare Before Christmas (soundtrack), Making Christmas and Sally's Song are based on the Dies Irae melody. The melody also serves as a basis for the theme of the films "End of Days" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Parfum - The Story of a Murderer" and most notably, "The Shining".
  • The Heroes of Might and Magic series frequently uses variations of Dies Irae. The Necromancer theme in Heroes of Might and Magic III and the Title and Haven themes from Heroes of Might and Magic V and the title and boss combat themes of (Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes) for example.
  • In (Trauma Center: Under the Knife), the theme "Judgement Day" is merely a variation upon Dies Irae.
  • In The Dark Spire, the lyrics to the Sixth and Seventh Floor's music are from Dies Irae.
  • In (Onimusha 3: Demon Siege), the Dies Irae is the theme of Guildenstern.
  • In the Horus Heresy novel "Galaxy in Flames" a Titan named the Dies Irae is introduced.
  • The melody is incorporated as a theme in some songs of the MMORPG EverQuest II.
  • Dies Irae appears in the soundtrack for Zombies Ate My Neighbors by LucasArts Games.
  • Black metal bands Sigh and Bathory both have recorded songs entitled "Dies Irae."
  • Wendy Carlos used the main subject in her composition "Country Lane" from the album entitled "(A Clockwork Orange (film)Soundtrack|A Clockwork Orange: Wendy Carlos's Complete Original Score)".
  • In a scene from 9, the character 6 is introduced humming a part of the tune.
  • In the 1996 Broadway musical Rent and its 2004 film adaptation, at the beginning of the the number "La Vie Boheme", Collins and Roger quote the Dies Irae (along with the Kyrie Eleison and the Mourners' Kaddish) as part of a mock requiem in honor of "the death of Bohemia".
  • In the song Starless Aeon, by the black metal band Dissection the quotation "dies irae, dies illa" appears followed by a distorted "solvet cosmos in favilla", instead of "solvet sæclum in favilla".
  • Inon Zur quotes the beginning of the Gregorian melody in his soundtrack for the video game (Dragon Age: Origins) (on the track "To Kill an Ogre").

References

{{wikisource|Dies Irae}}{{wikisource-lang|la|Dies irae}}



  1. {{CathEncy|wstitle=Dies Iræ}}


  2. Annibale Bugnini, The Reform of the Liturgy : 1948–1975, (The Liturgical Press, 1990), Chap. 46.II.1, p. 773.


  3. Liturgia Horarum IV, (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000), p. 489.


  4. This translation appears in the English Missal and also The Hymnal 1940 of the Episcopal Church in the USA.


  5. Simmons, Walter. Voices in the Wilderness: Six American Neo-romantic Composers. Scarecrow Press, 2004. ISBN 0810848848,


  6. BOOK, Zadan, Craig, Sondheim & Co. 2nd edition, Perennial Library, 1989, 248, 0-06-091400-9,




It was also used in Dethklok's I Tamper With the Evidence at the Murder Site of Odin.

External links

  • Dies Iræ, Franciscan Archive. Includes two Latin versions and a literal English translation.
  • Podies Irae - Film Score Monthly podcast highlighting the use of Dies Irae in concert and film music.
  • Appearance of Dies Irae in the street art of Kurt Wenner.
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- time: 6:21pm EDT - Fri, Mar 19 2010