In the context ofChristian liturgy, acanticle (from theLatincanticulum, a diminutive ofcanticum, "song") is apsalm-like song withbiblicallyrics taken from elsewhere than theBook of Psalms, but included inpsalters and books such as thebreviary.^[1] Of special importance to theDivine Office are threeNew Testament Canticles that are the climaxes of the Offices ofLauds,Vespers andCompline; these are respectivelyBenedictus (Luke 1:68-79),Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) andNunc dimittis (Luke 2:29-32). There are also a number of Canticles taken from the Old Testament.

Prior to thePope Pius X's1911 reforms, the following cycle of seven Old Testament Canticles was used atLauds:

• Sunday – The Song of theThree Holy Children (Daniel 3:57–88, 56)
• Monday – TheSong ofIsaiah the Prophet (Isaiah 12:1–6)
• Tuesday – TheSong ofHezekiah (Isaiah 38:10–20)
• Wednesday – TheSong of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1–10)
• Thursday – The (First)Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1–19)
• Friday – The Prayer ofHabakkuk (Habakkuk 3:2–19)
• Saturday – The (Second)Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–43)

These are rather long, and the weekday ones display something of a penitential theme, but some were not often used, as all feasts and the weekdays in Eastertide had the Canticle of Daniel, assigned to Sunday.^{[citation needed]}

The 1911 reform introduced for weekdays not of penitential nature, and for lesser feasts and days of the lesser octaves, the following Canticles:

• Monday – The Song ofDavid the King (1 Chronicles 29:10–13)
• Tuesday – The Song ofTobit (Tobit 13:1–11)
• Wednesday – The Song ofJudith (Judith 16:15–22)
• Thursday – The Song ofJeremiah the Prophet (Jeremiah 31:10–18)
• Friday – The (Second) Song ofIsaiah the Prophet (Isaiah 45:15–30)
• Saturday – The Song ofEcclesiasticus (Sirach 36:1–16)

For weekdays inAdvent,Pre-Lent,Lent and the quarterlyEmber Days, if not superseded by higher-ranking feasts—due to the multitude of feasts in the rest of the year, these make up almost the totality of the days that did not have the Canticle of Daniel before—the original seven Canticles would still be used.

TheLiturgy of the Hours (introduced in 1971) uses one canticle from theOld Testament each day atLauds, "each weekday of the four-week cycle [has] its own proper canticle and on Sunday the two sections of theCanticle of the Three Children may be alternated".^[2] The liturgyprior to the reform after Vatican II used fourteen Old Testament Canticles in two weekly cycles.

AtVespers according to theLiturgy of the Hours, a Canticle from the New Testament is used. These follow a weekly cycle, with some exceptions.^[2]

Additionally, the following Canticles from theGospel of Luke (also called the “Evangelical Canticles”) are said daily:

• AtLauds, the "Canticle of Zachary" (Luke 1:68-79), commonly referred to as theBenedictus.
• AtVespers, the "Canticle ofMary" (Luke 1:46-55), commonly known as theMagnificat.
• AtCompline, the "Canticle ofSimeon" (Luke 2:29-32), commonly referred to as theNunc dimittis.

This usage is also followed byLutheran churches.

In theChurch of England,Morning andEvening Prayer according to theBook of Common Prayer make extensive use of canticles, specifically those below and also in some enumerations, theVenite (Psalm 95). Nonetheless, the only text called a canticle in the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer is the Benedicite, while theSong of Solomon is called the Canticles in the Lectionary.^[3]

• At Morning Prayer:
  • Te Deum orBenedicite (Daniel 3:57–88 in theApocrypha)
  • Benedictus (Luke 1:68–79) or Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100)
• At Evening Prayer:
  • Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) orCantate Domino (Psalm 98)
  • Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29–32) orDeus misereatur (Psalm 67)

In theEastern Orthodox andEastern Catholic Churches there are nine Biblical Canticles (or Odes) that are chanted atMatins. These form the basis of theCanon, a major component of Matins.

The nine Canticles are as follows:

• Canticle One — The (First)Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1–19)
• Canticle Two — The (Second)Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–43)^[4]
• Canticle Three — ThePrayer of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1–10)
• Canticle Four — The Prayer ofHabakkuk (Habakkuk 3:1–19)
• Canticle Five — The Prayer ofIsaiah (Isaiah 26:9–20)
• Canticle Six — The Prayer ofJonah (Jonah 2:2–9)
• Canticle Seven — The Prayer of theThree Holy Children (Daniel 3:26-56)^[5]
• Canticle Eight — The Song of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:57-88)^[5]
• Canticle Nine — The Song of theTheotokos (theMagnificat:Luke 1:46–55); the Song ofZacharias (theBenedictusLuke 1:68–79)

Originally, these Canticles were chanted in their entirety every day, with a short refrain inserted between each verse. Eventually, short verses (troparia) were composed to replace these refrains, a process traditionally inaugurated by SaintAndrew of Crete.^[6]Gradually over the centuries, the verses of the Biblical Canticles were omitted (except for the Magnificat) and only the composed troparia were read, linked to the original canticles by anIrmos. DuringGreat Lent however, the original Biblical Canticles are still read.

Another Biblical Canticle, theNunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32), is either read or sung atVespers.

At Matins (or Midnight Hour; Armenian: Ի մէջ Գիշերիi mej gisheri), one canticle from the Old Testament is sung, associated with a reading from the Psalter, followed by hymns according to tone, season, and feast. There are eight such canticles which are determined by the musical tone of the day. These are, along with their respective portions of the Psalter and their tones:

• Tone Eight — The (First)Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1–19)— Psalms 1-17
• Tone One — The (Second)Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–21) — Psalms 18-35
• Tone Two — The (Second)Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:22–28,Deuteronomy 32:39–43) — Psalms 36-54
• Tone Three — ThePrayer of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1–10) — Psalms 55-71
• Tone Four — The Prayer ofIsaiah (Isaiah 26:9–20) — Psalms 72-88
• Tone Five — The Prayer ofHezekiah (Isaiah 38:10–20) — Psalms 89-105
• Tone Six — The Prayer ofJonah with material from Isaiah (Isaiah 42:10–13,Isaiah 45:6,Jonah 2:2–10) — Psalms 106-118
• Tone Seven — The Prayer ofHabakkuk (Habakkuk 3:1–19) — Psalms 119-147

Note that Psalms 148-150 and Psalm 151 are not part of this system because they are read every day at the Morning Hour, following the canticles presented below.

At the Morning Hour (Armenian: Յառաւուտու Ժամhaṟavoutou zham), corresponding to Lauds, the following canticles are fixed parts of the service each day:

• The Prayer of theThree Holy Children (Daniel 3:26-88)
• The Song of theTheotokos (Magnificat:Luke 1:46–55);
• The Song ofZacharias (the BenedictusLuke 1:68–79)
• The Prayer ofSimeon (Nunc dimittisLuke 2:29–32)

Following the Song of the Three Youths and the Prayer of Simeon there are sets of hymns as well as other texts which are proper to the commemoration of the day or of the liturgical season.

In the other hours, sections of these and other canticles are included in fixed material, consisting of amalgams of verse material from the Old Testament:Ninth Hour: a citation of Daniel 3:35;Peace Hour (after Vespers):Isaiah 8:9–10,Isaiah 9:26;Rest Hour (after the Peace Hour): Daniel 3:29-34, Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:16-55.

This list does not take into account citations of these texts in the Divine Liturgy (Armenian: Պատարագpatarag) or in the movable Old Testament verse material or in hymnody.

In theCoptic Orthodox Church there are four Biblical Canticles (orϩⲱⲥ (hos, literally praise/song)) that are chanted duringmidnight praises. The fourth of these canticles is also chanted during vespers praises.

The four Canticles are as follows:

• The First Canticle -The Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1–21)
• The Second Canticle -Psalm 136 (135 LXX)
• The Third Canticle -The Song of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:52-88 LXX, including TheBenedicite)
• The Fourth Canticle -Psalm 148–150

• Hymns to Mary
• A Canticle for Leibowitz
• Canticle, the counterpoint melody to"Scarborough Fair" bySimon & Garfunkel

•   Media related toCanticles at Wikimedia Commons
•   The dictionary definition ofcanticle at Wiktionary
• Smith, William Robertson (1878)."Canticles" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. V (9th ed.). pp. 32–36.