The hymn is based on a longmedievalLatin poem,Salve mundi salutare,[1] with stanzas addressing the various parts ofChrist's body hanging on theCross. The last part of the poem, from which the hymn is taken, is addressed to Christ's head, and begins "Salve caput cruentatum". The poem is often attributed toBernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153), but is now attributed to the medieval poetArnulf of Leuven (died 1250). A selection of stanzas from the seven cantos were used for the text ofDieterich Buxtehude'sMembra Jesu Nostri addressing the various members of the crucified body
The poem was translated into German by theLutheran hymnistPaul Gerhardt (1607–1676). He reworked the Latin version to suggest a more personal contemplation of the events of Christ's death on the cross.[2] It first appeared inJohann Crüger's hymnalPraxis pietatis melica in 1656. Although Gerhardt translated the whole poem, it is the closing section which has become best known, and is sung as a hymn in its own right. The German hymn begins with "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".
The hymn was first translated into English in 1752 by John Gambold (1711–1771), anAnglican vicar inOxfordshire. His translation begins, "O Head so full of bruises". In 1830 a new translation of the hymn was made by an AmericanPresbyterian minister,James Waddel Alexander (1804–1859). Alexander's translation, beginning "O sacred head, now wounded", became one of the most widely used in 19th and 20th century hymnals.
Another English translation, based on the German, was made in 1861 by SirHenry Williams Baker. Published inHymns Ancient and Modern, it begins, "O sacred head surrounded by crown of piercing thorn".
Catherine Winkworth also translated the text and published it in her collection of German hymns,Lyra Germanica, giving it the titleAh wounded Head! Must Thou.[3]
In 1899 the English poetRobert Bridges (1844–1930) made a fresh translation from the original Latin, beginning "O sacred Head, sore wounded, defiled and put to scorn". This is the version used in the 1940 Hymnal (Episcopal), the 1982 Hymnal (Episcopal; stanzas 1–3 and 5), and theNew English Hymnal (1986) and several other late 20th-century hymn books.
TheEnglish Hymnal (1906) has a translation attributed to "Y.H.", referring to Bridges' translations for theYattendon Hymnal, of which he was the editor.
The music for the German and English versions of the hymn is byHans Leo Hassler, written around 1600 for a secular love song, "Mein G'müt ist mir verwirret [de]", which first appeared in print in the 1601Lustgarten Neuer Teutscher Gesäng. The tune was appropriated and rhythmically simplified for Gerhardt's German hymn in 1656 by Johann Crüger.Johann Sebastian Bach arranged the melody and used five stanzas of the hymn in four different settings in hisSt Matthew Passion. He also used the hymn's text and melody in the second movement of thecantataSehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159.[5] Bach used the melody on different words in hisChristmas Oratorio, in Part I (no. 5) and Part VI (no. 64). Bach also craftily employed the melody as a counterpoint in half-time in the opening aria of the cantataKomm, du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161, and set it for four parts to close that cantata.Franz Liszt included an arrangement of this hymn in the sixth station,Saint Veronica, of hisVia crucis (Stations of the Cross), S. 504a. The Danish composerRued Langgaard composed a set of variations for string quartet on this tune. It is also employed in the final chorus of "Sinfonia Sacra", the Ninth Symphony of the English composerEdmund Rubbra.Mauricio Kagel quoted the hymn at the end of his oratorioSankt-Bach-Passion tellingBach's life, composed for the tricentenary of Bach's birth in 1985.
The text by Gerhardt consists of 10 verses, of which the first and final one are transcribed below,[2] with the same verses in the 1830 version by J. W. Alexander.
O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, voll Schmerz und voller Hohn, o Haupt, zum Spott gebunden mit einer Dornenkron; o Haupt, sonst schön gezieret mit höchster Ehr und Zier, jetzt aber höchst schimpfieret: gegrüßet sei'st du mir!
Erscheine mir zum Schilde, zum Trost in meinem Tod, und laß mich sehn dein Bilde in deiner Kreuzesnot. Da will ich nach dir blicken, da will ich glaubensvoll dich fest an mein Herz drücken. Wer so stirbt, der stirbt wohl.
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown; O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine! Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.
Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die; remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh. Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell, my heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.
"O Sacred Head" onYouTube, from adaptation project "restored'hymns", recorded at theMagdeburg Cathedral "St. Sebastian" by the musicians of "ConTakt Music e.V." Germany, in January 2025
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O Haupt voll Blut und Wun -- den,
voll Schmerz und vol -- ler Hohn!
O Haupt, sonst schön ge -- zie -- ret
mit höch -- ster Ehr' und Zier,
jetzt a -- ber hoch schimp -- fi -- ret:
ge -- grü -- ßet seist du mir!
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