Adam of Saint Victor

Adam of Saint Victor ("d." 1146) [It was previously believed that he died late 12th century, but that is now believed to be false] was a prolific poet and composer of Latin hymns and sequences. He is believed to have sparked the expansion of the poetic and musical repertoire in the Notre Dame school with his strongly rhythmic and imagery-filled poetry.

The first reference to him is from 1098, in the archives of Notre Dame Cathedral, where he was first a subdeacon, and later a precentor. He left the cathedral for the Abbey of Saint Victor around 1133, probably because of his attempts at imposing the Rule of St Augustine at the cathedral.

Adam probably had contact with a number of important theologians, poets, and musicians of his day, including Peter Abelard and Hugh of St Victor, and he may have taught Albertus Parisiensis.

Thirty-seven of his hymns were published in the "Elucidatorium Ecclesiasticum" of Jodocus Clichtovaeus , a Catholic theologian of the 16th century. The remaining seventy hymns were preserved in the Abbey of Saint Victor until its dissolution during the French Revolution. They were then transferred to the Bibliothèque Nationale, where they were discovered by Léon Gautier, who edited the first complete edition of them (Paris, 1858). However, most attributions to Adam are speculative.

References

*Margot E. Fassler. "Adam of St Victor", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessed May 20, 2006), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).