'I was glad' (Latin incipit : Laetatus sum) is an English text drawn from selected verses of Psalm 122. It has been used at Westminster Abbey in the coronation ceremonies of British monarchs since those of King Charles I in 1626. [1]
'I was glad' (Latin incipit : Laetatus sum) is an English text drawn from selected verses of Psalm 122. It has been used at Westminster Abbey in the coronation ceremonies of British monarchs since those of King Charles I in 1626. [1]
The text accompanies the monarch's entrance into Westminster Abbey and was formalised in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. [1]
The selected verses (verses 4, 5, 8 and 9 are omitted) form a prayer for the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem, and its use in the coronation service clearly draws a parallel between Jerusalem and the United Kingdom.
Since the coronation of King James II in 1685 [2] an additional non-biblical text is added to the psalm verses used in the Westminster Abbey ceremonies, i.e. the acclamation "Vivat Rex ... " or "Vivat Regina ... " ("Long live King/Queen ..."). By tradition this acclamation is made by King's or Queen's Scholars of Westminster School as the Sovereign passes through the Quire of Westminster Abbey. [3]
The acclamation uses a variant of standard Latin pronunciation known as Anglicised Latin. Scholars of Classical Latin would pronounce the Vivat Regina as [ˈwiːwatreːˈɡiːna] ; those of Ecclesiastical Latin would pronounce it [ˈvivatreˈdʒina] . The traditional English pronunciation when referring to the British monarch is /ˈvaɪvætrɪˈdʒaɪnə/ VY-vat rij-EYE-nə . [2] At the coronation of both a king and a queen, the vivat for the queen precedes that for the king. [3]
Setting by Hubert Parry:
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