06 — Hilary the Exegete and Hymnographer
Beyond the controversialist: Hilary the biblical commentator, whose Commentary on Matthew is the first surviving Latin commentary on that Gospel and whose Tractatus super Psalmos drew deeply on Origen; and Hilary the pioneer of Latin hymnody, credited by Jerome and Isidore as the first Latin Christian to compose hymns for the Church.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (pre-Schism West; Church Father)
Hilary’s fame rests on his Trinitarian theology, but his exegetical and poetic work shaped Latin Christianity in its own right. This section gives each its file. The first treats his commentaries — the early In Matthaeum (c. 353), the post-exilic Tractatus super Psalmos with its heavy debt to Origen, and the Tractatus mysteriorum on Old Testament typology rediscovered only in 1887 — and his typological, allegorical method. The second treats his hymns: the fragments of the Liber Hymnorum, the testimony that he was the first Latin hymn-writer, the disputed authenticity of particular hymns, and the relation of his pioneering, difficult verse to Ambrose’s later and more enduring hymnody.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Commentaries | The Commentary on Matthew (c. 353), the first surviving Latin commentary on Matthew; the Tractatus super Psalmos and its debt to Origen; the Tractatus mysteriorum on Old Testament typology (rediscovered 1887); Hilary’s exegetical method. |
| The First Latin Hymnographer | Hilary as pioneer of Latin hymnody; the Liber Hymnorum fragments; Jerome and Isidore crediting him as the first Latin hymn-writer; the disputed attributions; and the relation to Ambrose’s later hymnody. |
See Also
- Exegesis Against Arianism — the same scriptural mind turned against the Arians
- The Trinitarian Synthesis — the theology his exegesis serves
- Relics, Feast, and Cult — the later liturgical veneration his hymns anticipate
- The Church Fathers — Hilary among the patristic exegetes
- St. Ambrose of Milan — the hymnographer who carried Hilary’s beginnings to their flowering
References
- Hilary of Poitiers. Sur Matthieu (In Matthaeum). Ed. and trans. Jean Doignon, Sources Chrétiennes 254, 258. Paris: Cerf, 1978–1979.
- Hilary of Poitiers. Commentary on Matthew. Trans. D. H. Williams. Fathers of the Church 125. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2012.
- Jerome. On Illustrious Men (De Viris Illustribus) 100. Trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 3.
- Beckwith, Carl L. Hilary of Poitiers on the Trinity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
- Fontaine, Jacques. Naissance de la poésie dans l’Occident chrétien. Paris: Études Augustiniennes, 1981.