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Rev. Joey N. Welsh. Poets for December: Jean de Brebeuf ANOTHER ANGLE: the occasional musings of a Kentucky pastor. This column originally appeared in the Hart County News-Herald 24 December 2006. The next earlier Another Angle: Poets and Poetry for December, Part III: Thomas MertonPoets for December: Thomas Merton By The Rev. Joey N. Welsh E-mail: joey_n_welsh@hotmail.com Poets and Poetry for December, Part IV: Jean de Brebeuf and "The Huron Carol"Twenty years ago [1990] film audiences flocked to see a new movie about the relationships and conflicts among the Native American Sioux and white Americans in the 19th century. The film, Dances With Wolves, went on to win seven Academy Awards and make a lot of money for producer/director Kevin Costner. Less than a year later another film, Black Robe, told the story of the difficulties faced by Jesuit missionaries who ministered among the Huron tribes in French Canada during the 17th century. Directed by Bruce Beresford and based on the novel by Brian Moore, it received much less attention and made a lot less money than the Costner film. However, Black Robe also was a far more honest, brutal, and a less feel-good movie. It was a fictional account of the very real and rugged circumstances that marked the Jesuit efforts among Canada's native peoples. History records that one of the Jesuits, Jean de Brebeuf (1593-1649), spent over a quarter of a century as a missionary in Huron territory. He became fluent in native languages and helped to establish mission outposts north of Lake Huron. In the end, though, these outposts were overrun and destroyed by warring Iroquois; de Brebeuf and several other Jesuit priests were captured, tortured, and killed by the Iroquois. Though most traces of the mission outposts were destroyed, some reminders of the Jesuits did remain. One of those reminders is a Christmas hymn, known to some folks as "The Huron Carol" and to others by its opening phrase, "'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime." Jean de Brebeuf wrote the hymn in 1643 as an explanation of the birth of Jesus; he chose to describe the nativity as it would have unfolded in the wintry Canadian woods. Father de Brebeuf used imagery and settings that would have been recognized easily by the Huron tribespeople. Written in the Huron language, the words were preserved by Hurons who survived the Iroquois attacks, and they were passed along to missionaries in other parts of Canada where the Hurons migrated. The text also was translated into French and sung to the melody of a French folk tune. Most Americans know the hymn through an English translation made 80 years ago by J. Edgar Middleton and set to the French tune. Though the hymn has just begun to appear in the recent hymnals of several Christian denominations, it is likely the oldest Christmas carol to have been written in North America. Father Jean de Brebeuf and seven other Jesuits who were killed during the Huron-Iroquois conflicts of the 1640's became known as the Canadian Martyrs. All eight were named as saints by Pope Pius XI in 1930. [Yesterday was] Christmas Day. Take a moment - envision the story of the birth in Bethlehem with new eyes, as it would have been pictured by native peoples nearly 400 years ago. (Note the use of the phrase Gitchi Manitou in the text, the name used by the Algonquin and Huron people to refer to God Almighty.) Here, in the 1926 translation by Middleton, are the words of Jean de Brebeuf and his telling of the Christmas story."The Huron Carol" 'Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fledHave a very merry and very blessed [second day of] Christmas! E-mail: joey_n_welsh@hotmail.com This story was posted on 2010-12-26 05:07:10
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Big Rig Trucker: Fatalities can be avoided COF Extrapolates on Extrapolation: CM misses point, he says Rev. Joey N. Welsh. Poets for December: Emily Dickinson Understands hunting, but dislikes seeing kill Fan mail for the Dynamic Duo: Jim & Robert Rev. Joey N. Welsh: Christina Rossetti Rev. Joey N. Welsh: Small town virtues Rev. Joey N. Welsh: A good name counts Part II Rev. Joey N. Welsh: A good name counts, Part I Charles Marshburn: Columbia Bypass is local Albatross View even more articles in topic Commentary |
 
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