English

Noun

1. The study of hymns; hymnody

Hymnology is the scholarly study of religious song, or the hymn, in its many aspects, with particular focus on choral and congregational song. It may be more or less clearly distinguished from hymnody, the creation and practice of such song. Hymnologists, such as John D. Julian, may study the history and origins of hymns and of traditions of sung worship, the biographies of the women and men who have written hymns that have passed into choral or congregational use, the interrelationships between text and tune, the historical processes (both folk and redactional) that have changed hymn texts (and sometimes tunes) over time, and the sociopolitical, theological and aesthetic arguments concerning various styles of sung worship.

See also

• Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland
• Hymn Society in the United States and Canada

External links

• The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland
• The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
• Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Hymnologie (in German)
• Dictionary of American Hymnology at Oberlin College
• A list of periods, areas and genres of hymnody
• Catholic Encyclopedia
• Canadian Hymnology page