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from him hanging on the cross, hail!’’^166 These prayers beautifully capture
lay Eucharistic devotion, with its link to Christ’s Passion so typical of the
thirteenth century. One pious Italian summed up this Christocentric piety
with an elevation prayer he copied onto the last page of his manuscript of
Giacomo of Varazze’sGolden Legend:
Hail Jesus Christ, Word of the Father, Son of the Virgin, Lamb
of God, Salvation of the World, Sacred Host, Word made Flesh,
Font of Mercy.
Hail Jesus Christ, Splendor of the Father, Prince of Peace, Gate
of Heaven, Living Bread, Vessel of the Godhead born of the Virgin.
Hail Jesus Christ, Praise of the Angels, Glory of the Saints, Vision
of Peace, Perfect Godhead, True Man, Flower and Fruit of the Vir-
gin Mother.
Hail Jesus Christ, Praise of Heaven, Ransom of the World, Joy of
the Martyrs, Bread of Angels, Joy of the Heart, Virginity’s King and
Spouse.
Hail Jesus Christ, Sweet Way, True Strength, and Eternal Life of
all.^167A dramatic unmediated contact between believer and Savior marks this little
poem. Versions of it are found in many manuscripts.^168 Its litanic aspect has
clear links to Bonvesin’s elevation prayer. Multiplying the titles of Christ of
the earlier devotion by adding attributes drawn from the Scriptures and the
liturgy, its repetitions paint an image of the merciful Savior who is the food
of the Christian soul. The closing phrases of the three middle verses subtly
associate Christ’s work with that of his Virgin Mother, yet without sacrificing
the prayer’s Christocentricity. Such staccato litanies of devotion had a spe-
- Bonvesin de la Riva,Vita Scholastica, 67 , lines 337 – 48 : ‘‘ ‘Christi corpus, ave, sancta de Virgine
natum, viva caro, deitas integra, verus homo. Salve, vera salus, via, vita, redempcio mundi, liberet a
cunctis nos tua dextra malis.’ Quando levat calicem manibus, cor surrige, iunctis ac infra totidem car-
mina scripta feras: ‘Christi sanguis, ave, celi sanctissime potus, unda salutaris crimina nostra lavans.
Sanguis, ave, lateris Christi de vulnere sparse, in cruce pendentis unda salubris, ave.’ ’’ - Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana,msA 98 Sup., fol. 297 v: ‘‘Ave Iesu Christe, verbum Patris, filius
virginis, agnus Dei, salus mundi, hostia sacra, verbum caro, fons pietatis.Ave Iesu Christe, splendor
Patris, princeps pacis, ianua celi, panis vivus, virginis partus vas deitatis.Ave Iesu Christe, laus angelo-
rum, gloria sanctorum, visio pacis, deitas integra, homo verus, flos et fructus virginis matris.Ave Iesu
Christe, laus celi, pretium mundi, gaudium martirum, angelorum panis, cordis iubilus, rex et sponsus
virginitatis.Ave Iesu Christe, via dulcis, virtus vera, vita perhennis omnium.’’ Dated approximately
- E.g., a thirteenth-century elevation prayer in Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale,msMagl.
xxxvi. 81 bis, fol. 263 r: ‘‘Ecce salus mundi, verbum Patris, hostia vera, viva caro, Deitas integra, verus
homo. Ave principium nostre creationis. Ave precium nostre salvationis. Ave viaticum nostre peregrina-
tionis. Ave premium nostre retributionis.’’ And, about 1300 , in Italian, alongside the ‘‘Ave Verum’’ and
the ‘‘Anima Christi,’’ in Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 2530( 1308 ), fol. 32 r. The much loved
‘‘Anima’’ also appears in Italian, as in Modena, Biblioteca Estense Universitaria,ms.W. 2. 40 (xivcent.),
fols. 1 r–v. Cf. these elevation prayers with the English ones in Rubin,Corpus Christi, 155 – 63.