Nesciens mater

General information

Antiphon during Christmastide

Settings by composers

Anonymous, in Attaingnant's Fourth Book of Motets, 1534 AATB Thomas Bytteryng ATB Giovanni Croce SATB.SATB Christian Erbach SATTB Antoine de Févin ATTB Josquin des Prez STTBB

Walter Lambe SATTB Ferdinand di Lasso SSATTB Antoine de Mornable SSATTB Jean Mouton SSABar.ATBarB Jakob Reiner SSATTB Thomas Wright (I) TTBB

Other settings possibly not included in the manual list above

• Thomas Bytteryng — Nesciens mater, Old Hall 50

Text and translations

Latin text Nesciens mater virgo virum peperit sine dolore salvatorem saeculorum. Ipsum regem angelorum sola virgo lactabat, ubere de caelo pleno. (some sources have ubera de coelo plena)

English translation Knowing no man, the Virgin mother bore, without pain, the Saviour of the world. Him, the king of angels, only the Virgin suckled, breasts filled by heaven.

Spanish translation La Virgen Madre, sin conocer varón, dio a luz sin dolor al Salvador del mundo. Al mismo Rey de los ángeles solo la Virgen amamantaba con sus pechos llenos de cielo. Translation by Alejandro Borrego Pérez