Original Latin The hymn is based on a long
medieval Latin poem,
Salve mundi salutare, with stanzas addressing the various parts of
Christ's body hanging on the
Cross. The last part of the poem, from which the hymn is taken, is addressed to Christ's head, and begins "Salve caput cruentatum". The poem is often attributed to
Bernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153), but is now attributed to the medieval poet
Arnulf of Leuven (died 1250). A selection of stanzas from the seven cantos were used for the text of
Dieterich Buxtehude's
Membra Jesu Nostri addressing the various members of the crucified body
German translation The poem was translated into German by the
Lutheran hymnist
Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676). He reworked the Latin version to suggest a more personal contemplation of the events of Christ's death on the cross. It first appeared in
Johann Crüger's hymnal '''' in 1656. Although Gerhardt translated the whole poem, it is the closing section which has become best known, and is sung as a hymn in its own right. The German hymn begins with "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".
English translation The hymn was first translated into English in 1752 by John Gambold (1711–1771), an
Anglican vicar in
Oxfordshire. His translation begins, "O Head so full of bruises". In 1830 a new translation of the hymn was made by an American
Presbyterian minister,
James Waddel Alexander (1804–1859). Alexander's translation, beginning "O sacred head, now wounded", became one of the most widely used in 19th- and 20th-century hymnals. Another English translation, based on the German, was made in 1861 by Sir
Henry Williams Baker. Published in
Hymns Ancient and Modern, it begins, "O sacred head surrounded by crown of piercing thorn".
Catherine Winkworth also translated the text and published it in her 1855 collection of German hymns,
Lyra Germanica, giving it the title
Ah wounded Head! Must Thou. In 1899 the English poet
Robert Bridges (1844–1930) made a fresh translation from the original Latin, beginning "O sacred Head, sore wounded, defiled and put to scorn". This is the version used in the 1940 Hymnal (Episcopal), the 1982 Hymnal (Episcopal; stanzas 1–3 and 5), and the
New English Hymnal (1986) and several other late 20th-century hymn books. The
English Hymnal (1906) has a translation attributed to "Y.H.", referring to Bridges' translations for the
Yattendon Hymnal, of which he was the editor.
Karen Lynn Davidson (born 1943) wrote another English translation, titled "O savior, thou who wearest a crown", which is published in
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is an edited version, including parts based on 2
Nephi from the
Book of Mormon. ==Melody and use==