Born: Sep­tem­ber 14, 1833, Dub­lin, Ire­land.

Died: Jan­u­a­ry 11, 1890, Red Li­on Square, Lon­don, Eng­land.

Buried: Wok­ing, Sur­rey, Eng­land.

Pseudonyms

• A. L. P.
• B. T.
• D. L. [Dr. Littledale]
• F. R. [Frederick Richard]
• P. C. E. [Priest of the Church of Eng­land]

Littledale at­tend­ed Bec­tive House Sem­in­a­ry, and Trin­i­ty Coll­ege, Dub­lin. In 1852 he be­came a Un­i­ver­si­ty Schol­ar; in 1854, he was first class in Class­ics and gold me­dal­ist; in 1856, he won the Ber­kel­ey gold me­dal for Greek, and other awards. He grad­u­at­ed BA, 1855; MA, 1858; LLD, 1862; and DCL at Ox­ford, 1862.

Littledale took Ho­ly Or­ders in 1856, and served as Cur­ate at St. Mat­thew’s Thorpe Ham­let, Nor­wich (1856-1857), and at St. Ma­ry the Vir­gin, So­ho, Lon­don (1857-1861). In 1861, he re­tired due to ill health, and de­vot­ed him­self to li­ter­a­ture. He pub­lished about 50 works, co­ver­ing sub­jects in the­ol­o­gy, his­to­ry, li­tur­gy, and hymn­ol­o­gy, inc­lud­ing:

• Applica­tion of Col­our to the De­co­ra­tion of Church­es, 1857
• Catholic Ri­tu­al in the Church of Eng­land, 1861
• Religious Com­mun­i­ties of Wo­men in the Ear­ly Church, 1862
• Offices of the Ho­ly East­ern Church, in the Orig­in­al Greek, 1863
• Carols for Christ­mas and Other Sea­sons, 1863
• The Al­tar Man­u­al, 1863-77
• The Priest’s Pray­er Book, with hymns, 1864
• The Peo­ple’s Hymn­al, 1867
• The Child­ren’s Bread. A Com­mun­ion Of­fice for the Young, with hymns, 1868
• Primitive Li­tur­gies and Trans­la­tions, 1868-69 (co-ed­it­ed with John Neale)
• Continua­tion of John Neale’s Com­men­ta­ry on the Psalms, 1868-74
• Commentary on the Song of Songs, 1869
• Children at Cal­va­ry: Bei­ng the Sta­tions of the Cross in Me­tre for Sing­ing, 1872
• The Christ­ian Pass­o­ver, 1873
• The Pe­trine Claims, 1878-1884
• Plain Rea­sons against Join­ing the Church of Rome, 1880
• Short History of the Coun­cil of Trent, and sev­er­al ar­ti­cles in the En­cy­clo­pe­dia Bri­tan­ni­ca, 1882-1888

Littledale’s hymn­o­lo­gi­cal works in verse in­clude trans­la­tions from Dan­ish, Swed­ish, Greek, La­tin, Syr­i­ac, Ger­man, and Ital­i­an.

Sources

Lyrics

1. Captain of Salva­tion
2. Cedar of Lebanon, The
3. Christ, on Whose Face the Sol­diers
4. Christ, Our Song We Lift to Thee
5. Christ, Our Sun, on Us Arose
6. Christ, the Lord, Whose Mighty Hand
7. Christ, Who Hast for Sinners Suffered
8. Clouds of Sorrow Rest upon Mine Eyes, The
9. Day Is Past and Gone
10. Eternal Shepherd, God Most High
11. Eternal Wisdom, God Most High
12. Fight is O’er, the Crown Is Won, The
13. From Hidden Source Arising
14. God Eternal, Infinite
15. God the Father, from on High
16. God the Father, God the Son
17. Hidden Savior, Great High Priest
18. I Believe in God the Father
19. I Wor­ship Thee, Lord Jesu
20. In Paradise Reposing
21. In Songs of Glad Thanksgiving
22. Lord Jesu, by Thy Passion
23. Lord, Whose Goodwill Is Ever Sure
24. Now the Sun Is in the Skies
25. O God of Mercy, God of Love
26. O God, Who Metest in Thine Hand
27. O God, Whose Sole Begotten Left
28. O Jesu, in Thy Torture
29. O Lord, to Whom the Spirits Live
30. O Sing to the Lord, Whose Bountiful Hand
31. Set upon Sion’s Wall
32. Spirit Blest, Who Art Adored
33. We Are Marching through the Desert
34. When the Day Hath Come at Last
35. Wintry Time Hath Ended, The

Translations

1. Christ, Enthroned in Highest Heaven
2. Come Down, O Love Divine
3. Eternal Light, Divinity
4. O Glorious King of Martyr Hosts
5. On the Birthday of the Lord