Kingo's Hymnal (Dend Forordnede Ny Kirke-Psalme-Bog)
Dend Forordnede Ny Kirke-Psalme-Bog
A verified public-domain excerpt for this text is still being set. The folio is catalogued and linked below; an original Sub Rosa rendering will follow.
What it is
Royally decreed for use in all churches of Denmark-Norway by King Frederick IV of the Oldenburg dynasty in 1699, this hymnal replaced Thomissøn's 1569 psalter as the sole authorized Danish church hymnal. Of its 267 hymns, 136 were newly composed by Bishop Thomas Kingo. An earlier 'Winter Part' draft had been withdrawn by King Christian V in 1689 after controversy; the 1699 edition represents the settled Oldenburg royal church's definitive hymnody. The hymnal remained in use for over a century and is a foundational text of Danish Lutheran devotion.
Why it still matters
Kingo's Easter and Passion hymns, many still in the current Den Danske Salmebog, distill Danish Baroque Lutheranism's most concentrated devotional voice — ideal for Lenten and Eastertide personal prayer.
Kept alongside
Aandelige Siunge-Koor (Spiritual Song Choir)
Aandelige Siunge-Koors Første Part
Thomas Kingo's two-part collection of devotional hymns for domestic use, published in 1674 and 1681, was designed — following Luther's prescription in the Small Catechism — for fathers to lead family prayers with morning, evening, and penitential hymns. Kingo was promoted by King Christian V of the Oldenburg dynasty to Bishop of the Funen Diocese in 1677, and Christian V later commissioned Kingo to compile a new national hymnal. The Aandelige Siunge-Koor established Kingo as Denmark's supreme Baroque hymnist and many texts passed directly into the 1699 royally authorized church hymnal.
Sandhed til Gudfrygtighed (Truth Unto Godliness)
Sandhed til Gudfrygtighed: Forklaring over Luthers Lille Katekismus
Composed at royal rescript by King Christian VI of the Oldenburg dynasty in 1736 and published in 1737, Pontoppidan's 759-question explanation of Luther's Small Catechism became the official catechism of the Church of Denmark. Pontoppidan was the royal chaplain to Christian VI, a deeply pietist king who introduced universal confirmation in 1736 and needed a rigorous catechetical basis for it. The catechism was authorized by three successive Oldenburg monarchs (Christian VI, Frederick V, and Christian VII) in 1738, 1748, and 1768, and remained the official Danish catechism for fifty years. New editions continued in use in Norway into the 20th century.
Den danske Psalmebog (Thomissøn's Hymnal)
Den danske Psalmebog, met mange Christelige Psalmer
The first royally authorized Danish hymnal, published in Copenhagen in 1569 by Lorenz Benedict with the authorization of King Frederick II of the Oldenburg dynasty. After the royal authorization, churches across Denmark-Norway were legally required to possess the book, chained to the sexton's chair. Hans Thomissøn, the leading Danish hymnologist and parish priest at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, spent twelve years compiling 268 hymns with 216 melodies, translating many from German Lutheran originals. This was the sole authorized hymnal in Denmark-Norway for over a century until Kingo's hymnal in 1699.