PATER NOSTER
one prayer, a thousand years of English
A prayer taught on a hillside in Galilee was written down in Greek, carried west in Latin,
and then translated into English again and again — while English itself kept changing
underneath it. Here is the same prayer, four Englishes apart.
Greek · 1st century
as Matthew wrote it down — Matthew 6:9–13
Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου· ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου· γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς· τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον· καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν· καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.
Latin · 4th century
Jerome’s Vulgate — the prayer of the western church for a millennium
Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo.
· touch any underlined word and follow it through the centuries ·
~995 · Old English
the Wessex Gospels — England prays in a Germanic tongue; the Normans have not yet come
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, si þin nama gehalgod. To becume þin rice. Gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg. And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum. And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele. Soþlice.
hlaf is the modern word loaf — “give us this day our daily loaf.”
rice, kingdom, is kin to German Reich.
Soþlice — “soothly,” truly — stands where we say Amen.
1389 · Middle English
the Wycliffe Bible — three centuries after Hastings, English has swallowed ten thousand French words
Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halewid be thi name; thi kyngdoom come to; be thi wille don in erthe as in heuene. Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce, and foryyue to vs oure dettis, as we foryyuen to oure dettouris; and lede vs not in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen.
Germanic rice has given way to French-born kyngdoom’s rivals: temptacioun, dettis, delyuere all arrived with the Normans.
Wycliffe’s followers were burned with these pages around their necks.
1611 · Early Modern English
the King James Bible, first printing — the press has nearly fixed spelling, but u and v still trade places
Our father which art in heauen, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdome come. Thy will be done, in earth, as it is in heauen. Giue vs this day our daily bread. And forgiue vs our debts, as we forgiue our debters. And lead vs not into temptation, but deliuer vs from euill: For thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glory, for euer. Amen.
This is the English of Shakespeare’s London, and the wording most of the world still knows by heart.
Today · Modern English
four hundred years on — the vowels have shifted, the spelling has settled, the prayer has not
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Between the first English above and the last lie the Norman Conquest, the Black Death,
the Great Vowel Shift, and the printing press. Nearly every word bent under that weight —
hlaf to bread, rice to kingdom, soþlice to amen.
The prayer outlasted the language it was translated into. Four times, so far.