Here We Go Again: Temporal Recurrence in the Early Ambrosiana

abstract: The earliest imitations of Ambrose's Latin hymnody ( ambrosiana ) show a special interest in the celebration of the liturgical hours and the temporal cycle. These fifth- and sixth-century hymns, which have received virtually no scholarly attention, adopt techniques that Ambrose employed to help monastic congregations perceive the moments of the seven canonical hours with a sensitivity to their biblical scripts. Moreover, as I argue, these ambrosiana for the hours also aim to encourage the congregation to combat exhaustion and even disgust in the face of time's cyclical recurrence. After tracing the development and reception of Ambrose's temporal hymnodics in Prudentius and other anonymous imitators, I show how the early ambrosiana aim to construct a community that is disposed to celebrate, rather than dread, the daily cycle. Such a disposition, I conclude, can aid a liturgical community in its struggle against tedium and enervation.