A song telling the story of the patron saint of Devon and Europe, inspired by a trip to his birthplace in Crediton. The song opens and closes with a hymn likely to be from the 7th century that would have been sung at the dedication of a new church.
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St. Boniface – Song Lyrics by Lizzie Pridmore
Hymn: Angularis Fundamentum, 7th century.
The road lies before us, take heart my friends,
Give thanks for the work that is done.
We’ve strengthened foundations, rekindled a light
That darkness will not overcome.
When Devon was home to both Saxons and Celts,
My family bridged the divide.
My birth name was Wynfrith, the friend of peace -
A child born in troubling times.
My school days were golden, with books and with prayer
I took to the life of a priest.
I made many friends in my monastery home,
But Christ called me over the seas.
The road lies before us, take heart my friends,
Give thanks for the work that is done.
We’ve strengthened foundations, rekindled a light
That darkness will not overcome.
My life’s work unfurled through the old Saxon lands
Where Celtic saints sometime had trod,
But many still kept to the old ways of faith
And knew not the goodness of God.
You may hear great stories, but my work was this -
To see people loved and restored.
We walked and we preached, and we started to build
First one church, another, then more.
The road lies before us....
After thousands of miles and a good many years,
My heart longed for mountain-top streams,
A monastery home nestled deep in the woods
To rest and to pray and to dream.
But the Pope sent me onwards, he blessed my good work
And gave me the name I now hold.
His letter was clear – no permission to rest,
But preach and build up, then move on.
The road lies before us....
And now my last journey approaches near,
Surrounded by thieves on the road.
The Word of the Lord is my strength and my shield
But Christ has called me home.
The road lies before us....
Angularis....
Lizzie Pridmore, 2021
Sources
Cook, David, and Bonifacius, St. Boniface: 675 – 754 ; the First European (Exeter: Bartlett Printing, 2004)
‘GregoBase – Angularis Fundamentum’ <https://gregobase.selapa.net/chant.php?id=8962>
‘Hymnology’ <http://hymnology.hymnsam.co.uk/a/angularis-fundamentum>
‘Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook: The Correspondence of St. Boniface’ <https://origin.web.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/boniface-letters.asp>