One of Easter's most joyful and enduring hymns was, well, the “crowning” achievement of two men from different theological traditions who wrote thirty years apart! The hymn, of course, is “Crown Him With Many Crowns.”
Its story began in 1851 with Matthew Bridges (1800-1894), who had once written a book condemning Roman Catholicism. Then, in 1848, he ended up converting to that faith. Three years after his “conversion,” tying his poetic thoughts to Revelation 19:12's vision of Christ in Heaven with many crowns, Bridges published a hymn he called “The Song of the Seraphs.”
Then along came Godfrey Thring (1823-1903), an Anglican cleric. He felt the lyrics of Bridges' hymn had too much Catholic doctrine in them for Anglicans to sing. One verse, for example, gave extra attention to Mary, mother of Jesus. The lyrics called Jesus “fruit of the mystic rose, as of that rose the stem.” He also felt the song needed a stanza on Jesus' resurrection, so added:
His glories now we sing/Who died and rose on high,
Who died, eternal life to bring,/And lives, that death may die.
He ended up with six eight-line stanzas for the revised hymn; most hymnals now use only four stanzas. But it's the music that gave the lyrics their majestic cadence, and credit for that goes to Sir George J. Elvey (1816-1893), who composed the tune called “Diademata,” Greek for “crown.” Sir Elvey was born in Canterbury (yes, home to the famous cathedral) to a family long associated with music in that city. In his long career at St. George's Chapel in Windsor as a church musician and composer, he was also an organ teacher to royalty—two princes and a duke. How fitting that a man who worked with human royalty should write the music exalting the King of kings and Lord of lords!
Over the years, the twelve combined stanzas of Bridges and Thring have appeared mixed and matched by hymnal editors in different abridged versions. In the original hymns, the “crowns” were these:
Newman (Catholic): the Lamb upon His throne, virgin's son, Lord of love, Lord of peace, Lord of years, Lord of Heaven.
Thring (Anglican): crowns of gold, Son of God, Lord of light, Lord of life, Lord of lords, Lord of Heaven.
No matter whose verses are chosen, they have one purpose: to praise Jesus for His person and ministry. And that's the most important thing to remember of this timeless hymn about our eternal Savior.
Inspiring scenery, plus the hymn's words, will help you sing along at this site:
Crown Him With Many Crowns - Bing video
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