Christians, to the Paschal Victim offer your thankful praises. A Lamb the sheep redeemeth: Christ, who only is sinless, reconcileth sinners to the Father. Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: the Prince of Life, who died, reigns immortal. Speak, Mary, declaring what thou sawest, wayfaring. 'The tomb of Christ, who is living, the glory of Jesus' resurrection; bright angels attesting, the shroud and napkin resting. Yea, Christ my hope is arisen: to Galilee he goes before you.' Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning! Amen. Alleluia.
CATHOLIC C. 1040 AD
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Also known as Christians, to the Paschal Victim ยท The Easter Sequence
Other forms
Latin (Victimae Paschali Laudes)
Victimae paschali laudes
immolent Christiani.
Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri
reconciliavit peccatores.
Mors et vita duello
conflixere mirando:
dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus.
Dic nobis Maria,
quid vidisti in via?
Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
et gloriam vidi resurgentis:
Angelicos testes,
sudarium, et vestes.
Surrexit Christus spes mea:
praecedet suos in Galilaeam.
Scimus Christum surrexisse
a mortuis vere:
tu nobis, victor Rex, miserere. Amen. Alleluia.
About this prayer
The Victimae Paschali Laudes is the medieval Latin Easter Sequence, one of the four sequences retained in the Roman Missal after the liturgical reforms of the Council of Trent in 1570. It is sung at Mass on Easter Sunday and throughout the octave of Easter, immediately before the Gospel. The sequence is regarded as one of the great achievements of medieval Latin liturgical poetry and one of the most influential single texts in the development of Western religious music and drama.
The author is Wipo of Burgundy (c. 995-1048), a chaplain at the imperial court of Conrad II and Henry III. Wipo's authorship is documented in 11th-century manuscripts and is one of the firmer attributions in the medieval sequence repertoire (where many texts are anonymous). Wipo was also the author of the Gesta Chuonradi II Imperatoris, a biographical history of Emperor Conrad, and several other works of historical and devotional writing.
The sequence's distinctive structure is a dialogue. The opening invites Christians to offer their praise to Christ the Paschal Lamb. The middle section directly addresses Mary Magdalene ('Speak, Mary, declaring what thou sawest, wayfaring'), and Mary's voice answers, describing the empty tomb. This dramatic dialogue between the choir and a solo voice singing Mary's words made the Victimae Paschali Laudes one of the seeds of medieval liturgical drama; the earliest medieval Easter dramas (the Quem Quaeritis trope) grew directly out of this dialogue structure in the 10th century, with the sequence playing a central role in the development of Western theater out of the medieval Mass.
The English translation included here is by Jane Eliza Leeson (1807-1881), published in 1853 and one of several Victorian-era translations in the public domain. The Caswall Lyra Catholica (1849) also includes a translation. The traditional plainchant Mode I melody is one of the most distinctive and beautiful of the four medieval sequences and is still sung at Easter Mass in Latin in many Catholic and Anglican parishes.
When it's said
Sung at Mass on Easter Sunday in the Roman Catholic Church, immediately before the Gospel acclamation. Also sung at Masses throughout the octave of Easter (the eight days following Easter Sunday) in many parishes. In the Anglican tradition, included in some modern liturgies for Easter Sunday. The Victimae Paschali Laudes is also sometimes sung at Easter Vigils, at funeral Masses celebrated during the Easter season, and at Easter concerts of sacred music.
Notes on the text
The Victimae Paschali Laudes is one of only four medieval Latin sequences retained in the Roman Missal after the Council of Trent's liturgical reform of 1570 (the others being the Veni Sancte Spiritus for Pentecost, the Lauda Sion for Corpus Christi, and the Dies Irae for Requiem Masses; the Stabat Mater was added in 1727 for Our Lady of Sorrows). Before Trent, the medieval Mass had hundreds of sequences for various feasts; the post-Tridentine reform dramatically reduced this repertoire to preserve liturgical uniformity. The sequence's role in the development of medieval drama is significant in the history of Western theater. The 10th-century 'Quem Quaeritis' trope, in which three voices play the three Marys arriving at the tomb and a fourth voice plays the angel asking 'Quem quaeritis?' ('Whom do you seek?'), grew out of the Victimae Paschali Laudes dialogue structure. The Quem Quaeritis is regarded by historians of theater as the earliest example of medieval drama, the seed from which the medieval mystery plays and ultimately the modern Western theatrical tradition developed. Major musical settings of the Victimae Paschali Laudes include Josquin des Prez's polyphonic setting (c. 1500), Lassus's setting (1582), and numerous Renaissance and Baroque adaptations. The sequence's plainchant melody also forms the basis of the Lutheran Easter hymn 'Christ lag in Todes Banden,' set most famously by Johann Sebastian Bach in his 1707 Easter cantata of the same name.
Common questions
Who wrote the Victimae Paschali Laudes?
The Victimae Paschali Laudes was composed around 1040 by Wipo of Burgundy (c. 995-1048), a chaplain at the imperial court of Conrad II and Henry III. Wipo's authorship is documented in 11th-century manuscripts and is one of the firmer attributions in the medieval sequence repertoire, where many texts are anonymous. Wipo also wrote the Gesta Chuonradi II Imperatoris, a biographical history of Emperor Conrad II.
Why is this sequence important for the history of medieval drama?
The Victimae Paschali Laudes contains a dramatic dialogue: the choir asks Mary Magdalene 'Speak, Mary, declaring what thou sawest, wayfaring,' and Mary's voice answers describing the empty tomb. This dialogue structure became the seed of medieval liturgical drama. The 10th-century 'Quem Quaeritis' trope, in which voices played the Marys at the tomb and an angel, grew directly out of this sequence and is regarded by theater historians as the earliest example of medieval drama, from which the medieval mystery plays and ultimately Western theater developed.
When is the Victimae Paschali Laudes sung at Mass?
On Easter Sunday in the Roman Catholic Church, immediately before the Gospel acclamation. It is also sung at Masses throughout the octave of Easter (the eight days following Easter Sunday) in many parishes. In the Anglican tradition, it is included in some modern liturgies for Easter Sunday. The traditional plainchant Mode I melody is one of the most distinctive of the four medieval sequences and is still sung at Easter Mass in Latin in many Catholic and Anglican parishes today.
Source
Wipo of Burgundy (c. 995-1048), composed c. 1040. Latin text retained in the Roman Missal of 1570 after the Tridentine reform. English translation by Jane Eliza Leeson, Hymns and Scenes of Childhood (London, 1853). Public domain.
Last reviewed: June 2026 against primary source.