Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- THE HYMN: BEGINNINGS AND FORMS -- 1. What Hymns Are -- 2. Hymns and the Bible -- 3. The Odes of Solomon and the Early Christians -- 4. A Note on the Byzantine Hymn -- THE MYTH IN MEDIEVAL CHRISTENDOM -- 5."Creator of All Things": God the Father -- 6. The Coming of Christ -- 7. The Heart of the Myth: Christ Crucified and Risen -- 8. The Testament of the Spirit -- 9. The Four Last Things -- THE MYTH AND THE REFORMATION -- 10. The Father Returns -- 11. Christ Applied -- 12. How the End of Things Appeared -- MODERN HYMNS: THE MUTATIONS OF GOD -- 13. The Father -- 14. The Messiah -- 15. The Holy Spirit -- 16. Convergence and Cleavage -- Appendix -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Select Bibliography -- Index -- NAME AND SUBJECT INDEX -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Z -- INDEX OF HYMNS, CAROLS AND SACRED SONGS -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.