# "Praise to the Good Christ and Kind Virgin" — Anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339 "2025-06-08T17:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/1 "2025-06-08T17:04:18Z")
According to a history book I read years ago, the title was a hymn sung by the crew, and at least some passengers, of a ship in the Middle Ages when it reached port (and given the state of shipbuilding and navigation then, it probably wasn’t unreasonable to ascribe a safe voyage to divine intervention). But despite numerous search attempts, I’ve never been able to find other evidence that the hymn ever existed. It may be a long shot, even for the Dope, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to toss it out and see if it gets a nibble. As always, thanks in advance. (This may belong in Cafe Society, though I’m only asking about the existence of the hymn. If so, please move. Thanks.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/2 "2025-06-08T17:19:34Z")
I found nothing that exactly matches the phrase you gave but some that _might_ be close(ish): - [The Akathist Hymn](https://www.goarch.org/akathisthymn) - [Medieval English hymn “Star of the Sea”](https://www.virgosacrata.com/ave-maris-stella.html) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/3 "2025-06-08T18:04:30Z")
The phrase has probably been translated from another language or originally in antiquated English. Do you recall the nationality of the voyagers? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/4 "2025-06-08T23:03:24Z")
Quick mention [here](https://bookreadfree.com/267334/6589226): “the crew broke into an unmelodious version of the hymn ‘Praise to the Good Christ and the Kind Virgin’, the traditional seaman’s chant sung all over Europe in thanks for a safe end to a voyage.” ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/5 "2025-06-09T09:33:02Z")
Yes. Is it possible that this is the “history” book you remember ? It appears to have been published in 2008… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/6 "2025-06-09T09:43:12Z")
It also apparently comes up in 1980’s [Godric.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godric_(novel)) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/7 "2025-06-09T09:48:31Z")
Curiouser and curiouser. (Maybe that’s where Bernard Knight got it from) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/8 "2025-06-09T09:54:34Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Curiouser and curiouser. > (Maybe that’s where Bernard Knight got it from) AFAICT, Costain’s “The Pageant Of England” mentions it before that. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/praise-to-the-good-christ-and-kind-virgin-anyone/1019339/9 "2025-06-09T21:15:21Z")
I certainly didn’t expect this level of response (though this being the Dope, I probably should have). It is much appreciated. @Whack-a-Mole, I can’t use lyrics or other contents to determine a match since the only two things I know about the hymn are its title and the context in which it was sung. Those are nice, though. @The_Other_Waldo_Pepper, thank you for confirming, if only in fiction, that there was such a hymn and it wasn’t a fever dream (sometimes I wonder, especially as I move further and further into my dotage). But I think you nailed it in your last: I read a lot of Costain at that time — though mainly his historical fiction — and I’m pretty sure _Pageant of England_ snuck in somewhere along the line. On the off chance that anyone wonders why this got stuck in my head, for the last ten years or so before I retired I had a commute that made a medieval sea voyage look like a walk in the park. So I got into the habit of saying the hymn title when I got to work\* and when I got home. Again, thanks. And as far as I’m concerned this can now sink into well-deserved oblivion. \* Followed by Joe Gideon’s “It’s showtime, folks!” from _All That Jazz_