I’m trying to find out definitively whether the 2nd & 3rd refrains for “What Child is This” were part of the original work by William C. Dix. One version omits those refrains and instead repeats the 1st refrain. The question is, were the 2nd & 3rd refrains later added to the carol, or were the 2nd & 3rd refrains later removed from the carol.
Version 1 (all three refrains).
Version 2 (first refrain repeated three times).
Many sources indicate the hymn was taken from a POEM entitled “The Manger Throne.” Complicating the issue is that Dix also wrote a HYMN titled “The Manger Throne” which is a completely different thing. The lyrics to the hymn are easily found, but while everybody and his brother MENTIONS the poem, I have not yet found the actual poem itself.
In my Googling of this, various sources suggest or imply that the poem had what became the three different refrains, but no one states it clearly and definitively, and the mention of “modified stanzas” in the first link above may suggest that the opposite is true.
If it turns out that the original had all three refrains, my next question is why (and by whom) were the 2nd & 3rd refrains chosen to be left out in what’s called Version 2. If the 2nd & 3rd refrains were added later, my next question is when and by whom.
I’d appreciate if anyone can resolve this burning question for me.