Dies Irae

di'ez i're, or day of wrath, an impressive Latin hymn sung at funeral exercises or at requiem mass. It was written by a Franciscan monk about 1250; at least it appeared at Venice at about that date. The first two stanzas are as follows:

The entire hymn consists of seventeen three-line stanzas and a final stanza of four lines. Its effect, when sung by a choir beneath the vaulted roof of a cathedral to the rich accompaniment of an organ, is said to be peculiarly solemn and thrilling. Numerous translations have been made-one by General John A. Dix.