"" () is a hymn in Ecclesiastical Latin celebrating the Eucharist. It first is confirmed to have appeared in a manuscript in 1410. For a long time it was attributed to Johannes Hus, but was more likely written by the Archbishop of Prague, Jan of Jenà ¡tejn. Several hymns in different languages were derived from it, among others Martin Luther's "".
The earliest extant version of the hymn is contained in a 1410 manuscript from the Cistercian abbey of Hohenfurth (Vyà ¡à ¡Ã Brod Monastery). In that version, it has ten stanzas of four lines each, and a refrain of praise. The first eight stanzas form an acrostic on the name JOHANNES (John). Possibly the eight acrostic stanzas were a first version which was expanded by two more stanzas and the refrain. The hymn is in content comparable to the 13th century '. It is focused on the eucharist and the presence of Christ in bread and wine.
According to modern research, the text was written by Jan of Jenà ¡tejn, archbishop of Prague, in the late 14th century. A Czech language version of the hymn exists: this version probably originated in the 15th century.
The melody of the hymn also appears in Hohenfurth 1410. The melody may go back to the 13th century.
The hymn was sung and distributed by the Hussite Bohemian Brethren. During the Reformation, it was considered as a work of the early reformer and martyr Johannes Hus and was printed in collections of his works.
Martin Luther's "", first published in 1524, was based on "Jesus Christus nostra salus". Luther's hymn appeared under the header "Das Lied S. Johannes Hus gebessert" (The song of St. Johannes Hus improved).
A by Thomas Stoltzer is contained in Sacrorum hymnorum, Book I, published by Georg Rhau in 1542.
In Finland, "Iesus Christus nostra salus" was published as No. 39 in the 1582 first edition of the Piae Cantiones (No. 21 in a 1910 UK republication). In Finnish the hymn translates as "Jeesus Kristus Elämämme". In Swedish, hymns (1589) and "Jesus Christus, lunastajam" (1609) were based on "Jesus Christus nostra salus".
An English translation by R. F. Littledale, "Jesus Christ our true salvation", appeared in Lyra Eucharistica in 1864.