Te Deum, etc.
,is usually ascribed to St. Ambrose, but is probably of a much later date. It is said that St. Ambrose improvised this hymn while baptising St. Augustine. In allusion to this tradition, it is sometimes called “the Ambrosian Hymn.”
Te Deum (of ecclesiastical architecture) is a “theological series” of carved figures in niches: (1) of angels, (2) of patriarchs and prophets, (3) of apostles and evangelists, (4) of saints and martyrs, (5) of founders. In the restored west front of Salisbury cathedral there is a “Te Deum,” but the whole 123 original figures have been reduced in number.
