John Francis Wade
John Francis Wade (1 January 1711 – 16 August 1786) was an English hymnist who is usually credited with writing and composing the hymn "Adeste Fideles" (which was translated as "O Come All Ye Faithful" in 1841 by Frederick Oakeley). The authorship is disputed, with 13th-century cardinal St. Bonaventure and King John IV of Portugal being proposed as alternative composers, although the earliest known manuscripts of the hymn discovered from 1946 all bear Wade's signature.
John Francis Wade
- Born
- 1711 · England.
- Died
- 1786 · Lancashire.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Occupation
- hymnwriter · composer
- Fields
- liturgical
- Languages
- English
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John Francis Wade (1 January 1711 – 16 August 1786) was an English hymnist who is usually credited with writing and composing the hymn "Adeste Fideles" (which was translated as "O Come All Ye Faithful" in 1841 by Frederick Oakeley). The authorship is disputed, with 13th-century cardinal St. Bonaventure and King John IV of Portugal being proposed as alternative composers, although the earliest known manuscripts of the hymn discovered from 1946 all bear Wade's signature.
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wikidata · Q1335565 · wikipedia · John Francis Wade
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Jacobite symbolism
Jacobite symbolism
Others argue for John Reading (c. 1645) or anonymous Cistercian monks. Wade fled to France after the Jacobite rising of 1745 was crushed.
Bennett Zon, Editor of the Yale Journal of Music and Religion, has noted that Wade's Roman Catholic liturgical books were often decorated with Jacobite floral imagery. He argued that the texts had coded Jacobite meanings. He has suggested that the hymn "Adeste Fideles" is a birth ode to Bonnie Prince Charlie, replete with secret references decipherable by the "faithful": the followers of the Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart.
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England.
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Lancashire.
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reference work
- “John Francis Wade”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1335565: John Francis Wade
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.LindaJo H. McKim (1993). "The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion". P. 47. Westminster John Knox Press,
- 2.Adeste Fidelis. 13 December 2020.
- 3.BBC. Carol is 'ode to Bonnie Prince'. 2008-12-18.
- 4.Durham University. News & Events : News. ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ - Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Christmas Carol. 19 December 2008.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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