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'''Gregorian chant''', or less commonly known as '''Carolingian chant''' is the central tradition of Western [[plainsong|plainchant]], a form of [[monophony|monophonic]] [[liturgy|liturgical]] music within [[Western Rite|Western Orthodoxy]] that accompanied the celebration of Divine Liturgy and other ritual services. It is named after [[Gregory the Dialogist|Pope Gregory I]], Bishop of Rome from 590 to 604, who is traditionally credited for having ordered the simplification and cataloging of music assigned to specific celebrations in the church calendar. The resulting body of music is the first to be notated in a system ancestral to modern musical notation. In general, the chants were learned by the viva voce method, that is, by following the given example orally, which took many years of experience in the Schola Cantorum. Gregorian chant originated in monastic life, in which celebrating the 'Divine Office' eight times a day at the proper hours was upheld according to the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]]. Singing psalms made up a large part of the life in a monastic community, while a smaller group and soloists sang the chants. In its long history, Gregorian chant has been subjected to many gradual changes and some reforms, especially after the [[Great Schism]].

Gregorian chant was organized, codified, and notated mainly in the [[Franks|Frankish]] lands of western and central Europe during the 10th to 13th centuries, with later additions and redactions, but the texts and many of the melodies have antecedents going back several centuries earlier. Although popular belief credited [[Pope Gregory I|Pope Gregory the Great]] with having personally invented Gregorian chant (in much the same way that a biblical prophet would transmit a divinely received message), scholars now believe that the chant bearing his name arose from a later [[Carolingian]] synthesis of Roman and [[Gallican chant]], and that at that time the attribution to Gregory I was a "marketing ruse" to invest it with a sanctified pedigree, as part of an effort to create one liturgical protocol that would be practised throughout the entire [[Holy Roman Empire]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

Singing has been part of the liturgy since the earliest days of the Church. Until the mid-1990s, it was widely accepted that the psalmody of ancient Jewish worship significantly influenced and contributed to early Christian ritual and chant. This view is no longer generally accepted by scholars, due to analysis that shows that most early Christian hymns did not have Psalms for texts, and that the Psalms were not sung in [[synagogue]]s for centuries after the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|Destruction of the Second Temple]] in [[Anno Domini|AD]]&nbsp;70.<ref>David Hiley, ''Western Plainchant'' pp. 484–5.</ref> However, early Christian rites did incorporate elements of ancient Jewish worship that survived in later chant tradition. Canonical hours have their roots in ancient Jewish prayer hours. "Amen" and "alleluia" come from [Hebrew, and the threefold "[[sanctus]]" derives from the threefold "kadosh" of the Kedusha.<ref>Willi Apel, ''Gregorian Chant'' p. 34.</ref>

The [[New Testament]] mentions singing hymns during the [[Last Supper]]: "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the [[Mount of Olives]]" {{bibleverse||Matthew|26.30|NT}}. Other ancient witnesses such as [[Pope Clement I]], [[Tertullian]], [[Athanasius of Alexandria|St. Athanasius]], and [[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]] confirm the practice,<ref>Apel, ''Gregorian Chant'' p. 74.</ref> although in poetic or obscure ways that shed little light on how music sounded during this period.<ref>Hiley, ''Western Plainchant'' pp. 484–7 and James McKinnon, ''Antiquity and the Middle Ages'' p. 72.</ref> The 3rd-century Greek "[[Oxyrhynchus hymn]]" survived with musical notation, but the connection between this hymn and the plainchant tradition is uncertain.<ref>McKinnon, James W.: "Christian Church, music of the early", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 11&nbsp;July&nbsp;2006), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ (subscription access)]</ref>

Musical elements that would later be used in the Roman Rite began to appear in the 3rd century. The ''[[Apostolic Tradition]]'', attributed to the theologian [[Hippolytus (writer)|Hippolytus]], attests the singing of Hallel psalms with Alleluia as the refrain in early Christian ''agape'' feasts.<ref>Hiley, ''Western Plainchant'' p. 486.</ref> Chants of the Office, sung during the canonical hours, have their roots in the early 4th century, when desert monks following [[Anthony the Great|St. Anthony]] introduced the practice of continuous psalmody, singing the complete cycle of 150 psalms each week. Around 375, antiphonal psalmody became popular in the Christian East; in 386, [[Ambrose|St. Ambrose]] introduced this practice to the West.

Scholars are still debating how plainchant developed during the 5th through the 9th centuries, as information from this period is scarce. Around 410, [[Augustine of Hippo]] described the [[responsory|responsorial]] singing of a [[Gradual]] psalm at Mass. At ca. 520, Saint [[Benedict of Nursia]] established what is called the rule of St. Benedict, in which the protocol of the Divine Office for monastic use was laid down. Around 678, Roman chant was taught at [[York]].<ref>James McKinnon, ''Antiquity and the Middle Ages'' p. 320.</ref> Distinctive regional traditions of Western plainchant arose during this period, notably in the British Isles ([[Celtic chant]]), Spain ([[Mozarabic chant|Mozarabic]]), Gaul ([[Gallican chant|Gallican]]), and Italy ([[Old Roman chant|Old Roman]], [[Ambrosian chant|Ambrosian]] and [[Beneventan chant|Beneventan]]). These traditions may have evolved from a hypothetical year-round repertory of 5th-century plainchant after the western [[Roman Empire]] collapsed.

The Gregorian repertory was systematized for use in the [[Roman Rite]]. According to [[James McKinnon]], the core liturgy of the Roman Mass was compiled over a brief period in the 8th century in a project overseen by [[Chrodegang]] of [[Metz]]. Other scholars, including Andreas Pfisterer and Peter Jeffery, have argued for an earlier origin for the oldest layers of the repertory.

Scholars debate whether the essentials of the melodies originated in Rome, before the 7th century, or in [[Franks|Francia]], in the 8th and early 9th centuries. Roman Catholic Traditionalists point to evidence supporting an important role for [[Pope Gregory I|Pope Gregory the Great]] between 590 and 604, such as that presented in Heinrich Bewerunge's article in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''.<ref>{{ws|"[[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Gregorian chant|Gregorian chant]]" in the 1913 ''Catholic Encyclopedia''}}, article by Heinrich Bewerunge.</ref> Scholarly consensus, supported by [[Willi Apel]] and Robert Snow, asserts instead that Gregorian chant developed around 750 from a synthesis of Roman and [[Gallican chant]] commissioned by [[Carolingian]] rulers in France. During a visit to Gaul in 752–753, [[Pope Stephen II]] had celebrated Mass using Roman chant. According to [[Charlemagne]], his father [[Pippin the Younger|Pepin]] abolished the local [[Gallican rite]]s in favor of the Roman use, in order to strengthen ties with Rome.<ref>Apel, ''Gregorian Chant'' p. 79.</ref> In 785–786, at Charlemagne's request, [[Pope Hadrian I]] sent a papal [[sacramentary]] with Roman chants to the Carolingian court. This Roman chant was subsequently modified, influenced by local styles and Gallican chant, and later adapted into the system of eight [[musical mode|modes]]. This Frankish-Roman Carolingian chant, augmented with new chants to complete the liturgical year, became known as "Gregorian." Originally the chant was probably so named to honor the contemporary [[Pope Gregory II]],<ref>McKinnon, ''Antiquity and the Middle Ages'' p. 114.</ref> but later lore attributed the authorship of chant to his more famous predecessor Gregory the Great. Gregory was portrayed dictating plainchant inspired by a dove representing the [[Holy Spirit]], giving Gregorian chant the stamp of holy authority. Gregory's authorship is popularly accepted as fact to this day.<ref>Wilson, ''Music of the Middle Ages'' p. 13.</ref>

Gregorian chant appeared in a remarkably uniform state across Europe within a short time. [[Charlemagne]], once elevated to Holy Roman Emperor, aggressively spread Gregorian chant throughout his empire to consolidate religious and secular power, requiring the clergy to use the new repertory on pain of death.<ref>David Wilson, ''Music of the Middle Ages'' p. 10.</ref> From English and German sources, Gregorian chant spread north to [[Scandinavia]], [[Iceland]] and [[Finland]].<ref>Hiley, ''Western Plainchant'' p. 604.</ref> In 885, [[Pope Stephen V]] banned the [[Church Slavonic language|Slavonic]] liturgy, leading to the ascendancy of Gregorian chant in Eastern Catholic lands including Poland, Moravia, Slovakia, and Austria.