Gregorian Chants

Pope Gregory the Great invented Gregorian Chants between 590 and 680AD. The chant used a single line of melody and were said in Latin by a group of voices in unison called monophony. The chants were learned orally during a priests monastic life and it took a very long time to learn. The chants were spread by Charlemagne during his reign as Holy Roman Emperor and he threatened by penalty of death if the congregations did not sing the chants. The chants soon became part of the liturgy, and coordinated with the lesson of the day. The congregation, of course, did not understand the chants as they were said in Latin and the masses did not speak or learn to speak such a difficult language, or any other language other than the one that they spoke.

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