The Lenten hymn, "Crown Him with Many Crowns," was written in 1851 by Matthew Bridges, a former critic of the Church who later converted to Catholicism. The stanzas are based on Revelation 19:12: "His eyes were [like] a fiery flame, and on his head were many crowns."
The popularity of this Catholic hymn being sung in Protestant churches disturbed an Anglican clergyman named Godfrey Thring (who was born on this day in 1823).
So he wrote six new verses.
Over the years, Bridges' verses and Thring's verses have been intermingled. Today most versions contain three written by Bridges (1, 2, 4) and three by Thring (3, 5, 6).
- Little Black Book, Diocese of Saginaw