That the Latin processional hymn appeared first in Gaul should surprise no one. It has already been suggested that the hymns among the _Carmina_ of Fortunatus were created in the atmosphere of freedom enjoyed by Gallic hymn writers in accordance with contemporary canons. Always a poet of the occasion, Fortunatus wrote three hymns for the reception of a relic believed to be of the true Cross, which was presented to Rhadegunda, his patron, by the Byzantine Emperor, Justin II and his wife Sophia, for the convent at Poitiers. As a final stage in the journey from Constantinople, the relic was borne in procession from Migné to Poitiers, accompanied by Euphronius, Bishop of Tours. On this day the hymn, _Vexilla regis prodeunt_, was first heard.[14] Two others, _Pange lingua_ and _Crux benedicta_ (see Chapter One) were devoted by Fortunatus to the same theme of the Holy Cross, although it cannot be proved that they were sung in the same procession. The Resurrection hymn, _Tempora florigero rutilant distincta sereno_, “Season of luminous days, marked bright with the birth of flowers,” (_Carm._ 3. 9), was originally written for the Easter baptismal rites celebrated by Felix, Bishop of Nantes (d. 582). It was a poem of 110 lines or 55 elegiac couplets, from which the cento of 28 lines beginning _Salve festa dies_, “Hail thee, festival day,” was later selected for an Easter processional.[15] The metrical models provided by _Pange lingua_ of the trochaic pattern and _Salve festa dies_, the elegiac, continued to be employed throughout the Middle Ages for processional hymnody, the elegiac excelling in popularity. First in the original hymn, then in centos and finally in imitative verse adapted to a multitude of feasts, _Salve festa dies_ was never superseded but maintained the influence of Fortunatus for centuries. Spain must have known the processional hymn soon after its appearance in Gaul, perhaps in the seventh century. Here, the Palm Sunday festival seems to have been the source of inspiration for the procession and blessing of palms is mentioned by Isidore of Seville as an observance of his day.[16] Contemporary evidence indicates a similar procession in Italy.[17] The use of a processional hymn, however, is not as clearly indicated. It seems probable that the seventh century hymn, _Magnum salutis gaudium_ (_A. H._ 51. 73), “O great joy of salvation,” is one of the earliest to be assigned for Palm Sunday. It is a simple rendering in the Ambrosian style, of the events recounted in the biblical narrative.[18] In the early centuries when the concept of a specific processional hymn for a particular festival was almost unheard of, a familiar hymn from the old hymnals might be used in the new ceremonies. It has been suggested that _Magnum salutis gaudium_ was known to Theodulphus, who in the ninth century wrote the Palm Sunday processional hymn, _Gloria laus et honor_, for all the ages.