The Psalm Ribault recited before the dagger was thrust into his body was the 132nd Psalm which begins, “Lord, remember David”; but Ribault began it, according to an eyewitness, with “ Lord, remember me.”
Bennett, Laudonnière and Fort Caroline, p. 42-43.
Gabriel Gravier, editor of the earliest account of Jean Ribault’s first visit, wrote that the settlers sang psalm translations of Marot and melodies of Goudimel. La Challeux reported the incident of Captain Ribault singing, after his capture by the Spaniards and just before his death, the psalm “Domine, memento mei.” The old man’s memory may have failed to reproduce the first line exactly, but he must have understood how appropriate it was for his captain to sing Psalm 132, “Memento Domine, David” with its triumphant last lines: “His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.”
– Housewright, “Music of the Sixteenth-Century French Settlement in Florida.” p. 323
The Huguenot Psalter evolved over several decades and eventually came to include Psalm 132. The following is a version of the French psalter that was published in 1554. This translation was penned by the French reformer and theologian, Theodore Beza. Huguenot worship was deeply marked by the singing of psalms. It is quite likely that this was the song on Jean Ribault’s lips just before his death on the beach at Matanzas.
