Questions tagged [medieval-latin]
Questions regarding the Latin of the Medieval period, approximately 500–1400
98
questions
3
votes
1answer
268 views
Variation in the spelling of word-final M
I recently visited the museum of the main monastery of the Carthusian order near Grenoble.
I saw this in an open book on display in a former chamber of a monk:
What took me by surprise is the ...
6
votes
1answer
155 views
What does a red v with a dot above mean in the Misal rico de Cisneros (Spain, 1518)?
What do the red v. mean?
Manuscript:
http://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=12826&page=246 page 675
As stated in my other question, I've been making the manuscript into a font.
4
votes
2answers
211 views
Occasus nescius
In the first line of this 12th-century conductus:
Sol oritur occasus nescius
what does nescius refer to? Maybe diagramming the sentence is all I need, because I don't follow the grammar.
If the ...
3
votes
0answers
52 views
Zeugma on a genitive noun: extraordinary or prosaic?
This Reddit comment points out that there is a zeugma on a genitive noun in this sentence from the conductus "Sol oritur occasus nescius"* in the Hortus Deliciarum:
Et filiæ fit pater filius
I'd ...
9
votes
1answer
848 views
What do three diagonal dots above a letter mean in the “Misal rico de Cisneros” (Spain, 1518)?
I can't seem to find this in any books about medieval scribal abbreviations.
Manuscript: http://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=12826&page=246
page 223/1613
They can be found all throughout the ...
8
votes
1answer
259 views
Why does the Misal rico de Cisneros uses the word “Qiſſa”, and what is it supposed to mean? Why not “Miſſa” (Missa)?
The Misal rico de Cisneros, produced by archbishop Cisneros, the archbishop of Toledo, Spain, in the early sixteenth century, is a Latin Catholic missal also known as the Missale secundum ...
4
votes
2answers
79 views
The meaning of 'belgicare' in Notker Balbulus
What is the meaning of the obscure verb belgicare or belgico?
Background
Notker Balbulus of St. Gall (c. 840 to 912) writes this verb in a letter/epistle to a certain Lantbert, wherein Notker ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
What is the Tinctura Physica?
This question quotes an alchemical text by Sendivogius, which mentions the Tinctura Physica as equivalent to the Lapis Philosophorum, i.e. the Philosopher's Stone.
But what exactly was the Tinctura ...
5
votes
2answers
335 views
Longest Text in Latin
What are the longest texts, say top 5, transmitted via manuscript from the Classical/Early Medieval period?
5
votes
1answer
179 views
Translation of the latin word 'sit' in Thomas Aquinas' works
Modern translations of medieval texts frequently translate the Latin verb 'sit' as he/she/it is. However, 'sit' is the subjunctive mood of the verb 'sum'.
In my view it should be translated as he/...
3
votes
1answer
52 views
What is the “apparatus fontium”?
I have encountered with apparatus fontium for example in this reference:
Gundissalinus, De divisione philosophiae, apparatus fontium ad pp. 36 –7
What is it and what is it's the literal meaning?
5
votes
4answers
286 views
Meaning of “individuandum”
What is the meaning and structure of individuandum?
I guess that it is an accusative gerund of unknown verb to me.
For example in this context: (Siger de Brabant, Quaestiones in metaphysicam, 1981, p....
6
votes
1answer
109 views
In what sense is a university (universitas) a whole?
The word for a university in many languages (not Finnish though!) comes the Latin word universitas.
The word appears to mean roughly "the whole", but one might also analyze it along the lines of "...
8
votes
2answers
345 views
What sort of grammatical construct is ‘Quod per sortem sternit fortem’?
In the poem ‘O Fortuna’ (anon., 13th c., but made famous by Carl Orff’s setting), there is this verse:
Quod per sortem
sternit fortem
mecum omnes plangite!
This is typically translated as ‘...
3
votes
1answer
34 views
Which Latin verb was closer to the current meaning of English “solve”?
Nowadays the English verb solve means:
Find an answer to, explanation for, or means of effectively dealing with (a problem or mystery).
The etymology of the word indicates that it comes:
from ...
6
votes
1answer
97 views
Help with paleography in a 16th century grant
I'm transcribing/translating a 16th century document relating to my ancestors, but struggling with a few words. One in particular is proving difficult - the contracted last word on the 1st line of the ...
6
votes
5answers
169 views
How does one “imitate into everything”?
"Good King Wenceslas" is a classic Christmas song, but its melody was taken from an older song: "Tempus Adest Floridum", from the Finnish carol book Piae Cantiones ("Pious Songs").
The first few ...
11
votes
2answers
170 views
what does “less correctly” mean in the Lewis & Short?
1.
L&S: caenum (less correctly coenum)
L&S: cena (not coena, caena)
It seems “coenum” and “coena” both are medieval spellings which were straight borrowed from Greek. So both of them should ...
4
votes
0answers
114 views
Was the name “Sasan/Sassan” often spelled with a double S in Latin or Greek?
A question on ELU (“Sassanian” vs. “Sasanian”) brought up the fact that the name of Sāsān has often been spelled in English with a double S in the middle: "Sassan". (The same goes for related words ...
5
votes
2answers
76 views
Meaning of “naturam unibilitatis”
In Summa theologiae (ST I q. 29 a. 1 ad 5) one can read:
Ad quintum dicendum quod anima est pars humanae speciei, et ideo, licet sit separata, quia tamen retinet naturam unibilitatis, non potest ...
5
votes
1answer
74 views
Latin etymology of Spanish “tarde”
In Spanish, the word "tarde" has two different meanings:
The part of the day between noon and dusk. Equivalent to the English noun "afternoon".
Happening after the due, usual, or proper time. ...
10
votes
1answer
815 views
Pun on Leibniz quote
Can anyone help me out with the two Latin sentences in the quote below ? After googling and looking up a dictionary I was only able to come up with something like, "It is unncessary to employ many ...
4
votes
2answers
513 views
What does “Sion respectat dominus” mean?
I want to ask a question about medieval Latin.
Sion respectat dominus.
Does this sentence in English mean: "The lord gives some thought to Zion"? Is this translation correct?
This title is from ...
3
votes
1answer
60 views
Translating “jerusalem duplici jugo gravata” into English
What does this mean?
jerusalem duplici jugo gravata
Ekkehard of Aura was the monk in medieval. He departed to the crusades of 1101. This sentence is from his book Hierosolimita in RHC V, PP. 1-40.
6
votes
1answer
112 views
Latin Bibles (other than Vulgata) available as text?
Is it possible to find the text online of any of the Bibles/NT's in the list below? I fetched the "text only" option of Beza's NT from archive.org, but the amount of typos is considerable :(
Theodore ...
6
votes
1answer
53 views
How might I write a latin phrase for swapping bodies?
Putting together a small literary piece where an item is inscribed with a Latin phrase that hints that it can be used to swap bodies (or minds, depending, I suppose, on your perspective) with another ...
6
votes
4answers
186 views
What's the translation of this Medieval document?
This is a page taken from a medieval breviary from 13th century Italy
Found this document at The Antiquarium in Houston. Would like to know what it is describing. Translations as well as paraphrases ...
3
votes
0answers
49 views
meaning of “status” and “condiciones”
I'm reading Olaus Magnus's 1550 Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, earumque diversis statibus, condicionibus, moribus, ritibus, superstitionibus, disciplinis, exercitiis, regimine, victu, bellis, ...
8
votes
2answers
455 views
Medieval irregularities in the conjugation of salveo?
In the medieval hymn, Dies Irae, there is a stanza:
Rex tremendæ majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis.
Which I guess is intended to be understood as:
King of ...
8
votes
3answers
194 views
Few are saved, many are damned
In Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror; in chapter 2, in her description of the Medieval church, she uses the phrase 'Salvandorum paucitas, damnandorum multitudo' to describe the general opinion of the ...
7
votes
1answer
71 views
References of medieval ornithology terms
I was browsing through the Czech-Latin dictionary Glossarius by Magister Bohemarius Bartholomaeus de Solencia dictus Claretus, which also lists an impressive collection of zoology terms, and I found ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Deciphering Latin text in an illuminated musical manuscript
I'm trying to decipher this text, or find at least part of a sentence so I can find the complete text online. I believe it's Latin, but stand to be corrected. The primary reason is I wanted to see if ...
4
votes
1answer
112 views
Meaning and etymology of 'vinnola' or 'vinola' or 'vinnus' (music term)?
I stumbled onto the word 'vinola' or 'vinnola' and the allegedly related 'vinnus' in treatises on medieval chant. I don't see these words in Wiktionary or any online dictionaries. Does anybody know ...
8
votes
1answer
113 views
Where is the database of “Corpus Latinorum Et Mediaevalium Naturae Scriptorum”, promised 10 years ago
Has anybody found the actual database of "Corpus Latinorum Et Mediaevalium Naturae Scriptorum" instead of just project notes? The descriptions look incredibly promising:
CLEMENS, acronym for Corpus ...
2
votes
2answers
170 views
Origin and explanation of memoriae
For an assignment, I have been translating several Latin inscription (on tombstones) from 400–600 AD and one phrase that occurs quite often is memoriae (sometimes with an adjective such as ...
3
votes
1answer
69 views
Does this adverb phrase apply to one or both verbs separated by 'vel'?
The quote below is from the Instituta Patrum de modo psallendi, an anonymous Carolingian or more likely High Medieval document on singing psalms in Gregorian chant. (I've seen one commenter on this ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
How can you translate the expression “Kindled embers” to preserve the meaning of smoldering chunks of coal or wood?
I'm in need of translating this expression to Latin for a project of mine. I really tried figuring this out using Google but I came to a short end. Could anyone help me?
6
votes
2answers
228 views
How can the use of “-aeus” as an adjective suffix in “Herculaeus” be explained?
Apparently, the English word "Herculean" has an old spelling variant "Herculæan". This seems to correspond to a Latin variant of the adjective "herculeus/Hercŭlĕus" spelled "Herculæus" (example: "...
6
votes
2answers
6k views
Motto of Sir Francis Drake
The motto of Sir Francis Drake is:
Sic parvis magna
It is usually translated as "Greatness from small beginnings", but what is the literal translation? Would be be something like "Thus from ...
4
votes
1answer
124 views
16th stanza of Dies irae
The 16th stanza of Dies irae reads:
Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis,
Voca me cum benedictis.
Why are the first two lines in 2nd person plural, while the last one is 2nd ...
4
votes
0answers
55 views
Philosophically sound English translation of Duns Scotus's “sed forma non cognoscitur nisi ex operationibus”?
In Libri 1, Quaestio XX, sec. 26, of Duns Scotus's In Octo Libros Physicorum Aristotelis, Duns Scotus gives expression to a common tenet of a doctrine of the Forms when he writes
[S]ed forma non ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
Reading a snippet of 15th century handwriting in Latin
The Lilly library has a Gutenberg bible on display and the page that it is open to varies. This week the page had a marginal comment in it, which is unusual for this particular copy, and I was hoping ...
8
votes
1answer
203 views
What does 'ANGLORUM REGIS QUI COR LEONIS DICTUS' mean?
In the cathedral of Rouen I visited the grave of Richard I the Lionheart. It has an inscription:
ANGLORVM REGIS QVI COR LEONIS DICTVS
So what is the best translation?
King of England, who ruled ...
10
votes
4answers
4k views
“Et in terra pax hominibus bona voluntas” [sic!]
I have a German Christmas song of the 16th century, which is bilingual, German–Latin. The lyrics go as follows (I translated the German parts into English):
O how beautiful the group of ...
6
votes
3answers
193 views
Was “dominus” or similar used with a title?
If a person is addressed formally with a title, it seems to vary from language to language (and to some extent within a single language) whether a word like "Mr" or "Herr" (German) is used.
In Finnish ...
6
votes
1answer
92 views
Contradictory interpretations of a charter by King Robert the Bruce circa 1314 in medieval Latin
The Charter can be found in Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum Vol 1, Appendix i, #71. It reads:
"Carta Malcolmi Comitis de Levenax. Robertus etc. Cum concessimus Malcolmo comiti de Levenax ...
6
votes
2answers
159 views
Books of reading medieval Latin manuscripts
I would like to learn how to read medieval Latin manuscripts, but they often use abbreviations/shorthand. What are some books that would help me read these manuscripts?
5
votes
1answer
78 views
Who asked whom about the cape of parchment? And who answered?
I quote this cautionary tale about the dangers of studying Scholastic logic in full because it's just too good not to, but my question is only about the part in bold face:
Parisius accidit, quod ...
8
votes
1answer
279 views
Did Boethius write in Classical, Late, or Medieval Latin?
Did Boethius write in Classical, Late, or Medieval Latin? His style does not appear medieval in the Peter of Spain sense of Medieval Latin; however, it does not appear to be classical in the ...
7
votes
1answer
483 views
Hominem super hominem
I'm really struggling with a passage in a 12th century manuscript extolling the virtues of studying astrology that I'm working on for my thesis. The sentence is:
De huius utilitate autem superfluum ...
