Date: Mon 26 Jul 2021
Original text:
Vitae perpetuae vernans cum floribus almis,
Inclita cum sanctis virtutum gesto coronam,
Regis saeclorum matrem comitata Mariam,
Gaudens quae genuit proprium paritura parentem,
5 Impia qui proprio salvavit sanguine saecla.
Nuncupor angelicis et sum germana ministris,
Ignea conculcans spernendo ludicra luxus.
Tollitur in caelum rumor meus ante tribunal,
Almae martyrii dum gestant serta sorores;
10 Sanctorum frontem praecingens floribus orno,
Aurea flammigeris tranent ut ad astra coronis.
Igneus ut Phoebus splendentes sidera supra,
Tangor non pullis maculis speciosa virago.
Hac auri vinco specie gemmata metalla,
15 Virgine me facie quia non est pulchrior ulla.
Me cives caeli clamant: “clarissima virgo,
In terris longe fueras, soror inclita, salve!”
Lucida perpetuae expectant me premia vitae,
Internusque dies atque inmutabile tempus,
20 Vivida quique mei proiecit foedera iuris.
Mentis eius non ingredior habitacula demum.
Translation:
Flourishing with the bountiful flowers of perpetual life,
and famous, I wear the crown of virtues with the saints,
an escort to Mary, mother of the king of the world,
who, pregnant and rejoicing, gives birth to her own parent,
5 who saved the impious world with his own blood.
I am and I am called the sister to angelic servants,
I despise and I spurn trifling, burning luxury.
My reputation is carried up to the court in heaven
whilst my kind sisters carry the garlands of martyrdom;
10 I crown and adorn the head of the saints with flowers,
so that they can fly to the golden stars with fiery crowns,
Like Phoebus, shining above the stars.
I am a beautiful virgin, untouched by dark stains.
I best the sparkling metals with this kind of gold,
15 because none appear more beautiful than me, a virgin.
The people of heaven call out, “Brightest maiden,
you have long been in the world—welcome, famous sister!”
They await the shining rewards of everlasting life with me,
the day yet to be revealed and time immutable.
20 If anyone has cast away the life-bearing covenant of my law,
I do not enter the dwelling-place of their mind after that.
Click to show riddle solution?
Virginity
Notes: This edition is based on Ernst Dümmler, (ed.). Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, Volume 1. Berlin, MGH/Weidmann, 1881. Pages 1-15. Available online here.
Note that this riddle appears as No. 10 (De virtutibus) in Glorie’s edition and No. 10 in Orchard’s edition.
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Commentary for Lorsch Riddle 5
NEVILLEMOGFORD
Date: Mon 07 Jun 2021Matching Riddle: Lorsch Riddle 5
I wanted to introduce this riddle with an appropriate pun, but unfortunately it was in very pour taste. That’s because the solution is a cup, probably of wine.
As with many of the Lorsch riddles, the subject is not a particularly original one. The eighth century churchman and poet, Aldhelm, wrote a riddle on a cup (Riddle 80). Cups also appear as solutions in Bern Riddle 6) and probably Exeter Book Riddles 11 and 59 too. Riddles on wine include Symphosius Riddles 82 and 83, Bern Riddles 13 and 63, and Aldhelm Riddle 78.
Interestingly, this is one of only two Lorsch riddle that are written in the third person—the other is Riddle 7. #LatinGrammarFanclub members will have noticed that although these adjectives are singular, all subsequent nouns, verbs, and adjectives are in the plural. In my translation, I have rendered this “poetic plural” in the singular.
The riddle begins by describing the cup as lucidus (“clear, glorious”) and laetus (“happy, luxuriant”), as it takes on the persona of the drinker. It is as if the wine cup is the life of the party! It “often sits with five limbs” (saepe solent quinis considere ramis)—this does not describe the creature’s arms and legs, but rather the five digits of the hand that hold it. This seems to be a variant of a common riddle motif that describes the fingers used for writing and other activities as three mysterious creatures—I mention this in my commentary on Bern Riddle 25. As with other alcohol riddles, there is a sense that the drink is always in command, even as it is held in the hand. The wine “commands” or “demands” (iubrere) drinkers to be joyous, when aedibus in mediis, literally “in public houses or halls.” Sadly, I am writing this commentary in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so I haven’t visited one of these places for quite some time. Even though I rarely drink alcohol, I am very jealous of the cup right now!
We saw that Lorsch Riddles 2 and 3 juxtaposed the images of freedom and capture to create apparent paradoxes. Line 4 does something similar, telling us that the cup “plays” (ludere) and yet is also “held” (teneri). It then goes on to describe drinking as kissing—this is another common trope in early medieval riddles. The riddle’s use of quin (“even”) suggests that this is intended to be mildly salacious and risqué, with the sense of “he even kisses people!”
The tone changes notably in lines 6 and 7, when the cup’s draught has been drained, and tantumque remanet adhaerens / lucidus in ramis (“only a gleaming residue remains on the limbs”). The tone is an unmistakably nostalgic one—in a similar way, when all the joy of the party has passed, only glorious memories remain… and for those who have overdone it, a hangover too!
Related Posts:
Commentary for Exeter Riddle 11
Exeter Riddle 59
Bern Riddle 6: De calice
Bern Riddle 13: De vite
Bern Riddle 63: De vino