Aldhelm Riddle 33: Lorica
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022Roscida me genuit gelido de viscere tellus;
Non sum setigero lanarum vellere facta,
Licia nulla trahunt nec garrula fila resultant
Nec crocea Seres texunt lanugine vermes
Nec radiis carpor duro nec pectine pulsor;
Et tamen en vestis vulgi sermone vocabor.
Spicula non vereor longis exempta faretris.
The dewy earth birthed me from frozen innards;
I am not made from the bristly sheep’s wool,
No threads are drawn nor do noisy strings thrum,
Nor do Chinese silk-worms weave me from golden plant-down,
I am not plucked from the spinning wheel nor struck by the hard carding comb;
And yet, behold, I am called “clothing” in the vulgar tongue.
I do not fear sharp weapons taken out of long quivers.
Notes:
This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.
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