Aldhelm Riddle 57: Aquila
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022“Armiger infausti Iovis et raptor Ganimidis”
Quamquam pellaces cantarent carmine vates,
Non fueram praepes, quo fertur Dardana proles,
Sed magis in summis cicnos agitabo fugaces
Arsantesque grues proturbo sub aetheris axe.
Corpora dum senio corrumpit fessa vetustas,
Fontibus in liquidis mergentis membra madescunt;
Post haec restauror praeclaro lumine Phoebi.
“The esquire of unfortunate Jove and abductor of Ganymede”
Deceitful poets may sing of me in their verses,
But I was not that bird by which the Trojan youth was brought,
Rather, I chase fleeing swans high in the air
And I drive away rattling cranes beneath the pole of the heavens.
While weary old age destroys my body with decline,
My limbs grow wet, dipped into liquid streams;
After this I am restored by the brilliant light of Phoebus.
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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