en en en en en en en hu la en en en de en en en en ro en la en la en en en it en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en de en en en en en en en en fr pt en it en ca it en de it fr it en de en fr it it it en en en it en de pt la ceb ceb it it en sv en en ca nl sv sv en fr it en en it it it en de en en en en en fr it pt en fr en de pt en it en en la ceb it en ru en en en en cs en en en cs cs da en da cs en en cs da en en en cs cs da en da cs en en cs cs en en en fr cs da en da cs en en cs da en en en en en en en en fr en en cs cs da en da cs en en cs cs en en en cs cs da en da cs en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en
The Latin reading blog: Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni: Charlemagne is a modest eater.
Einhard (c. 775 – March 14, 840, also known as Eginhard) had a humble background, but had the fortune to have attended the cloister school at Fulda, where he proved himself to be an excellent student. He got a position at the court, where he was responsible for building projects.
In the following chapter he tells about the eating and drinking habits of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was a modest eater and even a more modest drinker, but when Einhard tells that daily meal consisted of four dishes plus roast meat, I wonder what a lavish meal must have been. The three glasses of wine too at dinner might alarm the modern healthy living and detox mafia…
Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni 1.24 (first part):
In cibo et potu temperans, sed in potu temperantior, quippe qui ebrietatem in qualicumque homine, nedum in se ac suis, plurimum abhominabatur. Cibo enim non adeo abstinere puterat, ut saepe quereretur noxia corpori suo esse ieiunia. Convivabatur rarissime, et hoc praecipuis tantum festivitatibus, tunc tamen cum magno hominum numero. Caena cotidiana quaternis tantum ferculis praebebatur, praeter assam, quam venatores veribus inferre solebant, qua ille libentius quam ullo alio cibo vescebatur. Inter caenandum aut aliquod acroama aut lectorem audiebat. Legebantur ei historiae et antiquorum res gestae. Delectabatur et libris sancti Augustini, praecipueque his qui de civitate Dei praetitulati sunt. Vini et omnis potus adeo parcus in bibendo erat, ut super caenam raro plus quam ter biberet.
ac suis: i.e. his household
abhominor abhominatus sum: to detest
queror questus sum: to complain
noxia ieiunia esse: fasting (ieiunia) to be harmful
convivor convivatus sum: to organize a banquette
caena = cena: meal
praebeo praebui praebitum: to offer, supply
ferculum: means of carrying, dish
assa: roast meat (in Classical Latin assum.)
venator –oris (m.): hunter
veru verus (n.): spit
acraoma: piece of music (Greek loanword )
delector (+ abl.): to delight in (in Classical Latin the active is used.)
De Civitate Dei: This work, written by Augustine after the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410, concentrates on the difference between this world and the spiritual world of God. It has a loose structure and is not one of the most coherent books ever written, so I wonder if Charlemagne could grasp it.
super caenum:  during dinner
parcus bibendo: moderate in the drinking of
Charlemagne and Charles V (1500- 1555) depicted together in the first printed edition of the Vita Karoli Magni (Cologne 1521).
Posted by Leo Tepper at 14:25
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
There was an error in this gadget
caesarius of heisterbach (1)
early christian latin (1)
gregory of tours (6)
johannis de capua (2)
paulinus of nola (1)
pliny the younger (4)
Walter of Châtillon (1)
Phaedrus 2.2: two women.
Historia Augusta: Hadrian has to deal with old me...
Sulpicia 1: I am in love!
Caesar De Bello Gallico V.14: A curious custom.
Septem Sapientium Historia: a sad story.
Seneca, Medea 579-594: the psyche of a furious wom...
Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni: Charlemagne is a modes...
These blogs are meant for anyone interested in Latin and are the result of my own curiosity. Have f
View my complete profile
Lucretius I.80-101: tantum religio potuit suadere malorum or on the crimes of religion.
The Roman poet Lucretius (99-55 BC) was a follower of the Greek philosopher Epicurus   (341-270 BC). Epicurus did not believe in gods a...
An early Cristmas post.
I know it is still a bit early for Christmas posts, but a befriended cellist and leader of a baroque ensemble asked me to translate the...
Martial, Liber Speculatorum VII. A gruesome scene at the arena.
I n this poem Martial describes the performance of a mimus in the amphitheatre.  A mimus is a kind of play with often comic situations es...
Carmina Burana 211: My belly is my god!
Whenever the Carmina Burana is mentioned, the music by Carl Orff will come to mind. It is less known that Orff only orchestrated 24 of t...
Paulus Diaconus, Historia Longobardorum 1.4: the miracle of the seven sleepers
During the great migrations of the 4 th -6 th century, the Roman empire, or rather what was left of it, was invaded by Germanic tribes...
Propertius 2.12: war with Amor.
This week I returned from a short holiday to Normandy and Brittany.   A lovely countryside with many remains from the Middle Ages and m...
Some Roman Epitaphs. Memento mori!
Whenever I see an old church, I walk around the graveyard, reading the inscriptions on the graves, provided they have not faded away thro...
Propertius 3,12: Don't join the army!
In 22 BC a certain Postumus was about to enter the army for an expedition to Armenia. Augustus wanted to confront the Persians there ...
Song of songs: Nigra sum, sed formosa!
Some time ago I saw a documentary on Dutch television about a new trend amongst dark skinned women, namely to use cream to whiten their...
Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis c. 61 and 62. A were-wolf story....
This extract is from the Cena Trimalchionis  `Trimalchio’s Dinner’, which is a part of the Satyricon written by Petronius Arbiter (27-66)...
There was an error in this gadget
Watermark theme. Powered by Blogger.