en en en en en la la la nb en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en it en de en en en en en en en en en 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 de cs da en da cs en en cs da en en en en cs da en da cs en en en en en en en en en en 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: Eugippius: How Severinus saves the bodies of some soldiers.
Severinus of Noricum (c. 410 – 8 January 482) lived, as his name already suggests, at Noricum, a Roman province covering parts of modern Austria and Slovenia, which had the Danube as northern boundary.  He was originally not from Noricum, but came there in order to preach. He also established what we would now call refugee camps for the population which had to flee because of the constant fighting at that area, as Huns and later Germanic tribes crossed the Danube. He soon got influence and respect and founded various congregations. After his death a Vita Sancti Severini was written by Eugippius. It is however far from sure whether Eugippius had known Severinus personally. Though this vita is mainly concerned with the miracles of Severinus, it provides also information about the situation at the Danube during that time. In the following passage it is revealed to Severinus that bodies of slaughtered Roman soldiers are floating in a river. He orders some bystanders to hurry to the river in order to collect the bodies for a proper burial.
Eugippius, Vita Sancti Severini, caput XX
XX. Quomodo ei militum fuerit interfectio revelata, propter quorum corpora sepelienda suos ignorantes direxit ad fluvium.
Per idem tempus, quo Romanum constabat imperium, multorum milites oppidorum pro custodia limitis publicis stipendiis alebantur. Qua consuetudine desinente simul militares turmae sunt deletae cum limite, Batavino utcumque numero perdurante. Ex quo perrexerant quidam ad Italiam extremum stipendium commilitonibus allaturi, quos in itinere peremptos a barbaris nullus agnoverat. Quadam ergo die, dum in sua cellula sanctus legeret Severinus, subito clauso codice cum magno coepit lacrimare suspirio. Astantes iubet ad fluvium properanter excurrere, quem in illa hora humano firmabat cruore respergi, statimque nuntiatum est corpora praefatorum militum fluminis impetu ad terram fuisse delata.
sepelio sepelivi sepultum: to burry
consto: to exist (Eugippius wrote at a time when Rome had fallen to the Goths.)
pro custodia limitis: for defence of the limes (The Danube alone was not enough for a defence as in wintertime the frozen Danube was easily crossed by invading tribes.)
publicis stipendiis alebantur: were paid with public money (When this ceased – see the next line – soldiers had no reason to stay there. It must be kept in mind that the Roman army at that time mainly depended on mercenaries, often themselves Germanics.)
Qua consuetudine desinente: when this custom ceased (The Roman economy had virtually collapsed!)
turma: troop (of 30 horsemen), squadron
deleta: not destroyed, but disintegrate, cease to exist
Batavino numero: the Batavian squadron (numerus is a Late Latin word for squadron. As the name indicates, this squadron consisted of Germanic military. As these troops were assigned to a certain place to defend, it also denotes the place at the limes.)
perduro: endure, hold on
pergo perrexi perrectum: to pursue with energy, be on their way
extremum stipendium commilitonibus allaturi: to fetch the latest salary for their fellow soldiers (Probably they had not been paid for months.)
perimo peremi peremptum: to destroy, kill
cellula: cell for a monk
quem in illa hora humano firmabat cruore respergi: which (river) he declared at that moment to be besprinkled  with human blood
Posted by Leo Tepper at 05:58
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)
Eugippius: How Severinus saves the bodies of some ...
Propertius 2,29b: Checking on Cynthia.
Waltharius 358-379: a morning after delusion...
Paulus Diaconus: on the danger of the river Marits...
Carmina Leodiensia 4: in praise of spring!
Tacitus, Annales 14,35: The speech of queen Boudic...
Propertius 3,24: love makes blind, but there is ho...
Erasmus has some good advice for the maid of his l...
Camnia Burana 152: a beautiful summer!
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.