2. tetigi: reduplicated pf. of tango
4. refici: pr. inf. pass. cpd. of facio discutiens: pr. ptcp. fem. nom. sing: "pondering" ?
5. michi = CL mihi
6. sepe = CL saepe
9. ubere levo = CL ubere laevo, left breast
10. scedam= CL strip, sheet; > Gk. cut, cf. "schizoid"
14. sollicitatus: anxious, upset by problems
17. insomnis: short second I, 3rd decl. adj, f. nom. sing. (Note the pun.)
19. prophetam: prophet, wise man, <Gk. Both pagan and Christian
20. colloquii: cpd. noun from col/cum and loq- stem: conversation, cf. colloquial morula: diminutive of mora, delay, wait. The -ula suffix is common.
21. preditus =CL praeditus, gifted with
22. quelibet = CL quaelibet, n. acc. pl. object of canit
23. que =CL quae, fem. nom. sing., modifies sapientia, "what wisdom of word"
24. calamo: reed, used for arrow, fishing-rod, pen < Gk.
26. et...et: transl. these correlatives as "both... and ....
27 meruisset: plpf. act. subj. from mereo [cf. EN "merit"], earn or deserve subj. in past c-to-f clause.
30. Aristotiles: agrees with multos, m. acc. pl., particular for the class of philosophers. Aristotle was considered the teacher of the Middle Ages
32. versus: 4th decl. m. acc. pl., obj. of "he sings"
33 Hystorias Grecas = CL historias Graecas, the works of Greek historians such as Herodotus and Thucydides
34. hec aut hec = CL haec aut haec, meaning "this or that"
35. metro < metrum, whence EN meter, poetic pattern (such as elegiacs)
37. Evaginato: cpd. of ex and vaginare, to remove from a scabbard mucrone: sword, mucro, mucronis
38. perculit: struck thoroughly or mightily [cf. EN percussion] ense <ensis, ensis, 3rd decl. parisyllabic, sword
40. despoliavit: cpd. verb, de + spoliare: to conquer the riches of [cf. EN despoil]
41. decipulas: "snares", not in Ovid, and rare, even in CL prose.
43. nugas: Catullan word for poetic "trifles," cf. EN nugatory.
gazas Pelasgas: the noun refers to very valuable cloth, like silk, and thence, any object of value; the adjective refers to a Greek word for a pre-Greek race, but the word is a convenient metrical equivalent for other words like Graecas.
44. penu: m. abl. sing, fourth declension, penus or "storehouse."
47. questio: ML for quaestio, issue.
51. de forme compositura: the first noun is genitive meaning a genre or type of literature, the second noun is abl. and not CL which uses compositio.
52. impar: opposite of par: equal, and here playing on the unequal elements of the distich, the pentameter being shorter than the hexameter.
57. carmine: the Latin word for poem also means song and spellbinding chant—indeed any words with a rhythmic enchantment, so a pun can be found here.
62. cassum: the "Void." fundo: I pour (3rd conj.), whence fuse, fusion
65. spetiosos: brilliant, attractive. ML substitutes T for C between certain vowels; cf. CL species.
66. perditus: the adj. can mean "lost" or actively "profligate" or "losing"
67. scedula: diminutive of a "sheet" of paper, whence EN schedule.
69. adesset: "could be present," impf. subj., present wish contrary to fact (volitive).
71. At: useful little word indicating strong change of direction, or indignation. Usually translated "but," although here I suggest "Don’t worry!"
72. circumstarent: impf. subj. act. in a concessive clause.
74. soror: "sister" here refers to a fellow nun in her order. See introd.
76. trivio: neut. noun can refer to a crossroads, or any public place or space, today perhaps a "mall."
78. multotiens: a ML cpd. of multo and totiens, etymologized "so many times."
80. rogito: frequentative form of rogo (1), "I ask for;" thus "I keep asking for"
81.sitibunda: sitis indicates "thirst" and -bunda supplies a frequent suffix indicating "full of" as in furibunda.
82. Pictava: adj. for a tribe mentioned in Caesar BG and Pliny NH, and here referring to the Poitou region (name derived from Pictones) in Aquitania (South of Britanny on the Atlantic coast).
83.idcirco: "for this purpose," "for this reason"
84. corrigerent, darent: impf. act. subjj. in rel. cls. of purpose
85. dissimulet: in Latin and English, simulate means to pretend to something that you are not, while dissimulate means to pretend you are not something that you are.
87.quid non timeam? pres. act. subj. in a deliberative (indep.) clause.
88. tutus...tuta: polyptoton = variation in gender, number, or case
89. fatigor: Not "I am tired" but "I am vexed or tormented."
91. rapiat: pres. subj. after timeo, obviously a subord. clause of fearing.
quilibet error: Latin is rich in indefinite pronouns. This one is "some such, whatever you like" mistake OR wandering. Error refers to "physical wandering" before "mental miscalculation."
92. uirgo/virgo: The substitution of V for consonantal U and J for consonantal I is a useful Mediaeval invention. In terms of semantics, the word refers to a female beyond puberty (not a mere puella, itself a diminutive of puer) but not married or otherwise engaged in vaginal intercourse. In English, the word "virgin" seems semi-technical, "maid" seems archaic or misleading (we are not talking about cleaning women), "babe" implies more sexual availability, so "girl" is perhaps the best translation, although the English word includes the prepubescent female. The problem is one indication of the limitations of all translations.
invidet auspiciis: the verb gives rise to EN "envy" but here refers to "grudges." The ancient concept of the "evil eye" is also relevant, a method for spellbinding erotic competitors. The noun here refers to a person’s rights and/or inclinations, a CL usage. More commonly the word refers to the art or science of reading the behaviors of birds.
94. pacta: < paciscor, p.perf.part. of "I convenant" and/or "I betroth," both relevant to the Amor of which Constantia here speaks.
96, 97. sue: credo and its compounds take a dative object, here CL suae.
99. fluctivago: poetic cmpd. meaning "wave-wandering" or "wave-tossed," found three times in Statius, but never in Catullus, Virgil, Horace, or Ovid.
deduxi: "to draw out or away," a term from spinning wool found frequently in poets influenced by the Alexandrian Callimachus such as Catullus and Ovid. Here it describes the making of poetry, something C. does during her long nights. Here however, she may refer simply to the tedium of sleepless nights.
100. referre: pr. act. inf. after licuit. It here amounts to "report, recall."
101. Aurora: Latin Dawn Goddess usu. imagined to ride in a chariot (4th decl.). She is characterized as bright in an adj. drawn from lux.
102. Arbuta: the wild-strawberry, hymned by Vergil in the Georgics, a paean to farming.
103. ceram: the wax smeared on writing tablets, used before Etch-a-Sketch, e-mail, post-its, even paper, as a reusable surface.
104. domino: C. again plays on the amatory/ecclesiastical tension. CL "master, possessor (cognate with EN tame, cf. domesticate), lord, host, husband, sexually dominant partner;" ML "seigneur, emperor, husband, Lord." Dominus is much rarer than domina in CL elegy, since the male poets inverted their usual male-dominated situation to claim their beloveds could control them. As René Pichon writes, in Latin, in his essential tool for reading Classical erotic elegiacs, Index Verborum Amatorium (1902; repr. 1966), "Domina saepe suam vim retinet imperiumque feminae in virum significat", but "Saepius vero domina nihil est nisi trita solitaque adpellatio qua amantes puellas suas salutant" (with many reff.).
106. sepe: CL saepe; virgineos ausus: 4th decl. acc. pl. as the adj. shows.
107. utinam: adv. introducing a wish
108. Carminis oda: probably the words of my poem. ode is the Greek word for a lyric poem, for which carmen is often the Latin equivalent. Perhaps the "words of my song."
109. dilecte meus: ML uses the nominative for the vocative, esp. with the first-person poss. adj., CL mi.
110-111. attribuam: jussive subj. The two occurrences of attribuam differ: the first is pres. subj. and the second is fut. indic. These two 1st pers. sing. forms of the 3rd and 4th conjugations are identical.
111-113. sic...sic...sic...casta...casta...casta: C. hammers home her points with anaphora. The sentences also exhibit "increasing tricolon" structure, each of the units capping the previous.
114. sponsa Dei: the betrothed of God, a phrase that resonates with much medieval Christian mysticism. See comm.
115. detestor: abominate or deprecate, but the word does not here mean "detest" (a so-called "false friend").
117. coheres: CL and mediaeval legal term: "sharers in an estate," co-heirs.
119. sponsa sui sponsi: English catches this gendering of words for betrothed with the French fiancée and fiancé.
121. Ius et lex: Rightness and law should protect and certainly allow their love.
123. columbinam: belonging to a pigeon or dove. See comm.
125. preponis...pretenderis: CL prae is often reduced to ML pre,as here. The first verb refers to preference, the second to pretence of a preference. The antithesis refers to either a reality or a game in which C. is rejected for another woman.
126. Scito: another peremptory f. imperat.
128. crimen is the subject of the two verbs.
129. falsiloquos: cmpd. adj. from falso and loqu- = speak.
131. Deus emendet, Deus in te corrigat: Latin places the object in the second clause where English feels the need to put it in the first.
132. Hec...cura: CL Haec; tui...immemorem: words referring to memory take a genitive object in Latin. Tui here serves as the gen. sing. of the 2nd p. prn.
135. tibi...credam credamque volenti: credo (I give faith to, <*cret + do) takes the dative case. Notice the chiastic structure (abba).
136. dictanti: frequentative form of dico, saying again and again, reminding, or protesting.
145. incassum: without profit/in vain
146. Subripiatque: pilfer, purloin, take away secretly (also spelled: surripio)
152. nullam maioris invenies fidei: gen. of quality, description. Fidelity is thematic to both B.’s and C.’s letters.
154. Fac, ut te videam: a jussive noun clause, "Make it happen that I see you," a common CL construction.
meque videre veni: in ML the infinitive to express purpose is common, but very rare in CL.
155. si possem...venirem: pres. contrary to fact clauses employ the impf. subj. "If I could, I would come"
pedes aut eques: Number and case? These words are masc. nom. sing. (a pedestrian or equestrian) and predicated of Constantia. "Unbidden I would come to you on foot or by horse."
156. honeri pena: ML for honori poena
157. Ringing further grammatical changes, she now says "I will come, if I will be able, I would have come, had I been able." Identify these standard forms of conditions and the moods and tenses used.
158. noverca: CL stepmother but here wittily C.’s ecclesiastical Mother Superior and guardian of her morals. seva =CL saeva, nasty.
159. custode: the word is used in CL elegy for the slave (usually male) who guarded a female’s chastity but here refers to an ecclesiastical guard.
161: Maturato...adesto: fut. imperative 2nd. sing. of adsum, cf. the Latin carol "Adeste, fideles," stronger than present imperative and more authoritative. Commonly found in Rome’s basic laws, The Twelve Tables, and later codes, and seen in the King James Translation of the Vulgate of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:13): "Thou shalt not kill." gradus: masc. acc. pl. "steps". visurus: fut. act. ptcpl. to express purpose.
162. Sumptus: acc. pl. masc., 4th decl., object of habes.
163. venias: subj. in indir. quest.
164. michi here refers to Baudri, since this line and the next couplet are words that C. puts in his mouth, as if he is looking for a convenient lie for visiting her.
164-165. presul.../ Clerus, abbates: three ranks of ecclesiastics who can command B.’s attendance: presul can signify a bishop, the pope, an abbot, or any "mighty man" (Niermeyr); clerus is a collective noun, "the clergy...a group of monks" (Niermeyer); abbates from abbas <Gk. < Syriac = Father, here nom. pl. As is common in Latin, the verb agrees with the nearer, singular subject.
166. res facienda: "business that must be transacted"
167. demens, like amens, refers to someone whose mind is not right, crazy, cf. EN demented
170. viscera: English love language speaks of "heart" rather than innards, but note that the KJ translation of Song of Solomon has the (woman) narrator write (Cant. 5:4) of what appears to be sexual intercourse "And my bowels were moved for him."
171. pigritaris: piger/ra/rum =CL reluctant, unfeeling, dilatory or slow. This verb is also found in Classical authors.
172. federis = CL foederis, < foedus, 3rd decl. word for pact, treaty, used metaphorically of love-bond, notably by Catullus and his successors. Inditium = CL indicium, "proof."
173. visere: frequentative of video, I see often, or more commonly, I visit.
langeo morbo: CL langueo, whence EN languish. Love as a disease is arguably the most common metaphor in CL sermo amatorius. This passage also echoes Canticles 2:5, 5:8 (Dronke). Lovesickness is more than a metaphor, to judge by both ancient elegy, ancient novels, and more recent products including Mississippi Delta Blues and teenaged miseries.
175. paveris: must mean "feed" and may be related to pabulum, fodder for animals or humans. The verb does not appear in Glare’s Oxford Latin Dictionary or in Niermeyer.
176. ipse: ML often uses forms of demonstratives and intensives where CL expects only the verb (with the pronoun understood, as in veni, vidi, vici)
177. nolique diu remorari: CL creates a prohibition or negative command with the imperative of nolo plus the infinitive or ne plus the perfect subjunctive.
177-78 Expectate...vocate: Two vocatives heighten the drama of
C.’s neediness and the final word, an imperative, summarizes the entire
text quite well. Cf. Penelope’s words at Ovid Heroides 1.2: ipse
veni.