The challenge: Translate the title of your favourite album, and all the track names, into Latin.
1. use a dictionary only when you get stuck
2. post in the comments, including how long it took you and any new words you've learnt
3. Try and guess the identity of the albums above you.
Bellator Apud Finem Temporis
I. Impetusque Vis (as this is a legal term, I wonder if there is a better Roman equivalent?)
II. Aurea Inanitas
III. Cum Magus Cornuam Suam Canebat
IV. Opus-Lokus (OK, so no real translation)
V. Vir Demens
VI. Magnus (Again, nonsense so no real translation)
VII. Stans Apud Finem
VIII. Intortus Universus
IX. Bellatores
X. Moriens Mares
XI. Reges Celaritatis
Online
Vicipaedia - a Latin wikipedia
Nuntii Latini - the News in Latin, complete with podcast
Schola - Myspacey social network thing entirely in the lingua latina (be my friend)
Authors
The Ovid collection
Catallus online - metres, different, translations, line by line comparisons, biographies, a forum. First stop for Catallus.
Original Latin online
The Latin Library
Project Libellus
Translations online
Poetry In Translation - Latin, Greek and many other languages
Links to Links
The Latin library
Literary resources at The Rome Project
More nice links, focused towards learning
Very good link list, excellent for learning resources
One thing I've long saught for on the web is themed Latin vocab lists, so I'm filling the gap myself.
The Paraklausithyron is the song sung by a poet while rattling at the door of his mistress' house and begging to be let in, and evolved into a mini-genre of Latin Love poetry. He has usually just left a party, tends to be tipsy and is never successful. Typical features include:
- addresses to mistress, doorkeeper and door - pleas, threats, prayers, bargaining e.t.c.
- personification of the door itself
- Description of the door, the building, the time of night, and especially...
- ...complaints about the weather.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/289473?seq=1
A lot of the vocab is typical love elegy stuff - burning, pallor, Amor - but screaming at the door of your beloved does require some specialised vocabulary, the best of which is listed below:
Some paraklausithyrons to get you started:
Ovid Amores 1.6 - the poet bargains with the door and doorkeeper
Catallus 67 - a dialogue between the poet and door - uses the paraclausithyron form as a jumping off point, as the door gossips about the people of the house
Horace Odes 3.10 - address to the mistress.
Horace Odes 3.26 - threatening the mistress with the fact she is getting old, and one day no one will wait outside her door any more. Particularly bitchy.
Tibullus 1.2 - possibly the whole thing takes place in an inebriated dream. Though set off by addresses to the closed door, it also contains some great digressions - including a description of a witch.
Propertius 1.16 - from the perspective of the door.
I'm not so familiar with Greek poetry - can you offer any examples for the list?
Any examples of modern songs on the same theme? I can only think of Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
The Door
ianua, ae (f) - front door, entrance
posticum (nt) - back door
fores (fpl) - double doors
postis, is (m) - doorpost - plural often means "door"
limen, inis (n) - crosspiece, threshold, border, house
lignum, i (n) - gathered wood, wooden things, here i.e. door
robur, oris (n) - oak wood, a structure made of wood
Catena, ae (f) - chain, fetter, shackle, constraint
Cardo, inis (m) - hinge, pivot, socket
Tigillum, i (n) - little beam of wood, lintel
claustra, orum (n) - a lock bar, bolt
sera, ae (f) - a bar, cross bolt, lock
The Cast
ianitor, oris (m) - doorkeeper, porter
custos, odis (m and f) - guard, watcher, preserver, defender, jailer
custodia, ae (f) - a watch, guard, protection
The exclusus amator typically turns up drunk, singing and wearing garlands. Some useful words:
fax, facis (f) - torch, firebrand, light
corona, ae (f) - garland, wreath
vinum (nt) - wine
merum (nt) - undiluted wine
serta, orum (n) - garland, wreath
And of course:
coniunx, iugis (m) - spouse
vir, virorum/virum (m) - human male, but here means husband/master
Inclement Weather
I will be doing a full post on Roman weather at some other time. Look out for frost, gales and the threatening approach of dawn.
nox, is (f) - night
umbra, ae (f) - shadow
tenebrae, arum (f) - darkness
sidus, eris (n) - star
Some good adjectives
pervigil, is - ever watchful
saevus - fierce, cruel, savage
apertus - open
semiapertus, semiadapertus - half open
fultus - from fulcio - to prop up, support, prop up
rigidus - stiff, hard, inflexible
rigens - stiff, inflexible, unbending
Durus - hard, unyielding, harsh, impenetrable
Robustus - oak wood, made of oak
Aesculeus - of the oak
Some good verbs
tundo, tutudi, tunsus - beat, strike, thump
rigeo, ere- be stiff, freeze, stand solid
claudo, si, sus, ere - to shut, close, shut up
oppono, posui, positus - set against, oppose, i.e. closed
aperire, patefacere - open (note: don't expect this to happen in a paraclausithyron...)
Labels: Themed Vocab Lists