Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth
In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.
A Medieval Latin Hymn to the Goddess of Love
A few posts back, I posted the text of a medieval Latin hymn to the Goddess of Love from the 13th century “Little Renaissance.” At the time, I included a literal translation, but declined to translate it into poetry on the grounds that I couldn't do it justice.
What I had unwittingly done, of course, was to set myself a challenge.
(In the unlikely event that you've ever wondered what poets do while lying awake at night, you now know.)
So here's the best that I can do with it. You can even sing it to the same tune.
Well, kind of.
Ave Formosissima
Ave formosissima,
gemma pretiosa;
ave decus virginum,
virgo gloriosa.
Ave lumen luminum,
ave mundi rosa:
Blanziflor et Helena,
Venus generosa!
Maiden Most Glorious
Hail Fair and Fairest
Jewel Most Precious
Foremost of Maidens
Maiden Most Glorious
Hail Light of Lights
Flower of Being
Beauty of Beauties
Love, Lady Love
Translation: © Steven Posch, based on Ave Formosissima (from Carmina Burana ca. 1230)
Tune: Medieval (Piae Cantiones, 1582)
Above: Venus (detail)
Sandro Botticelli, Primavera (ca. 1475)
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