Waltharius1 - Revision history

Andrew Parchman at 05:13, 16 December 2009

2009-12-16T05:13:29Z

Andrew Parchman at 05:11, 16 December 2009

2009-12-16T05:11:46Z

Bjorn Kuhnicke at 19:43, 14 December 2009

2009-12-14T19:43:12Z

Jan Ziolkowski: /* Introduction: the Huns (1–12) */

2009-12-13T22:45:42Z

‎Introduction: the Huns (1–12)

Julian Yolles: /* Introduction: the Huns (1–12) */

2009-12-13T20:28:20Z

‎Introduction: the Huns (1–12)

Andrew Parchman at 01:03, 12 December 2009

2009-12-12T01:03:13Z

Andrew Parchman at 00:59, 12 December 2009

2009-12-12T00:59:20Z

Andrew Parchman at 23:47, 11 December 2009

2009-12-11T23:47:37Z

Andrew Parchman at 23:32, 11 December 2009

2009-12-11T23:32:33Z

Andrew Parchman at 23:30, 11 December 2009

2009-12-11T23:30:02Z

@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=DDSSDS}}
-|{{Comment| The poet here does not borrow any of the exact language of Aeneid [1.257-258 or JZ]6.852 but he does not need to. The allusion to the Virgilian and Roman dictum to "spare the vanquished and crush the proud," an ideal for the imperial Roman leader, is overt. By ascribing this very Roman and ipso facto admirable trait to Attila and the Huns, the poet departs from the view in the ancient Roman's mind of the Huns the scourge of the Roman Empire. <br />This characteristic is factually accurate. Attila and the Huns destroyed many enemy armies, yet they also spared defeated foes in order to exact tribute from them. Indeed, at the very gates of Rome Attila is said to have turned back at the sight of Pope Leo I.}}
+|{{Comment| The poet here does not borrow any of the exact language of Aeneid, most notably at 6.852 yet also at 1.257-258, but he does not need to. The allusion to the Virgilian and Roman dictum to "spare the vanquished and crush the proud," an ideal for the imperial Roman leader, is overt. By ascribing this very Roman and ipso facto admirable trait to Attila and the Huns, the poet departs from the view in the ancient Roman's mind of the Huns the scourge of the Roman Empire. <br />This characteristic is factually accurate. Attila and the Huns destroyed many enemy armies, yet they also spared defeated foes in order to exact tribute from them. Indeed, at the very gates of Rome Attila is said to have turned back at the sight of Pope Leo I.}}
 |-
 |[[Ultra]] [[millenos]] [[fertur]] [[dominarier]] [[annos]].

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 | {{Comment|The opening line of the poem refers to the ancient notion "that the whole earth consists of three divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya" (Herodotus, 2.16). Not only does it set the general stage of action for the poem (which is Europe) but it is also reminiscent of the opening to Caesar's "De Bello Gallico", "Gallia est omnes divisa in patres tres" (All of Gaul is divided into three parts). The author did not know Greek, however, and most likely was not familiar with Caesar's work. Isidore of Seville's Etymologies XIV.2 was probably more influential, "Divisus est autem trifarie: e quibus una pars Asia, altera Europa, tertia Africa nuncupatur" (It is divided into three parts, one of which is called Asia, the second part Europe, the third Africa). <br />"Fratres": not only does the address "brothers" suggest the possibility of the poem's intended monastic audience, it is also one of the few times in the poem the reader is addressed directly. There is the possibility as well that "fratres" could be taken in the sense of universal brotherhood and would hence include women.
-'''Edoardo D'Angelo (1991, p. 166-167) sees here the influence of Lucan, and quotes 9.411-417 from the Bellum Civile: "tertia pars rerum Libye, si credere famae / cuncta uelis; at, si uentos caelumque sequaris, / pars erit Europae. nec enim plus litora Nili / quam Scythicus Tanais primis a Gadibus absunt, / unde Europa fugit Libyen et litora flexu / Oceano fecere locum; sed maior in unam / orbis abit Asiam." JJTY''' '''For the wording of the first half line, the likeliest source of inspiration would be Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.372 "agitur pars tertia mundi" (noted recently by Ruben Florio [2002, p. 3]) JZ I recall that a few lines later on Ovid mentions various peoples that are distinguished in language, religion and cultus - this might offer some commentary material on Line 2-3 of Walth - yet I was not able to look at this again and just recall it from reading it years ago. BK'''}}
+'''Edoardo D'Angelo (1991, p. 166-167) sees here the influence of Lucan, and quotes 9.411-417 from the Bellum Civile: "tertia pars rerum Libye, si credere famae / cuncta uelis; at, si uentos caelumque sequaris, / pars erit Europae. nec enim plus litora Nili / quam Scythicus Tanais primis a Gadibus absunt, / unde Europa fugit Libyen et litora flexu / Oceano fecere locum; sed maior in unam / orbis abit Asiam." JJTY''' '''For the wording of the first half line, the likeliest source of inspiration would be Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.372 "agitur pars tertia mundi" (noted recently by Ruben Florio [2002, p. 3]) JZ'''}}
 |-
 |[[Moribus]] [[ac]] [[linguis]] [[varias]] [[et]] [[nomine]] [[gentes]]

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 | {{Comment|The opening line of the poem refers to the ancient notion "that the whole earth consists of three divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya" (Herodotus, 2.16). Not only does it set the general stage of action for the poem (which is Europe) but it is also reminiscent of the opening to Caesar's "De Bello Gallico", "Gallia est omnes divisa in patres tres" (All of Gaul is divided into three parts). The author did not know Greek, however, and most likely was not familiar with Caesar's work. Isidore of Seville's Etymologies XIV.2 was probably more influential, "Divisus est autem trifarie: e quibus una pars Asia, altera Europa, tertia Africa nuncupatur" (It is divided into three parts, one of which is called Asia, the second part Europe, the third Africa). <br />"Fratres": not only does the address "brothers" suggest the possibility of the poem's intended monastic audience, it is also one of the few times in the poem the reader is addressed directly. There is the possibility as well that "fratres" could be taken in the sense of universal brotherhood and would hence include women.
-'''Edoardo D'Angelo (1991, p. 166-167) sees here the influence of Lucan, and quotes 9.411-417 from the Bellum Civile: "tertia pars rerum Libye, si credere famae / cuncta uelis; at, si uentos caelumque sequaris, / pars erit Europae. nec enim plus litora Nili / quam Scythicus Tanais primis a Gadibus absunt, / unde Europa fugit Libyen et litora flexu / Oceano fecere locum; sed maior in unam / orbis abit Asiam." JJTY''' '''For the wording of the first half line, the likeliest source of inspiration would be Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.372 "agitur pars tertia mundi" (noted recently by Ruben Florio [2002, p. 3]) JZ'''}}
+'''Edoardo D'Angelo (1991, p. 166-167) sees here the influence of Lucan, and quotes 9.411-417 from the Bellum Civile: "tertia pars rerum Libye, si credere famae / cuncta uelis; at, si uentos caelumque sequaris, / pars erit Europae. nec enim plus litora Nili / quam Scythicus Tanais primis a Gadibus absunt, / unde Europa fugit Libyen et litora flexu / Oceano fecere locum; sed maior in unam / orbis abit Asiam." JJTY''' '''For the wording of the first half line, the likeliest source of inspiration would be Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.372 "agitur pars tertia mundi" (noted recently by Ruben Florio [2002, p. 3]) JZ I recall that a few lines later on Ovid mentions various peoples that are distinguished in language, religion and cultus - this might offer some commentary material on Line 2-3 of Walth - yet I was not able to look at this again and just recall it from reading it years ago. BK'''}}
 |-
 |[[Moribus]] [[ac]] [[linguis]] [[varias]] [[et]] [[nomine]] [[gentes]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 |{{Pictures|[[image:Waltharius-Line-1.png|center|thumb]]}}
 |{{Meter|scansion=DSSSDS}}
-| {{Comment|The opening line of the poem refers to the ancient notion "that the whole earth consists of three divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya" (Herodotus, 2.16). Not only does it set the general stage of action for the poem - Europe - it also reminiscent of the opening to Caesar's "De Bello Gallico", "Gallia est omnes divisa in patres tres," (All of Gaul is divided into three parts). The author did not know Greek, however, and most likely was not familiar with Caesar's work. Isidore of Seville's Etymologies XIV.2 was probably more influential, "Divisus est autem trifarie: e quibus una pars Asia, altera Europa, tertia Africa nuncupatur." (It is divided into three parts, one of which is called Asia, the second part Europe, the third Africa) <br />"Fratres": not only does the address "brothers" suggest the possibility of the poem's intended monastic audience, it is also one of the few times in the poem the reader is addressed directly. There is the possibility as well that "fratres" could be taken in the sense of universal brotherhood and would hence include women.
+| {{Comment|The opening line of the poem refers to the ancient notion "that the whole earth consists of three divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya" (Herodotus, 2.16). Not only does it set the general stage of action for the poem (which is Europe) but it is also reminiscent of the opening to Caesar's "De Bello Gallico", "Gallia est omnes divisa in patres tres" (All of Gaul is divided into three parts). The author did not know Greek, however, and most likely was not familiar with Caesar's work. Isidore of Seville's Etymologies XIV.2 was probably more influential, "Divisus est autem trifarie: e quibus una pars Asia, altera Europa, tertia Africa nuncupatur" (It is divided into three parts, one of which is called Asia, the second part Europe, the third Africa). <br />"Fratres": not only does the address "brothers" suggest the possibility of the poem's intended monastic audience, it is also one of the few times in the poem the reader is addressed directly. There is the possibility as well that "fratres" could be taken in the sense of universal brotherhood and would hence include women.
-'''Edoardo D'Angelo (1991, p. 166-167) sees here the influence of Lucan, and quotes 9.411-417 from the Bellum Civile: "tertia pars rerum Libye, si credere famae / cuncta uelis; at, si uentos caelumque sequaris, / pars erit Europae. nec enim plus litora Nili / quam Scythicus Tanais primis a Gadibus absunt, / unde Europa fugit Libyen et litora flexu / Oceano fecere locum; sed maior in unam / orbis abit Asiam." JJTY'''}}
+'''Edoardo D'Angelo (1991, p. 166-167) sees here the influence of Lucan, and quotes 9.411-417 from the Bellum Civile: "tertia pars rerum Libye, si credere famae / cuncta uelis; at, si uentos caelumque sequaris, / pars erit Europae. nec enim plus litora Nili / quam Scythicus Tanais primis a Gadibus absunt, / unde Europa fugit Libyen et litora flexu / Oceano fecere locum; sed maior in unam / orbis abit Asiam." JJTY''' '''For the wording of the first half line, the likeliest source of inspiration would be Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.372 "agitur pars tertia mundi" (noted recently by Ruben Florio [2002, p. 3]) JZ'''}}
 |-
 |[[Moribus]] [[ac]] [[linguis]] [[varias]] [[et]] [[nomine]] [[gentes]]
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 |[[Inter]] [[quas]] [[gens]] [[Pannoniae1|Pannoniae]] [[residere]] [[probatur]],
+|
 |{{Commentary|''Pannonia'': Roman province in the north-west Balkans, according to the poet the homeland of the “Huns” (''Hunos'', line 5), a nomadic tribe that invaded Europe from the east, beginning around 370 A.D.
 }}
+|
@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=DSSDDS}}
-|{{Comment| Indeed, the Huns were a nomadic people who flourished not by building cities but by military prowess. Note how no literary record of the Huns exists, nor any real archaeological one beyond military equipment.}}
+|{{Comment| Indeed, the Huns were a nomadic people who flourished not by building cities but by military prowess. Note how the Huns left no literary record nor any real archaeological one beyond military equipment.}}
 |-
 |[[Non]] [[circumpositas]] [[solum]] [[domitans]] [[regiones]],
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=DDSSDS}}
-|{{Comment| The poet here does not borrow any of the exact language of Aeneid 6.852 but he does not need to. The allusion to the Virgilian and Roman dictum to "spare the vanquished and crush the proud," an ideal for the imperial Roman leader, is overt. By ascribing this very Roman and ipso facto admirable trait to Attila and the Huns, the poet departs from the view in the ancient Roman's mind of the Huns the scourge of the Roman Empire. <br />This characteristic is factually accurate. Attila and the Huns destroyed many enemy armies, yet they also spared defeated foes in order to exact tribute from them. Indeed, at the very gates of Rome Attila is said to have turned back at the sight of Pope Leo I.}}
+|{{Comment| The poet here does not borrow any of the exact language of Aeneid [1.257-258 or JZ]6.852 but he does not need to. The allusion to the Virgilian and Roman dictum to "spare the vanquished and crush the proud," an ideal for the imperial Roman leader, is overt. By ascribing this very Roman and ipso facto admirable trait to Attila and the Huns, the poet departs from the view in the ancient Roman's mind of the Huns the scourge of the Roman Empire. <br />This characteristic is factually accurate. Attila and the Huns destroyed many enemy armies, yet they also spared defeated foes in order to exact tribute from them. Indeed, at the very gates of Rome Attila is said to have turned back at the sight of Pope Leo I.}}
 |-
 |[[Ultra]] [[millenos]] [[fertur]] [[dominarier]] [[annos]].

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 |{{Pictures|[[image:Waltharius-Line-1.png|center|thumb]]}}
 |{{Meter|scansion=DSSSDS}}
-| {{Comment|The opening line of the poem refers to the ancient notion "that the whole earth consists of three divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya" (Herodotus, 2.16). Not only does it set the general stage of action for the poem - Europe - it also reminiscent of the opening to Caesar's "De Bello Gallico", "Gallia est omnes divisa in patres tres," (All of Gaul is divided into three parts). The author did not know Greek, however, and most likely was not familiar with Caesar's work. Isidore of Seville's Etymologies XIV.2 was probably more influential, "Divisus est autem trifarie: e quibus una pars Asia, altera Europa, tertia Africa nuncupatur." (It is divided into three parts, one of which is called Asia, the second part Europe, the third Africa) <br />"Fratres": not only does the address "brothers" suggest the possibility of the poem's intended monastic audience, it is also one of the few times in the poem the reader is addressed directly. There is the possibility as well that "fratres" could be taken in the sense of universal brotherhood and would hence include women. }}
+| {{Comment|The opening line of the poem refers to the ancient notion "that the whole earth consists of three divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya" (Herodotus, 2.16). Not only does it set the general stage of action for the poem - Europe - it also reminiscent of the opening to Caesar's "De Bello Gallico", "Gallia est omnes divisa in patres tres," (All of Gaul is divided into three parts). The author did not know Greek, however, and most likely was not familiar with Caesar's work. Isidore of Seville's Etymologies XIV.2 was probably more influential, "Divisus est autem trifarie: e quibus una pars Asia, altera Europa, tertia Africa nuncupatur." (It is divided into three parts, one of which is called Asia, the second part Europe, the third Africa) <br />"Fratres": not only does the address "brothers" suggest the possibility of the poem's intended monastic audience, it is also one of the few times in the poem the reader is addressed directly. There is the possibility as well that "fratres" could be taken in the sense of universal brotherhood and would hence include women.
 |-
 |[[Moribus]] [[ac]] [[linguis]] [[varias]] [[et]] [[nomine]] [[gentes]]

@@ Line 108: / Line 108: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=DSDDDS}}
-|{{Comment|Cf. note for line 10.}}
+|{{Comment| "antiquos triumphos": c. note on line 10; most likely "antiquos" should be read as 'ancient' or 'ancestral' as opposed to 'old', which would lend itself to the grandeur with which the poet tries to infuse the Huns. Attila is not attempting to rekindle the fame of his own younger days, but the younger days of his people.}}
 |-
 |}

@@ Line 81: / Line 81: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=DDSSDS}}
-|{{Comment| The poet is doing something strange here in ascribing the Virgilian and Roman dictum to "spare the vanquished and crush the proud," an ideal for the imperial Roman leader, to the Huns. This characteristic is factually accurate. (I need to do more work here on specific references) Attila and the Huns destroyed many enemy armies, yet they also spared defeated foes in order to exact tribute from them. Indeed, at the very gates of Rome Attila is said to have turned back at the sight of Pope Leo I. It is rather curious indeed that the Huns and Attila, the scourge of the Roman Empire in the ancient Roman's mind, is treated so favorably by the poet throughout.}}
+|{{Comment| The poet here does not borrow any of the exact language of Aeneid 6.852 but he does not need to. The allusion to the Virgilian and Roman dictum to "spare the vanquished and crush the proud," an ideal for the imperial Roman leader, is overt. By ascribing this very Roman and ipso facto admirable trait to Attila and the Huns, the poet departs from the view in the ancient Roman's mind of the Huns the scourge of the Roman Empire. <br />This characteristic is factually accurate. Attila and the Huns destroyed many enemy armies, yet they also spared defeated foes in order to exact tribute from them. Indeed, at the very gates of Rome Attila is said to have turned back at the sight of Pope Leo I.}}
 |-
 |[[Ultra]] [[millenos]] [[fertur]] [[dominarier]] [[annos]].
@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=SSSDDS}}
-|{{Comment| This is a case of hyperbole by the author. Perhaps (I need to do more research here), in the medieval mind the name Huns is a reference to an amalgamation of particular antique peripheral invaders, which might explain the reference in line 12 to Attila's wish to renew the "antiquos triumphos." In actuality the Hunnic empire came into existence in the west around 370 when they destroyed a tribe of Alans, and eventually petered out around 469 at the death of Dengizik, the succesor of Attila's son Ellak. }}
+|{{Comment| This is a case of hyperbole by the author. Perhaps in the medieval mind the name Huns is a reference to an amalgamation of particular antique peripheral invaders, which might explain the reference in line 12 to Attila's wish to renew the "antiquos triumphos." In actuality the Hunnic empire came into existence in the west around 370 when they destroyed a tribe of Alans, and eventually petered out around 469 at the death of Dengizik, the succesor of Attila's son Ellak. <br />Beginning here, but continued throughout the poem, the poet treats the Huns not as barbarians invaders but a strong, proud people with an illustrious history. By putting the Huns on relative par with the Romans (c. line 11) in the way they rule and duration of their "imperium", he strengthens the foundations of his own civilization. Were the Franks and other western European peoples defeated by a mere marauding hoard, there would be no nobility in recalling such story. However, given that the Huns are set up as a broad and powerful civilization, that they were eventually overcome becomes so much more impressive and heroic genesis of the poet's own times.}}
 |-
 |[[Attila1|Attila]] [[rex]] [[quodam1|quodam]] [[tulit]] [[illud1|illud]] [[tempore]] [[regnum]],

@@ Line 72: / Line 72: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=DDSSDS}}
-|{{Comment| At the height of its power, the Hunnic Empire stretched from the Caspian and Black Seas to the North Sea and even the Adriatic.}}
+|{{Comment| "oceani": 'Oceanus' in traditional mythology was the son of Uranus and Gaia and the personification of the great river that encircled the known world. Though the extent to which a Carolingian or near-Carolingian monk would have known geography beyond antiquity's understanding of it is unclear, the very same section of Isidore's Etymologies referenced in line 1 explicitly mentions Oceanus as encircling the globe. The Huns were a people of the inland steppes and plains. At the height of its power, the Hunnic Empire stretched from the Caspian and Black Seas to the North Sea and even the Adriatic, but never all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.}}
 |-
 |[[Foedera]] [[supplicibus]] [[donans]] [[sternensque]] [[rebelles1|rebelles]].

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 |{{PicturesCont}}
 |{{Meter|scansion=DSSDDS}}
-| {{Comment|"Hunos": The Huns first swept into Roman consciousness when, invading from the east, they displaced the Goths, who, as detailed by Ammianus Marcellinus, ended up decimating the Roman army at the Battle of Adrianople, now Edirne in northwest Turkey, in A.D. 378. The province of Pannonia from line 4 was actually ceded to the Huns in the mid-5th century by the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II after several major military defeats.<br /> "TO DO": delve more into the history of the western reception of the Huns, as well as their historical place in western and roman consciousness, etc...}}
+| {{Comment|"Hunos": The Huns first swept into Roman consciousness when, invading from the east, they displaced the Goths, who, as detailed by Ammianus Marcellinus, ended up decimating the Roman army at the Battle of Adrianople, now Edirne in northwest Turkey, in A.D. 378. The province of Pannonia from line 4 was actually ceded to the Huns in the mid-5th century by the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II after several major military defeats.}}
 |-
 |[[hic2|Hic]] [[populus]] [[fortis1|fortis]] [[virtute]] [[vigebat]] [[et]] [[armis]],
@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
+|
 |{{Meter|scansion=DSSDDS}}
-|{{Comment| Indeed, the Huns were a nomadic people who flourished not by building cities but by military prowess. Note how we have no literary record of the Huns nor any real archaeological one.}}
+|{{Comment| Indeed, the Huns were a nomadic people who flourished not by building cities but by military prowess. Note how no literary record of the Huns exists, nor any real archaeological one beyond military equipment.}}
 |-
 |[[Non]] [[circumpositas]] [[solum]] [[domitans]] [[regiones]],