Legenda Aurea, De Sancta Anastasia: a prefect deluded.

The Legenda Aurea is an inexhaustible source of anecdotes and miracles, often loosely connected and miracles performed by one saint, could easily have been performed by another. The following story is taken from the De Sancta Anastasia, but she plays no part in these story and it could almost be part of the vita every saint, except for hermits, as they don’t have servants and certainly not maids. This story is lacking in William Caxton’s translation and it could well be that it was not in his Latin text. Copyists and publishers of De Voragine’s Legenda have in due course inserted their own stories and - given the large number of manuscripts, prints and translations - it is almost impossible to establish a scholarly text. Years ago an edition was announced for the prestigious Fontes Christiani: I am still waiting.

acobus de Voragine, Legenda Aurea, De Sancta Anastasia (part)

aec habebat tres ancillas pulcherrimas, quae sorores erant. Quarum una dicebatur Agapete, altera Thionia et altera Irenia. Quae cum Christianae essent et praefecti monitis nullatenus oboedirent, in cubiculum eas reclusit, ubi coquinae utensilia servabantur. Praefectus autem in earum ardens amorem ad eas ivit, ut suam libidinem exerceret. Qui in amentiam versus putans se tractare virgines cacabos, patellas, caldaria et similia amplectens osculabatur et, cum ex hoc satiatus fuisset, foras exiit nigerrimus et deformis et vestimentis concisis. Quem servi, qui eum pro foribus exspectaverant, sic aptatum videntes cogitantes, quod in daemonem versus esset, eum verberibus affecerunt et fugientes solum reliquerunt. Cumque imperatorem adiret, ut de hoc conqueretetur, alii virgis percutiebant, alii lutum et pulverem in eum proiciebant suspicantes, quod in furiam versus esset. Oculi autem eius tenebantur, ne sic se deformem videret. Videbatur enim ei, quod ipse et omnes albis vestibus essent induti. Quapropter mirabatur plurimum, cum sic eum omnes deridebant, quem in tanto honore habere consueverant. Putans vero, cum sic se deformem ab aliis didicisset, quod puellae sibi per artem magicam hoc fecissent, iussit eas coram se exspoliari, ut eas saltem nudas aspiceret. Sed statim earum vestimenta sic corporibus adhaeserunt, ut nullo modo exui valerent. Praefectus autem prae admiratione ita obdormivit stertens, quod etiam a pulsantibus non poterat excitari.

haec: Anastasia
praefectus: prefect, governor (praefecti: no indication is given in the Legenda Aurea in which town Anastasia lived, but other sources name Sirnium, now in modern Serbia)
monitum: admonition
nulatenus: no way, by no means
cubiculum: room, chamber
recludo reclusi reclusum: in Classical Latin this word means `to open, reveal’, but in ML the meaning shifted to ‘to shut up’, cf English recluse `hermit’
coquina: kitchen
in amentiam versus: turned into madness
putans se tractare: thinking that he handled/grasped
cacabos, patellas, caldaria: cooking-pots, platters, pots for boiling
amplector amplexus: to embrace
osculor: to kiss
foras: outside
deformis: deformed, ugly
concido concidi concisus: to ruin, cut to pieces
pro foribus: in front of the door
sic aptatum: in such condition
verber verberis (n.): lash, whip
adiret: the praefectus
conqueror conquestus: to complain (bitterly)
virga: twig
percutio percussi percussum: to strike heavily
lutum: mud
furia: fury
oculi autem eius tenebantur, ne sic se deformem videret: his eyes though were in a condition that he could not see that he was deformed
albus: white
induo indui indutum (-ere): to dress
quapropter: therefor
plurimum: very much
consuesco consuevi consuetum: to be accustomed
cum sic se deformem ab aliis didicisset: when he had learnt from others that he was that ugly
per artem magicam: but in reality it was God or the Holy Ghost who protected these girls
coram: openly, in his presence
exspolio (-are): (here) to undress
saltem: at least
adhaereo adaesi (the perfect only in ML): to stick
exuo exui exutum: to take off
valeo valui: to be able
obdormio obdormivi obdormitum (-ire) = to sleep
sterto (-ere): to snore
pulso (-are): to beat, hammer
excito (-are): to wake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasia_of_Sirmium

Petronius: Cena Trimalchionis 66: what did you have for dinner?

The parvenu Trimalchio – possessing far more money than good taste - gives a lavish dinner. A certain Habinna arrives late as he had a dinner elsewhere first. Far from sober he enters the dining room, supported by his wife Scintilla. Trimalchio asks his newly arrived guest what he had had for dinner. What follows is a hilarious description, reminiscent of what nowadays can be seen at all you can eat restaurants or buffets at holiday resorts.
The writer of the Cena Trimalchionis – part of a larger work, the Satyricon - was Petronius Arbiter, a high official under Emperor Nero and a witty commentator of Roman society and the nouveaux riches – and a dandy himself and connoisseur of good taste (arbiter elegantiae). The narrator of the Cena Trimalchionis is his alter ego, the intellectual Encolpius. Petronius’ close connection with Nero turned out to be fatal: at some point Nero mistrusted everyone in his inner circle and so Petronius shared his fate with Seneca: enforced suicide.

Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, ch. 66

[LXVI] — Tamen, inquit Trimalchio, quid habuistis in cena? — Dicam, inquit, si potuero; nam tam bonae memoriae sum, ut frequenter nomen meum obliviscar. Habuimus tamen in primo porcum botulo coronatum et circa sangunculum et gizeria optime facta et certe betam et panem autopyrum de suo sibi, quem ego malo quam candidum; <nam> et vires facit, et cum mea re causa facio, non ploro. Sequens ferculum fuit sciribilita frigida et supra mel caldum infusum excellente Hispanum. Itaque de sciribilita quidem non minimum edi, de melle me usque tetigi. Circa cicer et lupinum, calvae arbitratu et mala singula. Ego tamen duo sustuli et ecce in mappa alligata habeo; nam si aliquid muneris meo vernulae non tulero, habebo convicium. Bene me admonet domina mea. In prospectu habuimus ursinae frustum, de quo cum imprudens Scintilla gustasset, paene intestina sua vomuit; ego contra plus libram comedi, nam ipsum aprum sapiebat. Et si, inquam, ursus homuncionem comest, quanto magis homuncio debet ursum comesse? In summo habuimus caseum mollem et sapam et cocleas singulas et cordae frusta et hepatia in catillis et ova pilleata et rapam et senape et catillum concacatum — pax Palamedes! — Etiam in alveo circumlata sunt oxycomina, unde quidam etiam improbi ternos pugnos sustulerunt. Nam pernae missionem dedimus.

in cena: for dinner
inquit: subject Habinna
bonae memoriae: (genitivus qualitatis) I am of such good memory = I have such a good memory
frequenter: constantly
in primo: at first
porcus: pig, pork
botulus: sausage (some older editions have poculo, calyx, cup)
sangunculum: blood sauce, blood sausage (the exact meaning is not quite clear)
gizeria (sg. gizerium): intestines, giblets of a bird
beta: beet
autopyrus: made of whole-meal flower, standard bread
de suo sibi: (sc. factum): made by his own (kitchen)
candidus: white-bread
vires facit: it makes you strong
et cum mea re causa facio, non ploro: and because when I have to shit (sua re facio), I don’t cry (from exertion)
ferculum: a dish on which food is served; and hence a dish or mess of food, a course
scriblita: a kind of cheese tart
mel mellis (n.): honey
caldus (= calidus): warm
infusum excellente Hispanum: excellent Spanish wine poured over (excellente as if analogous to dulcis. Petronius makes fun of the problem  some speakers of Latin had with  the right declension)
quidem: in fact, indeed
edo edi esum: to eat
me usque tetigi: till I had smeared myself (completely with honey)
circa (sciribilita erant)
cicer ciceris (n.): chickpea
lupinus: wolf-bean
calva: hazelnut
arbitratu: at choice
tollo sustuli sublatum: to take away
mala singula: an apple (malum) for everyone
in mappa aligata: in a napkin which is bound together
munus muneris (n.): gift
vernula: lover boy-slave (a meaning only hinted at in older translations)
convicium: outcry, quarrel
domina mea: my misses (does bene admonat refer to the previous sentence or the following? That Habinna had to be reminded by his wife to bring something for his lover has certainly a comic touch))
in prospectu: at a distant view (i.e. at another table)
ursinae frustum: a piece of bear’s meat
imprudens – entis: heedless, unaware
gusto (-are): to taste
libra: pound
comedo = edo
aper apri: wild boar
sapio sapivi (-ere): to have the taste of
homuncio –onis (m.): little man (but in everyday Latin the diminutive has probably lost its literal meaning)
in summo: finally, as desert
caseus: cheese
mollis mollis: soft
sapa: must, new wine boiled thick (ex sapa, it has been suggested to read et for ex, but it is probably kitchen language: soft cheese in a sauce of must)
coclea: snail (escargot, still used in the French kitchen)
corda = chorda: intestine (as food)
hepatia: liver
catillus: a small dish
ova pilleata: eggs with a head of dough
rapa (= rapum): turnip (a kind of carrot)
senape (no declension): mustard
catillum concacatum: a dish of shit (referring to its look, not to its taste – I presume)
pax Palamedes: enough! (pax is an injunction and has no relation with pax `peace’. Pax Palamedes probably because of the alliteration)
alveus: tray
circumfero –tuli –latum: to carry around
oxycomina: pickled olives
improbus: shameless (some editions have improbe)
ternos pugnos: three fistfuls
Nam pernae missionem dedimus: for we had the ham go (missionem do: to dismiss, to give demission to)

Translation by William Stearns Davis (1913)

CHAPTER THE SIXTY-SIXTH.

"But," demanded Trimalchio, "what did you have for dinner'?" "I'll tell
you if I can," answered he, "for my memory's so good that I often forget
my own name. Let's see, for the first course, we had a hog, crowned with
a wine cup and garnished with cheese cakes and chicken livers cooked well done, beets, of course, and whole-wheat bread, which I'd rather have
than white, because it puts strength into you, and when I take a crap
afterwards, I don't have to yell. Following this, came a course of
tarts, served cold, with excellent Spanish wine poured over warm honey;
I ate several of the tarts and got the honey all over myself. Then there
were chick-peas and lupines, all the smooth-shelled nuts you wanted, and
an apple apiece, but I got away with two, and here they are, tied up in
my napkin; for I'll have a row on my hands if I don't bring some kind of
a present home to my favorite slave. Oh yes, my wife has just reminded
me, there was a haunch of bear-meat as a side dish, Scintilla ate some of
it without knowing what it was, and she nearly puked up her guts when she
found out. But as for me, I ate more than a pound of it, for it tasted
exactly like wild boar and, says I, if a bear eats a man, shouldn't that
be all the more reason for a man to eat a bear? The last course was soft
cheese, new wine boiled thick, a snail apiece, a helping of tripe, liver
pate, capped eggs, turnips and mustard. But that's enough. Pickled
olives were handed around in a wooden bowl, and some of the party
greedily snatched three handfuls, we had ham, too, but we sent it back."





A fresco at Pompei.

Walahfridus Strabo: Mondnacht (Cum splendor lunae).

Walafrid Strabo (808-849) was one of those brilliant minds attached to the court of Charlemagne. He was a prolific writer and today best known for his book about gardening Liber de cultura hortorum also known as the Hortulus, which he wrote after he became abbot of a monastery at Reichenau in 838.
The elegy below is dedicated to a further unknown friend: though separated, the light of the moon connects them and is the visible sign of their spiritual love.
In a time without internet and Skype, communications were poor and so watching the same sky, stars, moon and sun gave - and gives - the feeling of being connected. This poem by Strabo is not the only literary example exploring this idea. Take for example Goethe:

Ich denke dein, wenn mir der Sonne Schimmer
Vom Meere strahlt;
Ich denke dein, wenn sich des Mondes Flimmer
In Quellen malt.

I think of you, when the shimmering sun
Gleams from the sea;
I think of you, when the glittering moon
Is mirrored in streams.
(tr. Richard Stokes. I can’t resist putting a link below to the musical setting by Schumann, sung by Lauritz Melchior and Lotte Lehmann in 1939)

And the Indian poet Kalidasa (5th century?) tells in his Meghadūta (The Cloud Messenger) how a Yaksha – a kind of elf – asks a passing cloud to bring a message to his love. Internet is indeed a lot faster, but by far not that romantic.


Walafrid Strabo

Ad amicum (meter: trochaic septenarius)

Cum splendor lunae fulgescat ab aethere purae,
tu sta sub divo cernens speculamine miro,
qualiter ex luna splendescat lampade pura
et splendore suo caros amplectitur uno
corpore divisos, sed mentis amore ligatos.
si facies faciem spectare nequivit amantem,
hoc saltem nobis lumen sit pignus amoris.
hos tibi versiculos fidus transmisit amicus ;
si de parte tua fidei stat fixa catena,
nunc precor, ut valeas felix per saecula cuncta.


fulgesco (- ĕre): to glitter, shine
sub divo: under the open sky
cerno crevi certum: to perceive, see
speculamine miro: in wondrous gaze
splendesco (- ĕre): to shine
lampas ādis (f.): lamp
suo… uno: its unique
amplector amplexus: to encompass, embrace
caros…divisos: friends divided
ligo (-are): to bind (together)
nequeo nequivi nequitum (as eo, ire): to be unable
saltem: at least
pignus (-oris, n.) amoris: pledge/bound of love
fide fixai: not only attached to faith in each other, but also faith in God
catena: the chain of friendship

Translation and adaptation by Helen Waddell

To his friend in absence

WHEN the moon's splendour shines in naked heaven,
Stand thou and gaze beneath the open sky.
See how that radiance from her lamp is riven,
And in one splendour foldeth gloriously
Two that have loved, and now divided far,
Bound by love's bond, in heart together are.
What though thy lover's eyes in vain desire thee,
Seek for love's face, and find that face denied ?
Let that light be between us for a token ;
Take this poor verse that love and faith inscribe.
Love, art thou true ? and fast love's chain about thee ?
Then for all time, O love, God give thee joy !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walafrid_Strabo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGqjXdN21es