An anonymous Irish poet calling himself Hibernicus Exul, or the Irish Exile, wrote a number of poems in Latin for his lord, Charlemagne, during the 8th century AD. Some (most?) of these poems are captured in a work called Poetae Latinae Aevi Carolini, published by Ernst Dümmler in 1881, which prints them in Latin and which, as far as I can tell, have not yet been translated to English except for a handful published in Poetry of the Carolingian Renaissance by Peter Godman in 1981.
This poet is anonymous, and identified himself only with this pseudonym. Historians have tried, through mere conjecture, to identify him with the other Irish scholars known to have been in the Carolingian court, such as Dungal or Dicuil, who certainly qualify as educated Irishmen far from home. But nothing can be known for sure. These two poems specifically are panegyrics for Charlemagne, and offer a glimpse into the scholastic Christianity of the 8th century AD.
In this post I follow the poem numberings presented by Dümmler, and only post two for some light reading during Christmas. I will translate more later for completeness.
1.
O deus omnipotens, convexae conditor arcis,
Terrarum et maris et quae tantus continet orbis,
Suscipe vota tuae plebis, dignare rogatus
Caesaris eximii Karoli firmare salutem;
Multiplices vitam protendens, rector, in annos,
Imperio oceanum consignans ordine metam,1
Hostibus oppressis firmata pace perenni,
Optime quod princeps sedatum rite gubernet,
Permulcente sua divino munere2 dextra.
Unus in aetherea altitonans qui praesidet aula;3
Convenit et solum terris regnare sub illo,
Qui merito cunctis praestans mortalibus esset.
Discedant variae sectae, discedat et error
Antiquus, quondam male suasus ab ore maligni.
Sancta fides niteat comitantcr gressibus altis,
Cum Karoli magni ut vastum perlustret et orbem,
Imperio dictoque simul domitis virtute superbis.
Ac post immensos captos ex hoste triumphos,
Cum victore suo victrix letetur et ipsa,
Post tanta in terris post tot sublimia facta,
Pleno tum demum completo temporis aevo,
Felici centenos cursu evectus in annos.
Alma fides obviam, comitante cohorte sororum,
Virtutum, veniens Karolum super astra levabit,
Perpetuam tribuens Christo praesente coronam.
Versibus incompis, summo sed mentis amore,
Haec tibi conficiens, Caesar: dignare superne
Munera, quaeso, tui devoti sumere servi.
His ego litterulis domino deposco salutem
Perpetuam Karoli servulus ipse sui.
His te, praeclara Gundrada, saluto, puella,
Quae ore nitens pulchro, pulchrior es merito.4
Littera, festina dominae conferre salutem
Gundradae egregiae moribus et facie.
O almighty God, creator of the vaulted firmament,
Of lands and the sea and all that such a vast orb contains,
Receive the prayers of your people; deign, when entreated,
To strengthen the welfare of the excellent Caesar Charles,
Extending his life, Ruler, prolonging his years,
Assigning, in right order, the ocean as boundary of his empire,
With enemies subdued and perennial peace established,
That the excellent prince may rightly govern what has been pacified,
Appeasing it with his right hand through divine office.
Thunderous One on high who presides over the ethereal court;
It is fitting also for one alone to reign on earth under Him,
Who by merit would surpass all mortal men.
Let various sects depart, let ancient error depart,
Once wickedly urged by the mouth of the malign one.
May holy faith shine, accompanying lofty deeds,
As it traverses the vast realm of Charles the Great,
With the proud subdued at once by empire and command through valor.
And after immense triumphs captured over the enemy,
When Victory herself rejoices with her victor,
After so many sublime deeds upon the earth,
Then, at last, when the full span of time is completed,
He will be exalted in the course of a hundred happy years.
Nourishing faith goes forth, accompanied by a cohort of sister
Virtues, coming to Charles, will raise him above the stars,
Bestowing an everlasting crown on him, in Christ’s presence.
With unpolished verses, but with the highest love in the mind,
Composing these for you, Caesar, deign from on high
To accept these gifts, I beg, from your devoted servant.
With these little letters to my lord I earnestly wish for
The everlasting welfare of Charles, whose meager servant I am.
With these I greet you, illustrious Gundrada, maiden,
Whose fair radiant countenance makes you the more beautiful.
O Letters, hasten to my Lady, convey my well-wishes
To Gundrada, eminent in character and mien.
3.
VERSUS KAROLI IMPERATORIS
Haec est vera fides, caeli quae ducit ad aulam,
Hanc teneat, requiem quisquis habere cupit.
Est etenim virtus cunctis credentibus ampla
More fide trino phise placere deo.
Summus apex Karolus Caesar, pax orbis optima,
Huic turmas hominum subdere colla docet.
Altior ut cuncti regni rex unus honore,
More, fide, forma Caesar, ut opto prior,
Qui sibi praesentis regni concesserat arcem,
Arce poli summum det sibi, posco, locum.
Exiguus regi paruum nunc reddo libellum
Collectum ex variis flore comante rosis.
VERSES ON THE EMPEROR CHARLES
This is true faith, which leads to the court of Heaven,
Whosoever desires rest, let him hold to this.
It is indeed a virtue, ample for all who believe,
Who have faith in the threefold nature, which pleases God.
The highest summit, Charles Caesar, best peace of the world,
Instructs troops of men to bend their necks to him.
That of all the kingdom the king may be highest,
In manner, faith, and form like Caesar, as I wish him foremost,
He who claimed for himself the stronghold of this present kingdom,
May he likewise, I pray, earn the highest place, the stronghold of Heaven.
Meek, I now render to the king this little book,
Collected from various flowering roses.
Notes
Poem 1.
- 1.This is a double accusative construction, where oceanum and metam are the accusatives. The verb is a form of consignare, meaning to mark something as something or to assign a role; therefore, consignans oceanum metam means to assign the Ocean as a boundary.↩
- 2.This word munere can mean either a gift or an office or employment. Sextus Pompeius Festus explains this double meaning thus: Mūnus sīgnificat officium, cum dīcitur quis mūnere fungī. Item dōnum quod officiī causā datur. “‘Mūnus’ means office, when someone is said to perform his office. Also ‘gift’, since it’s given because of the service.” I take it in this context to refer to the office.↩
- 3.The phrase in aethera aula is one where the noun and adjective are both in the ablative case, yet the phrase as a whole shows location. This is caused by the in, which transforms the meaning of the ablative to a kind of locative case.↩
- 4.This line should be read as puella pulchrior es “you are a maiden more beautiful still”. pulchrior is a comparator, even though there is no second thing to compare to. The translation of ore as “head, face” is contrasted with the translation of ore as “mouth” in Line 14, but a counterexample can be seen in the listed Classical quotation on the Wiktionary page for os: Gorgonis os pulcherrimum, in which we happen to see the word pulcher used again.↩