Letters of Lothar

I completed these translations some time ago but now have no time to do anything with them. Suggestions on how to improve them are welcome. Email me: rmp422 [at] gmail [dot] com OR richard.pollard [at] ubc[dot] ca

See also my ongoing work on a new critical edition, commentary and translation for Heito's Visio Wettini: http://sites.google.com/site/visiowettini/

Richard Matthew Pollard. 'Letters of Lothar I'. Accessed MONTH DAY, YEAR. http://sites.google.com/site/lettersoflothar/.

[ ] Text enclosed in square brackets is not in the text, but suggested for sense, or provides an alternative (with ‘?’) for the word just translated; [?] indicates the preceding word is difficult to render

[lit. ] Indicates the literal translation (as opposed to that chosen by the translator)

< > Indicates a translator’s comment or query

<?> Indicates a passage whose interpretation is doubtful, ending </?>

Punctuation has been altered at some points to preserve sense

N.B. Notes are at the foot of this page

Hrabanus, Epist. 51, c. 847-55

[Hraban wishes] Health, Victory and Perpetual Life for the most Beloved August Emperor Lothar.

May your kindness know, my lord, that just as you ordered me to write the first part of the homilies on the Gospel and Apostolic readings, which I indeed completed up to the eve of Easter, beginning from Christmas, and which [thus] completed, I sent to you, thus [also] I have [now] worked out the second part, [which treats] from Easter to the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost <~ August>, so that you might have something that might be read in suitable hours in your presence, should it please you, in this time of Spring and Summer. I foresee and plan to finish the third part, if God shall have willed thus, [which will run] from the aforementioned ending <i.e. the end of the second part> unto the end of the year, and I likewise intend to send this [work] to you, when it is finished [lit. when it shall have been finished]. In this third part [lit. where], also, near the end of the work, are written sermons on the feasts of the Saints and also about other celebrations, which were decreed to be observed by the holy fathers for various reasons. At the very end, moreover are placed readings which are read in the Vigils of the dead, according to your request.

Let it be the will of the Lord, that [this work] be to your benefit as well as to the benefit of your friends/retinue <translation ‘vestrorum’>. For I have done as much as I could, but I do not doubt that what inability denied to me, you will complete <reading adimplere rather than adimpleri> using your healthy prudence and good zeal. I have faith, therefore, [that] should a not small consolation thus be conferred on me <i.e. the consolation of Lothar fixing up Hraban’s unfinished work>, also for you an eternal reward in heaven shall be prepared by the Giver of all good things, on account of the work you finished.

MGH Epp. 5, pp. 505-6

AMANTISSIMO IMPERATORI LUDHARIO AUGUSTO SALUS VICTORIA ET VITA PERPETUA.

Cognoscat almitas vestra, mi domine, quod sicut primam partem homiliarum in lectiones evangelicas atque apostolicas mihi scribere iussistis, quam etiam a natali Domini incipiens usque in vigilias paschae perduxi et vobis peractam transmisi, ita a pascha usque ad quintam decimam dominicam post pentecosten secundam partem pertraxi, ut haberetis quod in praesentia vestra tempore veris et aestatis, si vobis ita placeret, horis competentibus legeretur. Tertiam vero partem a termino supra notato usque ad finem anni perducere, si Deus ita voluerit, cogito atque decerno, et vobis eam similiter, cum perfecta fuerit, transmittere dispono, ubi etiam prope terminum ipsius operis de sanctorum festivitatibus necnon et de aliis celebritatibus, quae de diversis causis observandae a patribus statutae sunt, sermones conscripti tenentur. Ad extremum vero lectiones, quae in defunctorum vigiliis leguntur, iuxta quod postulastis positae sunt.

Fiat Domini voluntas, ut tam ad vestram quam ad vestrorum utilitatem proficuum sit. Ego enim quantum potui feci, vos autem quod mihi impossibilitas denegavit, per vestram sanam prudentiam et bonum studium adimpleri non dubito. Confido ergo, quod sic mihi consolatio non minima conferatur, et vobis pro perfecto opere aeterna merces a bonorum omnium largitore in coelis praeparetur.

Hrabanus, Epist. 52, c. 855

To the Most Excellent and Serene King LOTHAR the meanest [13] servant of your Sublimity HRABAN [sends greetings]

The Cena Cypriani[14] occurred to me, as I desired to write something for your dignity which would be delectable and would sharpen the acumen of your thinking; in this work is contained the recollection of many men. But because therein are some names, which are not found in the sacred books, with these omitted I went through the pages of the O.T. and collecting the names of many fathers I put together this little work in which the characteristics of both the good and bad [characters] are found. Indeed I trust that these things will both be welcome to your serenity in your re-reading or hearing [of the text] for the sake of humour <i.e. ‘for better appreciating its humour>, and useful on account of how it recalls to mind many things <from the Bible?>. Therefore when your highness shall have wished to read or hear these things <i.e. the Cena>, returning to the pages of the O.T., you would [lit. will] find why particular characteristics are imputed to particular individuals. But because [those pages of the O.T.] did not make complete mention of all characters <i.e. the references are scattered across many pages>, there was need of a compendium, lest the longness [of the O.T.] should produce weariness <i.e. for one searching out the characteristics of individual figures> and such that brevity should sustain [excite?] the mind of the reader.

MGH Epp. 5, p. 506

DOMINO EXCELLENTISSIMO ATQUE SERENISSIMO REGI HLOTHARIO ULTIMUS VESTRE SUBLIMITATIS ALUMPNUS MAURUS.

Cupienti mihi vestre dignitati aliquid scribere, quod delectabile foret et acumen sensus vestri acueret, occurrit mihi caena Cypriani, in qua multorum memoria continetur. Sed quia inibi quedam talia repperiuntur nomina, que in sacris non inveniuntur libris, his omissis percurri paginas veteris scripture et multorum nomina patrum colligens hoc opusculum perparvum compegi, in quo et bonorum et pravorum officia repperiuntur. Quoniam, sicut presens aecclesia malorum et bonorum in se congeriem retinet, ita et hec scedula utrorumque ordines in se continet. Hec vero vestre serenitati relegenti sive audienti et grata fore credo ad iocunditatem et utilia propter multarum memoriam rerum. Cum ergo vestra celsitudo hec legere aut audire voluerit, recurrens ad veteris instrumenti paginas, quare singulis singula sint inputata, repperiet. Sed quia non omnimodis omnium fecerunt mentionem, causa fuit compendii, ne prolixitas fastidium pareret et brevitas animum legentis attolleret.

Adnuntiatio of Lothar at the first assemby of Meersen, 847

To us and to my brothers it seemed right that we should join ourselves together, so as to seek after the will of God, [so as to find out?] how the holy Church can be repaired [lit. is able to have been recovered] and how both we, and you, and that [whole] Christian populace can have peace. And we did just that now, and thus we are [disposed to] each other, just as brothers ought rightly to be. And may you know that for certain, [namely] that - thanks be to God! - we are thus and thus we wish to remain in the future with God’s help, and each of us is prepared to bear assistance to the other both in [terms of] counsel and in [terms of] [military?] support, in whatsoever [matters] we shall have been able, just as brothers ought to do by [lit. in] the will of God and in their common profit.

Adnuntiatio Domni Hlotharii - MGH Cap. 2, n. 204, p. 70

Nobis et fratribus nostris visum fuit, ut ad Dei voluntatem querendam, qualiter sancta ecclesia recuperata esse possit et pacem et nos ac vos et iste populus christianus habere possimus, nos simul coniungeremus, sicut nunc fecimus, et sic simus inter nos, sicut fratres per rectum esse debent. Et pro certo illud sciatis, quia, gratias Deo! sic sumus et sic permanere adiuvante Deo inante volumus et in consilio et in auxilio unusquisque erga alterum parati sumus adiutorium ferre, sicut fratres in Dei voluntate et communi profectu facere debent, in quibuscumque potuerimus.

Adnuntiatio of Lothar at the second assemby of Meersen, 851

We wish that you know what our attendence here was <i.e. meant?>. We came here, so that, with God’s help, we might, alongside our vassals, consider the will of God, and the state of the holy church and of the kingdom, and [consider] your and our common profit; and thus we have done. And - thanks be to God! - we on these matters united both with each other and with our vassals, just as we recognise that there is a need [of support? i.e. an obligation?] for us both within the kingdom and outside the kingdom, in our marches.[7]

Adnuntiatio Hlotharii - MGH Cap. 2, n. 205, p. 74

Volumus, ut vos sapiatis, quid noster adventus hic fuerit. Venimus hic, ut simul adiuvante Deo cum fidelibus nostris de Dei voluntate et statu sanctae ecclesiae ac regni et communi nostro ac vestro profectu consideraremus, sicut et fecimus; et gratias Deo! sumus inde sic adunati et nos ad invicem et cum fidelibus nostris, sicut nos recognoscimus, quia et infra regnum et extra regnum per marcas nostras nobis est necessarium.

Notes to the Translation

[1] Possibly, with suitable changes of punctuation ‘may your generosity open up what we seek also according to the ethical sense also’. Neither the PL text (PL 110, col. 496A) nor the MGH is quite clear here.

[2] Cf. the translation by De Jong, in Hen & Innes, The Uses of the Past, p. 192, which translates ‘iuxta gestarum rerum ordinem et expositionem’ as ‘historical and allegorical’, which does not seem quite right. It would seem this sentence refers to the fact that the commentaries are laid out in the liturgical order of the passages / readings, with appended expositions. It would seem that Lothar is complaining that while he could look up the meanings for all the weekday, etc., readings in his collection of Biblical commentaries, he does not have a work which discusses the readings alone and specifically.

[3] Again, see De Jong’s article in The Uses of the Past on this term.

[4] Cf. W. Ullmann, The growth of papal government in the Middle Ages, 2nd ed., London, 1962, p. 172.

[5] Knowing Hincmar, these were doubtless bad forgeries - RMP

[6] A contradiction of the high-sounding platitudes at the beginning of this letter?

[7] On the obscure meaning of necessarium here, cf. the adnuntiatio Ludowici that follows: unusquisque nostrum paratus est, ut suum fratrem, ubicumque necessitas fuerit, et infra patriam et foris patriam ... adiuvet (‘... wherever there is a need ...’) and cf. capit. 3 on p. 72.

[8] Petitioni is what the earlier quod must refer to, though Hraban has made it slightly unclear in his phrasing, even if strictly speaking he is not incorrect. The sense is the petitio = quod ... efficere non potui.

[9] Or perhaps ‘revealing your model, Ester’?

[10] Perhaps an example of Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt? Cf. Curtius, European Literature, trans. Trask, pp. 80-2.

[11] Perhaps, ‘in time’, as orbs also suggests a cycle of time.

[12] Possibly ‘Rewards, filled in themselves by perpetual rewards...’ These two lines are rather opaque to me, hence my rendering of it is only a best guess. I asked my friend Giancarlo Ciccia (a Ph.D. candidate in Latin Composition in Rome) about this line and he thought my translation a reasonable one of a garbled line, though he did suggest that ‘hinc’ might mean ‘after this life’. Cf. Bede, De Die Judicii, l. 139: praemia perpetuis tradens caelestia donis; Alcuin, Carmen 76, in MGH Poetae I, p. 297, l. 21: praemia perpetuis semper mansura diebus; Pachasius Radbertus, Egloga, in MGH Poetae III, p. 51, l. 165: Premia perpetuis firmantur denique donis.

[13] Apparently the use of ultimus for ‘lowliest’, which is clearly the meaning intended here, is quite rare.

[14] The Cena Cypriani is a sort of Biblical parody, where characters from all over the Bible attend a dinner hosted by Joel. Biblical characters act according to their recognisable characteristics, but in humorous ways; e.g. Judas offers silver (which he received for betraying J.C.!) as a host gift. A theft takes place and a ‘dinner party mystery’ ensues. Ed. C. Modesto, Studien zu Cena Cypriani und zu deren Rezeption, Tübingen, 1992.

[15] For this and especially for what follows in the next paragraph, Angelomus’ earlier letter makes the sense very clear. In fact, this letter seems nothing more than a paraphrase, in places, of the earlier text (in MGH Epist. 5, p. 623): Sed cum negare non valerem, tandem assensum prebere decrevi et ad aliqua licet temere et formidolose digerenda sum aggressus, eo videlicet iure ut intra domesticos parietes secretius retinerent, nec alicui ad legendum traderent, et tunc mea imperitia, verum et temeritas legentibus detecta manifesta foret et oblocutionibus occasio panderetur reprehendentium. Nam stilum cum ad primum librum describendo appulissem, ut abdite abdita auctore Deo congererem, extimplo mea impudentia est detecta, et sacris auribus magnifici Drogonis, egregii scilicet pontificis, quo nichil nobilius nichilque sanctius est, revelata nugacitas. Quo comperto cepit ingenue libera auctoritate imperare, ut darem operam et ceptum opus non sinerem, sed sagaciter calcetenus perducerem. Cuius quoque preconiis nullatenus resistere valui, verum nec tantae auctoritati renuere presumpsi, non solum quidem quia filius erat prestantissimi Karoli cesaris, immo frater mitissimi Hludowici principis, verum etiam quia preclarus erat pontifex et abbas meus egregius.

[16] This passage is extremely difficult to render but I think I have the sense correctly. My friend Giancarlo Ciccia is also due thanks for his advice here. Cf. the note above, which also makes things more clear.

[17] Here I read ‘non solum non rennuit’ rather than ‘non solum rennuit’, as this emendation is the only thing that makes the sentence take on a (semblence) of logic. Another possible emendation would be ‘adnuit’ (assented) for ‘rennuit’ (refused).

[18] I.e. from the more complete statements of a particular writer?

[19] I must admit that this clause sic diversis ... percurrentibus is almost completely obscure to me, even after many hours of thought. Thanks too to Mayke de Jong for helping here.

[20] Salpix is no doubt from Aldhelm, who uses this extremely rare word thrice.

[21] Although the MGH editor here exclaims about this ‘Nescio ubi’ (p. 628, n. 1) this whole sentence, and indeed, much of this section (which may be why it is clearer than Angelomus’ usual lumpy prose), comes from Gregory’s Expositio Super Cantica Canticorum, PL 79, with this passage at col. 473b-c: Hinc est enim quod in hoc libro, qui in Canticis canticorum conscriptus est, amoris quasi corporei verba ponuntur, ut a torpore suo anima per sermones suae consuetudinis refricata recalescat; et per verba amoris qui infra est, excitatur ad amorem qui supra est. Nominantur enim in hoc libro oscula, nominantur ubera, nominantur genae, nominantur femora; in quibus verbis non irridenda est sacra descriptio, sed major Dei misericordia consideranda est; quia dum membra corporis nominat, et sic ad amorem vocat, notandum est quam mirabiliter nobiscum et misericorditer operatur. Qui ut cor nostrum ad instigationem sacri amoris accenderet, usque ad turpis amoris nostri se verba distendit. Sed unde se loquendo humiliat, inde nos intellectu exaltat; quia ex sermonibus hujus amoris discimus qua virtute in divinitatis amore ferveamus.

[22] Cf. again for this whole section Gregory I’s Expositio, PL 79, col. 474a: Gloria Dei celare verbum. Menti enim Deum quaerenti tanto Deus gloriosius apparet, quanto subtilius atque interius investigatur, ut appareat; sed nunquid quod in mysteriis Deus celat, nos requirere non debemus? Debemus utique, nam sequitur: Et gloria regum investigare sermonem.

[23] Cf. here Aldhelm, Liber de Septenario, et de Metris, Aenigmatibus ac Pedum Regulis, PL 89, coll. 236d-237a: Nam inclytus ille Theodosius, ut prisca veterum opuscula produnt, qui totius propemodum mundi gubernans monarchiam maritabatur, et regalibus florentis imperii sceptris undecies labente annorum circulo feliciter fungebatur, quotidiani sumptus alimoniam et corporeae sustentationis edulium, in quibus mortalium vivacitas vescitur, in praecelso potestatis culmine antiquarii scriptoris mercimonia indeptus est, malens Scripturarum emolumento litterarum carnalis vitae nutrimenta per laboris exercitium adipisci, quam inertis desidiae torpore tabescens gratuitis epularum deliciis saginari. I would translate this as: ‘For that famed Theodosius, as the old works of the ancients tell us, who was married and held the reigns of nearly the whole world, and happily exercised the regal duties of the flourishing empire for 11 years, while he held the highest office obtained daily nourishment and food for corporeal sustenance, by which the energy of mortals is maintained, as the pay of a calligrapher, preferring by the profit of written letters to get nourishment ... through the exercise of labour, than to be sated with the free delicacies of banquets, languishing in the torpor of inert idleness’. Aldhelm goes on to relate the story of how Theodosius was believed to have copied with his own hand the 18 books of Priscian, which is surely a confusion between a scribe named Theodosius and the Emperor.

[24] Salpix seems only to have been used by Aldhelm, Laud. Virg. 21 (i.e. a different text of Aldhelm to that in the note above - perhaps A. had an MS with both?).

[25] The expression sacrata scriptura is extremely rare, A. probably got it from Ambrose, Exhortatio Virginitatis, IX.57, PL 16, col. 353b: Idque sacratae Scripturae docetur testimonio...

The text of these translations was completed by Richard Matthew Pollard, 2009-2010