Monday, March 22, 2010

Lupus et Grus (Walter)

SOURCE: The text is online as the "Anonymus Neveleti" at the Latin Library, and the text is sometimes attributed to Walter of England. This is poem 8 in the collection. For parallel versions, see Perry 156.

READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons in verse form, or macrons in prose order, or accent marks in prose order, or focusing on the meter. You will find materials for all of these options below. :-)


VERSE MACRONS. Here is the verse text with macrons:

Arta lupum cruciat via gutturis osse retentō.
Mendīcat medicam multa datūrus opem.
Grus prōmissa petit dē faucibus osse revulsō.
Cui lupus: "An vīvis mūnere tūta meō?
Nonne tuum potuī morsū praecīdere collum?
Ergo tibī mūnus sit tua vīta meum."
Nīl prōdest prōdesse malīs; mēns prāva malōrum
Immemor acceptī nōn timet esse bonī.


PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:

Osse retentō, via gutturis arta lupum cruciat. Opem medicam mendīcat, multa datūrus. grus prōmissa petit, osse dē faucibus revulsō. Cui lupus: "An vīvis, mūnere meō tūta? Nonne morsū collum tuum praecīdere potuī? Vīta ergo tua mūnus meum tibī sit." Nīl prōdest malīs prōdesse; malōrum mēns prāva nōn timet bonī acceptī immemor esse.


STRESS (ACCENT) MARKS. Here is the prose text with accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):

Osse reténto, via gútturis arta lupum crúciat. Opem médicam mendícat, multa datúrus. Grus promíssa petit, osse de faúcibus revúlso. Cui lupus: "An vivis, múnere meo tuta? Nonne morsu collum tuum praecídere pótui? Vita ergo tua munus meum tibi sit." Nil prodest malis prodésse; malórum mens prava non timet boni accépti ímmemor esse.


ELEGIAC COUPLET METER. Below I have used an interpunct dot · to indicate the metrical elements in each line, and a double line || to indicate the hemistichs of the pentameter line.

Arta lu·pum cruci·at via· gutturis· osse re·tentō.
Mendī·cat medi·cam || multa da·tūrus o·pem.
Grus prō·missa pe·tit dē· faucibus· osse re·vulsō.
Cui lupus:· "An vī·vis || mūnere· tūta me·ō?
Nonne tu·um potu·ī mor·sū prae·cīdere· collum?
Ergo ti·bī mū·nus || sit tua· vīta me·um."
Nīl prō·dest prō·desse ma·līs; mēns· prāva ma·lōrum
Immemor· accep·tī || nōn timet· esse bo·nī.


IMAGE. For an image of the story, here is an illustration by Walter Crane, which is unusual in that it shows the crane after she has pulled out the bone (you can see the bone if you look closely; you can click on the image for a larger view) - most illustrations of the story instead show the crane with her head plunged inside the mouth of the wolf (as you can see in these other illustrations):


What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Osse retento, via gutturis arta lupum cruciat. Opem medicam mendicat, multa daturus. Grus promissa petit, osse de faucibus revulso. Cui lupus: "An vivis, munere meo tuta? Nonne morsu collum tuum praecidere potui? Vita ergo tua munus meum tibi sit." Nil prodest malis prodesse; malorum mens prava non timet boni accepti immemor esse.