Hiberno-Latin
Encyclopedia
Hiberno-Latin, also called Hisperic Latin, was a learned sort of Latin
literature
created and spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century.
nor Greek
was widely known in Europe
during this period — and it is unlikely the Irish monks were fluent themselves — odd words from these sources, as well as from Celtic
sources, were added to Latin vocabulary for effect by these authors. It has been suggested that the unique vocabulary of the poems was caused by the monks learning Latin words from dictionaries
and glossaries
, so as to mix together unfamiliar words with ordinary ones; unlike many others in Western Europe
at the time, the Irish monks did not speak a language descended from Latin. During the sixth and seventh centuries, Irish monasticism spread through Christian Western Europe; Irish monks who founded these monasteries
often brought Hiberno-Latin literary styles with them.
Notable authors whose works contain something of the Hiberno-Latin spirit include St Columba
, St Columbanus
, St Adamnan, and Virgilius Maro Grammaticus
. St Gildas
, the Welsh
author of the De excidio Britonum, is also credited with the Lorica
, or Breastplate, an apotropaic charm
against evil
that is written in a curiously learned vocabulary; this too probably relates to an education in the Irish styles of Latin. John Scotus Eriugena
was probably one of the last Irish authors to write Hiberno-Latin wordplay. St Hildegard of Bingen
preserves an unusual Latin vocabulary that was in use in her convent
, and which appears in a few of her poems; this invention may also represent the influence of Hiberno-Latin.
, Ireland, and Hesperides
, the semi-legendary "Western Isles" that may have been inspired by the Azores
or the Canary Islands
; The coinage is typical of the wordplay used by these authors. A brief excerpt from a poem on the dawn from the Hisperica Famina shows the Irish poet decorating his verses with Greek words:
In these compositions there may be an element of parody
, born of the rivalry in the sixth and seventh centuries between Roman
and Celtic
forms of Christianity
. One usage of Hesperia in classical times was as a synonym for Italy
, and it is noticeable that some of the vocabulary and stylistic devices of these pieces originated not among the Irish, but with the priestly and rhetorical poets who flourished within the Vatican
-dominated world (especially in Italy, Gaul, Spain and Africa) between the fourth and the sixth centuries, such as Juvencus
, Avitus of Vienne
, Dracontius, Ennodius
and Venantius Fortunatus
. (Thus the very word famen, plural famina — a pseudo-archaic coinage from the classical verb fari, 'to speak' — is first recorded in the metrical Gospels [Evangeliorum libri] of Juvencus. Similarly, the word-arrangement often follows the sequence adjective 1-adjective 2-verb-noun 1-noun 2, known as the 'golden line
', a pattern used to excess in the too-regular prosody of these poets; the first line quoted above is an example.) The underlying idea, then, would be to cast ridicule on these Vatican-oriented writers by blending their stylistic tricks with incompetent scansion and applying them to unworthy subjects.
Altus prosator, a sequence
traditionally attributed to the 6th-century Irish mystic Saint Columba (but see Stevenson, below), shows many of the features of Hiberno-Latin; the word prosator, the "first sower" meaning creator
, refers to God
using an unusual neologism. The text of the poem also contains the word iduma, meaning "hands;" this is probably from Hebrew yadaim. The poem is also an extended alphabet
ical acrostic
, another example of the wordplay typical of Hiberno-Latin The beginning of the poem:
's work Finnegans Wake
preserves something of the spirit of Hiberno-Latin in English. In fact, book I, chapter 7 of Finnegans Wake quotes bits of the Altus prosator in an untranslatable Latin passage full of toilet humour.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
created and spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century.
Vocabulary and Influence
Hiberno-Latin was notable for its curiously learned vocabulary. While neither HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
nor Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
was widely known in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during this period — and it is unlikely the Irish monks were fluent themselves — odd words from these sources, as well as from Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
sources, were added to Latin vocabulary for effect by these authors. It has been suggested that the unique vocabulary of the poems was caused by the monks learning Latin words from dictionaries
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
and glossaries
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
, so as to mix together unfamiliar words with ordinary ones; unlike many others in Western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at the time, the Irish monks did not speak a language descended from Latin. During the sixth and seventh centuries, Irish monasticism spread through Christian Western Europe; Irish monks who founded these monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
often brought Hiberno-Latin literary styles with them.
Notable authors whose works contain something of the Hiberno-Latin spirit include St Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
, St Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
, St Adamnan, and Virgilius Maro Grammaticus
Virgilius Maro Grammaticus
Virgilius Maro Grammaticus is one of the most enigmatic of all medieval writers, author of two pseudo-grammatical texts known as the Epitomae and the Epistolae.-Biographical:...
. St Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
, the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
author of the De excidio Britonum, is also credited with the Lorica
Lorica (incantation)
In the Christian monastic tradition, a lorica is a prayer recited for protection. The Latin word lorica originally meant "armor" or "breastplate." Both meanings come together in the practice of placing verbal inscriptions on the shields or armorial trappings of knights, who might recite them before...
, or Breastplate, an apotropaic charm
Charm
Charm, charms, charmed or charming may refer to:* A Spell or incantation** any "lucky charm" such as amulets , touch pieces and painted pebbles,*** Italian charm bracelet...
against evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
that is written in a curiously learned vocabulary; this too probably relates to an education in the Irish styles of Latin. John Scotus Eriugena
Johannes Scotus Eriugena
Johannes Scotus Eriugena was an Irish theologian, Neoplatonist philosopher, and poet. He is known for having translated and made commentaries upon the work of Pseudo-Dionysius.-Name:...
was probably one of the last Irish authors to write Hiberno-Latin wordplay. St Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen
Blessed Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and...
preserves an unusual Latin vocabulary that was in use in her convent
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, and which appears in a few of her poems; this invention may also represent the influence of Hiberno-Latin.
Hisperica Famina
The style reaches its peak in the Hisperica Famina, which means roughly "Western orations"; these Famina are rhetorical descriptive poems couched in a kind of free verse. Hisperica is understood as a portmanteau word combining HiberniaHibernia
Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe , Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne . In his book Geographia Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of...
, Ireland, and Hesperides
Hesperides
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean....
, the semi-legendary "Western Isles" that may have been inspired by the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
or the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
; The coinage is typical of the wordplay used by these authors. A brief excerpt from a poem on the dawn from the Hisperica Famina shows the Irish poet decorating his verses with Greek words:
- Titaneus olimphium inflamat arotus tabulatum,
- thalasicum illustrat uapore flustrum . . .
- The titanian star inflames the dwelling places of Olympus, and illuminates the sea's calm with vapour.
In these compositions there may be an element of parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, born of the rivalry in the sixth and seventh centuries between Roman
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Celtic
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
forms of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. One usage of Hesperia in classical times was as a synonym for Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and it is noticeable that some of the vocabulary and stylistic devices of these pieces originated not among the Irish, but with the priestly and rhetorical poets who flourished within the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
-dominated world (especially in Italy, Gaul, Spain and Africa) between the fourth and the sixth centuries, such as Juvencus
Juvencus
Gaius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus, known as Juvencus or Juvenk, was a Roman Spanish Christian and composer of Latin poetry in the 4th century.-Life:...
, Avitus of Vienne
Avitus of Vienne
Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus was a Latin poet and archbishop of Vienne in Gaul.Avitus was born of a prominent Gallo-Roman senatorial family in the kinship of Emperor Avitus.-Life:...
, Dracontius, Ennodius
Magnus Felix Ennodius
Magnus Felix Ennodius was Bishop of Pavia in 514, and a Latin rhetorician and poet.He was one of four fifth to sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocrats whose letters survive in quantity: the others are Sidonius Apollinaris, prefect of Rome in 468 and bishop of Clermont , Ruricius bishop of Limoges ...
and Venantius Fortunatus
Venantius Fortunatus
Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus was a Latin poet and hymnodist in the Merovingian Court, and a Bishop of the early Catholic Church. He was never canonised but was venerated as Saint Venantius Fortunatus during the Middle Ages.-Life:Venantius Fortunatus was born between 530 and 540 A.D....
. (Thus the very word famen, plural famina — a pseudo-archaic coinage from the classical verb fari, 'to speak' — is first recorded in the metrical Gospels [Evangeliorum libri] of Juvencus. Similarly, the word-arrangement often follows the sequence adjective 1-adjective 2-verb-noun 1-noun 2, known as the 'golden line
Golden line
The golden line is a type of Latin dactylic hexameter frequently mentioned in Latin classrooms in English speaking countries and in contemporary scholarship written in English.-Definition:...
', a pattern used to excess in the too-regular prosody of these poets; the first line quoted above is an example.) The underlying idea, then, would be to cast ridicule on these Vatican-oriented writers by blending their stylistic tricks with incompetent scansion and applying them to unworthy subjects.
Altus Prosator
On a much more intelligible level, the Abecedarian hymnAbecedarian hymn
An abecedarian hymn is a hymn that begins with the letter A, and each verse or clause following begins with the next letter of the alphabet.The abecedarian hymn Altus Prosator is used on All Saints Day. Other such hymns include A patre unigenitus, Carmen paschale and Archangelum mirum magnum....
Altus prosator, a sequence
Sequence (poetry)
A sequence is a chant or hymn sung or recited during the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations, before the proclamation of the Gospel. By the time of the Council of Trent there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year.The sequence has always been sung...
traditionally attributed to the 6th-century Irish mystic Saint Columba (but see Stevenson, below), shows many of the features of Hiberno-Latin; the word prosator, the "first sower" meaning creator
Creator deity
A creator deity is a deity responsible for the creation of the world . In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...
, refers to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
using an unusual neologism. The text of the poem also contains the word iduma, meaning "hands;" this is probably from Hebrew yadaim. The poem is also an extended alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
ical acrostic
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...
, another example of the wordplay typical of Hiberno-Latin The beginning of the poem:
- Altus *prosator, *vetustus
- dierum et ingenitus
- erat absque origine
- primordii et *crepidine
- est et erit in sæcula
- sæculorum infinita;
- cui est unigenitus
- Xristus et sanctus spiritus
- coæternus in gloria
- deitatis perpetua.
- Non tres deos *depropimus
- sed unum Deum dicimus,
- salva fide in personis
- tribus gloriosissimis.
- High creator, Ancient of Days, and unbegotten, who was without origin at the beginning and foundation, who was and shall be in infinite ages of ages; to whom was only begotten Christ, and the Holy Ghost, co-eternal in the everlasting glory of Godhood. We do not propose three gods, but we speak of one God, saving faith in three most glorious Persons.
- *Words marked with an asterisk in the Latin text are learned, neologisms, unusually spelled, or unusual in the context they stand.
Modern Influence
James JoyceJames Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's work Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
preserves something of the spirit of Hiberno-Latin in English. In fact, book I, chapter 7 of Finnegans Wake quotes bits of the Altus prosator in an untranslatable Latin passage full of toilet humour.
Similar usage
- In Italian, Francesco ColonnaFrancesco ColonnaFrancesco Colonna was an Italian Dominican priest and monk who was credited with the authorship of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by an acrostic in the text.He lived in Venice, and preached at St. Mark's Cathedral...
created a similar style (in prose), packed with neologisms drawn from Hebrew, Greek and Latin, for his allegory Hypnerotomachia PoliphiliHypnerotomachia PoliphiliHypnerotomachia Poliphili , called in English Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream, is a romance said to be by Francesco Colonna and a famous example of early printing...
(1499). - The Spanish Golden Century poet Luis de GóngoraLuis de GóngoraLuis de Góngora y Argote was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered to be the most prominent Spanish poets of their age. His style is characterized by what was called culteranismo, also known as Gongorism...
was the champion of culteranismoCulteranismoCulteranismo is a stylistic movement of the Baroque period of Spanish history that is also commonly referred to as Góngorismo...
(sometimes called gongorism in English), a style that subjected Spanish to abstruse Latinate neologism, obscure allusions to Classical mythology and violent hyperbatonHyperbatonHyperbaton is a figure of speech in which words that naturally belong together are separated from each other for emphasis or effect. This kind of unnatural or rhetorical separation is possible to a much greater degree in highly inflected languages, where sentence meaning does not depend closely...
. - In English, euphuismEuphuismEuphuism is a peculiar mannered style of English prose. It takes its name from a prose romance by John Lyly. It consists of a preciously ornate and sophisticated style, employing in deliberate excess a wide range of literary devices such as antitheses, alliterations, repetitions and rhetorical...
- a 16th-century tendency named after the character Euphues who appears in two works by its chief practitioner John LylyJohn LylyJohn Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues,The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism.-Biography:John Lyly was born in Kent, England, in 1553/1554...
- shows similar qualities.
External links
- Jane StevensonJane StevensonProfessor Jane Stevenson is a UK author who was born in London and brought up in London, Beijing and Bonn. She has lectured in history at Sheffield University, and teaches literature and history at the University of Aberdeen, where she is currently is the Regius Professor of Humanity...
, Altus Prosator (pdf file)