Linquo coax ranis
Encyclopedia
Linquo coax ranis are the first words of a two-line poem in internally rhymed hexameters
by Serlo of Wilton
. The complete text is:
Attached to the poem is a story (which may be compared with the razós
attached to certain Occitan poems of the 12th and 13th centuries). The earliest known version of the story, in Latin, forms part of a manuscript collection, Liber narrationum de diversis visionibus et miraculis, which itself is part of MS. Troyes
946 from the Abbey of Clairvaux collection. This version was written at some date after 1173, when Serlo became abbot of L'Aumône, and before 1184, the date of his death.
According to the story, one of Serlo's disciples, who had died young, appeared to him in a vision. He was wearing a parchment cape covered with writing: on it were written all the sophistries of scholastic philosophy. The disciple told Serlo that the cape was painfully heavy and burning hot. Serlo reached out to touch his disciple, and withdrew his hand hastily, scalded by a drop of burning sweat. After seeing this vision, Serlo "converted", spoke these memorable lines, entered the Cistercian Order, and eventually became abbot of l'Aumône.
The legend was investigated by the French novelist and philologist Marcel Schwob
in his pamphlet La légende de Serlon de Wilton (Paris, 1899).
Leonine verse
Leonine verse is a type of versification based on internal rhyme, and commonly used in Latin verse of the European Middle Ages. The invention of such conscious rhymes, foreign to Classical Latin poetry, is traditionally attributed to a probably apocryphal monk Leonius, who is supposed to be the...
by Serlo of Wilton
Serlo of Wilton
Serlo of Wilton was a 12th century English poet, a friend of Walter Map and known to Gerald of Wales. He studied and taught at the University of Paris. He became a Cluniac and then a Cistercian monk, and in 1171 he became abbot of L'Aumône; he died in 1181...
. The complete text is:
- Linquo coax ranis, cras corvis, vanaque vanis;
- Ad logicam pergo que mortis non timet ergo.
- I leave croaking to frogs, crowing to crows, and vanity to the vain;
- I now go to the logic that does not fear the "therefore" of death.
Attached to the poem is a story (which may be compared with the razós
Razó (Occitan literary form)
A razó or razo was a short piece of Occitan prose detailing the circumstances of a troubadour composition. A razó normally introduced an individual poem, acting as a prose preface and explanation; it might, however, share some of the characteristics of a vida and the boundary between the...
attached to certain Occitan poems of the 12th and 13th centuries). The earliest known version of the story, in Latin, forms part of a manuscript collection, Liber narrationum de diversis visionibus et miraculis, which itself is part of MS. Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
946 from the Abbey of Clairvaux collection. This version was written at some date after 1173, when Serlo became abbot of L'Aumône, and before 1184, the date of his death.
According to the story, one of Serlo's disciples, who had died young, appeared to him in a vision. He was wearing a parchment cape covered with writing: on it were written all the sophistries of scholastic philosophy. The disciple told Serlo that the cape was painfully heavy and burning hot. Serlo reached out to touch his disciple, and withdrew his hand hastily, scalded by a drop of burning sweat. After seeing this vision, Serlo "converted", spoke these memorable lines, entered the Cistercian Order, and eventually became abbot of l'Aumône.
The legend was investigated by the French novelist and philologist Marcel Schwob
Marcel Schwob
Marcel Schwob was a Jewish French writer.-Biography:He was born in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine on 23 August 1867...
in his pamphlet La légende de Serlon de Wilton (Paris, 1899).