Cambridge Songs

thumb|Codex Cantabrigiensis, fol. 436v The Cambridge Songs (Carmina Cantabrigiensia) are a collection of Goliardic medieval Latin poems found on ten leaves (ff. 432–41) of the Codex Cantabrigiensis (C, MS Gg. 5.35), now in Cambridge University Library. Quotes thumb|Iam nunc veni, soror electaet pre cunctis mihi dilecta,Lux mee clara pupilleparsque maior anime mee.Mistress mine, come to me,Dearest of all,Light of mine eyes to me,Half of my soul. O Roma nobilis,    Orbis et domina,Cunctarum urbium    Excellentissima,Roseo martyrum    Albis et virginumSalutem dicimus    Te benedicimus:Sanguine rubea,    Liliis candida;Tibi per omnia,    Salve per saecula. Rome, thou imperial queen of the universe,Over all cities thou regent most excellent;Martyrdom’s blood is thy roseate curse,The virgins’ white lives are thy lilies all redolent!With blessing and benison thee do we hail,Through the long centuries thou shalt prevail. "O Roma nobilis", st. 1 (tr. Howard Mumford Jones) Dura materies ex matris ossibusCreavit homines iactis lapidibus.Ex quibus unus est iste puerulus,Qui lacrimabiles non curat gemitus.Cum tristis fuero, gaudebit emulus:Ut cerva rugio, cum fugit hinnulus. Stones from the substance of hard earth maternal, heThrew o'er his shoulder who made men supernally;One of these stones is that boy who disdainfullyScorns the entreaties I utter, ah, painfully!Joy that was mine is my rival's tomorrow,While I for my fawn like a stricken deer sorrow! "O admirabile Veneris ydolum", st. 3 (tr. Howard Mumford Jones) Iam, dulcis amica, venito,Quam sicut cor meum diligo;Intra in cubiculum meum,Ornamentis cunctis onustum. Come, sweet friend, and be with me,Darling of my heart, my treasure!Come now into my chamber—see,It is fresh-decked and fit for pleasure. "Iam, dulcis amica", st. 1 (tr. Howard Mumford Jones) Iam nunc veni, soror electaet pre cunctis mihi dilecta,Lux mee clara pupilleparsque maior anime mee. Mistress mine, come to me,  Dearest of all,Light of mine eyes to me,  Half of my soul. "Iam, dulcis amica", st. 7 (tr. Helen Waddell) Levis exsurgit zephyrusEt sol procedit tepidus;Iam terra sinus aperit,Dulcore suo diffluit. The west wind blows softly,  Warmer still glows the sun,Earth's bosom is opened.  Sweet days are begun. "Levis exsurgit Zephyrus", st. 1 (tr. Kenneth C. M. Sills) Sources Kenneth C. M. Sills, The First American, and Other Poems (Brunswick, ME: [The Record Press] 1911) Howard Mumford Jones, in Philip Schuyler Allen, The Romanesque Lyric: Studies in Its Background and Development from Petronius to the Cambridge Songs, 50–1050 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1928) Helen Waddell, Mediaeval Latin Lyrics (London: Constable, 1929) External links Category:Poetry