“The Hobbit” is J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece which has hit both the silver screen and millions of paper backs and hard backs. The book was luckily translated into Latin: “ILLE HOOBITVS.”
Happy Holidays to all you Latin Lover, Latin Learners, and Latin Enthusiasts! If you find yourself with a gift card for the Holidays or with some spare time with relatives…I would recommend watching and reading “The Hobbit!”
The cover is a brilliant mosaic on the dragon Smaug, who guards a glorious treasure hoard. You can learn more on the wonderful art of mosaics; here.The book tackles some interesting difficulties from names to songs like Gandalphus for Gandalf and some interesting poetic choices for songs such as:
OR
You can follow to the book’s Latin’s translation:
Frange uitra et catilla! ulctros unde, fucas flecte! Biblo Baggins odit illa- nunc et cortices incende! textum seca, sebum calca! lactem funde cellae terra linque in tapeto ossa! uinum sperge super porta! has patellas aestu laua; has contunde magna claua; si nonnulla sint intacta, uolue ea e culinca! Biblo Baggins odit illa! caue! caue! heac catilla!
Now, I hope each and everyone you enjoy your Christmas with you family, friends, neighbors, and so on! Be safe and Consider starting your New Year with the Hobbit! So I will leave you with the beginning words of the novel:
In foramine terrae habitabat hobbitus.
In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.
So remember, greatness can have very small beginnings. Have a safe holiday and I will see you in 2014!
With Christmas around the corner, many people are embarking on their Christmas Tree shopping, gift giving, or other Holiday tasks. While, not everyone celebrates Christmas or believe it to coincide with the birth of Jesus Christ; the story of the Nativity offers beginning Latinist a great learning opportunity. Everyone is at least familiar with the story of Jesus’ birth, the three Wiseman, the inn in Bethlehem, etc. Furthermore, Biblical Latin was written in a simply style and uses repetitive language so that it was easy for any person to read- even if they only knew a little Latin.
Adoration of the Magiby Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi
Latin Vulgate: Fabula Dies Natalis Christi Matthew 2: 1-12
2:1 cum ergo natus esset Iesus in Bethleem Iudaeae in diebus Herodis regis ecce magi ab oriente venerunt Hierosolymam 2:2 dicentes ubi est qui natus est rex Iudaeorum vidimus enim stellam eius in oriente et venimus adorare eum 2:3 audiens autem Herodes rex turbatus est et omnis Hierosolyma cum illo 2:4 et congregans omnes principes sacerdotum et scribas populi sciscitabatur ab eis ubi Christus nasceretur 2:5 at illi dixerunt ei in Bethleem Iudaeae sic enim scriptum est per prophetam 2:6 et tu Bethleem terra Iuda nequaquam minima es in principibus Iuda ex te enim exiet dux qui reget populum meum Israhel 2:7 tunc Herodes clam vocatis magis diligenter didicit ab eis tempus stellae quae apparuit eis 2:8 et mittens illos in Bethleem dixit ite et interrogate diligenter de puero et cum inveneritis renuntiate mihi ut et ego veniens adorem eum 2:9 qui cum audissent regem abierunt et ecce stella quam viderant in oriente antecedebat eos usque dum veniens staret supra ubi erat puer 2:10 videntes autem stellam gavisi sunt gaudio magno valde 2:11 et intrantes domum invenerunt puerum cum Maria matre eius et procidentes adoraverunt eum et apertis thesauris suis obtulerunt ei munera aurum tus et murram 2:12 et responso accepto in somnis ne redirent ad Herodem per aliam viam reversi sunt in regionem suam
2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of born Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Is this too advanced? A great resource for teaching Latin and using Christmas can be found here.
Saturnalia by Ernesto Biondi, 1899
Depicts 10 life-size figures,
who each represent a different social class
in Rome, from the gladiators and
slaves to the patricians during the Saturnalia.
WHEN
Saturnalia was an Roman festival held in honor of Saturn from December 17th to December 23rd.
FOR WHO
Saturn was the Greek equivalent of Cronus. Saturn/Cronus was the father of the Olympians. He was the patron god of the Capitol, generations, plenty, wealth, agriculture, liberation, and time.
Temple of Saturn
WHERE
The holiday was celebrated at the Temple of Saturn with a sacrifice and then a public banquet in the Roman Forum.
HOW TO CELEBRATE
After the sacrifice and communal feast, a continuous carnival like party would ensue with activities like gambling, gift-giving and even dancing. Gambling (mainly dice-playing) was permitted for all even slaves. However, the stakes were usually only a few coins or simply nuts. For the Calendar of Philocalus (seen here; scroll to the bottom to see December) the depiction of December is man in a fur coat next to a dice table. The caption along the side translates to “Now you have license, slave, to game with your master.”
Dice players in a wall painting from Pompeii
The Saturnalia was one of the only “carnival” like days in which the slaves of a household were masters for a day! Masters would wait on and serve their slaves during this holiday. Catullus calls it the optimo dierum or ” Best of Days!”(Catullus 14.15). Other sources say that masters and slaves only dined together as equals. Regardless of the particulars, Saturnalia was obviously a day of role reversal and breaking normal social boundaries. Furthermore, slaves were permitted to disrespect their masters and escape punishment (for that day). It was a holiday in which free speech was tolerated as the poet Horace called it libertas Decembri or ”December liberty.”
WEARING WHAT
Ancient Greek red-figure plate from Apulia,
third quarter of the 4th century BC,
Louvre. Man wearing Pileus.
The toga, which the iconic dress for all respectable Roman citizen, was discarded for this day. Instead, the Greek clothing known as synthesis was adopted. While quotidian, Roman citizens went about bare-headed during Saturnalia they worn the pilleus. The pilleus is a cone like felt cap that usually denotes the stature of a freedman (a slave who is freed by their master, but not quite a citizen). Slaves were not allowed to wear this “freed” cap, but for the Saturnalia everyone wore them so that there was not class distinction.
WHAT WOMEN WERE DOING
The participation of freeborn Roman women (in comparison to slave women, who would be participating) depended on the custom of the time. In the Republic, a woman presence in such debauchery would be unseemly. However from the late Republic and onwards, their presence in socially situations became more frequent.
It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference between the days devoted to Saturn and those for transacting business. … Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singularity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga.
SOURCES
While, Seneca, Horace, Catullus, and the Calendar of Philocalus prove to be excellent sources; the best source comes from the multivolume work of Macorbius. Macrobius describes the Saturnalia almost as a festival of lights leading up to the winter solstice (Dec. 21/22- longest night of the year). This notion is further seen in the later celebration (during the Roman Empire) of the Dies Natalis of Sol Invictus: “Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun,” on December 25.
The famous Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City
CHRISTMAS
The popularity of Saturnalia ensued until the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. As the Roman Empire came under Christian rules, many of the practices from Saturnalia were adopted in the celebration surrounding Christmas and New Year. While Saturnalia was originally a festival to celebrate Saturn and liberations; it could be viewed as a time where masters served their slaves out of thankfulness or even tradition. Thereby, this tradition of equality in all stations and the entitlement of some happiness is seen in Christmas and Saturnalia. Practices such as public and private celebrations, lights, gift giving, the shape of the pilleus resembling Santa’s hat, popularity of nuts (before nutcrackers) and the remembrance/importance of the 25th of December are clear similarities between the two holidays. However, the spiritual and religious connotation to Christmas were assimilated through time and the efforts of the church. You can learn more on Christmas throughout the ages here.
SATURNALIA TODAY
How to Celebrate Saturnalia in the 21st Century:
Read the steps here!
Big Bang Theory on Saturnalia
