12 leonine verses

9. A POEM OF TWELVE LEONINE VERSES

What say the Inscriptions?

Love of Belles-Lettres

The Benedictines of the Romanesque Renaissance nourished love of Belles Lettres. The inscriptions engraved on the tympanum of Conques compose a remarkable poem of twelve leonine verses. This form of Latin versification was very fashionable in the monastic school of Saint-Victor Abbey and Hugh of Saint-Victor recommended it for its mnemonic virtues. Specifically, leonine verse is characterized by an interior rhyme. (It appears below in bold)

LATIN TEXT

TRANSLATION

• SACTORVM CETVS STAT XPISTO IVDICE LETVS

• SIC DATVR ELECTIS AD CELI GAVDIA V<E>CTIS

• GLORIA PAX REQVIES PERPETVVSQ<VE> DIES

• <C>ASTI PACIFICI MITES PIETATIS AMICI

• SIC STANT GAVDENTES SECVRI NIL METVENTES

• [H]OMNES PERVERSI SIC SVNT IN TARTARA MERSI

• PENIS INIVSTI CRVCIANTVR IN IGNIBVS VSTI

• DAEMONES ATQ<VE> TREMVNT PERPETVOQ<VE> GEMVNT

• FVRES MENDACES FALSI CVPIDIQVE RAPACES

• SIC SVNT DAMNAT<I> CVNCTI SIMVL ET SCELERATI

• O PECCATORES TRANSMVTETIS NISI MORES

• IVDICIVM DVRVM VOBIS SCITOTE FVTVRVM

THE ASSEMBLY OF SAINTS APPEARS REJOYING BEFORE CHRIST JUDGE

THUS TO THE ELECT LEAD TO THE JOYS OF HEAVEN ARE OFFERED:

GLORY, PEAC,E REST FOR THE ETERNAL DAY

THE CHASTITE, THE PEACEFUL, THE GENTLE, THE FRIENDS OF PIETY

THEREFORE STAND JOYFUL IN SECURITY, WITHOUT FEAR

THUS PERVERTED MEN ARE PLUNGED INTO THE TARTARUS

THE UNJUST ARE TORMENTED WITH TORTURE, BURNED IN FLAMES

IN FRONT OF DEMONS, THEY SHAKE AND MOAN PERPETUALLY

THIS IS HOW THIEVES, LIARS, ARE CONDEMNED,

DECEIVERS AND GREEDS, LIKE CRIMINALS

O SINNERS UNLESS YOU CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIORS, [KNOW THAT] FUTURE JUDGMENT WILL BE HARSH [TO YOU]

Last Chapter: Conclusion

A suivre...

Additional documents:

Assembly table of all the inscriptions as they appear today:

Assembly table of the transcription of the inscriptions in standardized Latin:

	<IESUS NAZAR>ENVS REX IVDEORVM	(AL HAMDA ?)
	SOL LANCEA CLAVI LVNA
SANCTORVM COETVS STAT CHRISTO IVDICE LAETUS	<H>OC SIGNVM CRVCIS ERIT IN CAELO CVM <DOMINVS AD IVDICANDVM VENERIT>	OMNES PERVERSI SIC SVNT IN TARTARA MERS<I>
<VENITE BENEDICT>I PATRIS MEI POSSIDETE <REGNVM QVOD> VO<BIS PARATVM EST>	<R>EX IVDEX	DISCEDITE A ME <MALEDICTI IN IGNEM AETERNVM>
<FIDES SPES> CARITAS TEM<PERANTIA> <H>VMILITAS		SIGNATVR LIBER <VI>TAE EXIBVNT ANGELI ET SEPARA<BVNT MALOS DE MEDIO IVTORVM>
SIC DATVR AD CELI GAVDIA V<E>CTIS GLORIA PAX REQVIES PERPETVVSQ<VE> DIES	+	POENIS INIVSTI CRVCIANTVR IN IGNIBVS VSTI DAEMONES ATQ<VE> TREMVNT PERPETVOQ<VE> GEMVNT
<C>ASTI PACIFICI MITES AMICI SIC STANT GAVDENTES SECVRI NIL METVENTES	+	FVRES MENDACES FALSI CVPIDIQVE RAPACES SIC SVNT DAMNAT<I> CVNCTI SIMVL ET SCELERATI
O PECCATORES TRANSMVTETIS NISI MORES IVDICIVM DVRVM VOBIS SCITOTE FVTVRVM :

AN EXEMPLARY SCANSION

The philologist François De Coster evokes a "scansion of disconcerting clarity", of impeccable rigor in the alternation of long and short syllables and underlines that they are always rich rhymes. We give below the metric version he established:

Feet are composed of one to four syllables. Long syllables are noted (—); the brief ones (U). Internal rhymes are underlined, the feet are separated by an oblique bar (/), the caesura is indicated by a vertical bar (I).

Conclusion

Last update: 20/03/2024