Medieval stuff!

Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more.
Post Reply
Moerus
Textkit Fan
Posts: 281
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 2:00 am
Location: Lovanium - Leuven (Belgium)

Medieval stuff!

Post by Moerus »

I have a little question for the ones who are fond of medieval Latin.


qui ac alicuius ecclesiae servitium se mancipavit


I don't see what this 'ac' means here and normally se mancipare takes a dative, why is there an accusative?

If someone knows, please let me know,
thank you,

Moerus

User avatar
benissimus
Global Moderator
Posts: 2733
Joined: Mon May 12, 2003 4:32 am
Location: Berkeley, California
Contact:

Post by benissimus »

It seems to me that it has taken on the force of "even". I am taking somewhat of a risk in guessing that it means something like:

Who has sold himself even as the slave of a church?
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

Mellitus
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2004 5:36 pm

Post by Mellitus »

I don`t have a dictionary right now beside me, but isn`t "ac" equal to "atque"?

User avatar
benissimus
Global Moderator
Posts: 2733
Joined: Mon May 12, 2003 4:32 am
Location: Berkeley, California
Contact:

Post by benissimus »

Mellitus wrote:I don`t have a dictionary right now beside me, but isn`t "ac" equal to "atque"?
Yes, it is a shortened form.
qui ac alicuius ecclesiae servitium se mancipavit
More literally, I am supposing that this says "Who has sold himself, [as] service and also of some church."
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

Moerus
Textkit Fan
Posts: 281
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 2:00 am
Location: Lovanium - Leuven (Belgium)

Post by Moerus »

I solved the problem myself like this:

In Medieval Latin they use frequently an abstractum pro concreto: so here servitium = servum And so we have: he devoted himself as a servant of a church

An other possibility is this: you can see servitium as an accusative to stress the meaning that is already in the verb mancipare. This is possible here, cause they are in the same semantic field.
Then we have: he devoted himself id est his service of ...

The problem of the ac is also solved: Sometimes they put ac with a relative in Medieval Latin, without changing the meaning. So you don't have to translate this ac. qui ac = qui

Problem solved, now I am gonna find an other one, :P


Cordially and thanks to all who helped,

Moerus

Post Reply