Shepherdess
-
- Textkit Neophyte
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 8:41 pm
Shepherdess
Is there a Latin word for shepherdess, perhaps from a medieval or renaissance source? I’m in pastoral mode and want to talk about a shepherd who loves a shepherdess. I’m guessing that women didn’t act as shepherds in classical times because the only words I can find are the masculine pastor and upilio. However, by the renaissance, surely they came up with a solution (pastora? upilia?). I suppose I could refer to her as pastor muliebris, but that’s awful clunky, and might, I suspect, be construed as an "effeminate shepherd."
-
- Textkit Fan
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 11:21 am
- Location: Upsalia, Suecia
Re: Shepherdess
The word "pastrix" is evidently attested in medieval sources as a female counterpart to "pastor" in ecclesiastic circumstances: http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/PASTRIX1
-
- Textkit Zealot
- Posts: 3270
- Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm
Re: Shepherdess
Classically you have "Amaryllis" (proper noun used conventionally) for a shepherdess (in Vergil's Eclogues and in Ovid)
Et classicè "Amaryllis -idis" (nomen proprium feminae quae oves custodit in eclogis Vergili et apud Ovidium)
Et classicè "Amaryllis -idis" (nomen proprium feminae quae oves custodit in eclogis Vergili et apud Ovidium)
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.
-
- Textkit Neophyte
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 8:41 pm
Re: Shepherdess
Thanks, Alatius and Adrianus. I did wonder about Amaryllis as a sort of generic shepherdess. However, the second definition for pastrix, pastricis in the Glossarium seems to refer to an actual shepherdess –puella gregis custos, with the French definition of bergère. Works for me!
- thesaurus
- Textkit Zealot
- Posts: 1012
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:44 pm
Re: Shepherdess
I just wanted to say thank you for this very useful website. I knew about Ducagne, but I didn't know there was such a handy hypertext version available.Alatius wrote:The word "pastrix" is evidently attested in medieval sources as a female counterpart to "pastor" in ecclesiastic circumstances: http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/PASTRIX1
Horae quidem cedunt et dies et menses et anni, nec praeteritum tempus umquam revertitur nec quid sequatur sciri potest. Quod cuique temporis ad vivendum datur, eo debet esse contentus. --Cicero, De Senectute