Gentlemen, deep from within the manuscript vaults of the British Library, I present you with the Φληάδος.
Μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ ταφιηϊάδεω κάμβροιο οὐλομένην, ἥ μύρια φληοῖς ἄλγε’ ἔθηκε Πολλὰς τὲ στουτὰς ψυχὰς ἀΐδι προΐαψεν…
It goes on through book Σ.
I don’t get it. I get φιηϊάδεω as some sort of mangled form of Πηληιλαδεω, but what is κάμβρος and στουτή?
It looks pretty funny, but I don’t understand much either. Apparently it’s just mongrel, φληος = flea?
Στουτος = stout? I have no idea for ταφιηιαδεω and καμβροιo…
My ability to read the script is not 100%, but I’m assuming that this was written by an English speaker. Beyond φληος, there is “Εγγλισν” “Γρῆκον” and “λατὶν” in the note at the top. He calls it a “horrible monster?”
μόνστρον ὅρρενδον τό τε ἰνφορμὲς πόεμ’ ἐστὶ
πρόσθ’ Ἐγγλισh, μέσσονδε λατὶν, μετόπισθε δε Γρῆκον
monstrum horrendum informe Virg. Aen. 3.658
πρόσθε λέων, ὅπιθεν δὲ δράκων, μέσση δὲ χίμαιρα Il.6.181
2nd para: χώρη Κάμβριη ἐστι καλῆ Βρετάνων ἐνὶ γαίη. Wales.
- Ταφιηιάδεω Κάμβροιο
Taffy was a Welshman, goes the ditty.
Does the thing really go on for over ten thousand verses?
Does the thing really go on for over ten thousand verses?
The Combrogian Bard’s books seemed to have been shorter than Homer’s. He only produced 700 or so lines.
My book on Homer’s “real source” will be coming out in July. I expect it to be a bestseller in a certain part of the world.