Philobiblon: Can anyone help with some early modern Latin?

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Can anyone help with some early modern Latin?

In the British Library copy of Epicedium (see post above) is written (in a hand and ink that looks to me 16th-century or thereabouts):

HELENAE NICOLSON dominae BRANCH
epitaphium lapide Lydio misculptim, &
literis aueeus miscriptum in tumulum
delubro sancta Maria Abchurche
LONDON decoris exructim
Anno a partue virgins, 1594

In fahicem memoriam pia pulchra & pudicae femina domina HELEN BRANCH, filia venerablis, GVIELMI NICOLSON ohim ciuis & Pamnarin LONDON quondam per quadraginta ammos (& eo ampliup) vxoris viri dignisim JOHANNIS DIINORS ciuis et etiam Pannarin LONDON cui peperit filium vnum Rogerum, & filias tres, Joannam Ripman, & Plaragaretam omnes fine prote deunctos Nuper (ad annum asque vugezimum) uxoris aurati quondam praecharizimae ciutatis LONDON homoratizimi Plaioris:
ROBERTUS NICOLSON generosus ex fratre nepos vreiufoz heres & dicta Dominae sotus executor, suis fumptubus spontaneis hoc Monumentum pofuit.


Nuper fui eti estis:
Nunc sum eti eritis.

Quam ter falicem pietas opulentia, forma,
Flecere' im terris modo suffragante popells:
Suffragante' Deo fideo, constantia viuoe'
Eternum in calis, te nunc iubet eze beatam.
Nonagenaria obut 10 mo. Aprilis
Annon Salutis 1594 to.
------------------------------------

Cuius honoratizimae' Dominae' exequinae' moerentes splendenie
Die unnae ( ) 29 Aprilis 1594 to magna comitant caterua tam ornatizima Domini CVIBERTI BVCKLE tunc turrigeri LONDONI==INI Plaioris, quam venerabilizimocum
Doctorum, Generoforum, confanguineorum, Affirmum, proximorn, caduceatorum; perhomorificaruma Dominarum 'generosarm & pauperum, honorifice celebrata fuerunt . .

Tetratichon suprascriptum Anglice.
Ladie whom Pietie, Plentie, Beautie rare'
thrice hapie made on earth by peoples voices:
By constant lively faith, Heaven doth prepare'
eternal bliss for thee', wher LOVE reiosies,
Per Robin Nicolson; dicta Dominae nepotem'
Idem Anglice.

whom Pietie, Plentie & Beautie made,
thrice happie here, in Earth among the best:
Her lively faith, whose true fauite never fade'
makes home with God in heaven for ever blest.


[The bottom line is unfortunately cut off, but I think it almost certainly reads
Joshua Silueter: 1594]

So at least the English part of that is probably from one of the other pamphlets.

I suspect that the part above the line might be the epitaph from her tomb (the original having been lost in the Great Fire.)

I get from the bolded part that she was a beautiful and modest/chaste matron, dutiful daughter to John Nicolson, and that Robert Nicolson was her executor. Can anyone help with anything more?

Thanks in advance, and please forgive any transcription errors - not easy with handwriting in a language you don't know.

(I find that Phillips at least wrote quite a few similar elegies, although mostly for aristocrats rather than gentry.)

2 Comments:

Blogger Natalie Bennett said...

I don't think they had Klingon then, although of course there's always time travel ...

Seriously, thanks! You've been enormously helpful!

1/29/2006 09:27:00 am  
Blogger Natalie Bennett said...

Ronnie, you are an absolute and total star!!!! I really wasn't looking forward to trying to teach myself Latin just to translate this! Please award yourself a large glass of whisky or your tipple of choice on my behalf!

2/14/2006 11:54:00 pm  

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