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wolfinthewoodTranslation of a Latin riddle from a 10th century German MS
A bird without feathers came flying,
and perched in a tree without leaves.
There came a man who had no hands;
he climbed the tree with no feet,
roasted the bird without a fire,
devoured it without a mouth.
translation © Gillian Spraggs 2018
***
I found the Latin original in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed. Iona and Peter Opie, in the notes to this well-known English riddle, first recorded in the mid-nineteenth century:
White bird featherless
Flew from Paradise,
Pitched on the castle wall;
Along came Lord Landless,
Took it up handless,
And rode away horseless to the King's white hall.
***
Volavit volucer sine plumis,
sedit in arbore sine foliis,
venit homo absque manibus,
conscendit illam sine pedibus,
assavit illum sine igne,
comedit illum sine ore.
(Note: The text supplied by the Opies has a typo, 'illum' for 'illam'.)
A bird without feathers came flying,
and perched in a tree without leaves.
There came a man who had no hands;
he climbed the tree with no feet,
roasted the bird without a fire,
devoured it without a mouth.
translation © Gillian Spraggs 2018
***
I found the Latin original in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed. Iona and Peter Opie, in the notes to this well-known English riddle, first recorded in the mid-nineteenth century:
White bird featherless
Flew from Paradise,
Pitched on the castle wall;
Along came Lord Landless,
Took it up handless,
And rode away horseless to the King's white hall.
***
Volavit volucer sine plumis,
sedit in arbore sine foliis,
venit homo absque manibus,
conscendit illam sine pedibus,
assavit illum sine igne,
comedit illum sine ore.
(Note: The text supplied by the Opies has a typo, 'illum' for 'illam'.)
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Date: March 7th, 2018 09:24 am (UTC)Nine
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Date: March 7th, 2018 12:28 pm (UTC)