Aldhelm Riddle 1: Terra
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Thu 10 Mar 2022Original text:
Altrix cunctorum, quos mundus gestat, in orbe
Nuncupor (et merito, quia numquam pignora tantum
Improba sic lacerant maternas dente papillas)
Prole virens aestate, tabescens tempore brumae.
Translation:
The nurse of all the things which the world bears in my orbit
I am called (and for good reason, because never have rude
Offspring torn at their mother’s breasts with teeth like this.)
In summer I am flourishing with children, in winter-time I waste away.
Earth
Notes:
This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin, Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.
Tags: riddles latin Aldhelm