Aldhelm Riddle 47: Hirundo
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022Absque cibo plures degebam marcida menses,
Sed sopor et somnus ieiunia longa tulerunt;
Pallida purpureo dum glescunt gramine rura,
Garrula mox crepitat rubicundum carmina guttur.
Post teneros fetus et prolem gentis adultam
Sponte mea fugiens umbrosas quaero latebras;
Si vero quisquam pullorum lumina laedat,
Affero compertum medicans cataplasma salutis
Quaerens campestrem proprio de nomine florem.
I was living without food for several months, wasting away,
But slumber and sleep supported the long fasts;
When the pale countryside blazes with radiant plants,
My ruddy throat immediately twitters away in chattering songs.
After my young offspring and my kind’s offspring are grown,
I flee of my own will and seek shady refuges;
But if indeed someone should injure my chicks’ eyes,
I, as the doctor, provide a proven poultice for health,
Seeking a flower of the field of my own name.
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.
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