Letter 9003: Item ad Chilpericum et Fredegundem

Venantius FortunatusChilperic|c. 595 AD|Venantius Fortunatus|To Chilperic (recipient)|AI-assisted
grief deathhumor

III
Likewise, to Chilperic and Fredegund

After the storms and the turbid clouds of the sky,
when the earth is wont to grow stiff with hostile frost,
after the harsh winters and the dreary colds of midwinter,
or when the rapid south wind burdens the fields with its blast,
the seasons of spring come again to the world,
and, after the ice, the welcome breeze calls forth the day.
Once more the fields are renewed with fragrant flowers,
and every grove grows green with the leaves of its trees;
the oaks are bowed down with sweetly flavored fruits,
and, as the grass returns to it, the field smiles.
So too now, my lords, you who grieve after sorrowful losses,
gladden yourselves with a better spirit, I pray.
Behold, the calm days bring back again the Paschal feast of Christ,
and the whole world likewise resounds with new vows.
May joys favor you the more throughout the lofty palaces of kings,
and through you may your servants keep the blessed festival.
May the Almighty add to us your well-being in the world,
and long may your heights govern the homeland.

AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.

Latin / Greek Original

III
Item ad Chilpericum et Fredegundem
Post tempestates et turbida nubila caeli,
quo solet infesto terra rigere gelu,
post validas hiemes ac tristia frigora brumae,
flamine seu rapidi rura gravante noti,
succedunt iterum vernalia tempora mundo
grataque post glaciem provocat aura diem.
rursus odoriferis renovantur floribus arva,
frondibus arboreis et viret omne nemus;
dulce saporatis curvantur robora pomis,
et redeunte sibi gramine ridet ager.
sic quoque iam, domini, post tristia damna dolentes
vos meliore animo laetificate, precor.
ecce dies placidi revocant paschalia Christi,
orbs quoque totus item per nova vota fremit.
gaudia plus faveant per celsa palatia regum
et per vos famuli festa beata colant.
omnipotens nobis vestram addat in orbe salutem
atque diu patriam culmina vestra regant.

Revision history

  1. 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import

    Initial corpus import from modern venantius fortunatus retranslated v1.

    Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://data.mgh.de/openmgh/bsb00000790.zip

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