This section examines some vocabulary used to express 17th century warfare although the terms used are rooted in Classical Latin.
Vel mūrōs per scālās trānscendendō, aut diruendō
arietibus, aut dēmoliendō tormentīs, vel dirumpendō portās exōstrā, vel
ēiaculandō globōs tormentāriōs ē mortāriīs (ballistīs) in urbem …
[1]
mortārium, -ī [2/n]: mortar; in Classical Latin this
denotes the bowl used for grinding or pounding substances. By extension, the
English derivative refers to [i] the sand–lime/cement mixture prepared in such
a vessel, and [ii] a short-barrelled artillery mortar, so named from its bowl-like
shape rather than from any Roman military usage.
[2]
exōstra, -ae [1/f]: petard; Comenius uses this as a Neo-Latin
term, applying a meaning that was not used in Classical Latin
Invented in 1579, the petard was a small bomb containing
2-3kg of gunpowder and used to blow up gates and walls.
“For ’tis the sport to have the engineer Hoist with his
own petard (Shakespeare: Hamlet)”; the phrase referring in the play
to being ‘lifted’ i.e. blown up by one’s own bomb has become an idiom for being
foiled by one’s own plan or falling into one’s own trap.
The Ancient Romans did not have explosives and the noun exōstra
had two meanings:
[i] (theatrical) a moveable piece of scenery to represent
the interior of a room
[ii] (military) “… a peculiar kind of bridge, which was
thrown from a tower of the besiegers upon the walls of a besieged town, and
across which the assailants marched to attack those of the besieged who were
stationed on the ramparts to defend the town” (Harper’s Dictionary of
Classical Antiquities)
[3]
globus, -ī [2/m]: any small, round object
tormentārius, -a, -um: (Neo-Latin) relating to a
firearm; the adjective is not attested in Classical Latin but obviously derived
from tormentum.
____________________
The Gunpowder Plot, a foiled attempt to blow up the British
Houses of Parliament on November 4th 1605 made international
headlines and reports were published throughout Europe in several languages
including Latin. I have the impression the report was written quickly or
incorrectly transcribed since there are errors (marked with asterisks):
… effigiēs septem Anglōrum quī Rēgem suum cum *paraecipuēs*
[= praecipuōs] Statūs Anglicī Proceribus ad *Parlementum* [=
Parlamentum] ut vocant convocātīs pulvere tormentāriō simul
horrendō modō in ipsā domō *Parlemntī* [= Parlamentī] ēvertere voluērunt.
- … the images of the seven Englishmen who wanted to overthrow their king together with the noblemen as they call the leading men of the English State (who had been) summoned to Parliament at the same time in an horrific manner by means of gunpowder in the House of Parliament itself.
pulvis, pulveris [3/n]: powder
pulvis tormentārium: gunpowder i.e. the powder is
used to propel the projectile
Similarly:
globus tormentārius: cannonball; “grenade”
There is a contemporary reference to both terms by Diego
Collado, a Spanish Christian missionary (1587 – 1638):
Ego pulverem tormentārium cōnficiō: cum
ergō ita sit: haereticīs et pyrātīs Holandīs vēndidī huiusmodī pulverem; illīs
etiam ministrāvī quaerendō vīctū alia, sclopōs, et glandēs
seu globōs tormentāriōs, et tormenta et alia īnstrūmenta
bellica.
- I make the gunpowder, and as it is, I have sold it to the Dutch heretics and pirates. For obtaining my livelihood, I also procured other stuff for them: guns and bullets or cannon balls and cannons and other instruments of war.
glāns, glandis [3/f]: (Classical Latin) acorn;
acorn-shaped nut e.g. chestnut, but the term was also used by the Romans to
refer to a small ball of lead or clay hurled at the enemy from a sling;
(Neo-Latin) bullet
The origin of the word sclopus - referring to a gun -
is unclear, but its use here is not unique. Comenius uses it in the section of
his book concerned with children’s games:
Sclopō vel arcū iaculantur │ They shoot with a “trunk”
or a bow
The image from that section of the book shows the boy using
some form of blow-pipe or pea-shooter, translated as “trunk” presumably since
it’s wooden and cylindrical.
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/10/080125-level-1-topic-school-18-sports.html
It appears to be related to: stloppus, -ī [2/m], a
slap (the sound produced by striking upon the inflated cheek) [Lewis
& Short]; also listed as scloppus in Gaffiot); variant
forms appear in manuscripts including sclop- and scoph-, an onomatopoetic word
conveying the sound; it is found in Italian: schioppo (gun) and scoppio
(explosion)
sclopētum, -ī [2/n]: (Neo-Latin) rifle
sclopetārius, -ī [2/m]: (Neo-Latin) rifleman
In the report on the Gunpowder Plot, the following statement
is made:
Robertus Catesbī & Thomas Percī ictū sclopētī periēre
- Robert Catesby and Thomas Percy perished from a gunshot
ictus,-ūs [4/m]: blow; strike; (Neo-Latin) referring
to the shot from a gun
While this is of interest, words related to guns are not
pertinent to the Ancient Romans since no such weaponry existed.
No comments:
Post a Comment