Compiled by an
unknown author about the late 13th / early 14th century, Gesta
Rōmānōrum (the deeds of the Romans) is a collection of anecdotes and tales
which, despite its title, have little, if anything, to do with the Romans.
Nevertheless, it was not only one of the most popular books at the time but
also a direct or indirect source for literature including the works of Geoffrey
Chaucer, Giovanni Boccaccio and William Shakespeare.
Like the Vulgate
it can be regarded as a “bridge” between textbook Latin and the works of the
Roman authors. Sentence structure is generally less complex, and language is neither
poetic nor oratorical in style. The only proviso is that certain features occur
that are not evident in Classical Latin, although the meaning remains clear.
Where variations occur, they will be noted.
Rēx quīdam
rēgnāvit, in cuius imperiō erat quīdam iuvenis ā pīrātīs captus, quī scrīpsit
patrī suō prō redemptiōne. Pater nōluit eum redimere sīc, quod iuvenis multō
tempore in carcere erat macerātus. Ille, quī eum in vinculis habēbat, quandam
pulchram fīliam ac oculīs hominum grātiōsam genuerat, qu(a)e nutrīta in
domō erat, quousque vīgintī annōs in etāte (aetāte) suā
complēverat, quae saepius incarcerātum visitātum īvit ac cōnsōlābātur.
Sed ille in tantum dēsōlātus erat, quod nūllam cōnsōlātiōnem recipere
poterat, sed suspīria et gemitūs continuē ēmittēbat.
Accidit quōdam
diē, quod, cum puella eum visitāret, ait iuvenis eī: “Ō bona
puella, utinam vellēs prō meā līberātiōne labōrāre!”
Quae ait: “Quōmodo
poterō hoc attentāre! Pater tuus, quī tē genuit, nōn vult tē redimere, ego
vērō, cum sim tibi extrānea, quōmodo deberem hoc cogitāre? “Et sī
tē līberārem, offēnsiōnem patris meī incurrerem, quia tuam
redemptiōnem perderet pater meus. Vērumtamen mihi ūnum concēde, et
līberābō tē.”
Ait ille: “Ō bona
puella, pete ā mē quid tibi placuerit! Sī mihi est possibile, ego concēdam.”
At illa: “Nihil
aliud petō prō tuā līberātiōne, nisi quod mē in uxōrem dūcās tempore
opportūnō.”
Quī ait: “Hoc tibi
firmiter prōmittō.”
Vocabulary
[i]
consolātiō, -ōnis
[3/f]: consolation, comfort
gemitus, -ūs
[4/m]: groan
offēnsiō, -ōnis
[3/f]: offence, wrongdoing
pīrāta, -ae [1/m]:
pirate
rēdemptiō, -ōnis
[3/f]: ransom, redemption
suspirium, -ī
[2/n]: sigh
vinculum, -ī
[2/n]: bond, chain, fetter
[ii]
cōnsolor,
cōnsolārī, cōnsolātus sum [1 deponent]: console, comfort
dēsolō, dēsolāre,
dēsolāvī, dēsolātus [1]: desolate, distress
gignō, gignere,
genuī, genitus [3]: beget, bring forth
incurrō,
incurrere, incursī, incursus [3]: incur, fall into (e.g. offence/blame)
macerō, macerāre,
macerāvī, macerātus [1]: wear down, exhaust
nūtrīō, nūtrīre,
nūtrīvī, nūtrītus [4]: nourish, bring up, rear
rēdīmō, rēdimere,
redēmī, redemptus [3]: ransom, redeem
[iii]
dēsōlātus, -a,
-um: desolate, distressed
extrāneus, -a,
-um: foreign, unrelated, outsider (as adjective)
grātiōsus, -a,
-um: pleasing, charming, graceful
opportūnus, -a,
-um: suitable, favourable, opportune
Notes
[1] Rēx quīdam
rēgnāvit, in cuius imperiō erat quīdam iuvenis ā pīrātīs captus …
A feature of some
texts in the Gesta Rōmānōrum is their deliberate vagueness. The phrase rēx
quīdam introduces an unnamed and unspecified king, while in cuius
imperiō provides only a minimal narrative setting. This lack of specificity
shows that the king serves merely as a framing device and plays no further role
in the story. This kind of opening is similar to a folk tale (“once there was a
king”), signalling that the moral narrative, rather than historical detail, is
the focus.
[2] visitātum īvit
| she went to visit …; supine
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/supine
[3] There are few
challenges in reading Mediaeval Latin (ML); differences will be noted as we
work through the text:
[i] ae > e;
this reflects the shift in pronunciation from the Classical Latin (CL) diphthong
/ae/ to /e/ and commonly occurs in Mediaeval writing:
CL: quae > ML: que
(Compare Fr. / Sp. que)
CL: aetate > ML:
etate
[iii] word order,
although still displaying Classical Latin structure, is simpler in style; note
in particular that verbs are trending towards an order similar or
identical to, for example, French and English:
… quī scrīpsit
patrī suō prō redemptiōne.
who wrote
to his father about a ransom
… cum sim
tibi extrānea, …
since I am
a stranger to you, …
Nihil aliud petō
prō tuā līberātiōne, …
I ask nothing else for your freedom
Sī mihi est
possibile …
If it is
possible for me,
līberābō tē
I will free you
[iv] A major
change to note: far wider-ranging use of quod to express the
conjunction ‘that’; these are not CL structures but show the influence of
Romance languages that had developed from Latin. Both of the examples below
would require ut + subjunctive in CL:
Sed ille in tantum
dēsōlātus erat, quod nūllam cōnsōlātiōnem recipere poterat
But he was so
utterly desolate that he was unable to receive any consolation
Accidit quōdam
diē, quod, … ait iuvenis eī
It happened one
day that, … the young man said to her
Subjunctive
usage
The text is an
excellent source of review of the subjunctive, and their uses are very clear:
[i] cum
puella eum visitāret, …
when the girl was visiting him,
cum sim tibi extrānea, …
since I am a stranger to you, …
cum-clause:
circumstance
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20cum-clauses
[ii] utinam
vellēs prō meā līberātiōne labōrāre!
if only you were willing to work for my
freedom!
optative
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20optative
[iii] quōmodo deberem
hoc cogitāre?
how should I
think of doing this?
deliberative
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20deliberative
[iv] Et sī
tē līberārem, offēnsiōnem patris meī incurrerem, …
And if I were
to free you, I would incur the anger of my father, …
conditional clause:
present contrary-to-fact
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/03/100926-level-3-conditional-clauses-7.html
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/03/100926-level-3-conditional-clauses-8.html
[v] … quia tuam
redemptiōnem perderet pater meus.
… because
my father would lose your ransom.
causal clause
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/03/230826-level-3-subjunctive-90-dependent.html
[vi] pete ā mē quid
tibi placuerit [perfect subjunctive]
ask from me whatever
you please [literally: what may have pleased you]
indirect question
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20indirect%20questions
[vii] Nihil aliud
petō …, nisi quod mē in uxōrem dūcās
I ask nothing else
…, except (for the fact) that you take me as your wife
indirect command:
in CL usually with ut but ML uses quod [see note [1][iv] above]
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20indirect%20commands
____________________
A certain king
reigned, in whose realm there was a certain young man who had been captured by
pirates, and who wrote to his father about a ransom. The father was unwilling
to ransom him in this way, because the young man had been worn down by a long
time in prison. The man who was holding him in chains had begotten a certain
beautiful daughter, pleasing in the eyes of men, and she had been brought up in
the house until she had reached twenty years of age. She often went to visit
the imprisoned man and used to comfort him. But he was so utterly desolate that
he was unable to receive any consolation, and instead he continually let out
sighs and groans.
It happened one
day that, when the girl was visiting him, the young man said to her: “O good
girl, if only you were willing to work for my freedom!”
She said: “How
shall I be able to attempt this? Your father, who begot you, is unwilling to
ransom you; but I, since I am a stranger to you, how should I think of doing
this? And if I were to free you, I would incur the anger of my father, because
my father would lose your ransom. Nevertheless, grant me one thing, and I will
free you.”
He said: “O good
girl, ask from me whatever you please! If it is possible for me, I will grant
it.”
But she said: “I
ask nothing else (in exchange / in return) for your freedom, except that you should
take me as your wife at a suitable time.”
He said: “I firmly
promise you this.”
Gesta Romanorum (1493)
