# Salutavit



## Ben Jamin

Hello,
I am reading now a medieval chronicle, and found the following passage:
"Genitrix Iudith nomine,
fatali forsan omine —
Iudith *salutavit *populum
per Holofernis iugulum" 

Is the use of *salutavit *correct Latin, or should it be *salvavit*?


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## Scholiast

Greetings



> Is the use of *salutavit *correct Latin, or should it be *salvavit*?


On its own_ salutavit _is correct Latin, but in the context (allusion to the story in the apocryphal book of _Judith_), _salvavit_ makes better sense.

My curiosity is piqued: what mediaeval chronicle is this? And is it all in verse?

Σ


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## wandle

It is from the Epilogus of the Chronicon Polonorum and _*salvavit*_ is certainly a better fit for both the sense and the scansion.


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## Ben Jamin

wandle said:


> It is from the Epilogus of the Chronicon Polonorum and _*salvavit*_ is certainly a better fit for both the sense and the scansion.
> 
> The suggestion that the name Judith was a deadly omen sounds as if it is a reference to Judas, or perhaps to Jews in general.



The Chronicle was written between 1111 and 1116 by a monk of unknown nationality and name, called traditionally Gallus Anonymus. He came to Poland from Hungary, and concealed his identity on purpose.
The Chronicle is basically in prose, but contains fragments in song form, in verse.

Gallus Anonymous was said to be very proficient in Latin, but not adhering too strictly to grammatical and lexical rules at his own fancy.

The analogy is to Judith of the Bible, and is a praise to heroic Duchess Judith, wife of Duke Wladislaus. Nothing negative about Jews, quite opposite.


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## Scholiast

salvete iterum!


> Gallus Anonymous was said to be very proficient in Latin, but not  adhering too strictly to grammatical and lexical rules at his own fancy.


Thank you, wandle and Ben Jamin, for explaining the origins of the quotation. In the circumstances, it would seem _prima facie_ likelier that the erroneous reading _salutavit_ is typographical rather than Gallus Anonymus' own.

Σ


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## wandle

Ben Jamin said:


> The analogy is to Judith of the Bible, and is a praise to heroic Duchess Judith, wife of Duke Wladislaus. Nothing negative about Jews, quite opposite.


Yes, I realised that after I had posted: so I deleted that comment.
However, that leaves the question: what deadly omen did Gallus Anonymus have in mind?


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## Ben Jamin

wandle said:


> Yes, I realised that after I had posted: so I deleted that comment.
> However, that leaves the question: what deadly omen did Gallus Anonymus have in mind?


No deadly omen at all. *Fatalis *here means: *pertaining to fate* (destiny).

"Deadly" is a secondary or tertiary meaning of *fatalis*.

"Fatali forsan omine"  should be translated as "perhaps a [strange] sign of destiny"

([His] mother, [was] called Judith, "perhaps as a [strange] sign of destiny. [The other] Judith saved her people by killing Holofernes [by cutting his throat]. This [Judith] gave birth to a son that triumphs over his foes).

The destiny was not mild to duchess Judith. She died a few months after giving birth to her celebrated son.


See 
Perseus Latin dictionary:
fatal (adj.) 

late 14c., "decreed by fate," also "fraught with fate," from Middle French fatal (14c.) and directly from Latin fatalis "ordained by fate, decreed, destined; destructive, deadly," from fatum (see fate (n.)); sense of "causing or attended with death" in English is from early 15c. Meaning "concerned with or dealing with destiny" is from mid-15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary:

fatal (adj.) 

late 14c., "decreed by fate," also "fraught with fate," from Middle French fatal (14c.) and directly from Latin fatalis "ordained by fate, decreed, destined; destructive, deadly," from fatum (see fate (n.)); sense of "causing or attended with death" in English is from early 15c. Meaning "concerned with or dealing with destiny" is from mid-15c.


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## wandle

If so, what omen of destiny is meant? 
It appears at first sight, because of the rhyme with *nomine*, and the use of the same case (ablative), to be a reference to the name Judith.
That is, her having that name was an omen of her subsequent action.
However, I suppose it might refer to something in earlier history, or might be looking forward to later events.


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## wandle

I see it now. The two final stanzas are:

_Genitrix Iudith nomine,
fatali forsan omine –
Iudith sal*v*avit populum
per Holofernis iugulum –

Ista peperit filium,
triumphatorem hostium,
de cuius gestis scribere
iam tempus est insistere._

The biblical Judith saved her people by slaying Holofernes.
The Polish Judith saved, or at least aided, her people by giving birth to Boleslav, who defeated his people's enemies.

The author, not wishing to be thought over-credulous, says the name was perhaps (_*forsan*_) an omen of destiny.


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