Thursday, December 15, 2011

A delicious passage from Gregory of Tours -- or rather translator Lewis Thorpe

Here's the Latin from Histories (or The History of the Franks) 7.2:
 Quibus discedentibus, coniuncti Dunenses cum reliquis Carnotenis, de vestigio subsecuntur, simile sorte eos adficientes, qua ipsi adfecti fuerant, nihil in domibus vel extra domus vel de domibus relinquentes. 
Thorpe's English:
[Raiders from Chateaudun wreaking reprisals on attackers from Blois and Orleans] meted out to them the same treatment which they themselves had received:  they left nothing inside the houses and nothing outside the houses, and they knocked the houses down.
With apologies to the long-ago victims of this violent episode, that's pretty amazing.


Image: the same action, same country, somewhat later.



3 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:14 pm

    He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast!
    He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
    Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash!

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  2. A very interesting episode, for all sorts of reasons.

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  3. Hi,
    A very interesting episode, for all sorts of reasons.....so thanks for it

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