A Few Significant Latin Works

I do not claim that the works I mention in this post are the most significant works in the Latin language. As the decades roll by, I find lists of the most significant this or that to be less and less significant. The best such lists can be is interesting in some way, and hopefully some readers will find this post interesting.

The Vulgate Bible, or biblia sacra vulgata, is a Latin version of the Old and New Testament and some Old Testament apocrypha, made by St Jerome and some other, unknown individuals in the late 4th and early 5th centuries from Hebrew, Greek and earlier Latin sources.

It was the primary version of the Bible used by the Catholic Church until the 20th century, and it also happens to be quite beautifully written. Some have thought that the term "Vulgate" means that the Latin style of this version of the bible is somehow vulgar, but this is an error; "Vulgate" simply refers to the fact that it has been translated into Latin.

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, or The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, is a history of England written around 730 by the writer known as the Venerable Bede. Bede wrote on a great many subjects, but his history is by far the best-known, most widely-read of his works. It covers the history of England from Caesar' invasion in 55 BC to Bede's own day. Historians of England generally agree that their profession began with Bede, and that his history is one of the great works of Dark Age Western Europe. Writing in the 12th century, William of Malmesbury, considered by many to be one of the very best Medieval historians in Europe, not just in England, said that he considered his work to be a continuation of Bede's history, and expressed the hope that he might be a not wholly unworthy successor.

Remaining in England: Magna Carta is highly revered by many English people as the core of their legal system, and indeed many of the principles of English law such as the right to trial by jury, and the principle that all, including the English monarch, are answerable to the law, were first formally expressed in writing in this document. It was first written in 1215, and at first it failed at what it was intended to do. Magna Carta was written in an attempt to end a war between King John and the barons of England. It did not end that war, and it was immediately declared invalid by the Pope. However, revised versions were written beginning in 1217 and continue to be written to this day, and, if not a direct source of contemporary principles of jurisprudence, it continues to be a powerful symbol of the rule of law and of justice fairly meted out, in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom. It seems rather important to some historians to refer to the document in the linguistically correct Latin version as "Magna Carta" rather than in the often-heard phrase "the Magna Carta," so I'm following their preference and mentioning it.

De Insulis Indiae supra Gangem nuper inventis, Of the Islands of India Beyond the Ganges Newly Discovered, is one of several titles which refer to the Latin translation of the letter written in Spanish reporting on Christopher Columbus' first transatlantic voyage to Isabelle of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. The author of the letter claims to be Columbus himself, writing on the return trip to Spain in February 1493. Leander de Cosco notes in the introduction to the translation that he finished it on the 29th of April, 1493. Already in May 1493 the first edition of the Latin translation had been published in Rome. 6 more editions were printed in Rome, Basel, Paris and Antwerp before the end of 1493.

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, was written by Isaac Newton, and first published in 1687. Newton published revised editions in 1713 and 1726. In this work Newton expounded the principles of what is still called Newtonian physics, and still used in all sorts of practical applications up to and including space flight. The Apollo 8 mission orbited the moon, and on its return to Earth mission control passed on a child's question, "Who's driving the spaceship now?" to mission pilot William Anders, who famously replied, “I think Isaac Newton is doing most of the driving now.”

1215

Some thoughts about some things which happened 800 years ago.

The first which comes to my mind associated with 1215 is the Magna Carta. As you may know, "magna carta" is Latin for "great charter." Some people call it "Magna Carta" instead of "the Magna Carta." I don't care whether you call it one or the other. But some people might.

I honestly don't know what to make of the Magna Carta. Some barons were in rebellion against King John of England in 1215. They, the barons, had the document drawn up which is known as the Magna Carta, which granted some rights to the barons, John very unwillingly put his seal on it on June 15, which is why there are going to be big celebrations here and there this coming June 15. On June 19 the charter officially went into effect, but in August John rejected it, which led to all-out war between him and some barons. Also in August Pope Innocent III declared the Magna Carta to be invalid. In 1216 John died, and his son and heir King Henry III re-issued the charter, but with some restrictions, hoping that this would end the war. But the barons wouldn't agree to the restricted charter and the war dragged on.

Out if this particularly dismal beginning the Magna Carta somehow became a great symbol of the rights of all English people. Another version was issued in 1217, and another in 1225, and eventually every English monarch upon taking the throne would ceremoniously renew the charter. The members of the English Parliament, and then its successor the British Parliament, have often claimed that the Magna Carta was the founding of Parliament, although actually a Paliament already existed going back to William the Conqueror, and although a Parliament even faintly resembling the modern one didn't begin to take shape until long after 1215. The rebels in the American Revolution referred to the Magna Carta as embodying the rights for which they were fighting. Which all goes to show that a lot of English and American people haven't been able to read Latin.

Be that as it may, symbols do have power even when they're misunderstood, or perhaps especially when they're misunderstood.

In 1215 the 4th Lateran Council began. The proceedings of this famous Council are so horrible and depressing that I'm just going to ignore them altogether, and instead say a little about the Lateran Palace in Rome where the Council took place, and from which it gets its name. The Palace is named after the Laterani family, who owned it from some time which is misty from distance even by the standards of Rome, until it was confiscated by the Emperor Nero, who accused the Consul-designate Plautius Lateranus of plotting against him. Constantine the Great built a church on the site and gave it to the Bishop of Rome at some time which is not precisely known. For most of the time from the 4th century onwards, the the Lateran Palace was the primary residence of the Popes, until the late 16th century, when they moved to the Vatican. The Lateran Palace is about 2 miles from the walls of Vatican City, but it is one of the few possessions of the Vatican outside the walls. Today it houses a museum open to the public, dedicated to the history of the Papal States, as well as the residence and offices of a Cardinal.

In 1215 the armies of Genghis Khan set fire to Beijing. The fire was not put out for over a month.

In 1215 the game of chess was known all over the Islamic and Christian parts of the world.

In 1215 Matthew Paris turned 15 years old. As an adult he would write some of the best historical works made in Medieval Europe, and very impressively illustrate his manuscripts. Despite his name, Paris was thoroughly English. Did he hear about the Magna Carta as early as 1215? If so, I wonder what he made of it.

In 1215 Saxo Grammaticus had either recently finished or was about to finish his great work, the Gesta Danorum, a story of the Danish people modeled after Vergil's Aeneid, which is modeled after Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.