Aldhelm Riddle 5: Iris

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 10 Mar 2022
Original text:

Taumantis proles priscorum famine fingor,
Ast ego prima mei generis rudimenta retexam:
Sole ruber genitus sum partu nubis aquosae;
Lustro polos passim solos, non scando per austros.

Translation:

I am thought of as the offspring of Thaumas in the writings of the ancients,
But I shall recount the first beginnings of my origin:
Red, I was born from the sun through a watery cloud’s production;
I illuminate empty skies everywhere; I do not climb through the winds.

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Rainbow


Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.



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