Tu sic dae viola quae inviolata

[Medicus]

I am a harpist trying to translate a hymn to Mary the Mother of God. So, feminine subject and I assume it will read like poetry. What I can make out from my little Collins dictionary and my first year Latin sounds stilted, so I’m hoping for help from someone who knows more than me!

There are 4 of these short lines that I want to put to music. Thank you!

 

[Pacifica]

The phrase in the title should be tu sic dicta viola quod inviolata: "you so-called violet because inviolate".

 

[Medicus]

Is it possible that, in the manuscript I’m reading (circa 1260) that dicta became “dae”—there is a line over the “ae “ ? Trying to make sense of what I see on the page…

And does viol mean the flower violet? Trying to get a sense of the poetry…

 

[Pacifica]

Is it possible that, in the manuscript I’m reading (circa 1260) that dicta became “dae”—there is a line over the “ae “ ? Trying to make sense of what I see on the page…

A line over a word indicates an abbreviation. However, the ending should really be a rather than ae.

And does viol mean the flower violet? Trying to get a sense of the poetry…

Sorry, I should have typed "violet", indeed. I'll fix it.

 

[Medicus]

Thank you!

 

[scrabulista]

The phrase in the title should be tu sic dicta viola quod inviolata: "you so-called violet because inviolate".

Would it be more natural to say, "you are thus called Violet because you are inviolate?"

 

[Pacifica]

Sic is unlikely to have a "therefore" kind of sense. It's more probable that we have the (non-classical) Latin expression sic dictus = "so-called".

As for adding "are", you can maybe add the second, and even the first if you want to take a bigger liberty. But in the Latin, this phrase isn't meant as a complete sentence; it's just one of a long string of vocative phrases: "O you mountain, you cloud, you this, you that, you violet, you a thousand things."

 

[Clemens]

As for adding "are", you can maybe add the second, and even the first if you want to take a bigger liberty. But in the Latin, this phrase isn't meant as a complete sentence; it's just one of a long string of vocative phrases: "O you mountain, you cloud, you this, you that, you violet, you a thousand things."

This is most famously seen in the O antiphons in Advent, as well as at the end of the Salve Regina: O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

 

[Medicus]

Perfect, thanks.