Bedae venerabilis ossa

John Townsend

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Mar 31, 2012, 6:41:37 AM3/31/12

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Written on Bede's tomb in Durham Cathedral:

"HAC SUNT IN FOSSA BEDAE VENERABILIS OSSA"

Metrically, it scans perfectly as a hexameter, yet it contains the almost
humorous interplay between "fossa" and "ossa", which seems at odds with the
solemnity of the subject matter.

Have you any thoughts as to when this line was composed?

Best wishes,

John Townsend
Antiquarian Bookseller/Genealogist
http://www.johntownsend.demon.co.uk

Ed Cryer

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Mar 31, 2012, 7:22:13 AM3/31/12

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On a gravestone next to William Wordsworth's in Grasmere I once saw
written in chalk "Here lies Fred, Who was alive and is now dead".

On the side of the house in an unadopted street in Edinburgh where David
Hume lived (Hume "the atheist") a lady friend chalked "St David St".
Hume left it there because it tickled his fancy. Shortly afterwards a
council official came round replacing all worn and missing street signs,
and that street became officially known as "St David Street".

"There is a story (which you won't understand unless like Bede, you have
learnt Latin) that soon after his death, one of his pupils sat down to
compose an epitaph for his tomb. He had written as far as this--

Hac sunt in fossa
Bedae ossa

Here are in this tomb
Bede's bones

but he could not think of a word that would fit into the line, for a
word like sancti (saint) would have spoilt the metre. And so, much
troubled, he got him to bed. Next morning he went to his task again, and
found that an angel had put in the word that was wanted--

Hac sunt in fossa
Bedae Venerabilis ossa.

Here are in this tomb
Bede the Venerable's bones.

So this saint has ever since been known as the Venerable Bede."
(http://anglicanhistory.org/dearmer/lives/04.html)

Ed

P.S. Perhaps the outcome of a hexameter line was pure accident?!?

Evertjan.

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Mar 31, 2012, 7:51:55 AM3/31/12

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Ed Cryer wrote on 31 mrt 2012 in alt.language.latin:

> On a gravestone next to William Wordsworth's in Grasmere I once saw
> written in chalk "Here lies Fred, Who was alive and is now dead".

Metrum suggeste [to me]:

"Here lies Fred,
who was alive
and now is dead".

--
Evertjan.
The Netherlands.
(Please change the x'es to dots in my emailaddress)

Ed Cryer

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Mar 31, 2012, 2:10:38 PM3/31/12

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Evertjan. wrote:
> Ed Cryer wrote on 31 mrt 2012 in alt.language.latin:
>
>> On a gravestone next to William Wordsworth's in Grasmere I once saw
>> written in chalk "Here lies Fred, Who was alive and is now dead".
>
> Metrum suggeste [to me]:
>
> "Here lies Fred,
> who was alive
> and now is dead".
>

O you who pass here by, go tell them in Sparta
That we died obedient to their wishes.
(With our boots on)

Ed

John Townsend

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Apr 1, 2012, 5:22:02 AM4/1/12

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It seems that the present tomb, made from polished limestone, was erected
over Bede's grave in 1831, with the inscription cut into its surface.
(source: http://www.dur.ac.uk/r.c.widdison/tour/point4.html)

I wonder if that means the epitaph was composed in or shortly before 1831.

John

Ed Cryer

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Apr 1, 2012, 8:24:11 AM4/1/12

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If it were me, John, I'd drop the Cathedral a line, and ask them for
what they know about it.
There are usually so many people with connections to places like that
interested in the history of it all; especially in these latter days of
everybody tracing their genealogy.

There's a contact address here;
http://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/contacts
enqu...@durhamcathedral.co.uk

If you feel any compunction or scruple against doing so, just let me
know and I'll gladly do it.

Ed

Weland

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Apr 9, 2012, 2:05:01 AM4/9/12

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I believe the story in which the quote is contained is in the Golden
Legend, so predates the new tomb discussed elsewhere in the thread.

As for the couplet itself, I'm not sure I'd say the interplay is
humorous, but it is typical of Old English and Anglo-Latin word play.