The grete joye that was betwix hem two
When they be mette ther may no tunge telle.
Ther is no more but unto bed thei go,
And thus in joy and blysse I lete hem duelle.
This worthi Mars, that is of knyghthod welle,
The flour of feyrnesse lappeth in his armes,
And Venus kysseth Mars, the god of armes.
Sojourned hath this Mars of which I rede
In chambre amyd the paleys prively
A certeyn tyme, til him fel a drede
Throgh Phebus, that was comen hastely
Within the paleys yates sturdely,
With torche in honde, of which the stremes bryghte
On Venus chambre knokkeden ful lyghte.
No tongue may tell of the great joy that was between the two of them
when they met one another. There is no more (for us to say or them to do)
but they went right to bed, and thus in joy and bliss I let them dwell. This
worthy Mars, the wellspring/origin of knighthood/chivalry, embraces the
flower of beauty in his arms, and Venus kisses Mars, the god of arms
(weapons).
This Mars of which I speak (or read) sojourned in a chamber/room within
the palace secretly (privately), for a certain time, until a dread/fear fell
upon him on account of Phebus, who had come hastily and boldly
(sturdily) within the palace gates, with torch in hand, of which the bright
beams/streams knocked on Venus' chamber with much brilliance (with
much light).
"...how bitter was the sorrow of the lovers when we were forced to part!
With what shame was I overwhelmed, with what contrition smitten
because of the blow which had fallen on her I loved, and what a tempest
of misery burst over her by reason of my disgrace! Each grieved most, not
for himself, but for the other. Each sought to allay, not his own sufferings,
but those of the one he loved. The very sundering of our bodies served
but to link our souls closer together; the plentitude of the love which was
denied to us inflamed us more than ever. Once the first wildness of shame
had passed, it left us more shameless than before, and as shame died
within us the cause of it seemed to us ever more desirable. And so it
chanced with us as, in the stories that the poets tell, it once happened
with Mars and Venus when they were caught together.
It was not long after this that Heloise found that she was pregnant, and of
this she wrote to me in the utmost exultation, at the same time asking me
to consider what had best be done. Accordingly, on a night when her
uncle was absent, we carried out the plan we had determined on, and I
stole her secretly away from her uncle's house, sending her without delay
to my own country. She remained there with my sister until she gave birth
to a son, whom she named Astrolabe."
--Peter Abelard, Historia Calamitatum
Nova Sophia Miller, age 1,
expressing her admiration
for Geoffrey Chaucer, her
"homeboy"
Oresme's Six Divisions of Astrology
1) measuring and tracking the movements of the heavens to
allow us to make predictions (such as those below)
2) identifying the particular influence of stars on the physical
effects in the world over which they have power (heat, cold)
3) connecting major astronomical events such as the
conjunctions of planets to predicting great events in the
world; predicting the weather; or understanding the bodily
humors so that the correct medicine can be taken at the
correct time
4) nativities: predicting human destiny based on astrological
configurations at birth
5) interrogations: asking a question and finding an answer
based on the position of the heavens (a kind of divination)
6) elections: similar to the above, but the question will
concern the proper time to undertake a journey or some other
action, etc.
Alectromancy – "divination by cock," i.e. divination by the
feeding behavior of roosters or other chickens
"Publius Clodius Pulcher performed the inspection of the
omens before [a battle in the First Punic War], according to
Roman religious tradition. The prescribed method was
observing the feeding behaviour of the sacred chickens, on
board for that purpose. If the chickens accepted the offered
grain, then the Roman gods would be favourable to the
battle. However, on that particular morning of 249 BC, the
chickens refused to eat – a horrific omen. Confronted with the
unexpected and having to deal with the superstitious and
now terrified crews, Pulcher quickly devised an alternative
interpretation. He threw the sacred chickens overboard,
saying, Let them drink, since they don't wish to eat. (Bibant,
quoniam esse nolunt)."
The science of Astronomie
I thinke for to specefie,
Withoute which, to telle plein,
Alle othre science is in vein
Toward the scole of erthli thinges.
For as an egle with his winges
Fleth above alle that men finde,
So doth this science in his kinde.
Lege planetarum magis inferiora reguntur,
Ista set interdum regula fallit opus.
Vir mediante deo sapiens dominabitur astris,
Fata nec immerito quid nouitatis agunt.
[Things lower down are ruled by the law of the planets, and
sometimes that governance foils endeavor. With God's intervention
the wise man will rule the stars, and the fates will not cause
anything suddenly unfavorable.]
And whan that he [Troilus] was slayn in this manere [that is, by Achilles],
His lighte goost ful blisfully is went
Up to the holughnesse of the eighthe spere,
In convers (converse/opposite side) letyng ("letting" i.e. abandoning) everich element;
And ther he saugh with ful avysement (deliberation, consideration)
The erratik sterres, herkenyng armonye
With sownes ful of hevenyssh melodie.
And down from thennes faste he gan avyse (see, consider)
This litel spot of erthe that with the se
Embraced is, and fully gan despise
This wrecched world, and held al vanite
To respect of the pleyn felicite
That is in hevene above; and at the laste,
Ther he was slayn his lokyng down he caste,
And in hymself he lough right at the wo
Of hem that wepten for his deth so faste,
And dampned al oure werk that foloweth so
The blynde lust, the which that may nat laste,
And sholden al oure herte on heven caste;
And forth he wente, shortly for to telle,
Ther as Mercurye sorted hym to dwelle.
--Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde Book V.1807-1827)
"Blisful is that man that may seen the clere
welle of good! Blisful is he that mai unbynden
hym fro the boondes of the hevy erthe! The
poete of Trace, Orpheus, that whilome hadde
ryght greet sorwe for the deth of his wyf, aftir
that he hadde makid by his weeply songes the
wodes moevable to renne, and hadde makid
the ryveris to stonden stille, and hadde maked
the hertes and the hyndes to joynen dreedles
here sydes to cruel lyouns for to herknen
his song, and hadde maked that the
hare was nat agast of the hound, whiche was
plesed by his song; so, whanne the moste ardaunt
love of his wif brende the entrayles of his
breest, ne the songes that hadden overcomen
alle thinges ne mighten nat asswagen hir lord
Orpheus, he pleynid hym of the hevene
goddis that weren cruel to hym.
"He wente hym to the houses of helle,
and ther he tempride his blaundysschinge
songes by resounynge strenges, and spak
and song in wepynge al that evere he hadde
resceyved and lavyd out of the noble welles of
his modir Callyope the goddesse.
And he sang with as mochel as he myghte of wepynge, and
with as moche as love that doublide his sorwe
myghte yeve hym and teche hym, and he
commoevde the helle, and requyred and bysoughte
by swete preyere the lordes of
soules in helle of relessynge, that is to seyn,
to yelden hym his wyf. Cerberus, the porter
of helle, with hise thre hevedes, was caught and
al abasschid of the newe song. And the thre
goddesses, furiis and vengeresses of felonyes,
that tormenten and agasten the soules by anoy,
woxen sorweful and sory, and wepyn teeris for
pite. Tho was nat the heved of Yxion ytormented
by the overthrowynge wheel. And Tantalus, that
was destroied by the woodnesse of long
thurst, despyseth the floodes to drynken.
The foul that highte voltor, that etith the
stomak or the gyser of Tycius, is so fulfild of
his song that it nil eten ne tiren no more. At the
laste the lord and juge of soules was moevid to
misericordes, and cryede: "We ben overcomen,"
quod he; "yyve we to Orpheus his wif to beren
hym compaignye; he hath wel ybought hire by
his faire song and his ditee."
"But we wolen putten a lawe in this and covenaunt in the yifte;
that is to seyn that, til he be out of helle, yif
he loke byhynde hym, that his wyf schal
comen ageyn unto us." But what is he that may
yeven a lawe to loverys? Love is a grettere lawe
and a strengere to hymself thanne any lawe that
men mai yyven. Allas! Whanne Orpheus and his
wif weren almest at the termes of the nyght
(that is to seyn, at the laste boundes of helle),
Orpheus lokede abakward on Erudyce his wif,
and lost hire, and was deed.
"This fable apertenith to yow alle, whosoevere
desireth or seketh to lede his
thought into the sovereyn day, that is to seyn, to
cleernesse of sovereyn good. For whoso that
evere be so overcomen that he ficche his eien
into the put of helle, that is to seyn, whoso sette
his thoughtes in erthly thinges, al that evere he
hath drawen of the noble good celestial he lesith
it, whanne he looketh the helles, that is to seyn,
into lowe thinges of the erthe.