Procul in Praesaepi

Here is today's Latin Christmas carol; you can read one carol per day for the month of December, or see the complete collection all at once. Today's carol, "Away in a Manger," is a popular English Christmas carol, first published in 1885, with the third verse added in 1887. Although the first publication was by the Lutheran Church, it is not true that Martin Luther is the author of the song, although you will sometimes see it attributed it to him. The song is popular in both America and in England, although it is sung to two different tunes. You can find the lyrics along with MIDI files for the two different tunes and sheet music at the Hymns and Carols of Christmas website.

The English title of this carol gives me a great excuse to say something about the wonderful English word "manger," which is ultimately derived from Latin. As all Latin students know, the Latin verb esse, "to eat," is confusingly similar to the verb "to be" (this is the case in many Indo-European languages). As a result, the simple Latin verb esse was gradually replaced in the later Romance languages. In some languages, it was replaced by a compounded form of the verb. The Spanish "comer," for example, comes from the Latin comesse (as in the English word "comestible"). In Italian, however, the verb is mangiare (as anyone knows who has been told, "mangia, mangia!" "eat, eat!"). This word comes from the Latin verb manducare, "to chew." This Latin verb manducare is thus also the root of the English word "manger," where the animals come to "chew" their food!

I found this Latin version of the carol on the Internet, attributed to Robert J.M. Lindsay.

Procul in praesaepi et sine lecto,
en, parvulus Iesus dormit in faeno
stellaeque micantes despectant eum
tranquillo in somno, nostrum Dominum.

Dum mugiunt boves, expergiscitur;
nec tamen ex illo auditur murmur.
Amo te, mi Iesu! De caelo specta
et usque ad lucem, precor, mi adsta.

Es, Domine, mecum, te rogo; mane
me iuxta aeterno, et dilige me.
Pueruli omnes in cura tua
fac uti fruantur aeterna vita.

---

Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.

---

Here are the carols I have completed so far:
December 1: Rudolphus
December 2: Angelus ad Virginem
December 3: Aquifolia Ornate
December 4: A Solis Ortus Cardine
December 5: O Viri, Este Hilares
December 6: Conditor Alme Siderum
December 7: Angeli Canunt Praecones
December 8: Regis Olim Urbe David
December 9: Gaudium Mundo
December 10: Resonet in Laudibus
December 11: Adeste Fideles
December 12: Christe, Redemptor Omnium
December 13: Dum Servant Pecus Pastores
December 14: Primum Noel Cecinit Angelus
December 15: In Dulci Iubilo

---

Bolchazy-Carducci has a Latin Christmas Carol music CD! With 12 songs in Latin, O Abies: O Christmas Tree is available at amazon.com for $17.00

---