Rudolphus

This is the first Christmas carol which I've posted - stay turned for a month's worth of carols, as I will be posting a carol each day here for the month of December 2006. You can read one carol per day for the month of December, or see the complete collection all at once.

Some of the carols are translations into Latin. As always with translations, there are all kinds of possible approaches, and I've found THREE different translations of "Rudolph" into Latin. Version 1 is much more commonly found on the Internet but, personally, I think I prefer Version 2! You could use these three different versions to give you suggestions and strategies so you can do your own version. If you do your own version, go ahead and post it as a comment here at this blog.

** Be sure to check the comments: you can find a fourth version AND a fifth version which people have shared in the comments section. The fifth one features Jupiter instead of Santa! **

Learn more about the English song, with the lyrics, at wikipedia, including the English lyrics.

Version 1 (translator unknown, widely repeated on the Internet)

Reno erat Rudolphus
Nasum rubrum habebat;
Si quando hunc videbas,
Hunc candere tu dicas.

Omnes renores alii
Semper hunc deridebant;
Cum misero Rudolpho
In ludis non ludebant.

Santus Nicholas dixit
Nocte nebulae,
"Rudolphe, naso claro
Nonne carrum tu duces?"

Tum renores clamabant,
"Rudolphe, delectus es!
Cum naso rubro claro
Historia descendes!"

(this is usually printed with a question mark after "delectus es" but I don't see why it should be a question, so I've changed that to an exclamation mark)

Version 2 (translated by Harry C. Maynard?)

Rudolphus, naso rubro,
naso nitidissimo,
si umquam eum spectes,
dicas eum fulgere.

Reliqui tum renones
deridebant ludentes,
semper vetabant eum
apud ludos ludere.

Deinde ante Natalem
Santa venit, et
"Tu, Rudolphe nitide,
traham meam duc nocte."

Dein, ut renones amant,
exclamantes hilare:
"Rudolphe, naso rubro,
in annalibus eris!"

Version 3 (translated by Philip Brunelle, I think - and there's an audio download at this link, too!)

(This version uses the noun "tarandus" instead of the more usual "reno.")

Rudolphus rubrinasus
fulgentissimo naso,
vidisti et si eum
dicas quoque candere.

Omnes tarandi ceteri
ridebant vocantes nomina;
non sinebant Rudolphum
interesse ludentes.

Olim crassa nocte Christi,
Nicholas it dictum:
“Rudolphe, naso tam claro,
agesne traham meam?”

Qui tum tarandis amor
conclamantibus eum,
“Rudolphe rubrinase,
descendes historia!”

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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

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