Song of the Watchmen of Modena
Encyclopedia
The Song of the Watchmen of Modena is an anonymous late ninth-century Latin
lyric poem encouraging the guards who stood watch on the walls of Modena
. The poem contains later interpolations (lines 11–16, 25–26, 30–34), but its musical notation has survived. Peter Godman called it "hauntingly beautiful".
Francesco Novati
proposed that the song was written by a cleric in his cell as he listened to the chant of the guardsmen echo on the walls. This Romantic
interpretation has been superseded. At about the same time as the lyric was composed the walls of Modena were augmented for defence against the Magyars, and prayers pleading deliverance from their raids are preserved in the same manuscript
as the watchmen's song. The song falls into the tradition of liturgical vigil
s (known to have been kept at Modena during this time) and the secular vigiliae murorum (vigils of the walls). It was probably composed for use at Mass
sending off the guards for duty. The poet invokes the blessing of Christ, the Virgin, and John
, who had lately seen a chapel consecrated in their honour on 26 July 881, a date which helps place the poem in time. The chapel of Santa Maria e San Giovanni was beside a city gate, and it was probably there that the guards assembled before their watch and joined the clergy in singing the song.
The poet cites two stories from classical history to encourage the guards: the Trojan War
, and how the city was safe while Hector
kept watch; and the Sacred Geese (derived from Virgil
and Servius), who defended the Rome
from the Gauls
. Lines 17–18 of the song—Pro qua virtute facta est argentea / Et a Romanis adorata ut dea—seem to be the poet's invention, based on his reading of Servius, or Isidore of Seville
, who copied Servius.
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
lyric poem encouraging the guards who stood watch on the walls of Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
. The poem contains later interpolations (lines 11–16, 25–26, 30–34), but its musical notation has survived. Peter Godman called it "hauntingly beautiful".
Francesco Novati
Francesco Novati
Francesco Novati was an Italian historian and philologist.Novati taught in the University of Palermo and Genoa, and in 1890 he became a professor of history and comparative literature at the Regia Accademia Scientifico-Letteraria of Milan. In 1883, he founded the Giornale Storico delle Letteratura...
proposed that the song was written by a cleric in his cell as he listened to the chant of the guardsmen echo on the walls. This Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
interpretation has been superseded. At about the same time as the lyric was composed the walls of Modena were augmented for defence against the Magyars, and prayers pleading deliverance from their raids are preserved in the same manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
as the watchmen's song. The song falls into the tradition of liturgical vigil
Vigil
A vigil is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance...
s (known to have been kept at Modena during this time) and the secular vigiliae murorum (vigils of the walls). It was probably composed for use at Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
sending off the guards for duty. The poet invokes the blessing of Christ, the Virgin, and John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, who had lately seen a chapel consecrated in their honour on 26 July 881, a date which helps place the poem in time. The chapel of Santa Maria e San Giovanni was beside a city gate, and it was probably there that the guards assembled before their watch and joined the clergy in singing the song.
The poet cites two stories from classical history to encourage the guards: the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, and how the city was safe while Hector
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...
kept watch; and the Sacred Geese (derived from Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
and Servius), who defended the Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
from the Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
. Lines 17–18 of the song—Pro qua virtute facta est argentea / Et a Romanis adorata ut dea—seem to be the poet's invention, based on his reading of Servius, or Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
, who copied Servius.
Further reading
- Roncaglia, Aurelio. 1948. Il «Canto delle scolte modenesi». Cultura neolatina 8:5–46, 205–22.