Veronese Riddle
Encyclopedia
The Veronese Riddle is a riddle, apparently half-Italian
, half-Latin
, written on the margin of a parchment
, on the Verona Orational
, probably in the 8th or early 9th century, by a Catholic
monk
from Verona
, a city in the Veneto
region, in Northern Italy
. It was a very popular riddle in the Middle Ages
and has survived into dialects to date. Discovered by Schiapparelli in 1924 it was considered for a long time the first document ever written in the Italian language.
which translates more or less like this:
This document dates to the late 8th-early 9th century and was followed by a small thanksgiving prayer in Latin: gratias tibi agimus omnip(oten)s sempiterne d(eu)s. These lines were written on codex LXXXIX (89) of the Biblioteca Capitolare di Verona. The parchment, discovered by Schiapparelli in 1924 is a Mozarabic
oration by the Spanish
Christian
Church, i.e. a document in a Romance language first written in Spain in an area influenced by the Moorish culture, probably around Toledo
. It was then brought to Cagliari
and then Pisa
before reaching the Chapter
of Verona.
occurred all around the same time (e.g. France's Serments de Strasburg
). Though initially hailed as the earliest document in Italian in the first years following Schiapparelli's discovery, today the record has been disputed by many scholars from Migliorini to Segre and Bruni, who have placed it at the latest stage of Vulgar Latin, though this very term is far from being clear-cut and Migliorini himself considers it dilapidated. At present, however, the Placito Capuano (960 A.D.) (the first in a series of four documents dating 960-963 A.D. issued by a Capuan court) is considered to be the first document ever written in Italian, although Migliorini concedes that since the Placito was put on record as an official court proceeding (and signed by a notary), Italian must have been widely spoken for at least one century.
Some words stick indeed to the rules of Latin grammar (boves with -es for the accusative plural masculine, alba with -a suffix for the plural neuter). Yet more are distinctly Italian, or belonging to the Veronese language
, with no cases and producing the typical ending of Italian verbs: pareba (It. pareva), araba (It. arava), teneba (It. teneva), seminaba (It. seminava) instead of Latin parebat, arabat, tenebat, seminabat. Albo versorio and negro semen have replaced Latin album versorium and nigrum semen. Versorio is still the word for "plow" in today's Veronese dialect (and the other varieties of Venetian language
) as the verb parar is still the word for 'push on', 'drive', 'lead' (in Italian spingere, guidare). Cortellazzo and Paccagnella say that the plural -es of boves may well be considered Ladin (a Romance language spoken in parts of Veneto, Trentino and South Tyrol
) and therefore not Latin, but romance. Albo is early Italian, especially since German blank entered Italian usage later, leading to current Italian bianco (white).
(inflective
) to a more analytic (prepositional and affixal) language. More research is indeed needed to validate either Schiapparelli's (pro-Italian) or Migliorini's (pro-Latin) approaches, but the Indovinello remains indisputably a major watershed in the history of the Italian language.
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, half-Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, written on the margin of a parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
, on the Verona Orational
Verona Orational
The Verona Orational, also known as the Libellus Orationum , is a late 7th or early 8th century Visigothic prayer book. It is the only liturgical book that was written before the Moorish invasion and is the only surviving Visigothic manuscript containing figural decoration...
, probably in the 8th or early 9th century, by a Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
monk
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
from Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, a city in the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
region, in Northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was a very popular riddle in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and has survived into dialects to date. Discovered by Schiapparelli in 1924 it was considered for a long time the first document ever written in the Italian language.
Text
The original lines are:- Se pareba boves
- alba pratalia araba
- albo versorio teneba
- negro semen seminaba
which translates more or less like this:
- In front of him (he) led oxen
- White fields (he) plowed
- A white plow (he) held
- A black seed (he) sowed
Explanation and origins of the "Indovinello" (Riddle)
The lines of this riddle tell us of a somebody with a "pair of oxen" (boves) who used to plow "white fields" (alba pratalia) with a "white plow" (albo versorio), sowing a "black seed" (negro semen). This person is the writer himself, the monk whose business is to copy old manuscripts. The two oxen are his fingers which draw a white feather (the white plow) across the page (the white fields), leaving black ink marks (black seed).This document dates to the late 8th-early 9th century and was followed by a small thanksgiving prayer in Latin: gratias tibi agimus omnip(oten)s sempiterne d(eu)s. These lines were written on codex LXXXIX (89) of the Biblioteca Capitolare di Verona. The parchment, discovered by Schiapparelli in 1924 is a Mozarabic
Mozarabic language
Mozarabic was a continuum of closely related Romance dialects spoken in Muslim-dominated areas of the Iberian Peninsula during the early stages of the Romance languages' development in Iberia. Mozarabic descends from Late Latin and early Romance dialects spoken in the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th...
oration by the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
Church, i.e. a document in a Romance language first written in Spain in an area influenced by the Moorish culture, probably around Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
. It was then brought to Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
and then Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
before reaching the Chapter
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
of Verona.
Text analysis and comments
Many more European documents seem to confirm that the distinctive traits of Romance languagesRomance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
occurred all around the same time (e.g. France's Serments de Strasburg
Oaths of Strasbourg
The Oaths of Strasbourg were several historical documents which included mutual pledges of allegiance between Louis the German , ruler of East Francia, and his brother Charles the Bald , ruler of West Francia...
). Though initially hailed as the earliest document in Italian in the first years following Schiapparelli's discovery, today the record has been disputed by many scholars from Migliorini to Segre and Bruni, who have placed it at the latest stage of Vulgar Latin, though this very term is far from being clear-cut and Migliorini himself considers it dilapidated. At present, however, the Placito Capuano (960 A.D.) (the first in a series of four documents dating 960-963 A.D. issued by a Capuan court) is considered to be the first document ever written in Italian, although Migliorini concedes that since the Placito was put on record as an official court proceeding (and signed by a notary), Italian must have been widely spoken for at least one century.
Some words stick indeed to the rules of Latin grammar (boves with -es for the accusative plural masculine, alba with -a suffix for the plural neuter). Yet more are distinctly Italian, or belonging to the Veronese language
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
, with no cases and producing the typical ending of Italian verbs: pareba (It. pareva), araba (It. arava), teneba (It. teneva), seminaba (It. seminava) instead of Latin parebat, arabat, tenebat, seminabat. Albo versorio and negro semen have replaced Latin album versorium and nigrum semen. Versorio is still the word for "plow" in today's Veronese dialect (and the other varieties of Venetian language
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
) as the verb parar is still the word for 'push on', 'drive', 'lead' (in Italian spingere, guidare). Cortellazzo and Paccagnella say that the plural -es of boves may well be considered Ladin (a Romance language spoken in parts of Veneto, Trentino and South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
) and therefore not Latin, but romance. Albo is early Italian, especially since German blank entered Italian usage later, leading to current Italian bianco (white).
Conclusion
The telling signs we are looking for are then the suppression of Latin cases and genders, including the disappearance of the -t for the third person singular. We can sum up these changes as representing the passage from a syntheticSynthetic language
In linguistic typology, a synthetic language is a language with a high morpheme-per-word ratio, as opposed to a low morpheme-per-word ratio in what is described as an isolating language...
(inflective
Inflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
) to a more analytic (prepositional and affixal) language. More research is indeed needed to validate either Schiapparelli's (pro-Italian) or Migliorini's (pro-Latin) approaches, but the Indovinello remains indisputably a major watershed in the history of the Italian language.