medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I sent this yesterday, but it seems to have disappeared into the aether:
I'm not convinced that the text will bear the interpretation placed upon it.
Cramner was simplifying and translating. (I don't have his 1548 text to
hand, but I'm assuming it was the same as the 1549 version.) 'Vere dignum
et iustum est, aequum et salutare' doesn't make much sense in any language.
'Dignum', 'iustum', 'aequum' all mean much the same ('right and proper') and
'salutare' is more mysterious. No modern translations are particularly
satisfactory: 'Truly, it is meet, just and salutary...' (it is difficult to
find a translation that doesn't reflect Cranmer's words!), 'It is indeed
fitting and right, our duty and our salvation'. Where 'bounden duty' came
from is anyone's guess, but I think he was just trying to make some sort of
sense in the context.
John Briggs
Bill East wrote:
>
> 'Vere dignum et iustum est' refers back to the the last line of the
> preceding dialogue: 'Dignum et iustum est.' 'aequum' means 'fair,
> right, equitable, reasonable.' 'Salutare' means 'beneficial, healthful,
> making for our salvation.' It is interesting that Cranmer, in writing
> the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, chose not to translate 'salutare'
> but rendered the line: 'It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty.'
> He would not have it that offering the Mass (or any other human action)
> could in any way advance our salvation. In celebrating the Eucharist,
> we were simply obeying Christ's commandment, and so instead of calling
> it 'salutary' he called it 'our bounden duty.' In more recent
> revisions, the Church of England, wishing no doubt to take the edge off
> the severity of Cranmer's language, rendered it: 'It is indeed right,
> it is our duty and our joy.' This still falls short of saying that it
> helps us on the way to salvation. Contrast a sentence from the modern
> Roman Third Eucharistic Prayer: 'Lord, may this sacrifice, which has
> made our peace with you, advance the peace and salvation of all the
> world.'
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