Dolor, sorrow, dejection;
adj. doleful, sorrowful, sad. Tristicia is a Latin word found in Cicero and is a concept, as in Tuscan Disputations, IV.viii.18f, that thereafter comes into Christian thought
sub the vice of accidie (wanhope etc.), as in Chaucer' Parson's Tale
and Gower's Confessio Amantis IV.3389ff. This root for "sad" is found fairly often in various forms in Dante's Commedia.
Earlier, in the OF Prose Lancelot, ch. I, it is offered as the origin of Tristan's name (so he is "christened", I guess), and that origin is played on in some places in the ensuing tale, e.g., ch. XI, Vez
qui Tristan qui en tristece vos metra "Behold Tristan,
who'll bring sorrow on you." The Christian tradition, with sources and citations (esp, patristic), is treated in
Analogy 'FQ' 317-321. See also tristicia accidiosa at VII.205, p.245, of S. Wenzel, ed.
Summa Virtutem Remediis Anime etc. (Athens, GA 1984). I could go on, but I'm tired of fighting the tyrannous and idiotic autocorrect: From this evil, good Lord, deliver me. (I also have to finish the laundry and make the beds, etc., and the
night comes wherein no man can work.)
[log in to unmask]
James Nohrnberg, Prof. Emeritus
Univ. of Virginia
Dept. of English / Bryan Hall 209
P.O. Box 400121
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4121
Dear all,
My question is technically medieval, but I am sure it applies equally to the Renaissance. The famous prayer at one time attributed to St Francis, “O Signore, fa’ di me un istrumento della tua pace”
I long accepted as such, until a few years ago I began to wonder at the line “Dove è tristezza, fa’ ch’io porti la gioia”. “Tristezza” seemed a suspiciously modern word. And, indeed, I found (and most of you know) the the prayer first appeared in French in
1912, probably written by Fr Esther Bouquerel. Now for my question, in the context of looking at the history of emotions: what word would St Francis in his time, or, say St Teresa of Avila in hers, or indeed Sidney and Spenser, have used for “tristesse”? Melancholia?
Too weighty, no?
To unsubscribe from the SIDNEY-SPENSER list, click the following link:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=SIDNEY-SPENSER&A=1
